Everything about The Northern Ireland National Football Team totally explained
The
Northern Ireland national football team represents
Northern Ireland in international
football. In such events, the
constituent countries of the
United Kingdom compete separately, though not in the
Olympic Games. Before 1921, all of
Ireland was part of the
United Kingdom and was represented by a single side, the
Ireland national football team, of which Northern Ireland is the continuation; as such, Northern Ireland is the fourth oldest international football team in the world. The independent
Republic of Ireland now has its
own team.
History
On
February 18 1882, two years after the founding of the Irish FA, Ireland made their international debut against
England, losing 13-0 in a friendly played at Bloomfield Park in Belfast. This remains the record win for England and the record defeat for the Northern Ireland team. The Irish line-up that day included
Samuel Johnston, who at the age of 15 years and 153 days became the youngest international debutant of the 1800s. On
February 25 1882 Ireland played their second international against Wales at the Racecourse Ground, Wrexham and an equaliser from Johnston became Ireland’s first ever goal. The goal also saw Johnston become the 1800s youngest ever international goalscorer.
In 1884 Ireland competed in the inaugural
British Home Championship and lost all three games. Ireland didn't win their first game until
February 19 1887, a 4-1 win over Wales in Belfast. Between their debut and this game, they'd 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
March 3 1888 they lost 11-0 to Wales and three weeks later on
March 24 they lost 10-2 to Scotland. Further heavy defeats came on
March 15 1890 when they lost 9-1 to England, on
February 18 1899 when they lost 13-2 to England and on
February 2 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 form the Irish League, in particular the three Belfast-based clubs Linfield, Cliftonville and Distillery. On
March 4 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
March 25 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
Republic 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
March 8 1950, in a 0-0 draw with Wales at the Racecourse Ground, Wrexham, the IFA fielded a team that included four players who were born in the Irish Free State. As well as being part of the qualifier for the 1950 FIFA World Cup. 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. The IFA objected and in 1954 was permitted to continue using the name Ireland, and to select players from throughout the island in the non-FIFA regulated British Home Championship.
Past performances
Until the 1950s, the major competition for Northern Ireland/Ireland was the
British Home Championship. The team had won the competionion 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 claim to be the British champions, and the trophy remains the property of the 'Irish' FA. This is much advertised by their, mainly
unionist, support base.
World Cup
Northern Ireland's best
World Cup performance was in their first appearance in the competition, 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, and the smallest country to have reached the World Cup quarter-finals.
Northern Ireland also qualified for the 1982 World Cup, again reaching the quarter-finals after topping the first stage group, having beaten Spain, the hosts 1-0. In 1982,
Norman Whiteside became the youngest ever player 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.
The side have yet to participate in their first
European Championship finals.
Recent history
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 world record for any international team. 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 to the day later, on
6 September 2006, Northern Ireland defeated Spain 3-2 in a qualifier for
Euro 2008, with Healy scoring a hat-trick. Healy also scored all of Northern Ireland's goals in the 2-1 victory over Sweden in the same qualification group. Healy has scored thirteen out of Northern Ireland's fifteen Euro 2008 qualification goals so far in seven matches, and is the leading goalscorer in the competition so far.
Here is a summary of all Northern Ireland's competitive results (friendly matches not counted):
All competitive matches before and after partition ‡
| P |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
Gd |
|
110 |
96 |
244 |
483 |
938 |
-455 |
All matches including friendlies ‡
| P |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
Gd |
|
130 |
118 |
276 |
556 |
1046 |
-490 |
‡ Data correct as of N.Ireland v Sweden 28 March 2007
The team have also won the Home Championship 8 times, including 5 shared.
Current campaigns
World Cup
See the main article 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification - UEFA Group 3
Northern Ireland are to begin a campaign to
qualify for the 2010 World cup; they were seeded in the
third pot.
N. Ireland are due to play against the teams of
Scotland,
Wales, and the
Republic of Ireland in a biannual round robin tournament starting in 2011.
Controversy and sectarianism
Some of Northern Ireland's fans have been perceived as sectarian by opposing elements in Northern Irish society.
Neil Lennon, the former captain, and current coach, of
Celtic F.C., was given a death-threat, due to his association with
Celtic F.C., by
Loyalists in Rathcoole. Lennon had been subject to boos and jeers from some supporters while playing for Northern Ireland in Windsor Park.
Steps have been taken to eradicate the sectarian element within the support, and these have proved to be very successful. Lennon has been quick to heap praise on the Northern Ireland fans, and in particular "Football For All" Outstanding Achievement Award Winner Stewart MacAfee, for the work they've carried out to create a more inclusive atmosphere at international games.
