Northern Ireland national football team – record in major tournaments

This page covers the record of the Northern Ireland national football team in the Football World Cup and European Football Championship. In the "Results" section, home result is always given before away result. Where Northern Ireland only played a team once, (h) and (a) indicates home and away.

Contents

Results

Qualification Brazil 1950(Group 1)

Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA
1  England 6 3 3 0 0 14 3
2  Scotland 4 3 2 0 1 10 3
3=  Ireland 1 3 0 1 2 4 17
3=  Wales 1 3 0 1 2 1 6

England qualified. Scotland also qualified, but withdrew as they had previously decided to participate only if they finished top of the group. FIFA offered the place to  France, the runner-up of Group 3. They initially accepted, but later declined. FIFA decided not to allow anyone else to qualify, leaving the World Cup one team short.

This group was also the 1950 British Home Championship.

October 1, 1949
 Ireland  2-8  Scotland Windsor Park, Belfast
October 1, 1949
 England  9-2  Ireland Manchester, England
October 8, 1950
 Wales  0-0  Ireland Wrexham, Wales

Qualification Switzerland 1954 (group 3)

Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
 England 6 3 3 0 0 11 4 +7
 Scotland 3 3 1 1 1 8 8 0
 Northern Ireland 2 3 1 0 2 4 7 -3
 Wales 1 3 0 1 2 5 9 -4

details

October 3, 1953
 Northern Ireland  1–3  Scotland Windsor Park, Belfast
Norman Lockhart (P) Charlie Fleming 2, Jackie Henderson
November 11, 1953
 England  3–1  Northern Ireland Goodison Park, Liverpool
Harold Hassall 2, Nat Lofthouse Eddie McMorran
March 31, 1954
 Wales  1–2  Northern Ireland Racecourse Ground, Wrexham
John Charles Peter McParland 2

Qualification Sweden 1958

Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA
1  Northern Ireland 5 4 2 1 1 6 3
2  Italy 4 4 2 0 2 5 5
3  Portugal 3 4 1 1 2 4 7
April 25, 1957
 Italy  1-0  Northern Ireland Rome
May 1, 1957
 Northern Ireland  3-0  Portugal Belfast
January 15, 1958
 Northern Ireland  2-1  Italy Belfast

World Cup finals Sweden 1958

First round (Group 1)

Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GAv
 West Germany 4 3 1 2 0 7 5 1.40
 Northern Ireland 3 3 1 1 1 4 5 0.80
 Czechoslovakia 3 3 1 1 1 8 4 2.00
 Argentina 2 3 1 0 2 5 10 0.50
June 8, 1958
19:00
 Northern Ireland  1 – 0  Czechoslovakia Halmstad, Örjans Vall
Attendance: 26000
Referee: Seipelt (Austria)
Cush  16' (Report)
June 11, 1958
19:00
 Argentina  3 – 1  Northern Ireland Halmstad, Örjans Vall
Attendance: 14000
Referee: Ahlner (Sweden)
Corbatta  38' (pen)
Menéndez  55'
Avio  59'		 (Report) McParland  3'
June 15, 1958
19:00
 West Germany  2 – 2  Northern Ireland Malmö, Malmö Stadion
Attendance: 35000
Referee: Campos (Portugal)
Rahn  20'
Seeler  79'		 (Report) McParland  17',  58'

Play-off:

June 17, 1958
19:00
 Northern Ireland  2 – 1 (a.e.t.)  Czechoslovakia Malmö, Malmö Stadion
Attendance: 26000
Referee: Guigue (France)
McParland  44',  91' (Report) Zikán  19'

Quarter final

June 19, 1958
19:00
 France  4 – 0  Northern Ireland Norrköping, Idrottsparken
Attendance: 12000
Referee: Gardeazabal (Spain)
Wisnieski  22'
Fontaine  55',  63'
Piantoni  68'		 (Report)

