Northern Ireland national under-21 football team

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Northern Ireland Under-21
Shirt badge/Association crest
AssociationIrish Football Association
Head coachJohn Schofield
Most capsLiam Donnelly (24)
Top scorerLiam Donnelly
Shayne Lavery (5)
First colours
Second colours
First international
Republic of Ireland Rep. of Ireland 1–1 Northern Ireland Northern Ireland
(Dalymount Park, Phibsborough; 8 March 1978)
Biggest win
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland 5–0 Luxembourg Luxembourg
(Mourneview Park, Lurgan; 16 November 2007)
Biggest defeat
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland 2–6 Greece Greece
(The Oval, Belfast; 1 April 2003)
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland 2–6 Iceland Iceland
(The Showgrounds, Coleraine; 8 September 2009)
UEFA U-21 Championship
Appearances0

The Northern Ireland national under-21 football team also known as the Northern Ireland under-21s or Northern Ireland U21s, is the national under-21 football team of Northern Ireland and is controlled by the Irish Football Association. The team competes in the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, held every two years. To date Northern Ireland haven't yet qualified for the finals tournament.

The national under-21 team is the highest level of youth football in Northern Ireland, and is open to any players who were born in Northern Ireland or whose parents or grandparents were born in Northern Ireland. This team is for Northern Irish players aged 21 or under at the start of a two-year European Under-21 Football Championship campaign, so players can be, and often are, up to 23 years old. As long as they are eligible, players can play at any level, making it possible to play for the U21s, senior side and again for the U21s.

Competitive Record[]

For the all-time record of the national team against opposing nations, see the team's all-time record page

UEFA European Under-21 Championship Record[]

UEFA Under-21 Football Championship finals record Qualification record Manager(s)
Year Round Pos Pld W D L GF GA Squad Pld W D L GF GA
1978 Did not enter Did not enter None
1980
1982
1984
1986
1988
1990
1992
France 1994
Spain 1996
Romania 1998
Slovakia 2000 Did not qualify 8 1 3 4 5 9 Chris Nicholl
Switzerland 2002 10 2 2 6 12 21 Roy Millar
Germany 2004 8 2 1 5 8 16
Portugal 2006 Did not enter Did not enter None
Netherlands 2007 Did not qualify 4 2 0 2 10 7 Roy Millar
Sweden 2009 8 4 0 4 13 12 Roy Millar, Steve Beaglehole[1]
Denmark 2011 8 2 1 5 12 16 Steve Beaglehole
Israel 2013 8 1 1 6 5 13 Steve Beaglehole, Stephen Robinson[2]
Czech Republic 2015 8 1 0 7 3 17 Stephen Robinson, Jim Magilton[3]
Poland 2017 10 0 2 8 6 18 Jim Magilton
ItalySan Marino 2019 10 6 2 2 15 11 Ian Baraclough
HungarySlovenia 2021 10 2 3 5 7 13 Ian Baraclough, Andy Crosby[4]
Georgia (country)Romania 2023 To be determined 6 2 0 4 6 10 John Schofield
Total - 0/23 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 96 25 15 58 102 163 -

Results and fixtures[]

Main articles: Northern Ireland national under-21 football team results (2020–present) and Northern Ireland national under-21 football team results (1978–2019)

2021[]

2 June International friendly Scotland  1–2  Northern Ireland Dumbarton, Scotland
15:00 BST Middleton 40' (pen.) Report Taylor 10'
Baggley 45+1'		 Stadium: Dumbarton Football Stadium
Attendance: 0
5 June International friendly Scotland  3–2  Northern Ireland Dumbarton, Scotland
14:00 BST 25'
Williamson 44'
Middleton 78' (pen.)		 29'
69'		 Stadium: Dumbarton Football Stadium
Attendance: 0
3 September 2023 UEFA U-21 Group C Qualifier Malta  4–1  Northern Ireland Ta' Qali, Malta
15:30 BST 24'
36' (40), pen.'
84'		 Report 58' Stadium: Centenary Stadium
Referee: Milovan Milačić (Montenegro)
7 September 2023 UEFA U-21 Group C Qualifier Northern Ireland  1–0  Slovakia Lurgan, Northern Ireland
19:30 BST Galbraith 54' (pen.) Report Stadium: Mourneview Park
Attendance: 397
Referee: Vilhjalmur Thorarinsson (Iceland)
8 October 2023 UEFA U-21 Group C Qualifier Russia  1–0  Northern Ireland Khimki, Russia
17:00 BST Prokhin 16' Report Stadium: Arena Khimki
Attendance: 250
Referee: (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
12 October 2023 UEFA U-21 Group C Qualifier Spain  3–0  Northern Ireland Seville, Spain
19:45 BST
Report Stadium: Estadio de La Cartuja
Referee: (Ukraine)
12 November 2023 UEFA U-21 Group C Qualifier Northern Ireland  4–0  Lithuania Ballymena, Northern Ireland
14:00 GMT
Report Stadium: Ballymena Showgrounds
Referee: (Estonia)
16 November 2023 UEFA U-21 Group C Qualifier Northern Ireland  0–2  Malta Lurgan, Northern Ireland
19:30 GMT Report 49'
89'		 Stadium: Mourneview Park
Attendance: 347
Referee: (Faroe Islands)

