Northern Ireland Under-21s will look to record a statement victory over Germany
Makenzie Kirk will look to stay on the goal trail when Northern Ireland Under-21s take on Germany
Tommy Wright will be keen for his Northern Ireland Under-21s to impress against Germany
Northern Ireland Under-21s are aiming to give their hopes of U21 Euro 2027 qualification a major boost by overcoming Germany at The BetMcLean Oval on Tuesday evening (5.30pm).
Tommy Wright’s young guns recorded a convincing 2-0 victory over their Malta counterparts at the east Belfast venue on Thursday thanks to Makenzie Kirk and Michael Forbes’ first-half finishes.
Coupled with September’s 1-1 draw in Georgia when Matthew Orr’s second-half equaliser ensured Wright’s charges came away with a share of the spoils, Northern Ireland currently sit on four points from two matches and are second place in Group Six of qualifying.
Tommy Wright will be keen for his Northern Ireland Under-21s to impress against Germany
However, Germany – who are one place and one point below Northern Ireland in the six-team group – promises to be a much tougher proposition with a number of highly-rated talents within their ranks.
The player that Northern Ireland may need to keep an eye on most is Bayern Munich midfielder Tom Bischof, who captains Antonio di Salvo’s side, while Paul Wanner left the Allianz Arena over the summer to join Dutch big guns PSV Eindhoven in a £13.1m deal.
Club Brugge’s Nicolo Tresoldi and Mainz star Nelson Weiper offer firepower up top, while defenders Lars Ullrich and Tom Rothe are mainstays in the starting line-ups of Borussia Monchengladbach and Union Berlin respectively.
There are chinks in Germany’s armour, though, with group leaders Greece inflicting a home 3-2 defeat on them in their previous outing on Friday after an opening 5-0 rout of Latvia last month had set Di Salvo’s outfit on their way in style.
Makenzie Kirk will look to stay on the goal trail when Northern Ireland Under-21s take on Germany
For Northern Ireland’s part, Wright will look to carry on the momentum from their success over Malta and will rely on the likes of Portsmouth’s Kirk and Dundalk’s Eoin Kenny to lead their charge up top.
The backline, which includes captain Forbes – who is on loan at Northampton Town from West Ham – will have to stay focused, while Liverpool hotshot Kieran Morrison will also be hungry to weave magic having been called up to the Under-21s for the first time this month.
Should Northern Ireland prevail, it would not only give them a chance of moving top of the group if Greece slip up away to Latvia but also fuel confidence for the rest of the campaign as they look to qualify for the U21 Euro 2027 Finals for the very first time.