Qualification, 1960-1982

Tournament Section Placing Results Notes
Euro 1960, France Did not enter No UK teams entered the tournament.
Chile 1962 Group 8: 3 teams, 1 qualifies 2nd, 2pts/8  West Germany 3-4, 1-2
 Greece 2-0, 1-2
Euro 1964, Spain knockout, must win 3 rounds Lost in 3rd round  Poland 2-0, 2-0
 Spain 0-1, 1-1
England 1966 Group 5: 4 teams, 1 qualifies 2nd, 8pts/12  Switzerland 1-0, 1-2
 Netherlands 2-1, 0-0
 Albania 4-1, 1-1
Euro 1968, Italy Combined results of 1967 and 1968 British Home Championships: 4 teams, 1 goes on to playoff 4th, 3pts/12  England 0-2, 0-2
 Scotland 1-0, 1-2
 Wales 0-0, 0-2
Mexico 1970 Group 2: 3 teams, 1 qualifies 2nd, 5pts/8  Soviet Union 0-0, 1-3
 Turkey 4-1, 3-0
Euro 1972, Belgium Group 4: 4 teams, 1 goes on to playoff 3rd, 6pts/12  Soviet Union 1-1, 0-1
 Spain 1-1, 0-3
 Cyprus 5-0, 3-0
West Germany 1974 Group 6: 4 teams, 1 qualifies 3rd, 5pts/12  Bulgaria 0-0, 0-3
 Portugal 1-1, 1-1
 Cyprus 3-0, 0-1
Euro 1976, Yugoslavia Group 3: 4 teams, 1 goes on to playoff 2nd, 6pts/12  Yugoslavia 1-0, 0-1
 Sweden 1-2, 2-0
 Norway 3-0, 1-2
Argentina 1978 Group 4: 4 teams, 1 qualifies 3rd, 5pts/12  Netherlands 0-1, 2-2
 Belgium 3-0, 0-2
 Iceland 2-0, 0-1
Euro 1980, Italy Group 1: 5 teams, 1 qualifies 2nd, 9pts/16  England 1-5, 0-4
 Republic of Ireland 1-0, 0-0
 Bulgaria 2-0, 2-0
 Denmark 2-1, 0-4		 The first-ever matches against the Republic of Ireland.
Spain 1982 Group 6: 5 teams, 2 qualify 2nd, 9pts/16
QUALIFIED		  Scotland 0-0, 1-1
 Sweden 3-0, 0-1
 Portugal 1-0, 0-1
 Israel 1-0, 0-0

World Cup Spain '82

First Round (Group 5)

Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
 Northern Ireland 4 3 1 2 0 2 1 +1
 Spain 3 3 1 1 1 3 3 0
 Yugoslavia 3 3 1 1 1 2 2 0
 Honduras 2 3 0 2 1 2 3 -1
June 17, 1982
21:15
 Yugoslavia  0 - 0  Northern Ireland La Romareda, Zaragoza
Ref: Fredriksson (SWE)
Attendance: 25,000
  (Report)  
June 21, 1982
21:15
 Honduras  1 - 1  Northern Ireland La Romareda, Zaragoza
Ref: Chan (HKG)
Attendance: 15,000
Laing 60' (Report) Armstrong 10'
June 25, 1982
21:15
 Spain  0 - 1  Northern Ireland Estadio Luis Casanova, Valencia
Ref: Ortíz (PAR)
Attendance: 49,562
  (Report) Armstrong 47'

Second Round (Group D)

Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
 France 4 2 2 0 0 5 1 +4
 Austria 1 2 0 1 1 2 3 -1
 Northern Ireland 1 2 0 1 1 3 6 -3
July 1, 1982
17:15
 Austria  2 - 2  Northern Ireland Estadio Vicente Calderón, Madrid
Ref: Prokop (GDR)
Attendance: 20,000
Pezzey 50'
Hintermaier 68'		 (Report) Hamilton 27', 75'
July 4, 1982
17:15
 Northern Ireland  1 - 4  France Estadio Vicente Calderón, Madrid
Ref: Jarguz (POL)
Attendance: 37,000
Armstrong 75' (Report) Giresse 33', 80'
Rocheteau 46', 68'