Northern Ireland flags issue
Future international matches
»
Stadium
Northern Ireland play their home matches at
Windsor Park,
Belfast, home of
Linfield F.C., which they've use of on a one hundred and eight year 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'd 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 GAA sports.
Given the time that's 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. Everton FC's
Goodison park in Liverpool has been touted as a possible alternative.
Popular culture
Since the defeat of England in 2005 there has been an increase of national pride in the team, with demand for tickets outstripping 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), 'It's Just Like Watching Brazil' and 'Get Into Them They're Easy' are popular at home matches.
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 versus Spain game at Windsor Park in September 2006. The team have various supporters' clubs and the
Our Wee Country fans' website.
Current players
The following players were calles for the friendly match against
Georgia on
March 26 2008. (Cap and goal totals updated as of
March 27)
|caps=67|goals=0|club=
Birmingham City|clubnat=ENG}}
|caps=19|goals=0|club=
Derby County|clubnat=ENG}}
|caps=2|goals=0|club=
Linfield|clubnat=NIR}}
|caps=9|goals=0|club=
Sunderland|clubnat=ENG}}
|caps=23|goals=1|club=
West Ham|clubnat=ENG}}
|caps=31|goals=0|club=
Fulham|clubnat=ENG}}
|caps=58|goals=0|club=
Fulham|clubnat=ENG}}
|caps=10|goals=0|club=
Leicester City|clubnat=ENG}}
|caps=33|goals=0|club=
Motherwell|clubnat=SCO}}
|caps=1|goals=0|club=
Linfield|clubnat=NIR}}
|caps=1|goals=0|club=
Crewe Alexandra|clubnat=ENG}}
|caps=26|goals=1|club=
Rangers|clubnat=SCO}}
|caps=13|goals=0|club=
Nottingham Forest|clubnat=ENG}}
|caps=13|goals=0|club=
West Bromwich Albion|clubnat=ENG}}
|caps=80|goals=2|club=
Sheffield United|clubnat=ENG}}
|caps=47|goals=0|club=
Birmingham City|clubnat=ENG}}
|caps=38|goals=4|club=
Hull City|clubnat=ENG}}
|caps=63|goals=34|club=
Fulham|clubnat=ENG}}
|caps=14|goals=5|club=
Burnley|clubnat=ENG}}
|caps=24|goals=3|club=
Cardiff City|clubnat=WAL}}
|caps=1|goals=0|club=
Scunthorpe United|clubnat=ENG}}
|caps=7|goals=1|club=
Linfield|clubnat=NIR}}
Recent Call Ups
The following players have also been called up to the Northern Ireland squad.
Goalkeepers
Defenders
Midfielders
| Name |
Date of birth |
Club |
Caps (goals) |
Most Recent Call up |
| Ivan Sproule |
February 18, 1981 |
Bristol City |
10 (1) |
v. Bulgaria, 6 February, 2008 |
| Steve Robinson |
December 10, 1974 |
Luton Town |
7 (0) |
v. Bulgaria, 6 February, 2008 |
| Grant McCann |
April 14, 1980 |
Scunthorpe United |
17 (1) |
v. Sweden, 17 October, 2007 |
| Steve Jones |
October 25, 1976 |
Burnley |
29 (1) |
v. Sweden, 17 October, 2007 |
Strikers
Coaching staff
History in major tournaments
World Cup
1930 to 1938 - Did not enter
1950 to 1954 - Did not qualify
1958 - Quarter-finals
1962 to 1978 - Did not qualify
1982 - Quarter-finals
1986 - Round 1
1990 to 2006 - Did not qualify
European Championships
1960 - Did not enter
1964 to 2008 - Did not qualify
Notable former players
Managers
Peter Doherty (1951–1962)
Bertie Peacock (1962–1967)
Billy Bingham (1967–1971)
Terry Neill (1971–1975)
Dave Clements (1975–1976)
Danny Blanchflower (1976–1979)
Billy Bingham (1980–1994)
Bryan Hamilton (1994–1998)
Lawrie McMenemy (1998–1999)
Sammy McIlroy (2000–2003)
Lawrie Sanchez (2004–2007)
Nigel Worthington (2007–present)
Player records
Ireland / Northern Ireland players with 50 or more caps
As of 27 March, 2008, the players with the most caps for Northern Ireland are:
Top Ireland / Northern Ireland goalscorers
Further Information
Get more info on 'Northern Ireland National Football Team'.
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