Northern Ireland

Nickname(s)	Green and White Army, Norn Iron
Association	Irish Football Association
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Head coach	Michael O'Neill
Asst coach	Billy McKinlay
Captain	Steven Davis
Most caps	Pat Jennings (119)
Top scorer	David Healy (36)
Home stadium	Windsor Park
FIFA code	NIR
FIFA ranking	119
Highest FIFA ranking	27 (August 2007, April 2009)
Lowest FIFA ranking	129 (September 2012)
Elo ranking	109
Highest Elo ranking	4 or 15[1] (1882-5 or May 1986)
Lowest Elo ranking	109 (26 March 2013)
First colours Second colours
First international
Ireland 0 – 13 England  (Belfast; 18 February 1882)
Biggest win
Ireland 7 – 0 Wales  (Belfast; 1 February 1930)
Biggest defeat
Ireland 0 – 13 England  (Belfast; 18 February 1882)
World Cup
Appearances	3 (First in 1958)
Best result	Quarterfinals, 1958, 1982

The Northern Ireland national football team represents Northern Ireland in international association football. From 1882 to 1921 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 purported to remain the national team for all of Ireland until 1950, and used the name Ireland until the mid-1970s. The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) organises the separate Republic of Ireland national football team.

History []

On 18 February 1882, fifteen 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 they 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 game 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. However, on 8 March 1950, in 0–0 draw with Wales at the Racecourse Ground, Wrexham in a 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 had 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 []

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 smallest country to have qualified for the World Cup, a record that stood until Trinidad & Tobago qualified for the 2006 World Cup. Northern Ireland remains, however, the smallest country to have qualified for more than one World Cup finals tournament, the smallest country to win a World Cup finals match, the smallest country to have scored at a World Cup finals, and the smallest country to have reached the World Cup quarter-finals.

Northern Ireland also qualified for the 1982 World Cup. Gerry Armstrong was a Northern Irish football player, who played during the 1970s and 1980s. He is best remembered for scoring the goal in the 1982 World Cup that enabled Northern Ireland to beat the tournament's hosts, Spain, in a shock 1–0 win again reaching the quarter-finals after topping the first stage group, Norman Whiteside became the youngest player ever in the World Cup finals, a record that still stands. 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.

UEFA European Championship []

The side have yet to participate in their first European Championship finals. This is despite of the fact that Northern Ireland beat West Germany 1–0 both home and away in qualifiers for Euro 84; the latter was West Germany's first ever home defeat in either European Championship or World Cup qualifiers. More recently, David Healy broke the record for goals scored in one Euro campaign, previously held by Davor Suker of Croatia, by scoring 13 times in Northern Ireland's attempt to qualify for Euro 2008.

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 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 defeat to Norway in a friendly in February 2004. The run of sixteen 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 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 UEFA Euro 2012 qualifiers.

Michael O'Neill became manager in February 2012 after Nigel Worthington had resigned in October 2011 after a poor Euro 2012 qualification campaign.

Stadium []

Windsor Park – 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 F.C., which they have use of on a 108 year lease, giving the owners 15% of revenue, including gate receipts and TV rights.^[2]

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.^[3] 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.^[4] 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.^[5] 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.^[6] 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.^[7] 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, Northern Ireland may 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. However, Ulster GAA, 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.^[8]

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. However, in September 2009, they issued an announcement in favour of the redevelopment of Windsor Park.^[9] Although there were no specifics to this, Linfield had previously released a study with two proposals, of which the major one would be a £20m rebuilding of the stadium, raising capacity to 20,000.^[10] In 2011, the Northern Ireland Executive allocated £138m for a major programme of stadium redevelopment throughout Northern Ireland, with £28m allocated to the redevelopment of Windsor Park into a brand new, 20,000 all-seater stadium.^[11]

Controversy and sectarianism []

An element of Northern Ireland's support is perceived to be sectarian.^[12][13][14] Neil Lennon, a Celtic player who had been subject to sectarian abuse from some supporters while playing for Northern Ireland in Windsor Park, was issued with a death-threat by Loyalists and retired from international football as a result.^[15]

Steps have been taken to eradicate the sectarian element within the support.^[16] Lennon has been quick to praise these initiatives, although added that because of Windsor Park's location it still "can be an intimidating place for Catholics to go. But the IFA have made huge strides."^[17] He also praised the "Football For All" Outstanding Achievement Award Winner Stewart MacAfee,^[18] for the work they have carried out to create a more inclusive atmosphere at international games.

In 2006, Northern Ireland's supporters were awarded the Brussels International Supporters Award^[19] 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 versus Spain game at Windsor Park in September 2006.