Qualification, 1984-86

Tournament Section Placing Results Notes
Euro 1984, France Group 6: 5 teams, 1 qualifies 2nd, 11pts/16  West Germany 1-0, 1-0
 Austria 3-1, 0-2
 Turkey 1-0, 0-1
 Albania 3-1, 0-0		 Northern Ireland were level with West Germany on points; the Germans got through on goal difference, +10 to +3.
Mexico 1986 Group 3: 5 teams, 2 qualify 2nd, 10pts/16
QUALIFIED		  England 0-1, 0-0
 Romania 3-2, 1-0
 Finland 2-1, 0-1
 Turkey 2-0, 0-0

World Cup Mexico '86

Group D

Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
 Brazil 6 3 3 0 0 5 0 +5
 Spain 4 3 2 0 1 5 2 +3
 Northern Ireland 1 3 0 1 2 2 6 -4
 Algeria 1 3 0 1 2 1 5 -4
June 3, 1986
12:00
 Algeria  1–1  Northern Ireland Estadio Tres de Marzo, Guadalajara
Ref: Butenko (URS)
Attendance: 22,000
Zidane 59' (Report) Whiteside 6'
June 7, 1986
12:00
 Spain  2–1  Northern Ireland Estadio Tres de Marzo, Guadalajara
Ref: Brummeier (AUT)
Attendance: 28,000
Butragueño 1'
Salinas 18'		 (Report) Clarke 46'
June 12, 1986
12:00
 Brazil  3–0  Northern Ireland Estadio Jalisco, Guadalajara
Ref: Kirschen (GDR)
Attendance: 51,000
Careca 15', 87'
Josimar 42'		 (Report)  

Qualification, 1988-present

Tournament Section Placing Results Notes
Euro 1988, West Germany Group 4: 4 teams, 1 qualifies 3rd, 3pts/12  England 0-2, 0-3
 Yugoslavia 1-2, 0-3
 Turkey 1-0, 0-0
Italy 1990 Group 6: 5 teams, 2 qualify 4th, 5pts/16  Spain 0-2, 0-4
 Republic of Ireland 0-0, 0-3
 Hungary 1-2, 0-1
 Malta 3-0, 2-0
Euro 1992, Sweden Group 7: 5 teams, 1 qualifies 3rd, 7pts/16  Yugoslavia 0-2, 0-7
 Denmark 1-1, 1-2
 Austria 2-1, 0-0
 Faroe Islands 1-1, 5-0
USA 1994 Group 3: 7 teams, 2 qualify 4th, 13pts/24  Spain 0-0, 1-3
 Republic of Ireland 1-1, 0-3
 Denmark 0-1, 0-1
 Lithuania 2-2, 1-0
 Latvia 2-0, 2-1
 Albania 3-0, 2-1

3 points for a win from Euro '96 onwards.

