Northern Ireland national football team

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Northern Ireland women's national football team.

The Northern Ireland national football team represents Northern Ireland in men's international association football. From 1882 to 1950, 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.

Northern Ireland

Nickname(s)	Green and White Army (GAWA) Norn Iron
Association	Irish Football Association (IFA)
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Head coach	Michael O'Neill
Captain	Conor Bradley
Most caps	Steven Davis (140)
Top scorer	David Healy (36)
Home stadium	Windsor Park
FIFA code	NIR
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	71 (28 November 2024)
Highest	20 (September 2017)
Lowest	129 (September 2012)
First international
Ireland 0–13 England (Belfast, Ireland; 18 February 1882) as Northern Ireland Ireland 1–4 England (Belfast, Northern Ireland; 7 October 1950) France 3–1 Northern Ireland (Colombes, France; 11 November 1952)
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) Northern Ireland 5–0 Bulgaria (Belfast, Northern Ireland; 15 October 2024)
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)

Ulster Banner, the flag of the Northern 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, and currently Northern Irish athletes compete for Great Britain.

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. Northern Ireland last qualified for the World Cup in 1986.

History

Main article: Ireland national football team (1882–1950)

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

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 a 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.

They also qualified for the 1986 World Cup where they went out in the Group stages. 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

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 13 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 30 years without qualifying for a major tournament, 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

Main article: Windsor Park

Windsor Park before the 2015 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.

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 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 was completed in 2015.

Team image

Colours

Northern Ireland football team's traditional colours are green, white and azure blue. Green has long been a traditional symbolic colour for Ireland. The azure blue comes from St. Patrick's blue, which was adopted as the colour of the Anglo-Irish Order of St Patrick. While green is recognised at the de-facto national colour for Ireland, azure blue is still found in symbols of both the state and the island. The kit has been manufactured by Adidas since 2012. Prior to this, the kit was manufactured by Umbro.

Kit suppliers

Kit provider	Period
Umbro	1975–1977
Adidas	1977–1990
Umbro	1990–1994
Asics	1994–1998
Olympic Sportswear	1998–1999
Patrick	1999–2004
Umbro	2004–2012
Adidas	2012–

Supporters

The Green and White Army

Main article: 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.

Historic controversy over sectarianism

Former captain Neil Lennon retired from international football due to sectarian death threats

A small element of Northern Ireland's support was, in the past, regarded as sectarian.

In 2000 the IFA launched the "Football For All" campaign to tackle sectarianism and racism at Northern Ireland games. Michael Boyd, the director of football development at the IFA, recalled how the team struggled to even get a sponsor for their kit because the image of Northern Irish football was so poor. Attendance at matches was low; at a 1999 game against France, then reigning World Cup champions, IFA could not sell out the ground and there were problems with "sectarian singing and racist abuse." Neil Lennon, a Roman Catholic Celtic player who had been subject to sectarian abuse from Northern Ireland fans while playing for Northern Ireland in Windsor Park, was issued a death threat by Loyalists and retired from international football in 2002 as a result. Former Security Minister Jane Kennedy said the threat against Lennon 'disgraced Northern Ireland in the eyes of the world' and widened the divide between the association and Catholic players and supporters. However, the incident represented a turning point in the campaign against sectarianism in the IFA which had seen slow progress in the previous two years.

Steps taken to eradicate the sectarian element within the support have been successful. Lennon has been quick to praise these initiatives. He also praised the "Football For All" Outstanding Achievement Award Winner Stewart MacAfee for the work he has done to create a more inclusive atmosphere at international games.

People like Stewart are the unsung heroes who have been brave enough to challenge sectarianism and who have actively created a more fun, safe and family-orientated atmosphere at international games. Fans like Stewart have made the atmosphere at Northern Ireland football games in recent years the envy of Fans across not only Europe but World football. From a personal point of view I would like to thank them for their efforts.

