Kyle Lafferty has stated that earning qualification for Euro 2016 with Northern Ireland would rank as the finest achievement of his career.

The Norwich City striker netted a 93rd-minute equaliser to rescue Michael O'Neill's side a draw against Hungary in their qualifier at Windsor Park on Monday evening.

Northern Ireland remain top of Group E after the result and need two points from their final two qualifiers to claim a spot at their first major tournament since 1986.

"Qualification would be my best achievement," Lafferty told UEFA's official website. "I've won a title with Rangers and achieved promotion with Norwich but you can always win titles with your club.

"I was born here – it's my country, and the fans have always been behind us 100%. Even when we were losing games against Luxembourg and teams like that, they were still behind us.

"Qualification would mean everything and I think it's about time we made an appearance in a major tournament. It would have been nice to seal qualification tonight but we'll have to put the champagne on ice for now. I'm still sure we'll qualify though."

Northern Ireland host Greece on October 8 before facing Finland three days later.

Written by
Steven Toplis