Squad
Roy Carroll1997current
Paddy McCourt2002current
Alan Mannus2004current
Gareth McAuley2005current
Kyle Lafferty2006current
Martin Paterson2007current
Niall McGinn2008current
Corry Evans2009current
Shane Ferguson2009current
Josh Magennis2010current
Lee Hodson2010current
Michael McGovern2010current
Oliver Norwood2010current
Conor McLaughlin2011current
Jamie Ward2011current
Lee Camp2011current
Stuart Dallas2011current
Daniel Lafferty2012current
Will Grigg2012current
Alex Bruce2013current
Ben Reeves2014current- Luke McCullough2014current
Ryan McLaughlin2014current
Conor Washington2016current
Bailey Peacock-Farrell2018current
Jamal Lewis2018current
Ethan Galbraith2019current
Conor Bradley2021current- Alan Kernaghancurrent
Daniel Ballardcurrent- Sammy McCrorycurrent
- Johnny Carey1946–1949
Bertie Peacock1949–1961
Danny Blanchflower1949–1963- Wilbur Cush1950–1961
- Billy Bingham1951–1963
- Billy Simpson1951–1958
- Jimmy McIlroy1951–1965
- Norman Uprichard1951–1958
Harry Gregg1954–1964
Jackie Blanchflower1954–1958
Peter McParland1954–1962- Fay Coyle1955–1958
Tommy Casey1955–1958
Jimmy Jones1956–1957
Dick Keith1957–1962- Derek Dougan1958–1973
Terry Neill1961–1973
George Best1964–1977
Pat Jennings1964–1986
Pat Rice1968–1979- Sammy Nelson1970–1982
Martin O'Neill1971–1984- Tommy Cassidy1971–1982
Sammy McIlroy1972–1987- Chris Nicholl1974–1983
- Tommy Finney1974–1982
David McCreery1976–1990- Jim Platt1976–1986
Jimmy Nicholl1976–1986- Gerry Armstrong1977–1986
- Billy Hamilton1979–1989
- John McClelland1980–1990
- John O'Neill1980–1986
- Mal Donaghy1980–1994
- Noel Brotherston1980–1985
- Bobby Campbell1982–1982
- Felix Healy1982–1982
- George Dunlop1982–1989
- Ian Stewart1982–1987
- Jim Cleary1982–1984
Norman Whiteside1982–1989
Nigel Worthington1984–1997- Jimmy Quinn1985–1996
Alan McDonald1986–1996- Bernard McNally1986–1988
Colin Clarke1986–1993- Lawrie Sanchez1986–1989
Michael O'Neill1988–1996- Iain Dowie1990–2000
Keith Gillespie1994–2008
Neil Lennon1994–2002
Steve Lomas1994–2003
Aaron Hughes1998–2018
Damien Johnson1999–2010
Maik Taylor1999–2011
David Healy2000–2013
George McCartney2001–2010
Grant McCann2001–2012
Michael Duff2002–2012
Chris Baird2003–2016
Chris Brunt2004–2017
Dean Shiels2005–2005
Steven Davis2005–2022
Jonny Evans2006–2024
Craig Cathcart2010–2023
Liam Boyce2011–2011
Paddy McNair2015–2015
The Northern Ireland men's national football team represents Northern Ireland in international football competitions.
The team was formed in 1882 and initially represented all of Ireland until 1950.
In their first match, Northern Ireland lost to England 13-0, which remains their record defeat.
Biography
Formation
The Northern Ireland men's national association football team represents Northern Ireland in international football. The team was formed in 1882, shortly after the establishment of the Irish Football Association (IFA). Initially, the team represented all of Ireland until 1950, when the IFA's jurisdiction was limited to Northern Ireland following the secession of clubs in the Irish Free State. The team continued to be known as Ireland until the 1970s, when it adopted the name Northern Ireland.
Early History
The team's first international match took place on February 18, 1882, against England, where they suffered a record defeat of 13-0. This match remains England's largest winning margin. The team played its second match just a week later against Wales, where they scored their first-ever goal. Despite a challenging start, including a long winless streak, Northern Ireland eventually secured its first victory in 1887 against Wales, ending a run of 14 defeats and one draw.
Honours and Legacy
Throughout its history, the Northern Ireland national team has participated in various competitions, including the British Home Championship, where they achieved championship status eight times, with titles won as Ireland in the early 1900s and later as Northern Ireland. The team's legacy is marked by its resilience and the evolution of its player selection policies, which began to include players from outside the Irish League in 1899, leading to improved performances on the field.
Collected from open sources (3) · facts link to sources · AI-processed
Gallery
Career & Clubs
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…
- National team
- Northern Ireland
Legacy
Regional
British Home Championship Champions (8): 1903s*, 1914*, 1956s, 1958s, 1959s, 1964s, 1980, 1984 Notes
s Shared titles * Titles won as Ireland
Archive
Passport
Identifiers & aliases
men's national association football team representing Northern Ireland
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 national team included players from 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.
All links
Opinions of fans — not verified facts.
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