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Northern Ireland national football team facts for kids

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Northern Ireland
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s) Green and White Army,
Norn Iron
Association Irish Football Association
Confederation UEFA (Europe)
Head coach Michael O'Neill
Captain Steven Davis
Most caps Steven Davis (140)
Top scorer David Healy (36)
Home stadium Windsor Park
FIFA code NIR
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 36 Decrease 1 (7 February 2019)
Highest 20 (September 2017)
Lowest 129 (September 2012)
Elo ranking
Current 52 Decrease 5 (3 March 2019)
Highest 5 or 14 (1882 or May 1986)
Lowest 114 (11 October 2013)
First international
 Ireland 0–13 England 
(Belfast, Ireland; 18 February 1882)
as Northern Ireland
 Northern Ireland 1–4 England 
(Belfast, Northern Ireland; 7 October 1950)
Biggest win
 Ireland 7–0 Wales 
(Belfast, Ireland; 1 February 1930)
as Northern Ireland
 Northern Ireland 5–0 Cyprus 
(Belfast, Northern Ireland; 21 April 1971)
 Faroe Islands 0–5 Northern Ireland 
(Landskrona, Sweden; 11 September 1991)
Biggest defeat
 Ireland 0–13 England 
(Belfast, Ireland; 18 February 1882)
as Northern Ireland
 Netherlands 6–0 Northern Ireland 
(Amsterdam, Netherlands; 2 June 2012)
World Cup
Appearances 3 (first in 1958)
Best result Quarter-finals (1958)
European Championship
Appearances 1 (first in 2016)
Best result Round of 16 (2016)

The Northern Ireland national football team represents Northern Ireland in international association football. From 1882 to 1920, all of Ireland was represented by a single side, the Ireland national football team, organised by the Irish Football Association (IFA). In 1921, the jurisdiction of the IFA was reduced to Northern Ireland following the secession of clubs in the soon-to-be Irish Free State, although its team remained the national team for all of Ireland until 1950, and used the name Ireland until the 1970s. The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) organises the separate Republic of Ireland national football team.

Although part of the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland has always had a representative side that plays in major professional tournaments – whether alongside the rest of Ireland pre-1922 or as its own entity – though not in the Olympic Games, as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has always recognised United Kingdom representative sides.

Northern Ireland has competed in three FIFA World Cups, reaching the quarter-final stage in the 1958 and 1982 tournaments. Northern Ireland held the accolade of being the smallest nation to qualify for a World Cup Finals from their first appearance in 1958 until 2006, when Trinidad and Tobago qualified for the 2006 World Cup. At UEFA Euro 2016, the team made its first appearance at the European tournament and reached the round of 16.

History

On 18 February 1882, 15 months after the founding of the Irish FA, Ireland made their international debut against England, losing 13–0 in a friendly played at Bloomfield in Belfast. This remains the record defeat for the team, and also England's largest winning margin. On 25 February 1882, Ireland played their second international, against Wales at the Racecourse Ground, Wrexham, and an equaliser from Johnston became Ireland's first ever goal.

In 1884, Ireland competed in the inaugural British Home Championship and lost all three games. Ireland did not win their first game until 19 February 1887, a 4–1 win over Wales in Belfast. Between their debut and this game, they had a run of 14 defeats and 1 draw, the longest run without a win in the 1800s. Despite the end of this run, heavy defeats continued. On 3 March 1888, they lost 11–0 to Wales and three weeks later, on 24 March, lost 10–2 to Scotland. Further heavy defeats came on 15 March 1890 when they lost 9–1 to England, on 18 February 1899 when they lost 13–2 to England and on 2 February 1901 when they lost 11–0 to Scotland.

In 1899, the Irish FA also changed its rules governing the selection of non-resident players. Before then the Ireland team selected its players exclusively from the Irish League, in particular the three Belfast-based clubs Linfield, Cliftonville and Distillery. On 4 March 1899, for the match against Wales, McAteer included four Irish players based in England. The change in policy produced dividends as Ireland won 1–0. Three weeks later, on 25 March, one of these four players, Archie Goodall, aged 34 years and 279 days, became the oldest player to score in international football during the 19th century when he scored Ireland's goal in a 9–1 defeat to Scotland.

In 1920, Ireland was partitioned into Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland. In 1922, Southern Ireland gained independence as the Irish Free State, later to become a republic under the name of Ireland. Amid these political upheavals, a rival football association, the Football Association of Ireland, emerged in Dublin in 1921 and organised a separate league and international team. In 1923, at a time when the home nations had withdrawn from FIFA, the FAI was recognised by FIFA as the governing body of the Irish Free State on the condition that it changed its name to the Football Association of the Irish Free State. The Irish FA continued to organise its national team on an all-Ireland basis.

