Republic of Ireland Beats Germany; Northern Ireland Qualifies for Euro 2016

If there's only one thing Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland can agree upon, it's that today was a good day for soccer. In a pair of unprecedented occurrences, the Republic of Ireland beat World Champions Germany in a historic first-ever win in a competitive match—and Northern Ireland defeated Greece to qualify for their first ever qualification for the Euro Championships. Not to mention both wins happened simultaneously. Today shall be known as Green Thursday (by VICE Sports decree).

In the 70th minute, the Republic of Ireland's freshly-substituted Shane Long pulled down a longball over the backs of the German defense, and made a harrowing run to leave even the likes of Manuel Neuer watching the ball sail past his fingertips. A 1-0 win was not a bad result for a side that only saw 34 percent possession the entire game. Now the Republic of Ireland have put themselves in a place to qualify for Euro 2016 with a win over Poland on Sunday.

The crowd in Dublin, understandably, went nuts.

As for Northern Ireland's 3-1 victory over Greece, it was not only the first time they will ever make the Euros, but the first time in 30 years that they have qualified for a major tournament—the last being the 1986 World Cup.

Yes, the island off the coast of Great Britain—Catholic, protestant, whatever—has a reason to celebrate tonight. Sláinte.