The game will also be on talkSPORT, BBC Radio 5 Live and on the BBC Sport website and App.

Northern Irelands first major tournament for 30 years, they are currently unbeaten in 12 games.

Poland are in their 3rd European Championship but have never won a game.

I will be rooting for Poland and hopefully with Lewandowski they will do well.

i never know who to pick when two home nations play eachother

Lewandowski is a major threat, but putting him to one side, the Poles are not world beaters. I think we just need to avoid defeat today - and I think we will.

We have a very solid defence - Evans and McCauley play together every week for West Brom and that can't be underestimated. We're strong on set pieces and with Stevie Davis in midfield we have a man who can really pull the strings and make things happen.

I don't think any small team in world football has killed as many giants as we have over the years. Fully believe we can do it again.

#GAWA #DareToDream

Come on Poland!!!!

What utter bitter drivel.

There are Protestants and Catholics represented in the team. The manager is a Catholic! The team is supported by all sections of the community and anybody is welcome at Windsor Park. Former IRA commander and deputy first minister Martin McGuinness is attending the Germany game to support the side. I will also be cheering on the Republic in all their games, unless of course this end up facing Norn Iron.

It's a shame there are still those with narrow sectarian views such as yourself.

Be interesting to see if they can just like Wales use the emotion and public support for their team to galvanise them to a victory, I will be rooting for them!

Come on Conor – show 'em what you're worth.

A hungover Welshman writes: C'mon NI!

I deleted it as I felt it was inappropriate to a football thread but will answer anyway.

First of all you don't know me so please hold off on the abuse. People can have different opinions to yours. It's allowed. I have said nothing sectarian. You may well want to look at your own knee jerk response.

The IFA through its use of the Ulster Banner and the anthem place the support within the Unionist community. You may well know a handful of Catholics who attend but so what. There are a handful of Protestants who go to GAA games also.

The media like to pump out the view that the NI team represents us all. Utter BS. If you go into a Nationalist area today you won't find any flags or people wearing NI tops. Bars won't be full of people supporting them either. I live in a Nationalist area and people here mainly support the Republic. Thats the reality whether you want to believe it or not.

The GAA have teams that represent counties. Do Unionists in Armagh for example feel represented by them considering the Soldiers Song is sung before Inter county matches and the Tricolour is flown. If not they must be sectarian also based on your logic.

This must surely be the strongest Polish side since the Boniek days of the 70s/early 80s. The clash with Germany will be tremendous.

poland are tournament dark horses for me... if they click they could go along way. this is gonna be a tough game for the irish...

looking forward to it.

NI had a great qualifying campaign but they haven't faced a team as strong as Poland for a while. Could be a rude awakening

Tough game for NI. Hope they do it but just think Poland will have too much for them. 2-0 to poland id say

This is the big one. Gawa!

This will be the last comment I make on this as this thread should be about Northern Ireland football team and their amazing achievement of making it to France, rather than these stupid, petty squabbles over politics.


Let's immediately hit this myth on the head - the Ulster Banner is not used by the IFA to market the team. You won't find it on official merchandise. The Northern Ireland badge is in the shape of a Celtic cross. The official colours of the national team are green and white, hence GAWA. There are a wide variety of flags adopted by supporters - I've seen Union Jacks, the Ulster flag, green flags, green and white flags and various other versions of these. Moreover it's worth remembering that the Ulster flag is, in fact, the official flag of Northern Ireland, and this is therefore the only time it is used. Lastly, the flag, despite some unfortunate associations with loyalism (much like the tricolour with Republicanism), actually represents a county which covers the North AND South. Ulster is composed of 9 counties, 6 of which are in the Republic. Taking issue with it flying at a Northern Ireland match as a "sectarian" symbol is therefore a very strange position to adopt indeed.

Secondly, the anthem. I actually agree with you on this; it is a bit of a sore point, not just for nationalists, but for the growing percentage of the population (25% at the last election) who don't identify themselves as Irish or British, but rather Northern Irish. Those people, of which I count myself as one, would like to see us have our own anthem. Several fan polls have suggested that the majority of Northern Ireland fans would be happy to see it changed. However, this is unlikely to happen anytime soon, and it is largely due to a stale-mate between the IFA and the government - the IFA say it's the government's duty to adopt a new anthem, while the government say it's down to the IFA. The problem is that the DUP don't want GSTQ changed because it's British and all that, while Sinn Fein secretly don't want it changed either, because it further legitimises being Northern Irish as a new identity, as opposed to choosing whether you're British or Irish. Putting all that to one side, let's not forget that the anthem is only sung at the very start of the match!