— Neil Lennon

In 2006, Northern Ireland's supporters were awarded the Brussels International Supporters Award for their charity work, general good humour and behaviour and efforts to stamp out sectarianism. Representatives of the Amalgamation of Official Northern Ireland Supporters' Clubs received the award from UEFA and EU representatives prior to the Northern Ireland–Spain game at Windsor Park in September 2006.

Northern Ireland Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure, Carál Ní Chuilín, the first senior Sinn Féin representative to attend an international at Windsor Park, commended "the very real efforts that have been made by the IFA to tackle sectarianism at their matches" after a match in August 2011. Twenty years after Lennon's resignation, Northern Ireland international games regularly sell out and women and children were "noticeable" amongst the spectators.

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

Main article: Northern Ireland national football team results (2020–present)

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixture

2024

Romania v Northern Ireland

22 March Friendly	Romania	1–1	Northern Ireland	Bucharest, Romania
19:45 GMT Match 687	Man 23'	Report	Reid 7'	Stadium: Arena Națională Attendance: 30,439 Referee: Kristoffer Karlsson (Sweden)

Scotland v Northern Ireland

26 March Friendly	Scotland	0–1	Northern Ireland	Glasgow, Scotland
19:45 GMT Match 688		Report	Bradley 32'	Stadium: Hampden Park Referee: Robert Jones (England)

Spain v Northern Ireland

8 June Friendly	Spain	5–1	Northern Ireland	Palma, Spain
20:30 BST Match 689	Pedri 12', 29' Morata 18' Fabián 35' Oyarzabal 60'	Report	Ballard 2'	Stadium: Estadi Mallorca Son Moix Attendance: 18,300 Referee: Bastien Dechepy (France)

Andorra v Northern Ireland

11 June Friendly	Andorra	0–2	Northern Ireland	Murcia, Spain
19:45 BST Match 690		Report	Bradley 16', 22'	Stadium: Estadio Nueva Condomina Referee: Jason Barcelo (Gibraltar)

Northern Ireland v Luxembourg

5 September 2024–25 UEFA Nations League C	Northern Ireland	2–0	Luxembourg	Belfast, Northern Ireland
19:45 BST Match 691	McNair 11' Ballard 16'	report		Stadium: Windsor Park Attendance: 17,213 Referee: Marian Barbu (Romania)

Bulgaria v Northern Ireland

8 September 2024–25 UEFA Nations League C	Bulgaria	1–0	Northern Ireland	Plovdiv, Bulgaria
17:00 BST Match 692	Despodov 40'	report		Stadium: Stadion Hristo Botev Attendance: 14,300 Referee: Tasos Sidiropoulos (Greece)

Belarus v Northern Ireland

12 October 2024–25 UEFA Nations League C	Belarus	0–0	Northern Ireland	Zalaegerszeg (Hungary)
19:45 BST Match 693		report		Stadium: ZTE Arena Attendance: 0 Referee: Henrik Nalbandyan (Armenia)

Northern Ireland v Bulgaria

15 October 2024–25 UEFA Nations League C	Northern Ireland	5–0	Bulgaria	Belfast, Northern Ireland
19:45 BST Match 694	Price 15', 29', 81' Mitov 32' (o.g.) Magennis 89'	report		Stadium: Windsor Park Attendance: 17,891 Referee: Jérôme Brisard (France)

Northern Ireland v Belarus

15 November 2024–25 UEFA Nations League C	Northern Ireland	2–0	Belarus	Belfast, Northern Ireland
19:45 GMT Match 695	Ballard 50' D. Charles 63' (pen.)	report		Stadium: Windsor Park Attendance: 18,044 Referee: Luis Godinho (Portugal)

Luxembourg v Northern Ireland

18 November 2024–25 UEFA Nations League C	Luxembourg	2–2	Northern Ireland	Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
19:45 GMT Match 696	Korać 72' Rodrigues 75'	report	Price 19' Bradley 50'	Stadium: Stade de Luxembourg Attendance: 6,870 Referee: Elchin Masiyev (Azerbaijan)

