Watford's Craig Cathcart has dismissed claims that the Northern Ireland national team lacks quality in comparison to more esteemed nations at Euro2016.

However, defender Cathcart claims that these suggestions will only spur the Northern Ireland team to prove the doubters wrong.

He said: "I have been an underdog before with both Northern Ireland and the same at Watford in the Premier League when people wrote us off.

"When you hear things like that it does spur you on to prove those people wrong and I'm sure that's what we'll do."

Former France international Alain Giresse recently claimed that Michael O'Neill's side are technically inferior in key positions as compared to their Group C rivals Germany, Poland and Ukraine, to which Cathcart replied: "Absolutely not.

"In key positions we have real quality players and the likes of Davo (Steven Davis), Ollie (Norwood) and Wardy (Jamie Ward) are great technicians with the ball.

"We have quality in the positions that you need them in. We are really confident with the squad we have and are raring to go."