Young West Ham United forward Callum Marshall featured for the final 15 minutes as Northern Ireland pushed four-time global champions Germany all the way before ultimately falling to a narrow 1-0 home defeat in 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying UEFA Group A.
The visitors to Windsor Park had prevailed 3-1 in the reverse fixture in Cologne last month, and got their noses in front once again when Newcastle United star Nick Woltemade headed in his first senior international goal just after the half-hour mark.
Michael O'Neill’s Green and White Army, who looked to have gone ahead in the 14th minute only for Daniel Ballard’s strike to be ruled out for offside against Paddy McNair, dominated large parts of the contest, particularly in the period following Marshall’s 75th-minute introduction as a replacement for Ali McCann.
Marshall went close to grabbing an equaliser, and what would have been a first senior international goal on his 13th appearance, late on, with Germany goalkeeper Oliver Baumann producing a strong save to keep his clean sheet intact and make sure of the points.
Having beaten Slovakia 2-0 earlier in the October international window before this defeat, Northern Ireland sit third in Group A with two games to play, three points behind Germany and Slovakia, with the former ahead on goal difference. Bottom side Luxembourg remain pointless, and are out of the running for a World Cup spot.
Marshall and his teammates will complete their qualification campaign with ties away at Slovakia and at home to Luxembourg in November, seeking a place at the finals for the first time since 1986. First place in the group secures automatic progression, while second seals advancement to the play-offs.
Over in African qualifying, Academy midfielder Gabriel Caliste was an unused substitute as Mauritius concluded their CAF Group D campaign with a 0-0 draw at home to Libya.
The 18-year-old featured in three of his country’s ten qualifiers, as they finished fifth in the six-team table. Cape Verde finished as the group winners, qualifying for the World Cup for the first time, with runners-up Cameroon set to compete in the second round, from where one team will progress to the inter-confederation play-offs.
Finally, U21s forward Josh Landers was named among the substitutes as Scotland U19s fell 1-0 to Italy U19s in the second of the teams’ double header of friendlies, with Antonio Stefano Merola striking the decisive blow.
Landers will now look to add to his five Premier League 2 strikes so far this season back on domestic duty, before helping his country in their first 2026 UEFA U19 European Championship qualifiers next month.