Steps by the IFA to promote Football For All continue. At a friendly match in Dublin in 2011 against Scotland, the IFA carried out an inquiry following an incident in which a minority number of drunken fans sang sectarian songs.^[20][21] One fan who was identified in the inquiry was said to be in line for a lifetime ban from receiving tickets to any future Northern Ireland home or away games.^[22]

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.^[23]

Popular culture []

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 outstripping supply.^[24] 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.^[25]

Competitive record []

FIFA World Cup []

• 1930 to 1938 – Did not enter
• 1950 to 1954 – Did not qualify
• 1958 – Quarter-finals
• 1962 to 1978 – Did not qualify
• 1982 – Second Group Stage
• 1986 – Round 1
• 1990 to 2010 – Did not qualify

UEFA European Championship []

• 1960 - Did not enter
• 1964 to 2012 - Did not qualify

Summary of results []

All competitive matches^[26]

All matches including friendlies^[27][28]‡

Data correct as of Northern Ireland v Finland, 15 August 2012

The team have also won the Home Championship 8 times, including 5 shared.

Friendly Matches 2012 []

Date	Venue	Home Team	Result	Away Team
15 August 2012	Windsor Park	Northern Ireland	3–3	Finland

FIFA World Cup 2014 Qualifying []

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  Russia 4 4 0 0 8 0 +8 12  Israel 6 3 2 1 15 8 +7 11  Portugal 6 3 2 1 11 6 +5 11  Northern Ireland 5 0 3 2 3 7 −4 3  Azerbaijan 6 0 3 3 2 8 −6 3  Luxembourg 5 0 2 3 2 12 −10 2

Azerbaijan  — 1–1 7 Jun 11 Oct 0–2 15 Oct Israel  6 Sep — 3–0 15 Oct 3–3 0–4 Luxembourg  0–0 0–6 — 10 Sep 1–2 11 Oct Northern Ireland  1–1 0–2 1–1 — 6 Sep 14 Aug Portugal  3–0 11 Oct 15 Oct 1–1 — 7 Jun Russia  1–0 10 Sep 6 Sep 2–0 1–0 —

Players []

Current squad []

The following players have been called up for the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Russia on 22 March 2013 and Israel on 26 March 2013. Caps and goals correct as of 26 March 2013.

0#0 Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club GK Roy Carroll ) 30 September 1977 (age 35) 25 0 Olympiacos GK Alan Mannus ) 19 May 1982 (age 30) 5 0 St Johnstone GK Michael McGovern ) 12 July 1984 (age 28) 1 0 Falkirk DF Aaron Hughes ) 8 November 1979 (age 33) 86 1 Fulham DF Gareth McAuley ) 5 December 1979 (age 33) 42 2 West Bromwich Albion DF Jonny Evans ) 3 January 1988 (age 25) 33 1 Manchester United DF Ryan McGivern ) 8 January 1990 (age 23) 19 0 Hibernian DF Craig Cathcart ) 6 February 1989 (age 24) 14 0 Blackpool DF Daniel Lafferty ) 18 May 1989 (age 23) 4 0 Burnley DF Alex Bruce ) 28 September 1984 (age 28) 1 0 Hull City MF Chris Baird ) 25 February 1982 (age 31) 61 0 Fulham MF Steven Davis ) 1 January 1985 (age 28) 59 4 Southampton MF Chris Brunt ) 14 December 1984 (age 28) 42 1 West Bromwich Albion MF Grant McCann ) 15 April 1980 (age 33) 39 4 Peterborough United MF Sammy Clingan ) 13 January 1984 (age 29) 34 0 Kilmarnock MF Paddy McCourt ) 16 December 1983 (age 29) 13 2 Celtic MF Oliver Norwood ) 12 April 1991 (age 22) 9 0 Huddersfield Town MF Shane Ferguson ) 12 July 1991 (age 21) 8 1 Birmingham City FW David Healy ) 5 August 1979 (age 33) 95 36 Bury FW Kyle Lafferty ) 16 September 1987 (age 25) 35 9 Sion FW Niall McGinn ) 20 July 1987 (age 25) 22 1 Aberdeen FW Martin Paterson ) 10 May 1987 (age 26) 15 1 Burnley FW Andrew Little ) 12 May 1989 (age 24) 8 0 Rangers FW Josh Magennis ) 15 May 1990 (age 22) 5 0 Aberdeen FW Will Grigg ) 3 July 1991 (age 21) 2 0 Walsall FW Billy McKay ) 22 October 1988 (age 24) 1 0 Inverness CT

