Northern Ireland Under-21 manager Steve Beaglehole is pleased with the number of players who are proving they can step up to a higher level.
And he is hoping they can round off their European Championship qualifying campaign by creating a shock against Germany in Ingolstadt on Tuesday evening.
While the Under-21s were beating San Marino on Friday, the senior side were chalking up a memorable win in Slovenia in their first Euro 2012 qualifier.
The goal was scored by Corry Evans and created by Craig Cathcart, two players who have come through the system.
Beaglehole, who is also in charge of the Under-19s, said:
"I am very pleased at what I see in the age groups and what has been achieved in the last two years.
"It is a good time to play Germany in as much as we are very proud of what was achieved in Slovenia, not to mention our victory."
It has been a disappointing campaign for the hosts with the Czech Republic and Iceland taking the top two places.
Northern Ireland would overtake Germany in the group with a victory and Beaglehole said:
"At the start of the campaign I would have settled for finishing above them.
"In my mind it would have meant we would have qualified automatically but it has not turned out to be the case. It has been a very tough group and we have learned a lot from it."
© Press Association