2022[]

25 March 2023 UEFA U-21 Group C Qualifier Slovakia  v  Northern Ireland Slovakia
29 March 2023 UEFA U-21 Group C Qualifier Northern Ireland  v  Russia Northern Ireland
3 June 2023 UEFA U-21 Group C Qualifier Northern Ireland  v  Spain Northern Ireland
7 June 2023 UEFA U-21 Group C Qualifier Lithuania  v  Northern Ireland Lithuania

2023 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship[]

Group stage[]

Main article: 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group C
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Spain 6 5 0 1 17 4 +13 15 Final tournament — 4–1 3–2 7 Jun 3–0 25 Mar
2  Russia 6 5 0 1 15 4 +11 15 Play-offs 1–0 — 3–0 6–0 1–0 3 Jun
3  Slovakia 6 3 0 3 11 8 +3 9 29 Mar 7 Jun — 4–0 25 Mar 3–1
4  Malta 6 2 0 4 7 18 −11 6 0–5 25 Mar 3 Jun — 4–1 29 Mar
5  Northern Ireland 6 2 0 4 6 10 −4 6 3 Jun 29 Mar 1–0 0–2 — 4–0
6  Lithuania 6 1 0 5 3 15 −12 3 0–2 0–3 0–2 2–1 7 Jun —
Updated to match(es) played on 16 November 2021. Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Players[]

Current squad[]

Players born on or after 1 January 2000 will be eligible until the completion of the 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.[5]

The following players were named in the squad for the 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Qualifiers against  Lithuania and  Malta on the 12 & 16 November 2021.[6]

Caps and goals updated as of 16 November 2021 after the match against  Malta. Names in bold denote players who have been capped for the senior team.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Liam Hughes (2001-08-19) 19 August 2001 (age 20) 6 0 England Liverpool
1GK Oliver Webber (2000-06-26) 26 June 2000 (age 21) 3 0 England Crystal Palace
2DF Kofi Balmer (2000-09-19) 19 September 2000 (age 21) 17 0 Northern Ireland Larne
2DF Jack Scott (2002-09-22) 22 September 2002 (age 19) 10 0 England Wolves
2DF (2002-03-18) 18 March 2002 (age 19) 9 0 England Sunderland
2DF Aaron Donnelly (2003-06-08) 8 June 2003 (age 18) 8 0 England Nottingham Forest
2DF Finn Cousin-Dawson (2002-07-04) 4 July 2002 (age 19) 6 0 England Bradford City
2DF Sean Stewart (2003-01-21) 21 January 2003 (age 19) 2 0 England Norwich City
2DF Shea Charles (2003-11-05) 5 November 2003 (age 18) 1 0 England Manchester City
3MF Caolan Boyd-Munce (2000-01-26) 26 January 2000 (age 22) 19 0 England Middlesbrough
3MF Ethan Galbraith (2001-05-11) 11 May 2001 (age 20) 16 1 England Doncaster Rovers (on loan from Manchester United)
3MF Alfie McCalmont (2000-03-25) 25 March 2000 (age 21) 14 3 England Morecambe (on loan from Leeds United)
3MF Oisin Smyth (2000-05-05) 5 May 2000 (age 21) 7 0 Northern Ireland Dungannon Swifts
3MF Chris Conn-Clarke (2001-11-22) 22 November 2001 (age 20) 6 1 England Fleetwood Town
3MF Paddy Lane (2001-02-18) 18 February 2001 (age 20) 6 1 England Fleetwood Town
3MF Carl Johnston (2002-05-29) 29 May 2002 (age 19) 5 0 England Fleetwood Town
3MF Barry Baggley (2002-01-11) 11 January 2002 (age 20) 3 1 England Fleetwood Town
3MF JJ McKiernan (2002-01-18) 18 January 2002 (age 20) 2 0 England Watford
4FW Paul O'Neill (2000-01-07) 7 January 2000 (age 22) 10 4 Northern Ireland Cliftonville
4FW Ryan Waide (2000-02-12) 12 February 2000 (age 21) 7 1 Northern Ireland Ballymena United
4FW John McGovern (2002-10-17) 17 October 2002 (age 19) 4 0 Northern Ireland Newry City
4FW Dale Taylor (2003-12-12) 12 December 2003 (age 18) 3 1 England Nottingham Forest
4FW Harry Anderson (2002-11-01) 1 November 2002 (age 19) 1 0 Northern Ireland Portadown
4FW Calvin McCurry (2001-12-26) 26 December 2001 (age 20) 0 0 Northern Ireland Ards

