Northern Ireland’s Bailey Peacock-Farrell in action against Germany(Image: INPHO/William Cherry)
Bailey Peacock-Farrell believes Northern Ireland can follow Slovakia’s lead and shock Germany.
The Slovakians caused a major upset in the opening game in Group A beating Julian Nagelsmann’s side 2-0.
Northern Ireland pushed the Germans all the way in their game in Cologne before they were undone by two late goals, but Peacock-Farrell feels they have enough about them to get a result at Windsor Park.
“The Germany we played in other campaigns to now is a different Germany and as we’ve seen with Slovakia beating them, it’s possible,” he said.
“I thought we were quite comfortable in the away game for the first 65, 70 minutes in the game. So yeah, it’s more than possible.
“I don’t think there was too much between the sides in the away leg. I think what we struggled with was the last 15, 20, it was our second game and the lads have given it their all and then they bring on five subs fresh and it’s five quality subs. And that just kind of tips it over for them.
“But the energy we get as players from this crowd here at Windsor Park, and the squad we have, we’ve got more than enough to do similar things on Monday night.
“You know, we manage, we maintain, we hit our own counters really well, but also we can really dominate the game at some points.”
Northern Ireland suffered a huge blow in Friday’s win over Slovakia after captain Conor Bradley picked up a booking to rule him out of Monday’s game.
“Yeah, I don’t understand how he’s been given a yellow card for that,” said Peacock-Farrell. “You know, it’s a bit of a strange one, to be fair, and then it rules him out of that on Monday, which is a big loss.
“He brings a lot of power and energy down that side as well. But, what is really nice to say now is we’ve got a lot of strength and depth in our squad and we can do so much now.
“It’s not just a starting XI, it’s a squad game, certainly with games close to each other as well. So he’s going to be a big miss, but we’ve got enough players to come and step in.”
After losing his place in the international set-up to Pierce Charles, Peacock-Farrell is delighted to be back between the sticks again and complete his half century of caps.
“Yeah, it was frustrating last year, but it’s nice to just be back, nice to be back in the rhythm playing and to keep these caps ticking over,” he said.
“Every time you come, it’s been a year since I’ve played here. It’s a really nice feeling. It’s a great achievement to get one, let alone 52 now. So yeah, I’m very pleased.”