Between 1928 and 1946, the IFA were not affiliated to FIFA and the two Ireland teams co-existed, never competing in the same competition. On 8 March 1950, however, in a 0–0 draw with Wales at the Racecourse Ground in a FIFA World Cup qualifier, the IFA fielded a team that included four players who were born in the Irish Free State. All four players had previously played for the FAI in their qualifiers and as a result had played for two different associations in the same FIFA World Cup tournament.

After complaints from the FAI, FIFA intervened and restricted players' eligibility based on the political border. In 1953 FIFA ruled neither team could be referred to as Ireland, decreeing that the FAI team be officially designated as the Republic of Ireland, while the IFA team was to become Northern Ireland.

Past performances

British Home Championship

Until the 1950s, the major competition for Northern Ireland/Ireland was the British Home Championship. The team won the competition eight times, taking the title outright on three occasions. They were the last winners of the now defunct competition held in 1984, and hence still are the British champions, and the trophy remains the property of the Irish FA.

FIFA World Cup

Aankomst Noordierse elftal op Zestienhoven; trainer Blanchflower en George Best (r)
Danny Blanchflower (left) captained Northern Ireland at the 1958 FIFA World Cup, while George Best (right), winner of the 1968 Ballon d'Or, never reached a major international tournament with the team

Northern Ireland's best World Cup performance was in their first appearance in the finals, the 1958 World Cup, where they reached the quarter-finals after beating Czechoslovakia 2–1 in the play-off. They were knocked out by France, losing 4–0. In the 1958 competition, Northern Ireland became the least populous country to have qualified for the World Cup, a record that stood until Trinidad and Tobago qualified for the 2006 World Cup. Northern Ireland remains, however, the least populous country to have qualified for more than one World Cup finals tournament, to win a World Cup finals match, and to have progressed from the first round of the World Cup finals.

Captain of the national side at the 1958 World Cup was Danny Blanchflower, who also captained Tottenham Hotspur in the English league and was twice footballer of the year in England. His younger brother Jackie was also a key member of the national team, and won two league titles in England with Manchester United, until his career was ended by injuries suffered in the Munich air disaster of February 1958.

Despite the presence of world class forward George Best, another Manchester United player, for the 1960s and 1970s, Northern Ireland failed to qualify for any major tournaments.

Northern Ireland also qualified for the 1982 World Cup. Their opening game was against Yugoslavia at La Romareda stadium in Zaragoza. It was the international debut of 17-year-old Norman Whiteside, who became the youngest player ever in the World Cup finals, a record that still stands. The game finished goalless. Five days later, they drew 1–1 with Honduras, which was a disappointment, and many believed had doomed Northern Ireland's chances of advancing in the competition. They needed a win against hosts Spain in the third and final group game at the Mestalla Stadium in Valencia. They faced a partisan atmosphere with a mostly Spanish crowd and a Spanish-speaking referee in Héctor Ortiz who was unwilling to punish dirty play from the Spanish players. A mistake from Spain goalkeeper Luis Arconada, however, gifted Gerry Armstrong the only goal of the game, and despite having Mal Donaghy sent off on 60 minutes, Northern Ireland went on to record an historic 1–0 win and top the first stage group.

A 2–2 draw with Austria at the Vicente Calderón Stadium meant that a win against France would take them into the semi-finals, however a French team inspired by Michel Platini won 4–1 and eliminated Northern Ireland from the competition.

In the 1986 World Cup, they reached the first round. Billy Bingham, a member of the 1958 squad, was manager for both of these tournaments. They have not qualified for any other World Cups since.

Recent history

NI murals NI football
The Our Wee Country mural in east Belfast commemorating Northern Ireland beating England at home in 2005.

Lawrie Sanchez was appointed in January 2004 after a run of ten games without a goal under the previous manager Sammy McIlroy, which was a European record for any international team until San Marino went over 20 games without scoring between October 2008 and August 2012. That run ended after his first game in charge, a 1–4 loss to Norway in a friendly in February 2004. The run of 16 games without a win ended after his second game, a 1–0 victory in a friendly over Estonia, with a largely experimental side, in March 2004.

On 7 September 2005, Northern Ireland beat England 1–0 in a 2006 World Cup qualifier at Windsor Park. David Healy scored the winner in the 73rd minute. Almost a year later, on 6 September 2006, Northern Ireland defeated Spain 3–2 in a qualifier for UEFA Euro 2008, with Healy scoring a hat-trick. In June 2007, Nigel Worthington was named manager in the place of Lawrie Sanchez, who took over at Fulham. Initially, Worthington took over until the end of the Euro 2008 qualifiers, but was later given a contract until the end of the Euro 2012 qualifiers. Michael O'Neill became manager in February 2012 after Worthington had resigned in October 2011 after a poor Euro 2012 qualification campaign.

