Germany aiming to click into gear against Northern Ireland

“I tried to get on to Richard Branson but it seems not to be happening”, he said.

Germany were playing their first game at the Stade de France since the deadly November attacks in Paris when they also failed to score in a 0-2 defeat by the hosts.

A meeting with world champions Germany in Paris next week holds no fear for a confident Northern Ireland side buoyed by their first Euro 2016 win.

Striker Arkadiusz Milik, the scorer of Poland’s only goal in their 1-0 victory over Northern Ireland, wasted perhaps the game’s two finest opportunities, missing both in the second half when he was well placed to finish.

“A lot of praise has to go to Michael and his backroom staff”.

“They have unbelievable players, some of the best players and defenders in the world, but if we turn up the way we turned up (against Ukraine), they are going to be anxious”.

Having already shackled Poland’s Robert Lewandowski and kept Ukraine’s Andriy Yarmolenko quiet in France, Northern Ireland now have to work out how to stop the likes of Thomas Muller, Mesut Ozil and Toni Kroos.

Northern Ireland’s leading goalscorer was the notable omission when O’Neill made five changes for Thursday’s crucial match in Lyon and saw his boldness rewarded with the country’s first win at a major tournament for 34 years.

Zak McGall, 10, from Ballymena in Co Antrim, was given the precious present by his father the day before the team played Ukraine. “We have to get some spaces in front of the goal and try to shoot more, and have some hard things for their defence”.

It’s been nearly 33 years since the last of Northern Ireland’s two wins over Germany, who are heavy favourites for Tuesday’s clash at the Parc de Princes in Paris.

“We beat Spain in ’82 to get to the second phase which was fantastic”, he told Press Association Sport.

Germany’s first game in Lille against Ukraine exposed defensive weaknesses, with Manuel Neuer forced to make a number of saves and Jerome Boateng to make a goal-line clearance in the 2-0 win.

“We understand the man in his sixties collapsed during the game and was attended to by emergency services”.

“I don’t think any of the lads who started deserve to be dropped. We spoke about this after the game and it showed in the analysis yesterday”, Loew said, adding that Germany’s lack of creativity was not fitness-related.

The Northern Ireland coach subsequently opted for Washington to lead the line in Lyon and left the less nimble Lafferty, who scored seven goals in qualifying, on the bench.

Gillespie was out with talkSPORT presenter Colin Murray, who uploaded footage of the former Manchester United player crowd surfing to his Twitter profile.

“I’ve had some good days in football, some great moments, but beating Ukraine has got to top them all”.