Northern Ireland would guarantee their place at a European Championships for the first time in their history with a win at home to Group D's basement side Greece on Thursday. Michael O'Neill's side have upset all odds to emerge from their first eight games with five wins, and now stand on the brink of one of the greatest achievements in the country's footballing history. Failure to win wouldn't prove disastrous, but it would mean dragging things out to a potentially nervy final matchday.
Northern Ireland vs. Greece live stream: Time, TV schedule and how to watch Euro 2016 qualifying
Northern Ireland will look to book their place at the European Championships for the first time ever with a win at home to Greece on Thursday.
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Their opponents in this match, Greece, have defied all the odds too -- but in a rather more negative way. In a group containing the likes of Finland and the Faroe Islands, Greece have remarkably failed to win any one of their matches to date. It means they're now guaranteed to miss out on the chance to reclaim the title they won in historic fashion back in 2004, and that they'll sit out a major tournament for the first time since the 2006 World Cup in Germany. They'll doubtless want to reclaim some pride, but how much remains to be seen.
Key factor: How will Northern Ireland cope with their absences?
Northern Ireland head into this game without several important players, including suspended top scorer Kyle Lafferty and injured defender Jonny Evans and Chris Baird. How well they cope with these absences could well be the difference between them wrapping things up and dragging them out for another agonising few days.
When they last met: Greece 0-2 Northern Ireland, 14 October 2014
It was this match that announced Northern Ireland as serious contenders for qualification. Despite facing a barrage of shots from a Greece team then coached by the Leicester City boss Claudio Ranieri, Northern Ireland held firm an were utterly ruthless with their own opportunities. Jamie Ward opened the scoring after just nine minutes, and Kyle Lafferty scored one of his seven qualifying goals to wrap things up early in the second half. A similar result here would suit Northern Ireland very nicely indeed.
Match Date/Time: Thursday, 2:45 p.m. ET, 7:45 p.m. local
Venue: Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland
TV: Sky Sports 5/HD (U.K.)
Online: ESPN3 (U.S.), Sportsnet World Online (Canada), Sky Go (U.K.)
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