'I was floating' - Craigan recalls night NI shocked Spain

"David Healy turned to maine and said, 'I conscionable person this feeling, it's really weird'. Little did we cognize what was going to unfold."

Scheduled arsenic a last tune-up for nan location broadside earlier their Euro 2028 opener against Croatia adjacent weekend, Northern Ireland are viewed arsenic agelong shots to supply Spain pinch thing different than a morale-boosting triumph successful Palma connected Saturday night.

Their likelihood of an upset successful nan Son Moix Stadium, however, are surely shorter than nan nighttime Xavi, Raul and Co. sounded up successful Belfast for a Euro 2008 qualifier 18 years agone only to beryllium undone by David Healy's hat-trick successful a 3-2 defeat.

Prior to nan stunning consequence astatine Windsor Park, and disconnected nan backmost of a damaging 3-0 location conclusion against Iceland conscionable 4 days prior, optimism among Northern Ireland fans could hardly person been successful shorter supply.

"We were tense going in," remembers erstwhile Northern Ireland defender Stephen Craigan.

"We thought if they sewage themselves successful front, disconnected nan backmost of a large conclusion for us, it would beryllium a agelong night.

"Nobody expected thing of us. People conscionable wanted america to beryllium competitive. We conscionable wanted to beryllium competitory ourselves.

"You deliberation of their beforehand three, David Villa, Fernando Torres and Raul, if you'd person said to immoderate of our backmost 4 that we'd beryllium going up against those players and we were going to hit them, logically, you'd person thought 'no, that doesn't work'.

"That's what shot gives you, that one-off opportunity arsenic an underdog to over-perform. Then it's unthinkable what tin happen."

The play their qualifying run began pinch that Iceland defeat, reports had emerged that Northern Ireland's players would beryllium owed a stock of a seven-figure prize pay-out should they make it to Euro 2008. Naturally successful nan aftermath of nan chastening loss, aft which they had been booed disconnected nan field, those headlines became nan root of immoderate ridicule.

"The supporters were critical. They weren't happy, rather rightly," says erstwhile Motherwell skipper Craigan.

"As a team, we weren't happy. There was a batch of psyche searching done betwixt that Saturday and nan Wednesday.

"I retrieve going retired to lukewarm up and we were a spot fearful complete really nan crowd would react. There was rather a batch fans successful early, it was rather lively, they were applauding us out, and it gave america that lift, nan knowledge that they had our backs.

"We'd still person to spell retired and compete but having them pinch us, it gave america that comfort."

Craigan recalls that 1 player, astatine least, fancied their chances.

"I warmed up pinch him, and moving crossed nan pitch, David Healy turned to maine and said, 'I conscionable person this feeling, it's really weird'.

"Little did we cognize what was going to unfold.

"When he said to maine he had a feeling, I conscionable said to him, 'well, I dream it's a bully one.'"

Healy's trio of goals that night, successful a crippled wherever Northern Ireland fell down twice, was to beryllium his first of 2 hat-tricks successful that campaign, his 13 goals successful a azygous qualifying group opinionated arsenic a grounds until surpassed by Belgium's Romelu Lukaku past year.

"That full campaign, David was untouchable," adds Craigan.

"Every chance he had, it ended up successful nan backmost of nan net.

"So often we'd beryllium successful games erstwhile location wouldn't beryllium a batch betwixt nan teams but David would popular up pinch a small spot of magic.

"That nighttime we went behind, and we sewage level, we went down again, we sewage level. You're reasoning to yourself astir what a awesome consequence a tie would beryllium and past David does what David does.

"I can't ideate what he felt like. I was floating for days aft that win, aft what we'd done, but David must person been connected different level."

After nan game, Craigan was told by family members of nan guidance successful nan Windsor Park stands.

"That communicative had travel out, that nan players had been told £1m betwixt nan squad aliases thing for illustration that if we qualified. It was nan first I'd ever heard of it, anyway.

"But erstwhile David scored nan 3rd goal, nan aged South Stand wherever each nan families would person been sat, everyone was going huffy and past location was a outcry from personification of 'they must beryllium going for that million'.

"Apparently everyone that had been celebrating conscionable burst retired laughing."

Craigan would travel location pinch a memorable keepsake from nan evening, nan jersey of Spanish fable Raul successful what was to beryllium his past crippled for La Roja.

"It wasn't until years later that I thought he hadn't played since.

"Then you're thinking, 'I've sewage his jersey, I wonderment does he still person mine?'

"I don't ideate he does, it's astir apt successful a bin somewhere, but I've his up connected nan wall. Every clip I spot it, you get a flashback. I retrieve it each vividly."

After their daze conclusion successful Belfast, Spain would suffer 2 of their adjacent 3 earlier a 35-game unbeaten tally and victories astatine Euro 2008, nan World Cup of 2012 and Euro 2012.

Northern Ireland, meanwhile, would person to hold different 10 years to play astatine a awesome finals aft finishing 3rd successful nan qualifying group down some Spain and a Swedish broadside they hit astatine location and drew against successful Stockholm.

"The truth that we were unbeaten against Denmark location and away, unbeaten against Sweden location and away, hit Spain, it seems inconceivable that we didn't qualify," says Craigan, who won nan past of his 54 world caps successful 2011.

"Losing to Iceland location and away, losing to Latvia away, that hammered it for us.

"But looking backmost connected immoderate of nan results that we had, to hit that sensational Spanish team, it was an unthinkable journey."