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A Good Night For United's Internationals
Written by Newcastle Utd
Several of Newcastle United's international stars - including Shane Ferguson, Aleksandar Mitrovic and Chancel Mbemba - had cause for celebration on Thursday
By Dan King - Newcastle United Digital Editor
Several of Newcastle United's international stars had cause for celebration on Thursday.
Northern Ireland - managed by former Magpies midfielder Michael O'Neill - qualified for Euro 2016 with a 3-1 victory over Greece. It will be their first European Championships and it's the first time they have reached a major championships since 1986.
And while Newcastle's Shane Ferguson remained on the bench at Windsor Park, he has played a big part in the group stage and will be hopeful of being named in O'Neill's squad for the finals next summer.
The Republic of Ireland's chances of qualification were given a huge boost too after a 1-0 victory against Germany, although Newcastle goalkeeper Rob Elliot was not named in Martin O'Neill's latest squad.
France will host the tournament and they warmed up with a 4-0 friendly win over Armenia. Moussa Sissoko appeared as a 77th-minute substitute for Les Bleus.
And while Serbia can no longer reach Euro 2016, Aleksandar Mitrovic played the full game as they won 2-0 in Albania - a result which prevented the home side from securing qualification.
Chancel Mbemba helped DR Congo to a 2-0 friendly victory over Nigeria at Stade de la Cite de l'Oie in Belgium to hand Sunday Oliseh his first defeat as Nigeria's coach.
Meanwhile, Adam Armstrong scored and Freddie Woodman kept a clean sheet as England under-19s beat Macedonia 2-0 in a European Championships qualifier.
On Wednesday, Paul Woolston was an unused substitute for England's under-17s in an 8-0 friendly win over DR Congo.