The Northern Ireland team qualified for its first ever UEFA European Championship, Euro 2016 in France, after beating Greece 3–1 at Windsor Park on 8 October 2015. At the tournament, Northern Ireland were beaten 1-0 by Poland on 20 June 2016 followed by a 2–0 win against Ukraine on 16 June 2016 and finally a 1–0 loss against Germany in the group stage. That was enough to qualify for a Round of 16 spot where they lost 1–0 to Wales due to an unfortunate own goal by Gareth McAuley.

Stadium

Windsor Park football stadium - Empty
Windsor Park before the recent redevelopment – a view from the Kop Stand, showing the two-tiered North Stand and the low Railway stand behind the opposite goal

Northern Ireland play their home matches at Windsor Park, Belfast, home of Linfield, which they have use of on a 108-year lease, giving the owners 15% of revenue, including gate receipts and TV rights.

There was a proposal to build a multisports stadium for Northern Ireland at the disused Maze prison outside Lisburn for the use of Rugby, Gaelic games and football. This plan was given an "in principle" go-ahead by the Irish Football Association. However, it was opposed by fans, over 85% of whom in a match day poll conducted by the Amalgamation of Northern Ireland Supporters' Clubs ("AONISC") preferred to stay at a smaller new or redeveloped ground in the city of Belfast. The AONISC organised a protest against the move to the Maze at the game against Estonia in March 2006.

The issue assumed ever greater urgency by 2007, following a series of inspections which questioned the suitability of Windsor Park to host international football. Following a reduction of capacity due to the closure of the Railway Stand, the IFA made it known that they wished to terminate their contract for the use of the stadium. A report on health and safety in October 2007 indicated that the South Stand might have to be closed for internationals, which would further reduce the stadium's capacity to 9,000. In April 2008, Belfast City Council announced that they had commissioned Drivers Jonas to conduct a feasibility study into the building of a Sports Stadium in Belfast which could accommodate international football, which was followed at the beginning of May 2008 by speculation that the Maze Stadium project was going to be radically revised by Peter Robinson, the finance and personnel minister in the Northern Ireland Assembly, so that any construction might be used for purposes other than football, rugby union and Gaelic games. Given the time that is needed to build a new stadium, in the absence of significant work improving Windsor Park, it seemed to be likely that Northern Ireland might be forced to play their home games at a venue outside Northern Ireland for a period.

In March 2009, proposals were announced for the construction of a new 25,000-seat stadium in the Sydenham area of East Belfast as an alternative to the Maze proposal. This would form part of a major development, with links to both George Best Belfast City Airport and the Bangor railway line. The development would also include a hotel, and retail/leisure areas. The stadium itself would be used for both football and rugby union, with Glentoran and Ulster Rugby intended as tenants. Ulster GAA, however, who were a partner in the Maze proposal, stated that in the event of a new stadium being built in East Belfast, which is a major unionist area, their preference would then be to remain at Casement Park in nationalist west Belfast.

Windsor Park redevelopment
The new redeveloped Windsor Park. View from the Kop (West Stand) with only the corner between the West & North stands yet to be completed.

The IFA were initially non-committal about any of the proposals for improving their facilities, be it rebuilding Windsor Park, or supporting either the Maze or Sydenham proposals. In September 2009, however, they issued an announcement in favour of the redevelopment of Windsor Park. Although there were no specifics to this, Linfield had previously released a study with two proposals, of which the major one would be a £20 million rebuilding of the stadium, raising the spectator capacity to 20,000. In 2011, the Northern Ireland Executive allocated £138 million for a major programme of stadium redevelopment throughout Northern Ireland, with £28 million allocated to the redevelopment of Windsor Park. In June 2012, further details of the stadium's redevelopment were released. The plan was to redevelop Windsor Park into an 18,000 all-seater stadium with a series of phased works originally intended to begin in the summer of 2013. The redevelopment would include the demolition of the existing East and South Stand structures, to be replaced by new purpose built stands that would partially enclose the stadium; complete renovation of the existing North and West Stands; and construction of both new conferencing facilities and a new headquarters facility for the IFA.

In February 2013, planning permission for the redevelopment was granted. The cost of the project was estimated to be around £29.2 million, of which £25.2 million would come from government funding. It was initially planned for the work to begin in September 2013. Two months later however, Irish Premiership club Crusaders began legal proceedings to have the process judicially reviewed. As owners of the site, rivals Linfield were in line to receive not only a redeveloped stadium, but also £200,000 per annum from the IFA in land rent instead of the existing agreement which entitled Linfield to 15% of match revenue. Crusaders believed this to be against European Union competition law as well as a form of state aid towards Linfield. In a hearing that took place on 22 May 2013, Crusaders' request was granted. It was ruled that it was a possibility for the redevelopment to be classed as state aid towards Linfield. The aspect of the challenge concerning competition law, however, was dismissed.

