Northern Ireland defender Paddy McNair believes his side missed a golden opportunity after falling 1-0 to Germany in their World Cup qualifier at Windsor Park on Monday night.
Nick Woltemade’s scrappy first-half strike — which deflected in off his shoulder from a corner — proved enough to hand the visitors all three points and push Northern Ireland down to third in Group A.
Despite the narrow scoreline, Michael O’Neill’s side created several good chances through Shea Charles, Callum Marshall, and Justin Devenny, but couldn’t find a way past the German defence.
Frustration Over Referee’s Decisions
The home side and crowd were visibly unhappy with Spanish referee Jesus Gil Manzano, who waved away a late penalty appeal when Josh Magennis went down in the area during a corner.
What infuriated the Northern Ireland camp even more was the referee’s decision to add only two minutes of stoppage time — something O’Neill later called “ridiculous”.
“I’ve never seen that in my life,” said McNair. “There were six or seven substitutions, and usually it’s 30 seconds per sub — so it should have been at least four minutes.”
“We Took the Game to Them”
McNair, who plays for San Diego, said the team showed great character in the second half. “I thought we definitely took the game to them,” he said. “They were good first half, to be fair. They had a good game plan, and they switched the play a lot which made it difficult to press. But we were close — that’s what it felt like.”
Northern Ireland now face two crucial fixtures in November — away to Slovakia, who are also chasing second place, and at home to Luxembourg. A strong finish could still keep their World Cup play-off hopes alive.
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