Craig Cathcart says Northern Ireland will draw on both the joy and the pain of the past two qualification campaigns as they prepare for Thursday\u2019s Euro 2020 play-off final against Slovakia.<\/p>\n
Northern Ireland are looking to secure their place at a second consecutive European Championships, but memories are still fresh of narrowly missing out on the last World Cup.<\/p>\n
They booked their ticket to Euro 2016 with a 3-1 win over Greece \u2013 one of the most famous nights at Windsor Park.<\/p>\n
With only 1,060 fans to be allowed in on Thursday amid the coronavirus pandemic, it will not be possible to recreate that night in full but Cathcart can only hope for a similar result.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have fond memories of that game,\u201d the Watford defender said. \u201cI remember a lot about the game \u2013 maybe not so much about after it!<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember going ahead in the game and feeling comfortable and confident that we were going to do the job.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter the game it was great, everyone on the pitch together and just that feeling of knowing we had done it\u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was just the whole feeling of qualifying and everyone was ecstatic, so to get the chance to experience that feeling again, I\u2019m sure it will drive a lot of the lads on in the squad.\u201d<\/p>\n
Two years later it was a different story as Northern Ireland suffered a controversial defeat to Switzerland, with Ricardo Rodriguez\u2019s disputed penalty at Windsor Park proving decisive as the two-legged tie ended 1-0 on aggregate.<\/p>\n
Cathcart did not play in the tie due to injury but was with his team-mates in the dressing room at Windsor Park after the first-leg loss. The pain of that night, he believes, has been a key factor this time around.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that motivated the whole campaign really from the start,\u201d he said. \u201cWe knew we were so close to getting to a World Cup so we wanted to start the Euro campaign as well as we could and that\u2019s what we ended up doing.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut that was a long time ago now and the team has changed since then. I don\u2019t think we can look back on that too much, we have to focus on this game more than anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
There has been a significant turnover in the squad since the Switzerland disappointment, with the likes of Gareth McAuley, Chris Brunt, and Aaron Hughes moving on while younger faces including Jamal Lewis, Bailey Peacock-Farrell and Gavin Whyte have made their mark.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a lot of experience in the squad and we\u2019ve also got a good mix of young players as well, so we have a good balance,\u201d Cathcart said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing there and having done it before, as a group of older players we want those younger players to have the chance to experience it as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think everyone in the camp is pulling in the right direction and we know we need to get the job done now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reaching Euro 2016 ended a 30-year wait to play at a major championships.<\/p>\n
While success this time around could not match that, Cathcart wondered if it might be a bigger achievement given the task Northern Ireland faced after being paired with Germany and Holland in the group stages.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would definitely put it on a par, it\u2019s never easy,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you look at the group we got, it might make it a better achievement.\u201d<\/p>\n