And if you go to a loyalist area you'll see people supporting Northern Ireland. If you get up in the morning you'll see the sun rise too.

If, however, you go to one of the 90% of places in Northern Ireland that isn't segregated along sectarian lines you'll see that most people get on fine, with the majority supporting Northern Ireland and yet also cheering on the Republic.

Besides, whether you support NI or ROI isn't really the point I was challenging you on. You said that the NI football team doesn't represent half of the community - a point that is demonstrably false to anyone without a sectarian or political agenda.


The GAA by its very name and definition is an association aimed at Nationalists and Republicans. They aim to support Gaelic, traditional Irish sports. In their own rulebook it says - "The Association shall actively support the Irish language, traditional Irish dancing, music, song, and other aspects of Irish culture".

The idea, therefore, that they could accurately represent anyone who doesn't consider themselves Irish, is nonsense. Nothing wrong with that, of course, but the comparisons with football are silly.

And for what it's worth, if I were a Unionist living in Armagh, I'd still want my local GAA team to win!

This is my last post on this also.
Labelling someone as sectarian and bitter because they don't feel represented by a team is ridiculous and completely Ott. It indicates a level of intolerance.

The Ulster Banner is the old Stormont flag and does not represent Ulster. The Crown is a giveaway. It is very much a Unionist symbol and the team walked out to it at the last home game. Very much identifying with one section of the community there.

Anybody in a county can play for that County and is welcome to attend games. They do so however knowing that the symbols used are Nationalist. Just as the symbols used by NORN IRON are Unionist. I don't think that unionists who feel they aren't represented by the GAA are bitter and sectarian however and can understand that they may have issues with that. Perhaps you could try and employ some understanding for others as well

Hopefully and with Wales playing England on the same day it will be a great day for me, hopefully both my teams, Wales and Poland, win that day.

I can completely understand why a nationalist might not feel represented by the Northern Irish team and that's fine. However, a statement like "I will be supporting anybody playing NI" in my opinion is quite bitter and intolerant. You are in essence saying you would rather any other team in Europe did well against a team that represents the people you live side by side with every day, a team that is made up of players who were potentially born just down the road from you. Instead you'd rather a team made up of players born 1000 miles away would win just to make sure "the other side" don't have something to celebrate. Exactly the attitude that keeps this place in the dark ages.

Since it's apparently an issue of representation, can I ask why you feel better represented by Poland, Ukraine and Germany?

I sure hope both teams from this great little island do well in the tournament and I'll be cheering on the both of them. It's not about "being represented" for me, it's about seeing a group of local lads going out to do their best on the international stage. Who cares what their opinion is on the border? There's more to life than that!

At the end of the day it's your prerogative to decide who you support but I can't follow your reasoning. "They don't represent me therefore I'll support Poland, Ukraine or Germany who obviously represent me so much better" - it doesn't make any sense.

#GAWA #COYBIG

Will Grigg > Robert Lewandowski

Think we need a point here in all honesty if we are to progress.

An interesting stat is that Poland have never actually won a game at the European Championships (in two tournaments).

If Northern Ireland are to pull off a massive shock in these Euros, it could well happen today. They have the element of surprise and it's more likely to come in the first game than in the second or third.

That certainly wouldn't be opinion in the Republic anyway. I've heard many people down here saying they wish NI and Michael O'Neill well. I see President Higgins issued a statement yesterday saying he'll be supporting the ROI and NI at this tournament and hopes both teams go far in the competition.

And I suspect this is the view of most people on both sides of the border. I will be supporting both sides and the only time I'd want ROI to lose is if they're playing NI!


Here here. Couldn't have put it any better.

Tend to agree with this.

While theoretically 3 points could be enough to qualify us as a third-placed team, it's a risk. 4 points guarantees it. We should still be aiming for a draw and a win out of the three matches - I've no doubt O'Neill will have already prepared the side for when we are to roll those dice.

I think today may well be NI's best chance of the three points. A lot of pressure and expectation on Poland and NI have the element of surprise.....it's the type of game they could win 1-0