Coaching staff

Current coaching staff

As of 20 March 2023

Position	Name
Manager	Michael O'Neill
Assistant Manager	Jimmy Nicholl
Senior Coach	Aaron Hughes
Senior Coach	Diarmuid O'Carroll
Goalkeeping Coach	David Rouse
Team Doctor	David White
Head Physiotherapist	Caroline Woods
Physiotherapists	Darren McMaster
	Neil McCullough
Sports Scientist	Ricky McCann
Analyst	Matthew Crawford
Equipment Manager	Raymond Millar
Equipment Assistants	Stevie Ferguson
	Colin McGiffert

Manager history

  Current manager highlighted in green

Last updated after match against Luxembourg on 18 November 2024.

Manager	First Game	Last Game	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %	Draw %	Loss %
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%
Peter Doherty	6 October 1951 vs.	9 May 1962 vs.	51	9	14	28	67	119	-52	17.65%	27.45%	54.90%
Bertie Peacock	10 October 1962 vs.	12 April 1967 vs.	28	11	4	13	46	54	-8	39.29%	14.29%	46.42%
Billy Bingham	21 October 1967 vs.	22 May 1971 vs.	20	8	3	9	24	22	+2	40.00%	15.00%	45.00%
Terry Neill	22 September 1971 vs.	30 October 1974 vs.	20	6	6	8	16	18	-2	30.00%	30.00%	40.00%
Dave Clements	16 April 1975 vs.	14 May 1976 vs.	11	3	2	6	7	15	-8	27.27%	18.18%	54.55%
Danny Blanchflower	13 October 1976 vs.	21 November 1979 vs.	24	6	5	13	19	38	-19	25.00%	20.83%	54.17%
Billy Bingham	26 March 1980 vs.	17 November 1993 vs.	98	32	31	35	91	107	-16	32.65%	31.64%	35.71%
Bryan Hamilton	23 March 1994 vs.	11 October 1997 vs.	31	8	8	15	34	41	-7	25.81%	25.81%	48.38%
Lawrie McMenemy	25 March 1998 vs.	9 October 1999 vs.	14	4	3	7	9	25	-16	28.57%	21.43%	50.00%
Sammy McIlroy	23 February 2000 vs.	11 October 2003 vs.	29	5	7	17	19	40	-21	17.24%	24.14%	58.62%
Lawrie Sanchez	18 February 2004 vs.	28 March 2007 vs.	32	11	10	11	35	42	-7	34.38%	31.24%	34.38%
Nigel Worthington	22 August 2007 vs.	11 October 2011 vs.	41	9	10	22	35	55	-20	21.95%	24.39%	53.66%
Michael O'Neill	29 February 2012 vs.	19 November 2019 vs.	72	26	18	28	75	83	-8	36.11%	25.00%	38.89%
Ian Baraclough	4 September 2020 vs.	27 September 2022 vs.	28	6	8	14	27	36	-9	21.43%	28.57%	50.00%
Michael O'Neill	23 March 2023 vs.		20	8	3	9	25	22	3	40.00%	15.00%	45.00%
Total			696	181	159	356	729	1285	-556	26.01%	22.84%	51.15%

Statistics include official FIFA recognised matches only

Players

Main article: List of Northern Ireland international footballers

Current squad

The following players were called up for the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League matches against Belarus and Luxembourg on 15 and 18 November 2024 respectively.