Northern Ireland national football team in 2021
Northern Ireland team in 2021

In July 2013, Crusaders agreed to a possible settlement brought forward by the judicial review. The details of the settlement were not made public, but Crusaders said that it had the "potential to benefit the entirety of the football family". In September 2013, sports minister Carál Ní Chuilín said that she was still committed to making sure the redevelopment went ahead as scheduled, after previously stating that she would not sign off on the funding until the IFA resolved "governance issues" surrounding David Martin's return to the role of deputy president. In December 2013, three months after the work was originally scheduled to begin, the redevelopment was finally given the green light. The sports minister signed off on £31 million to complete the project. The redevelopment finally got under way on 6 May 2014 after the 2013–14 domestic season had finished, eight months later than originally planned. The work is due to be completed in 2015.

Team image

Colours

Northern Ireland traditionally wears green shirts, white shorts and green socks. The kit has been manufactured by Adidas since 2012. Prior to this, the kit was manufactured by Umbro.

Kit suppliers

Kit provider Period
Logo Umbro.png
England Umbro
1975–1977
Adidas Logo.svg
West Germany Adidas
1977–1990
Logo Umbro.png
England Umbro
1990–1994
Asics Logo.svg
Japan ASICS
1994–1998
Olympics Sportswear.jpg
Belgium Olympic Sportswear
1998–1999
Patrick-logo.png
Belgium Patrick
1999–2004
Logo Umbro.png
England Umbro
2004–2012
Adidas Logo.svg
Germany Adidas
2012–

Supporters

GAWA
The Green and White Army

The Green and White Army is the name given to the fans that follow the Northern Ireland national football team.

Since the defeat of England in 2005, there has been an increased demand for tickets exceeding supply. Tongue-in-cheek songs such as "We're not Brazil, we're Northern Ireland" (sung to the tune of Battle Hymn of the Republic, an American Civil War song), "It's Just Like Watching Brazil" and "Stand up for the Ulstermen" are popular at home matches.

One of the first footballing celebrities was former Manchester United and Northern Ireland footballer George Best. The 1968 European Footballer of the Year, Best won 37 caps and scored 9 goals for his country.

Leading up to the Euro 2016, YouTuber Sean Kennedy released the song "Will Grigg's on Fire", a parody about Northern Irish national Will Grigg to the tune of "Freed From Desire" by Gala. The song became a popular chant and internet sensation. A studio version was released by London-based production duo Blonde, going on to reach number seven in the iTunes UK Top 100.

Media coverage

Premier Sports currently have the rights to show all of Northern Ireland's competitive international fixtures up until 2024.

Highlights of qualifiers are shown on BBC Northern Ireland with rights to World Cup Finals and European Championships held jointly by BBC and ITV - both channels shared coverage of Northern Ireland's games at Euro 2016.

Dating from the 1960s, Northern Ireland's games were shown live on BBC Northern Ireland, with highlights on network BBC via Sportsnight until the rights to home games were sold to Sky in 2007. In May 2013, Sky acquired the rights to all Northern Ireland qualifying games for UEFA Euro 2016 and the 2018 FIFA World Cup. From 2008 to 2013, BBC Northern Ireland held the rights to highlights of all of Northern Ireland's home international qualifiers. But in May 2013, ITV secured a deal to show highlights of the European Qualifiers for Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup, including Northern Ireland games, between 2014 and 2017.

In 2015, BBC Northern Ireland acquired the live rights to show Northern Ireland's friendlies in the run-up to UEFA Euro 2016, but the next two subsequent home friendlies against Croatia and New Zealand were shown on Premier Sports/eirSport until the contract ended before the 2018 World Cup.

Results and fixtures

2022

2023

Coaching staff

Position Name
Manager Northern Ireland Michael O'Neill
Assistant Manager Northern Ireland Jimmy Nicholl
Coaching Assistant England Tommy Johnson
Goalkeeping Coach Northern Ireland Roy Carroll
Head Physiotherapist Northern Ireland Caroline Woods
Kit Manager Northern Ireland Raymond Millar

Coaching history

     Current manager highlighted in green

Last updated after match against  Greece on 27 September 2022.