Tournament Section Placing Results Notes
Euro 1996, England Group 6: 6 teams, 1 qualifies
Six 2nd place teams qualify
Two 2nd place teams have playoff		 3rd, 17pts/30  Portugal 1-2, 1-1
 Republic of Ireland 0-4, 1-1
 Austria 5-3, 2-1
 Latvia 1-2, 1-0
 Liechtenstein 4-1, 4-0
France 1998 Group 9: 6 teams, 1 qualifies
One 2nd place team qualifies
Eight 2nd place teams have playoffs		 5th, 7pts/30  Germany 1-3, 1-1
 Ukraine 0-1, 1-2
 Portugal 0-0, 0-1
 Armenia 1-1, 0-0
 Albania 2-0, 0-1
Euro 2000, Netherlands & Belgium Group 3 5 teams, 1 qualifies
One 2nd place team qualifies
Eight 2nd place teams have playoffs		 4th, 5pts/24  Germany 0-3, 0-4
 Turkey 0-3, 0-3
 Finland 1-0, 1-4
 Moldova 2-2, 0-0
South Korea & Japan 2002 Group 3: 7 teams, 1 qualifies, 2nd gets a playoff 5th, 11pts/30  Denmark 1-1, 1-1
 Czech Republic 0-1, 1-3
 Bulgaria 0-1, 3-4
 Iceland 3-0, 0-1
 Malta 1-0, 1-0
Euro 2004, Portugal Group 6: 5 teams, 1 qualifies, 2nd gets a playoff 5th, 3pts/24  Greece 0-1, 0-2
 Spain 0-0, 0-3
 Ukraine 0-0, 0-0
 Armenia 0-1, 0-1
Germany 2006 Group 6: 6 teams, 1 qualifies
Two 2nd place teams qualify
Six 2nd place teams have a playoff		 4th, 9pts/30  England 1-0, 0-4
 Poland 0-3, 0-1
 Austria 3-3, 0-2
 Wales 2-3, 2-2
 Azerbaijan 2-0, 0-0
Euro 2008, Switzerland & Austria Group F: 7 teams, 2 qualify 3rd, 20pts/36  Spain 3-2, 0-1
 Sweden 2-1, 1-1
 Denmark 2-1, 0-0
 Latvia 1-0, 0-1
 Iceland 0-3, 1-2
 Liechtenstein 3-1, 4-1		 David Healy became the record goalscorer in a single UEFA European Championship qualifying campaign with 13 goals in 11 games.
South Africa 2010 Group 3: 6 teams, 1 qualifies
Eight of nine runners-up get a playoff		 Commences August 2008  Czech Republic
 Poland
 Slovakia
 Slovenia
 San Marino

Details

Euro 2004

Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA
 Greece 18 8 6 0 2 8 4
 Spain 17 8 5 2 1 16 4
 Ukraine 10 8 2 4 2 11 10
 Armenia 7 8 2 1 5 7 16
 Northern Ireland 3 8 0 3 5 0 8

Group matches

October 12, 2002
 Spain  3 – 0
  Northern Ireland  ?
Attendance: ?
Referee: ?
October 16, 2002
 Northern Ireland  0 – 0
  Ukraine Windsor Park
Attendance: ?
Referee: ?
March 19, 2003
 Armenia  1 – 0
  Northern Ireland
Attendance: ?
Referee: ?
April 2, 2003
 Northern Ireland  0 – 2
  Greece Windsor Park
Attendance: ?
Referee: ?
June 11, 2003
 Northern Ireland  0 – 0
  Spain Windsor Park
Attendance: ?
Referee: ?
September 6, 2003
 Ukraine  0 – 0
  Northern Ireland  ?
Attendance: ?
Referee: ?
September 10, 2003
 Northern Ireland  0 – 1
  Armenia Windsor Park
Attendance: ?
Referee: ?
October 11, 2003
 Greece  1 – 0
  Northern Ireland Windsor Park
Attendance: ?
Referee: ?