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 Gerard Doherty ) 24 August 1981 (age 31) 0 0 Derry City v  Malta, 6 February 2013 GK Trevor Carson ) 5 March 1988 (age 25) 0 0 Bury v  Malta, 6 February 2013 GK Lee Camp ) 22 August 1984 (age 28) 9 0 Nottingham Forest v  Finland, 15 August 2012 DF Joe Dudgeon ) 26 November 1990 (age 22) 0 0 Hull City v  Portugal, 16 October 2012 DF James McPake ) 24 June 1984 (age 28) 1 0 Hibernian v  Portugal, 16 October 2012 DF Lee Hodson ) 2 October 1991 (age 21) 9 0 Watford v  Luxembourg, 11 September 2012 DF Colin Coates ) 26 October 1985 (age 27) 6 0 Crusaders v  Netherlands, 2 June 2012 DF Michael Duff ) 11 January 1979 (age 34) 24 0 Burnley v  Netherlands, 2 June 2012 DF Rory McArdle ) 1 May 1987 (age 26) 5 0 Bradford City v  Netherlands, 2 June 2012 MF Josh Carson ) 3 June 1993 (age 19) 4 0 Ipswich Town v  Malta, 6 February 2013 MF Dean Shiels ) 1 February 1985 (age 28) 14 1 Rangers v  Malta, 6 February 2013 MF Corry Evans ) 17 July 1990 (age 22) 18 1 Hull City v  Malta, 6 February 2013 MF Ryan McLaughlin ) 30 September 1994 (age 18) 0 0 Liverpool v  Malta, 6 February 2013 MF Jeff Hughes ) May 29, 1985 (age 27) 2 0 Notts County v  Netherlands, 2 June 2012 FW Jamie Ward ) 12 May 1986 (age 27) 4 0 Derby County v  Russia, 22 March 2013 FW Adam McGurk ) 24 January 1989 (age 24) 0 0 Tranmere Rovers v  Malta, 6 February 2013 FW Josh McQuoid ) 15 December 1989 (age 23) 5 0 Millwall v  Netherlands, 2 June 2012 FW Rory Donnelly ) 18 February 1992 (age 21) 0 0 Swansea City v  Netherlands, 2 June 2012

Previous squads []

FIFA World Cup squads

• 1958 FIFA World Cup squad
• 1982 FIFA World Cup squad
• 1986 FIFA World Cup squad

Greatest Ever Team []

The following players were voted by fans as worthy of being included in Northern Ireland's Greatest Ever Team (in a 4-4-2 formation).^[29]

Managerial Team []

MAN: Billy Bingham
ASS: Lawrie Sanchez

First XI []

Northern Ireland's Greatest Ever Team - First XI

GK: Pat Jennings
RB: Jimmy Nicholl
CB: Aaron Hughes
CB: Jackie Blanchflower
LB: Mal Donaghy
RM: George Best
CM: Danny Blanchflower
CM: Steven Davis
LM: Michael Hughes
CF: David Healy
CF: Peter Doherty

Substitutes []

Northern Ireland's Greatest Ever Team - Subs

SUB GK: Harry Gregg
SUB RB: Pat Rice
SUB CB: John McClelland
SUB LB: Nigel Worthington
SUB RM: Keith Gillespie
SUB CM: Martin O’Neill
SUB LM: Peter McParland
SUB CF: Jimmy McIlroy

Player records []

Northern Ireland players with 50 or more caps []

As of 26 March 2013, the players with the most caps for Northern Ireland are:

Alan McDonald, who played in the 1986 FIFA World Cup

Top Ireland / Northern Ireland goalscorers []

David Healy, the current top goalscorer of Northern Ireland

Managers []

As of 14 November 2012

Manager	Career	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Win %	Loss %
Peter Doherty	1951–1962	56	11	15	30	19.64	53.57
Bertie Peacock	1962–1967	22	9	3	10	40.91	45.45
Billy Bingham	1967–1971	20	8	3	9	40.00	45.00
Terry Neill	1971–1975	20	6	6	8	30.00	40.00
Dave Clements	1975–1976	11	2	2	7	18.18	63.64
Danny Blanchflower	1976–1979	16	4	4	8	25.00	50.00
Billy Bingham	1980–1994	118	40	34	44	33.90	37.29
Bryan Hamilton	1994–1998	32	8	9	15	25.00	46.88
Lawrie McMenemy	1998–1999	14	4	3	7	28.57	50.00
Sammy McIlroy	2000–2003	31	4	10	17	12.90	54.84
Lawrie Sanchez	2004–2007	32	11	10	11	34.38	34.38
Nigel Worthington	2007–2011	41	9	10	22	21.95	53.66
Michael O'Neill	2012–present	7	0	4	3	0.00	43.00

Current coaching staff []

• Manager: Michael O'Neill
• Assistant Manager: Billy McKinlay
• Goalkeeping coach: Tommy Wright
• Physio: vacant
• Team Attendant: vacant

Media coverage []

Sky Sports currently have the rights to show all of Northern Ireland's international fixtures. For many years the games were shown live on BBC Northern Ireland. The decision to sell to Sky was met with disapproval. ^[30], however BBC Northern Ireland have bought the rights to some away games and highlights of all home matches.

See also []

• Green and white army

References []

External links []

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