Josh Magennis

Early career

Magennis began his career as an outfield player, playing up front, even representing County Down in the Milk Cup as a youngster, before eventually becoming a goalkeeper. He was a member of the Lisburn Distillery and Glentoran youth teams before joining the youth team at Cardiff City.

Cardiff City

On 31 October 2007, Cardiff met Liverpool in the Football League Cup but, with David Forde and on-loan goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel ineligible, Magennis took a spot on the bench for the match. The decision to include Magennis was controversial because he had been called up to the Northern Ireland under-19 team but was not allowed to join the squad by manager Dave Jones due to the need to keep the youngster at Cardiff, with only one senior goalkeeper available for the match. In April 2008 he reverted to playing as a striker, just before the Welsh Youth Cup final where he came on as a substitute. Magennis signed his first professional contract on 10 April 2009 for Cardiff City, the only second year academy student to be offered a professional deal, and began working with reserve team coach Paul Wilkinson who had previously coached former Cardiff striker Cameron Jerome in a similar manner. On 8 August 2009, Magennis made his professional debut when he replaced Jay Bothroyd as a late substitute on the opening day of the 2009–10 season in a 4–0 win over Scunthorpe United. In his fourth appearance for the club, Magennis scored his first professional goal…

While still playing as a goalkeeper, Magennis featured twice for the Northern Ireland Under-17 side, in a 2–0 defeat to Scotland and as a substitute in a 1–0 defeat to the Netherlands. His step up to the under-19 side came following his change of position and he was handed his debut on 8 October 2008 in 3–1 defeat to Serbia under-19's. In July 2009, Magennis helped Northern Ireland retain their Milk Cup crown, scoring the first goal in their 2–0 final victory against Denmark. On 11 August 2009, Magennis made his debut for the Under-21 side, playing in a 2–1 defeat to Portugal. He grabbed his first two goals for the Under-21 side after coming off the bench in their 6–2 defeat to Iceland on 8 September 2009. He made his full debut for Northern Ireland on 26 May 2010 against Turkey in a friendly. On 8 October 2015, Magennis scored his first international goal in a 3–1 defeat of Greece at Windsor Park which ensured Northern Ireland's qualification for UEFA Euro 2016, the country's first appearance at an international tournament in 30 years.

Club

As of match played 5 September 2026

International

As of match played 8 June 2026.

Scores and results list Northern Ireland's goal tally first.

Magennis was born in Bangor, County Down. His uncle Mark was also a footballer who played for Ballymena United, Linfield and Bangor. As a teenager, Magennis revealed he once nearly quit football for rugby after struggling as a goalkeeper before eventually switching position to striker. On 28 January 2013, Magennis became a father after his girlfriend, Amy, gave birth to a son.