Any kind of victory over Greece would have been enough to seal a place in France next summer, with one game to spare, but Michael O'Neill's side swept aside their opponents 3-1 at Belfast's Windsor Park. A strike in each half from Southampton midfielder Steven Davis plus an effort from Kilmarnock's Josh Magennis just after the break gave the Irish a handsome lead in front of their ecstatic fans and not even a late consolation goal by Greece's Christos Aravidis could take the gloss off a momentous triumph.
McNair, who was born nine years after the 1986 World Cup, made his first competitive start for Northern Ireland and played for 85 minutes before being replaced by Luke McCullough. Three other players who came through United's ranks - Craig Cathcart (Watford), Corry Evans (Blackburn Rovers) and Oliver Norwood (Reading) - were also in O'Neill's line-up but Corry's older brother, Jonny Evans, missed out after being injured on duty with his new club West Bromwich Albion.
It was also a victorious night for Republic of Ireland - at the expense of Bastian Schweinsteiger's international side. The Reds midfielder was an unused substitute in Dublin as Germany slipped up 1-0 with Southampton striker Shane Long on target 20 minutes from time. That result leaves the world champions top of Group D but only one point ahead of both Poland and the Republic of Ireland who will meet in Warsaw on Sunday. Schweinsteiger, meanwhile, will hope to feature as his team face Georgia at home.
United's French duo Anthony Martial and Morgan Schneiderlin both came on as 63rd-minute substitutes as France beat Armenia 4-0 in a friendly. Martial won the club's Goal of the Month award earlier in the evening, for his debut strike against Liverpool, but he was in creative mode for Les Bleus as he set up Karim Benzema's second and France's fourth effort at the Allianz Riviera in Nice. The other scorers were Antoine Griezmann and Yohan Cabaye.
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