The end of the World Cup qualification is right around the corner, and despite Germany absolutely dominating Group C of UEFA’s qualifying efforts, they still haven’t quite secured themselves a spot in Russia next summer. They can do that on Thursday, though, if they can put down their surprising group rivals in Northern Ireland.
Northern Ireland vs. Germany 2017 live stream: Start time, TV channel, and how to watch World Cup qualifier online
It’s crunch time in World Cup qualifying for Group C in UEFA.
Photo by Stuart Franklin/Bongarts/Getty Images
Northern Ireland became darlings in Europe during the Euro 2016 qualifying cycle, winning their group to reach the European Championships for the first time in history. They even managed to beat Ukraine and make the round of 16 before falling to Wales, but they also suffered a close-fought loss at the hands of Germany in the group stage along the way.
They’ve been flying high in World Cup qualifying so far as well, losing just one match in their group and guaranteeing themselves a second-place finish and UEFA playoff spot at worst, and a shot at taking the group outright — admittedly with a lot of luck going their way over the next week.
That one loss in the group, though, was at Germany’s hands, a 2-0 defeat in Hannover that saw Northern Ireland go down two goals before 20 minutes had gone by and fail to really get back into the match against a superior opponent. They fought hard, but just like at Euro 2016, they just didn’t have the athletic talent to keep up with the incredible squad the defending World Cup champions bring to bear.
If they can find a way to use their home-field advantage to overcome that, though, Northern Ireland can put themselves in a position to shock Germany and take the group. A win would put the Irish at 22 points in the group, two points behind Germany’s 24.
Another win over Norway and a shock win for Azerbaijan — which would be a massive surprise given that the match is in Germany, even with how much improved this Azerbaijan side is — would put them above Germany in the standings, punching Northern Ireland’s ticket to the World Cup for just the fourth time ever.
That’s obviously not the likely outcome. Germany will probably win on Thursday, and they’ll almost definitely thrash Azerbaijan. But we can dream — and what a dream that would be.
Match info, plus how to watch on TV and stream
Match Date/Time: Thursday, 2:45 p.m. ET, 7:45 p.m. local
Venue: Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland
TV: UniMas, Univision Deportes (U.S. - Spanish), Sky Sports Football (U.K. & Northern Ireland), RTL (Germany)
Online: Fox Soccer Match Pass, Fox Sports Go, Univision NOW (U.S.), Sky Go (U.K. & Northern Ireland)
Listings for more countries can be found at LiveSoccerTV.
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