Manager First Game Last Game Pld W D L GF GA GD Win % Draw % Loss %
Northern Ireland Irish FA Selection Committee 18 February 1882 vs. 12 May 1951 vs. 177 29 27 121 200 568 -368 16.39% 15.25% 68.36%
Northern Ireland Doherty, PeterPeter Doherty 6 October 1951 vs. 9 May 1962 vs. 51 9 14 28 67 119 -52 17.65% 27.45% 54.90%
Northern Ireland Peacock, BertieBertie Peacock 10 October 1962 vs. 12 April 1967 vs. 28 11 4 13 46 54 -8 39.29% 14.29% 46.42%
Northern Ireland Bingham, BillyBilly Bingham 21 October 1967 vs. 22 May 1971 vs. 20 8 3 9 24 22 +2 40.00% 15.00% 45.00%
Northern Ireland Neill, TerryTerry Neill 22 September 1971 vs. 30 October 1974 vs. 20 6 6 8 16 18 -2 30.00% 30.00% 40.00%
Northern Ireland Clements, DaveDave Clements 16 April 1975 vs. 14 May 1976 vs. 11 3 2 6 7 15 -8 27.27% 18.18% 54.55%
Northern Ireland Blanchflower, DannyDanny Blanchflower 13 October 1976 vs. 21 November 1979 vs. 24 6 5 13 19 38 -19 25.00% 20.83% 54.17%
Northern Ireland Bingham, BillyBilly Bingham 26 March 1980 vs. 17 November 1993 vs. 98 32 31 35 91 107 -16 32.65% 31.64% 35.71%
Northern Ireland Hamilton, BryanBryan Hamilton 23 March 1994 vs. 11 October 1997 vs. 31 8 8 15 34 41 -7 25.81% 25.81% 48.38%
England McMenemy, LawrieLawrie McMenemy 25 March 1998 vs. 9 October 1999 vs. 14 4 3 7 9 25 -16 28.57% 21.43% 50.00%
Northern Ireland McIlroy, SammySammy McIlroy 23 February 2000 vs. 11 October 2003 vs. 29 5 7 17 19 40 -21 17.24% 24.14% 58.62%
Northern Ireland Sanchez, LawrieLawrie Sanchez 18 February 2004 vs. 28 March 2007 vs. 32 11 10 11 35 42 -7 34.38% 31.24% 34.38%
Northern Ireland Worthington, NigelNigel Worthington 22 August 2007 vs. 11 October 2011 vs. 41 9 10 22 35 55 -20 21.95% 24.39% 53.66%
Northern Ireland O'Neill, MichaelMichael O'Neill 29 February 2012 vs. 19 November 2019 vs. 72 26 18 28 75 83 -8 36.11% 25.00% 38.89%
England Baraclough, IanIan Baraclough 4 September 2020 vs. 27 September 2022 vs. 28 6 8 14 27 36 -9 21.43% 28.57% 50.00%
Northern Ireland O'Neill, MichaelMichael O'Neill
Total 676 173 156 347 704 1263 -559 25.59% 23.08% 51.33%

Statistics include official FIFA recognised matches only

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for the 2022–23 UEFA Nations League matches against  Kosovo on 24 September and  Greece on 27 September.

Caps and goals updated as of 27 September 2022, after the match against  Greece.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Bailey Peacock-Farrell (1996-10-29) 29 October 1996 (age 27) 35 0 England Burnley
12 1GK Conor Hazard (1998-03-05) 5 March 1998 (age 26) 4 0 Finland HJK Helsinki
23 1GK Luke Southwood (1997-12-06) 6 December 1997 (age 26) 1 0 England Cheltenham Town

5 2DF Jonny Evans (1988-01-03) 3 January 1988 (age 36) 100 5 England Leicester City
17 2DF Paddy McNair (1995-04-27) 27 April 1995 (age 28) 58 6 England Middlesbrough
11 2DF Shane Ferguson (1991-07-12) 12 July 1991 (age 32) 56 2 England Rotherham United
3 2DF Jamal Lewis (1998-01-25) 25 January 1998 (age 26) 28 0 England Newcastle United
4 2DF Tom Flanagan (1991-10-21) 21 October 1991 (age 32) 15 0 England Shrewsbury Town
22 2DF Ciaron Brown (1998-01-14) 14 January 1998 (age 26) 12 0 England Oxford United
2 2DF Conor Bradley (2003-07-09) 9 July 2003 (age 20) 10 0 England Bolton Wanderers
19 2DF Paddy Lane (2001-02-18) 18 February 2001 (age 23) 3 0 England Fleetwood Town
10 2DF Kofi Balmer (2000-09-19) 19 September 2000 (age 23) 0 0 England Crystal Palace

8 3MF Steven Davis (captain) (1985-01-01) 1 January 1985 (age 39) 140 13 Scotland Rangers
13 3MF Corry Evans (1990-07-17) 17 July 1990 (age 33) 70 2 England Sunderland
6 3MF George Saville (1993-06-01) 1 June 1993 (age 30) 42 0 England Millwall
15 3MF Jordan Thompson (1997-01-03) 3 January 1997 (age 27) 26 0 England Stoke City
16 3MF Ali McCann (1999-12-04) 4 December 1999 (age 24) 16 1 England Preston North End
20 3MF Shea Charles (2003-11-05) 5 November 2003 (age 20) 4 0 England Manchester City
7 3MF Conor McMenamin (1995-08-24) 24 August 1995 (age 28) 4 0 Northern Ireland Glentoran

21 4FW Josh Magennis (1990-05-15) 15 May 1990 (age 33) 69 10 England Wigan Athletic
18 4FW Gavin Whyte (1996-01-31) 31 January 1996 (age 28) 29 5 Wales Cardiff City
9 4FW Shayne Lavery (1998-12-08) 8 December 1998 (age 25) 17 3 England Blackpool
14 4FW Dion Charles (1995-10-07) 7 October 1995 (age 28) 13 0 England Bolton Wanderers

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up to the Northern Ireland squad during the last 12 months.


Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Trevor Carson (1988-03-05) 5 March 1988 (age 36) 8 0 Scotland St Mirren v.  Cyprus, 12 June 2022
GK Josh Clarke (2004-07-28) 28 July 2004 (age 19) 0 0 Scotland Celtic v.  Cyprus, 12 June 2022
GK Dermot Mee (2002-11-20) 20 November 2002 (age 21) 0 0 England Manchester United Training camp in May 2022

DF Daniel Ballard (1999-09-22) 22 September 1999 (age 24) 16 2 England Sunderland v.  Cyprus, 12 June 2022
DF Brodie Spencer (2004-05-06) 6 May 2004 (age 19) 3 0 England Huddersfield Town v.  Cyprus, 12 June 2022
DF Trai Hume (2002-03-18) 18 March 2002 (age 22) 2 0 England Sunderland v.  Cyprus, 12 June 2022
DF Sam McClelland (2002-01-04) 4 January 2002 (age 22) 1 0 England Barrow Training camp in May 2022
DF Sean Stewart (2003-01-21) 21 January 2003 (age 21) 0 0 England Norwich City Training camp in May 2022
DF Michael Forbes (2004-04-29) 29 April 2004 (age 19) 0 0 England West Ham United Training camp in May 2022
DF Ruairi McConville (2005-05-01) 1 May 2005 (age 18) 0 0 England Brighton & Hove Albion Training camp in May 2022
DF Craig Cathcart (1989-02-06) 6 February 1989 (age 35) 69 2 England Watford v.  Hungary, 29 March 2022

MF Niall McGinn (1987-07-20) 20 July 1987 (age 36) 73 6 Scotland Dundee v.  Cyprus, 12 June 2022
MF Liam Donnelly (1996-03-07) 7 March 1996 (age 28) 4 0 Scotland Kilmarnock v.  Cyprus, 12 June 2022
MF Alfie McCalmont (2000-03-25) 25 March 2000 (age 24) 4 0 England Leeds United v.  Cyprus, 12 June 2022
MF Caolan Boyd-Munce (2000-01-26) 26 January 2000 (age 24) 0 0 England Middlesbrough v.  Cyprus, 12 June 2022
MF Charlie McCann (2002-04-24) 24 April 2002 (age 21) 0 0 Scotland Rangers v.  Cyprus, 12 June 2022
MF Oisin Smyth (2000-05-05) 5 May 2000 (age 23) 0 0 England Oxford United Training camp in May 2022
MF Barry Baggley (2002-01-11) 11 January 2002 (age 22) 0 0 England Fleetwood Town Training camp in May 2022
MF Terry Devlin (2003-03-06) 6 March 2003 (age 21) 0 0 Northern Ireland Glentoran Training camp in May 2022
MF Charlie Allen (2003-11-22) 22 November 2003 (age 20) 0 0 England Leeds United Training camp in May 2022
MF Darren Robinson (2004-12-29) 29 December 2004 (age 19) 0 0 England Derby County Training camp in May 2022
MF Stuart Dallas (1991-04-19) 19 April 1991 (age 32) 62 3 England Leeds United v.  Hungary, 29 March 2022
MF Matty Kennedy (1994-11-01) 1 November 1994 (age 29) 3 0 Scotland Aberdeen v.  Luxembourg, 25 March 2022 INJ

FW Kyle Lafferty (1987-09-16) 16 September 1987 (age 36) 89 20 Scotland Kilmarnock v.  Kosovo, 24 June 2022 WTD
FW Conor Washington (1992-05-18) 18 May 1992 (age 31) 35 6 England Rotherham United v.  Cyprus, 5 June 2022 INJ
FW Paul Smyth (1997-09-10) 10 September 1997 (age 26) 3 1 England Leyton Orient Training camp in May 2022

COVID = Player withdrew due to a positive COVID test or from being in close contact with someone with a positive COVID test.
INJ = Withdrew due to an injury.
PRE = Preliminary squad / standby.
RET = Retired from the national team.
SUS = Suspended from national team.
WTD = Withdrew due to other reasons.