FIFA World cup 2006

Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
 England 25 10 8 1 1 17 5 12
 Poland 24 10 8 0 2 27 9 18
 Austria 15 10 4 3 3 15 12 3
 Northern Ireland 9 10 2 3 5 10 18 -8
 Wales 8 10 2 2 6 10 15 -5
 Azerbaijan 3 10 0 3 7 1 21 -20
September 4, 2004
 Northern Ireland  0 – 3
  Poland Windsor Park
Attendance: ?
Referee: ?
September 8, 2004
 Wales  2 – 2
  Northern Ireland Millennium Stadium
Attendance: ?
Referee: ?
October 9, 2004
 Azerbaijan  0 – 0
  Northern Ireland
Attendance: ?
Referee: ?
October 13, 2004
 Northern Ireland  3 – 3
  Austria Windsor Park
Attendance: ?
Referee: ?
March 26, 2005
 England  3 – 0
  Northern Ireland Old Trafford
Attendance: ?
Referee: ?
March 30, 2005
 Poland  1 – 0
  Northern Ireland
Attendance: ?
Referee: ?
September 3, 2005
 Northern Ireland  2 – 0
  Azerbaijan Windsor Park
Attendance: ?
Referee: ?
September 7, 2005
 Northern Ireland  1 – 0
  England Windsor Park
Attendance: ?
Referee: ?
October 8, 2005
 Northern Ireland  2 – 3
  Wales Windsor Park
Attendance: ?
Referee: ?
October 12, 2005
 Austria  2 – 0
  Northern Ireland
Attendance: ?
Referee: ?

Euro 2008

See the main article 2008 UEFA Championship Group F

Northern Ireland have unsuccessfully competed for qualification to the finals of the Euro 2008 competition. They were seeded in the sixth pot and drawn against Sweden, Spain, Denmark, Latvia, Iceland and Liechtenstein. In an unprecedented move, the Irish Football Association offered the national team and all its staff a £1 million pound bonus if the team qualified for Euro 2008.[1]

Their chances of qualifying got off to a poor start as a poor defensive display saw them go down 3-0 at home to Iceland. In their second game, they came back to defeat Spain 3-2 with a David Healy hat trick, the first in Belfast for thirty-five years since George Best, and their first win over Spain since the 1982 World Cup.[2] Northern Ireland then recorded a 0-0 draw against Denmark in Copenhagen[3] and a 1-0 win against Latvia at Windsor Park.[4] Northern Ireland played Liechtenstein in March 2007, picking up a 4-1 win.[5] The victory included another Healy hat-trick and Grant McCann's first international goal. A 2-1 victory against Sweden on 28 March saw Northern Ireland go top of Group F, having played more games than the other teams,[6] and they occupied a qualification spot at the midway point. Northern Ireland did not play in the June games and fell to third, but they defeated Liechtenstein 3-1, putting Northern Ireland into 2nd place. They slipped to a 1-0 defeat against Latvia in Riga, which dealt their qualification hopes a huge blow, even though later on the same day, both Sweden and Spain drew. Defeat in Iceland (2-1) four days later has seen them drop out of a qualification place again, a further draw against Sweden kept their hopes alive. On 17 November 2007 Northern Ireland defeated Denmark 2-1 at Windsor Park with goals from Warren Feeney and David Healy. Healy's thirteenth goal of the qualifying campaign saw him eclipse Davor Šuker's record of twelve, established during qualification for Euro 96.[7] On the 21 November, Northern Ireland lost the chance of qualifying, after losing 1-0 to Spain, and Latvia losing 2-1 to Sweden. Northern Ireland did finish the group in third place on 20 points.

As a result of this campaign, Northern Ireland have improved their standing, and were seeded in the third pool for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, higher than the sixth pool allocated for the current competition.

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Spain 12 9 1 2 23 8 +15 28
 Sweden 12 8 2 2 23 9 +14 26
 Northern Ireland 12 6 2 4 17 14 +3 20
 Denmark 12 6 2 4 21 11 +10 20
 Latvia 12 4 0 8 15 17 −2 12
 Iceland 12 2 2 8 10 27 −17 8
 Liechtenstein 12 2 1 9 9 32 −23 7

Results

Group F fixtures were settled at a meeting between the participants in Copenhagen, Denmark.[8]

