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Watch: Northern Ireland news conference This video can not be played Watch: Northern Ireland news conference Click 'Watch live' above to watch the Northern Ireland news conference Michael O'Neill's side opened their qualifying campaign with a 3-1 win over Luxembourg on Thursday Germany lost their opening qualifier away to Slovakia 2-0 You can watch Germany v Northern Ireland live on BBC One NI, BBC Two and BBC i Player on Sunday from 19: 30 BST O'Neill on Germany winless run: "I would image Germany always play with pressure as expectation is always high. The players and the manager are used to that. I think sometimes when playing for your national team the criticism is more personal. "The criticism that Germany have had, I'm sure if they need extra motivation they will get it from that. On Slovakia's win over Germany: "Slovakia winning that game is something we would have preferred not to happen but you have to congratulate them on that. We have to try and make sure we don't drop points in certain games. " "When we looked at the group, this is the hardest place we will come to play so if we can take points that'll be great. " Ali Mc Cann on winning his 30th cap against Germany: "It takes a while to get used to the tempo of international football. You have to be at 100% concentration all the time but for me personally, it's been great and really looking forward to tomorrow night. " On playing alongside Steven Davis: "It was unreal for me. The majority of my early caps were alongside him and he guided me through. He was a real role model for me growing up and perfect for me coming into the side. On new midfield partner Shea Charles: "He's a real driving force for the side. Delight he got his goal and deserved it. He is a pleasure to play with - as are the whole team. " NI manager Michael O'Neill on the challenge of facing Germany: "There's an excitement from me personally to see where my team are. It's a big step up for us. We don't have many Premier League players with most of our squad in the Championship and League One but we have real resilience and desire to do well. "We have to punch above our weight. We played Germany when they were world championship and while they may not be at that moment right now, we'll face a really tough side. " Germany v Northern Ireland (Sunday) Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill is joined by midfielder Ali Mc Cann for the press conference. The pair have taken their seats so hit "Watch now" above to follow the latest. Germany v Northern Ireland (Sunday) "If anything it'll make the game a lot harder. " That was Northern Ireland goalscorer Jamie Reid's assessment when he discovered that Germany had lost their opening qualifier to Slovakia on Thursday. Northern Ireland have face Germany nine times since a 1-1 draw in 1996. .. and they've lost all of them. Yet rarely during that 29-year period will Sunday's hosts in Cologne have come into the fixture under such pressure. Julian Nagelsmann's side have not won since beating Italy in the first leg of their Nations League quarter-final in March. While losses to France and Portugal hardly sparked talk of crisis, Thursday night's surprise defeat to Slovakia to start their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign has been viewed differently. You can read more from Jonathan Bradley, our man in Cologne, on our Northern Ireland men's football page on the BBC Sport website and app. Germany v Northern Ireland (Sunday) Jonathan Bradley BBC Sport NI senior journalist in Cologne I'm nestled in the Rhein Energie Stadion in Cologne, awaiting the arrival of manager Michael O'Neill. Joining him we are told is midfielder Ali Mc Cann. Frequently it is the team captain who joins the manager at these official matchday-minus-one press conferences (on Wednesday in Luxembourg it was Trai Hume) but that doesn't mean Mr Mc Cann will wear the armband on Sunday. We should find out more imminently. Germany v Northern Ireland (Sunday) Northern Ireland defender Conor Bradley said that manager Michael O'Neill "had a little bit of a go" at his players at half-time in their 3-1 win against 10-man Luxembourg. O'Neill's side went in level at 1-1 at the break at the Stade de Luxembourg after Jamie Reid's opener was cancelled out by Aiman Dardari. And Bradley believes an animated half-time team talk from O'Neill sparked an improved second-half display from NI, which yielded two more goals from Shea Charles and Justin Devenny and a precious three points to start their World Cup qualifying campaign. "We started the first half really quick, and it was the same second half. Michael had a little bit of a go at us at half-time, it wasn't good enough, rightly so, but we came out all guns blazing second half, " he told BBC Sport NI's Gavin Andrews. "I think we made it difficult for ourselves, we could have played better but second half I think we played some good stuff, and it obviously helped when they went down to 10 men, it made it a bit easier from there and it is nice to get a 3-1 win, its brilliant for us. " Germany v Northern Ireland (Sunday) And now let's hear from the manager on that opening win. This video can not be played Watch: Luxembourg win 'far from easy' - O'Neill Germany v Northern Ireland (Sunday) Let's start with the action. Four goals, a red card and a missed penalty. .. but the most important stat is three points for Northern Ireland. This video can not be played Northern Ireland begin qualifying campaign with win in Luxembourg Germany v Northern Ireland (Sunday) While we are waiting on Michael O'Neill, let's have a look back on Thursday night's win and some of the reaction from the 3-1 victory over Luxembourg. Germany v Northern Ireland (Sunday) After an opening win against Luxembourg on Thursday, can Northern Ireland make it two wins from two? They face four-time World Cup winners Germany on Sunday in Cologne, a game that you can watch, listen and follow across the BBC. We'll hear from NI manager Michael O'Neill shortly ahead of the game and you will be able to watch that news conference here on this page from 14: 00 BST. Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.