Records

Most appearances

after the match against  Greece.      Players still active are highlighted in green

Steven Davis, CZE-NIR 2019-10-14 (2)
Steven Davis has played a record 138 matches for Northern Ireland.
Rank Player Caps Goals First cap Last cap
1 Steven Davis 140 13 9 February 2005 vs. 27 September 2022 vs.
2 Pat Jennings 119 0 15 April 1964 vs. 12 June 1986 vs.
3 Aaron Hughes 112 1 25 March 1998 vs. 3 June 2018 vs.
4 Jonny Evans 100 5 6 September 2006 vs. 27 September 2022 vs.
5 David Healy 95 36 23 February 2000 vs. 26 March 2013 vs.
6 Mal Donaghy 91 0 16 May 1980 vs. 11 June 1994 vs.
7 Kyle Lafferty 89 20 21 May 2006 vs. 12 June 2022 vs.
8 Sammy McIlroy 88 5 16 February 1972 vs. 15 October 1986 vs.
Maik Taylor 88 0 27 March 1999 vs. 11 October 2011 vs.
10 Keith Gillespie 86 2 7 September 1995 vs. 19 November 2008 vs.

Top goalscorers

after the match against  Greece.

David Healy (footballer)
David Healy is Northern Ireland's top goalscorer of all time.

     Players still active are highlighted in green

Rank Player NI career Goals Caps Goals per game First goal Last goal
1 David Healy (list) 2000–2013 36 95 0.38 23 February 2000 vs. 14 November 2012 vs.
2 Kyle Lafferty 2006– 20 89 0.22 16 August 2006 vs. 11 November 2016 vs.
3 Billy Gillespie 1913–1932 13 25 0.52 15 February 1913 vs. 20 October 1926 vs.
Colin Clarke 1986–1993 13 38 0.34 23 April 1986 vs. 9 September 1992 vs.
Steven Davis 2005– 13 140 0.09 8 October 2005 vs. 25 March 2022 vs.
6 Joe Bambrick 1928–1940 12 11 1.09 22 October 1928 vs. 16 March 1938 vs.
Jimmy Quinn 1984–1995 12 46 0.26 16 October 1984 vs. 11 October 1995 vs.
Iain Dowie 1990–1999 12 59 0.2 16 October 1991 vs. 18 November 1998 vs.
Gerry Armstrong 1977–1986 12 63 0.19 16 November 1977 vs. 14 November 1984 vs.
10 Olphie Stanfield 1887–1897 11 30 0.37 12 March 1887 vs. 6 March 1897 vs.

Competitive record

For the all-time record of the national team against opposing nations, see the team's all-time record page

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup finals record Qualification record Manager(s)
Year Round Pos Pld W D* L GF GA Squad Pld W D L GF GA
Uruguay 1930 Not a FIFA member Not a FIFA member None
Italy 1934
France 1938
Brazil 1950 Did not qualify 3 0 1 2 4 17 Irish FA Committee
Switzerland 1954 3 1 0 2 4 7 Peter Doherty
Sweden 1958 Quarter-finals 8th 5 2 1 2 6 10 Squad 4 2 1 1 6 3
Chile 1962 Did not qualify 4 1 0 3 7 8
England 1966 6 3 2 1 9 5 Bertie Peacock
Mexico 1970 4 2 1 1 7 3 Billy Bingham
West Germany 1974 6 1 3 2 5 6 Terry Neill
Argentina 1978 6 2 1 3 7 6 Danny Blanchflower
Spain 1982 Second group stage 9th 5 1 3 1 5 7 Squad 8 3 3 2 6 3 Billy Bingham
Mexico 1986 Group stage 21st 3 0 1 2 2 6 Squad 8 4 2 2 8 5
Italy 1990 Did not qualify 8 2 1 5 6 12
United States 1994 12 5 3 4 14 13
France 1998 10 1 4 5 6 10 Bryan Hamilton
South Korea Japan 2002 10 3 2 5 11 12 Sammy McIlroy
Germany 2006 10 2 3 5 10 18 Lawrie Sanchez
South Africa 2010 10 4 3 3 13 9 Nigel Worthington
Brazil 2014 10 1 4 5 9 17 Michael O'Neill
Russia 2018 12 6 2 4 17 7
Qatar 2022 8 2 3 3 6 7 Ian Baraclough
Canada Mexico United States 2026 To be determined
Total Quarter-finals 3/22 13 3 5 5 13 23 142 45 39 58 155 168
*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

UEFA European Championship

UEFA European Championship record Qualification record Manager(s)
Year Round Pos Pld W D* L GF GA Squad Pld W D L GF GA
France 1960 Did not enter Did not enter None
Spain 1964 Did not qualify 4 2 1 1 5 2 Bertie Peacock
Italy 1968 6 1 1 4 2 8 Bertie Peacock, Billy Bingham
Belgium 1972 6 2 2 2 10 6 Billy Bingham, Terry Neill
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 1976 6 3 0 3 8 5 Terry Neill, Dave Clements
Italy 1980 8 4 1 3 8 14 Danny Blanchflower
France 1984 8 5 1 2 8 5 Billy Bingham
West Germany 1988 6 1 1 4 2 10
Sweden 1992 8 2 3 3 11 11
England 1996 10 5 2 3 20 15 Bryan Hamilton
Belgium Netherlands 2000 8 1 2 5 4 19 Lawrie McMenemy
Portugal 2004 8 0 3 5 0 8 Sammy McIlroy
Austria Switzerland 2008 12 6 2 4 17 14 Lawrie Sanchez, Nigel Worthington
Poland Ukraine 2012 10 2 3 5 9 13 Nigel Worthington
France 2016 Round of 16 16th 4 1 0 3 2 3 Squad 10 6 3 1 16 8 Michael O'Neill
Europe 2020 Did not qualify 10 4 2 4 11 16 Michael O'Neill, Ian Baraclough
Germany 2024 To be determined
Total Round of 16 1/16 4 1 0 3 2 3 120 44 27 49 131 154
*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalties.

