Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill described their side's 1-0 home defeat to Germany as a heartbreaking one.

O'Neill pointed out that although the team showed strong fighting spirit and offensive desire in the game, they lacked confidence and accuracy in the crucial moments and failed to secure points at home. In the 31st minute of the game, German player Nick Waltmade took advantage of a corner kick and scored with a shoulder shot, scoring the winning goal for Germany.

Northern Ireland had a goal in the 14th minute from Daniel Ballard, but it was ruled out for offside. O'Neill's 100th international match as manager ended in disappointment.

In the post-match interview, O'Neill admitted: "We are very disappointed. This is a heartbreaking defeat. In the first half, we lacked belief when we had the ball. Germany's physical confrontation suppressed us and made it difficult for us to find the rhythm."

"The disallowed goal could have helped us change the game, but we shouldn't have been offside in that situation. It was our own mistake. And the unexpected goal, we should have defended the corner kick well, but the ball bounced off the opponent's shoulder and went in. It wasn't even a header. It was very frustrating."

Despite the unsatisfactory result, O'Neill still praised the team's rebound performance in the second half: "We were very good in the second half and tried our best, but we just couldn't find a chance to equalize. The whole game looked like it would be decided by a special moment or an accidental goal, and that was indeed the case."

O'Neill also mentioned that the team is clearly feeling the impact of the absence of suspended right-winger Connor Bradley, and midfielder Ethan Galbraith's yellow card suspension will make the lineup even tighter when they travel to Slovakia next month.