Caps and goals updated as of 18 November 2024, after the match against Luxembourg.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	1GK	Bailey Peacock-Farrell	(1996-10-29) 29 October 1996	48	0	Birmingham City
	1GK	Pierce Charles	(2005-07-21) 21 July 2005	4	0	Sheffield Wednesday
	1GK	Luke Southwood	(1997-12-06) 6 December 1997	1	0	Bolton Wanderers
	2DF	Jamal Lewis	(1998-01-25) 25 January 1998	39	0	São Paulo
	2DF	Daniel Ballard	(1999-09-22) 22 September 1999	28	5	Sunderland
	2DF	Ciaron Brown	(1998-01-14) 14 January 1998	23	0	Oxford United
	2DF	Conor Bradley (captain)	(2003-07-09) 9 July 2003	23	4	Liverpool
	2DF	Trai Hume	(2002-03-18) 18 March 2002	19	0	Sunderland
	2DF	Brodie Spencer	(2004-05-06) 6 May 2004	13	0	Huddersfield Town
	2DF	Ruairi McConville	(2005-05-01) 1 May 2005	2	0	Brighton & Hove Albion
	2DF	Kofi Balmer	(2000-09-19) 19 September 2000	0	0	Motherwell
	3MF	George Saville	(1993-06-01) 1 June 1993	56	0	Millwall
	3MF	Jordan Thompson	(1997-01-03) 3 January 1997	38	0	Stoke City
	3MF	Ali McCann	(1999-12-04) 4 December 1999	28	1	Preston North End
	3MF	Shea Charles	(2003-11-05) 5 November 2003	23	0	Sheffield Wednesday
	3MF	Isaac Price	(2003-09-26) 26 September 2003	18	6	Standard Liège
	3MF	Paul Smyth	(1997-09-10) 10 September 1997	16	2	Queens Park Rangers
	3MF	Ross McCausland	(2003-05-12) 12 May 2003	5	0	Rangers
	3MF	Ethan Galbraith	(2001-05-11) 11 May 2001	4	0	Leyton Orient
	3MF	Brad Lyons	(1997-05-26) 26 May 1997	3	0	Kilmarnock
	3MF	Caolan Boyd-Munce	(2000-01-26) 26 January 2000	2	0	St Mirren
	3MF	Justin Devenny	(2003-10-11) 11 October 2003	1	0	Crystal Palace
	4FW	Josh Magennis	(1990-05-15) 15 May 1990	82	12	Exeter City
	4FW	Dion Charles	(1995-10-07) 7 October 1995	28	4	Bolton Wanderers
	4FW	Callum Marshall	(2004-11-28) 28 November 2004	8	0	West Ham United
	4FW	Jamie Reid	(1994-07-15) 15 July 1994	8	1	Stevenage
	4FW	Lee Bonis	(1999-08-03) 3 August 1999	1	0	ADO Den Haag

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	Christy Pym	(1995-04-24) 24 April 1995	0	0	Mansfield Town	v. Bulgaria, 15 October 2024
GK	Conor Hazard	(1998-03-05) 5 March 1998	8	0	Plymouth Argyle	v. Bulgaria, 8 September 2024 INJ
GK	Josh Clarke	(2004-07-28) 28 July 2004	0	0	Celtic	v. Bulgaria, 8 September 2024
GK	Stephen McMullan	(2004-12-31) 31 December 2004	0	0	Caernarfon Town	v. Scotland, 26 March 2024
DF	Paddy McNair	(1995-04-27) 27 April 1995	73	7	West Bromwich Albion	v. Bulgaria, 15 October 2024
DF	Eoin Toal	(1999-02-15) 15 February 1999	8	0	Bolton Wanderers	v. Bulgaria, 15 October 2024
DF	Carl Johnston	(2002-05-29) 29 May 2002	0	0	Fleetwood Town	v. Bulgaria, 8 September 2024
DF	Aaron Donnelly	(2003-06-08) 8 June 2003	1	0	Colchester United	v. Andorra, 11 June 2024
DF	Jonny Evans	(1988-01-03) 3 January 1988	107	6	Manchester United	v. Andorra, 11 June 2024 RET
MF	Corry Evans	(1990-07-17) 17 July 1990	72	2	Bradford City	v. Bulgaria, 8 September 2024
MF	Conor McMenamin	(1995-08-24) 24 August 1995	14	1	St Mirren	v. Andorra, 11 June 2024
MF	Paddy Lane	(2001-02-18) 18 February 2001	4	0	Portsmouth	v. Scotland, 26 March 2024
FW	Shayne Lavery	(1998-12-08) 8 December 1998	20	3	Cambridge United	v. Bulgaria, 8 September 2024
FW	Dale Taylor	(2003-12-12) 12 December 2003	8	0	Wigan Athletic	v. Andorra, 11 June 2024
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 = Serving suspension. WTD = Player withdrew from the squad due to non-injury issue.

