Paris: Thomas Mueller and Kyle Lafferty’s careers are worlds apart in terms of achievement but on Monday both players scored vital goals that took Germany and Northern Ireland respectively to within touching distance of next year’s Euro 2016 finals.
A double by World Cup and Champions League winner Mueller inspired Germany to a 3-2 away win over Scotland which leaves the Scots struggling to even secure a play-off place for those finishing third.
Lafferty, who can’t even get a place in the starting line-up for English Premier League side Norwich, grabbed a goal in stoppage-time for the Northern Irish to force a 1-1 draw with Hungary and leave them top of their group, a point ahead of Romania with the Hungarians four points adrift and two games remaining.
A win at home for Greece next time will be enough for Northern Ireland to reach their first ever European Championships and first major tournament since the 1986 World Cup. Portugal too are close to a place in France after a late winner by Miguel Veloso saw them beat Albania 1-0 and top the table, four points clear of the third-placed Albanians with both of them having two matches.
Mueller’s brace plus one from Ilkay Gundogan — set up by the indefatigable Mueller — eventually saw off the combative Scots, who had twice equalised. The world champions’ stylish performance maintained Germany’s extraordinary record of never having lost in their last 71 competitive internationals when they have scored first.