September 2, 2006
14:00 BST
 Northern Ireland  0 – 3
  Iceland Windsor Park, Belfast
Attendance: 14,500
Referee: Skjerven (Norway)
Report Þorvaldsson  13'
Hreiðarsson  20'
Guðjohnsen  37'
September 6, 2006
20:15 BST
 Northern Ireland  3 – 2
  Spain Windsor Park, Belfast
Attendance: 14,500
Referee: De Bleeckere (Belgium)
Healy  20'  65'  80' Report Xavi  14'
Villa  52'
October 7, 2006
20:00 CEST
 Denmark  0 – 0
  Northern Ireland Parken Stadium, Copenhagen
Attendance: 41,482
Referee: Plautz (Austria)
Report
October 11, 2006
20:00 BST
 Northern Ireland  1 – 0
  Latvia Windsor Park, Belfast
Attendance: 14,500
Referee: Fleischer (Germany)
Healy  35' Report
March 24, 2007
20:15 CET
 Liechtenstein  1 – 4
  Northern Ireland Rheinpark, Vaduz
Attendance: 4,340
Referee: Oriekhov (Ukraine)
Burgmeier  90+1' Report Healy  52'  75'  83'
McCann  90+2'
March 28, 2007
19:45 BST
 Northern Ireland  2 – 1
  Sweden Windsor Park, Belfast
Attendance: 14,500
Referee: Braamhaar (Netherlands)
Healy  31'  58' Report Elmander  26'
August 22, 2007
19:45 BST
 Northern Ireland  3 – 1
  Liechtenstein Windsor Park, Belfast
Attendance: 20,332
Referee: Matějek (Czech Republic)
Healy  5'  35'
Lafferty  56'		 Report M. Frick  89'
September 8, 2007
19:15 EEST
 Latvia  1 – 0
  Northern Ireland Skonto Stadions, Riga
Attendance: 7,500
Referee: Proença (Portugal)
Baird (o.g.)  56' Report
September 12, 2007
18:05 WET
 Iceland  2 – 1
  Northern Ireland Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík
Attendance: 2,500
Referee: Baskakov (Russia)
Björnsson  6'
Gillespie  90+1' (o.g.)		 Report Healy  72' (pen.)
October 17, 2007
20:30 CEST
 Sweden  1 – 1
  Northern Ireland Råsunda Stadion, Solna
Attendance: 33,112
Referee: Layec (France)
Mellberg  15' Report Lafferty  72'
November 17, 2007
19:45 GMT
 Northern Ireland  2 – 1
  Denmark Windsor Park, Belfast
Attendance: 14,500
Referee: Vink (Netherlands)
Feeney  62'
Healy  80'		 Report Bendtner  51'
November 21, 2007
19:00 WET
 Spain  1 – 0  Northern Ireland Estadio Gran Canaria, Las Palmas
Attendance: 30,000
Referee: Fandel (Germany)
Xavi  52' Report

References

  1. ^ "NI back to reality". BBC Sport. 2006-09-04. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/5311744.stm. Retrieved 2007-06-01. 
  2. ^ "Northern Ireland 3-2 Spain". BBC Sport. 2006-09-06. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/5321964.stm. Retrieved 2007-06-01. 
  3. ^ "Denmark 0-0 N Ireland". BBC Sport. 2006-10-07. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/5416780.stm. Retrieved 2007-06-01. 
  4. ^ "N Ireland 1-0 Latvia". BBC Sport. 2006-10-11. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/6042682.stm. Retrieved 2007-06-01. 
  5. ^ "Liechtenstein 1-4 N Ireland". BBC Sport. 2007-03-24. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/6473569.stm. Retrieved 2007-06-01. 
  6. ^ "N Ireland 2-1 Sweden". BBC Sport. 2007-03-28. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/6504857.stm. Retrieved 2007-06-01. 
  7. ^ "Northern Ireland 2-1 Denmark". BBC News. November 17, 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/7100041.stm. Retrieved May 20, 2010. 
  8. ^ Lars Berendt, Pia Schou Nielsen and Jacob Wadland. "Danmark starter og slutter med Island" (in Danish). DBU. http://dbu.dk/news/newsShow.aspx?id=99015. Retrieved September 3, 2006. 
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