Individual records

Main article: Northern Ireland national football team records and statistics

As of 18 November 2024 after the match against Luxembourg.

  Players still active are highlighted in green

Most appearances

Midfielder Steven Davis is Northern Ireland's most capped player with 140 appearances.

Rank	Player	Caps	Goals	Career
1	Steven Davis	140	13	2005–2022
2	Pat Jennings	119	0	1964–1986
3	Aaron Hughes	112	1	1998–2018
4	Jonny Evans	107	6	2006–2024
5	David Healy	95	36	2000–2013
6	Mal Donaghy	91	0	1980–1994
7	Kyle Lafferty	89	20	2006–2022
8	Sammy McIlroy	88	5	1972–1986
	Maik Taylor	88	0	1999–2011
10	Keith Gillespie	86	2	1995–2008

Top goalscorers

David Healy is Northern Ireland men team's all-time top goalscorer with 36 goals.

Rank	Player	Goals	Caps	Ratio	Career
1	David Healy (list)	36	95	0.38	2000–2013
2	Kyle Lafferty	20	89	0.22	2006–2022
3	Billy Gillespie	13	25	0.52	1913–1932
	Colin Clarke	13	38	0.34	1986–1993
	Steven Davis	13	140	0.09	2005–2022
6	Joe Bambrick	12	11	1.09	1928–1940
	Jimmy Quinn	12	46	0.26	1984–1995
	Iain Dowie	12	59	0.2	1990–1999
	Gerry Armstrong	12	63	0.19	1977–1986
	Josh Magennis	12	82	0.13	2010–present

Most clean sheets

Rank	Player	Clean Sheets	Caps	Ratio	Career
1	Pat Jennings	45	119	0.38	1964–1986
2	Maik Taylor	34	88	0.39	1999–2011
3	Roy Carroll	18	45	0.4	1997–2017
4	Bailey Peacock-Farrell	17	48	0.35	2018–present
5	Michael McGovern	16	33	0.48	2010–2020
6	Tommy Wright	11	31	0.35	1989–1999
7	Alan Mannus	7	9	0.78	2004–2016
8	Elisha Scott	6	31	0.19	1920–1936
	Jim Platt	6	23	0.26	1976–1986
	Alan Fettis	6	25	0.24	1991–1998

• A goalkeeper is awarded a clean sheet if he does not concede a goal during his time on the pitch.

Captains

Rank	Player	Caps as Captain	Total Caps	Captaincy Span
1	Steven Davis	82	140	2006–2022
2	Aaron Hughes	47	112	2002–2015
3	Danny Blanchflower	42	56	1954–1962
4	Terry Neill	38	59	1963–1973
5	Martin O'Neill	33	64	1980–1984
6	Alan McDonald	26	52	1990–1995
7	Steve Lomas	22	45	1997–2003
8	Allan Hunter	19	53	1974–1979
	Sammy McIlroy	19	88	1980–1986
10	John McClelland	17	53	1984–1990

• Captaincy appearances are only awarded to players who were assigned the captaincy at the start of a game.