UEFA Nations League

UEFA Nations League record Manager(s)
Year Division Group Pld W D L GF GA P/R RK
2018–19 B 3 4 0 0 4 2 7 Same position 24th Michael O'Neill
2020–21 B 1 6 0 2 4 4 11 Fall 32nd Ian Baraclough
2022–23 C 2 6 1 2 3 7 10 Same position 44th Ian Baraclough
2024–25 C To be determined
Total 16 1 4 11 13 28 24th

Summary of results

All competitive matches
P W D L GF GA GD
548 140 122 286 588 1054 −466
All matches including friendlies
P W D L GF GA GD
676 173 156 347 704 1263 −559

Results updated after match against  Greece on 27 September 2022.

FIFA Rankings

Last updated on 16 February 2022.

FIFA World Rankings

     Worst Ranking       Best Ranking       Worst Mover       Best Mover  

Rank Year Games
Played
Won Drawn Lost Best Worst
Rank Move Rank Move
54 2021 12 4 3 5 45 Increase 4 (September) 58 Decrease 11 (October)
45 2020 8 0 3 5 36 Steady 0 (February) 45 Decrease 4 (November)
36 2019 10 6 1 3 28 Increase 5 (June) 36 Decrease 4 (October)
35 2018 9 2 2 5 24 Increase 2 (March) 35 Decrease 6 (October)
24 2017 9 5 1 3 20 Increase 9 (April) 35 Decrease 3 (October)
32 2016 13 5 3 5 25 Increase 4 (November) 36 Decrease 6 (October)
30 2015 9 4 4 1 29 Increase 8 (March) 51 Decrease 4 (April)
48 2014 7 3 1 3 43 Increase 28 (October) 95 Decrease 6 (August)
89 2013 8 1 2 5 86 Increase 23 (September) 119 Decrease 22 (April)
96 2012 7 0 4 3 86 Increase 17 (November) 129 Decrease 28 (September)
88 2011 10 1 1 8 38 Increase 5 (February) 89 Decrease 25 (April)
43 2010 10 1 3 4 39 Increase 14 (September) 59 Decrease 11 (March)
40 2009 9 3 3 3 27 Increase 15 (April) 52 Decrease 9 (November)
52 2008 8 2 2 4 32 Increase 2 (June) 52 Decrease 10 (December)
32 2007 9 4 2 3 27 Increase 14 (April) 49 Decrease 9 (September)
48 2006 8 4 1 3 45 Increase 21 (July) 103 Decrease 3 (November)
103 2005 10 2 2 6 101 Increase 15 (September) 116 Decrease 4 (August)
107 2004 11 3 6 2 107 Increase 9 (April) 124 Decrease 2 (July)
122 2003 8 0 2 6 106 Increase 1 (June) 122 Decrease 7 (October)
103 2002 6 0 3 3 89 Increase 1 (April) 103 Decrease 8 (September)
88 2001 8 2 1 5 88 Increase 10 (September) 107 Decrease 4 (June)
93 2000 7 3 1 3 84 Increase 5 (October) 98 Decrease 5 (May)
84 1999 8 1 2 5 67 Increase 19 (January) 84 Decrease 7 (October)
86 1998 6 3 1 2 86 Increase 7 (October) 99 Decrease 6 (February)
93 1997 9 1 3 5 63 Increase 5 (April) 93 Decrease 10 (December)
64 1996 7 1 3 3 48 Increase 11 (December) 75 Decrease 9 (October)
45 1995 8 3 2 3 45 Increase 10 (September) 55 Decrease 5 (February)
45 1994 7 3 0 4 33 Increase 7 (April) 45 Decrease 8 (June)
39 1993 8 4 1 3 39 Increase 3 (August) 42 Decrease 2 (October)

FIFA ranking history

The following is a chart of the yearly averages of Northern Ireland's FIFA ranking.


Honours

  • British Home Championship
    • 1 Winners (3): 1914 (as  Ireland), 1980, 1984
    • 1 Shared (5): 1903, 1956, 1958, 1959, 1964

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Selección de fútbol de Irlanda del Norte para niños

  • Northern Ireland national under-21 football team
  • Northern Ireland national under-19 football team
  • Northern Ireland national under-17 football team
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