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

Main article: Northern Ireland at the 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
1930	Not a FIFA member										Not a FIFA member							None
1934
1938
1950	Did not qualify										3	0	1	2	4	17		Irish FA Committee
1954											3	1	0	2	4	7		Peter Doherty
1958	Quarter-finals	8th	5	2	1	2	6	10	Squad		4	2	1	1	6	3
1962	Did not qualify										4	1	0	3	7	8
1966											6	3	2	1	9	5		Bertie Peacock
1970											4	2	1	1	7	3		Billy Bingham
1974											6	1	3	2	5	6		Terry Neill
1978											6	2	1	3	7	6		Danny Blanchflower
1982	Second group stage	9th	5	1	3	1	5	7	Squad		8	3	3	2	6	3		Billy Bingham
1986	Group stage	21st	3	0	1	2	2	6	Squad		8	4	2	2	8	5
1990	Did not qualify										8	2	1	5	6	12
1994											12	5	3	4	14	13
1998											10	1	4	5	6	10		Bryan Hamilton
2002											10	3	2	5	11	12		Sammy McIlroy
2006											10	2	3	5	10	18		Lawrie Sanchez
2010											10	4	3	3	13	9		Nigel Worthington
2014											10	1	4	5	9	17		Michael O'Neill
2018											12	6	2	4	17	7
2022											8	2	3	3	6	7		Ian Baraclough
2026	To be determined										To be determined
2030
2034
Total	Quarter-finals	3/22	13	3	5	5	13	23	—		142	45	39	58	155	168	—
*Draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.

UEFA European Championship

Main article: Northern Ireland at the 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
1960	Did not enter										Did not enter							None
1964	Did not qualify										4	2	1	1	5	2		Bertie Peacock
1968											6	1	1	4	2	8		Bertie Peacock, Billy Bingham
1972											6	2	2	2	10	6		Billy Bingham, Terry Neill
1976											6	3	0	3	8	5		Terry Neill, Dave Clements
1980											8	4	1	3	8	14		Danny Blanchflower
1984											8	5	1	2	8	5		Billy Bingham
1988											6	1	1	4	2	10
1992											8	2	3	3	11	11
1996											10	5	2	3	20	15		Bryan Hamilton
2000											8	1	2	5	4	19		Lawrie McMenemy
2004											8	0	3	5	0	8		Sammy McIlroy
2008											12	6	2	4	17	14		Lawrie Sanchez, Nigel Worthington
2012											10	2	3	5	9	13		Nigel Worthington
2016	Round of 16	16th	4	1	0	3	2	3	Squad		10	6	3	1	16	8		Michael O'Neill
2020	Did not qualify										10	4	2	4	11	16		Michael O'Neill, Ian Baraclough
2024											10	3	0	7	9	13		Michael O'Neill
2028	To be determined										To be determined
2032
Total	Round of 16	1/17	4	1	0	3	2	3	—		130	47	27	56	140	167		—
*Draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.

UEFA Nations League

UEFA Nations League record												Manager(s)
Season	Division	Group	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	P/R	RK
2018–19	B	3	4	0	0	4	2	7		24th		Michael O'Neill
2020–21	B	1	6	0	2	4	4	11		32nd		Ian Baraclough
2022–23	C	2	6	1	2	3	7	10		44th		Ian Baraclough
2024–25	C	3	6	3	2	1	11	3		36th		Michael O'Neill
Total			22	4	6	12	24	31	—	24th		—

Summary of results

All competitive matches

Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
564	146	124	294	608	1070	−462

All matches including friendlies^‡

Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
696	181	159	356	729	1285	−556

Results updated after match against Luxembourg on 18 November 2024.

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

FIFA ranking history

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

Honours

Regional

• British Home Championship
  • Champions (8)
    • Outright winners (3): 1914 (as Ireland), 1980, 1984
    • Shared (5): 1903 (as Ireland), 1956, 1958, 1959, 1964

See also

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

External links

• Irish Football Association – Northern Ireland Football official site
• Northern Ireland at UEFA
• Northern Ireland at FIFA
• Northern Ireland Stats & Statistics
• RSSSF archive of international results 1882–
• RSSSF archive of most capped players and highest goalscorers