Recent call-ups[]

The following players have previously been called up to the Northern Ireland under-21 squad in the last year and remain eligible.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Declan Dunne (2000-03-31) 31 March 2000 (age 21) 1 0 Northern Ireland Dungannon Swifts v.  Spain, 12 October 2021
GK Dermot Mee (2002-11-20) 20 November 2002 (age 19) 1 0 England Manchester United v.  Scotland, 5 June 2021
GK David Walsh (2002-07-05) 5 July 2002 (age 19) 1 0 Northern Ireland Linfield v.  Scotland, 5 June 2021
DF Sam McClelland (2002-01-04) 4 January 2002 (age 20) 4 0 England Chelsea v.  Spain, 12 October 2021
DF Kyle McClelland (2002-02-10) 10 February 2002 (age 19) 2 0 Scotland Rangers v.  Spain, 12 October 2021
DF Daniel Finlayson (2001-01-19) 19 January 2001 (age 21) 3 0 Scotland St Mirren v.  Slovakia, 7 September 2021
DF Aaron Donnelly (2000-03-27) 27 March 2000 (age 21) 0 0 Northern Ireland Cliftonville v.  Slovakia, 7 September 2021
MF Cammy Palmer (2000-05-15) 15 May 2000 (age 21) 10 0 Northern Ireland Linfield v.  Spain, 12 October 2021
MF Dylan Boyle (2002-01-15) 15 January 2002 (age 20) 1 0 England Fleetwood Town v.  Slovakia, 7 September 2021
MF Amrit Bansal-McNulty (2000-03-16) 16 March 2000 (age 21) 2 0 England Crawley Town (on loan from Queens Park Rangers) v.  Scotland, 5 June 2021
MF Ben Wylie (2002-06-29) 29 June 2002 (age 19) 1 1 Scotland Celtic v.  Scotland, 5 June 2021
MF Eoin Teggart (2002-02-06) 6 February 2002 (age 19) 0 0 Northern Ireland Portadown v.  Scotland, 5 June 2021
MF Aidan Steele (2002-10-20) 20 October 2002 (age 19) 0 0 England Crystal Palace Training Camp, March 2021
MF Liam Ravenhill (2002-11-28) 28 November 2002 (age 19) 0 0 England Doncaster Rovers Training Camp, March 2021
FW Lewis McCann (2001-06-07) 7 June 2001 (age 20) 6 0 Scotland Dunfermline Athletic v.  Scotland, 5 June 2021
FW Liam Smyth (2001-09-06) 6 September 2001 (age 20) 0 0 England Wingate & Finchley Training Camp, March 2021
FW Ben Wilson (2001-12-05) 5 December 2001 (age 20) 0 0 England Brighton Training Camp, March 2021

COVID = Player withdrew due to a positive COVID test or from being in close contact with someone with a positive COVID test.
INJ = Player withdrew from the squad before any games had been played.
PRE = Preliminary squad / standby.
SEN = Player withdrew from the squad due to a call up to the senior team.
SUS = Suspended from national team.
WTD = Withdrew due to other reasons.

Player records[]

Main article: Northern Ireland national under-21 football team records and statistics

Top appearances[]

  Players still active are highlighted in green

Caps and goals updated as of 16 November 2021 after the match against  Malta.

Rank Player Year(s) U-21 Caps U-21 Goals First Cap Last Cap
1 Liam Donnelly 2012–2018 24 5 13 November 2012 vs. England 16 October 2018 vs. Slovakia
2 Sean Friars 1998–2001 21 2 21 April 1998 vs. Switzerland 5 June 2001 vs. Czech Republic
3 Terry McFlynn 2000–2003 19 2 28 March 2000 vs. Malta 10 October 2003 vs. Greece
Rory McArdle 2006–2008 19 1 6 February 2006 vs. Israel 26 March 2008 vs. Romania
Thomas Stewart 2006–2008 19 4 6 February 2006 vs. Israel 26 March 2008 vs. Romania
Caolan Boyd-Munce 2017–2020 19 0 25 March 2019 vs. Mexico 16 November 2021 vs. Malta
7 Chris Casement 2007–2009 18 2 6 February 2007 vs. Wales 17 November 2009 vs. Czech Republic
Cameron Dummigan 2014–2018 18 0 9 September 2014 vs. Serbia 16 October 2018 vs. Slovakia
8 Jeff Whitley 1998–2000 17 1 21 April 1998 vs. Switzerland 10 October 2000 vs. Iceland
Ciarán Toner 2000–2003 17 1 28 March 2000 vs. Malta 1 April 2003 vs. Greece
Josh Magennis 2009–2012 17 4 11 August 2009 vs. Portugal 13 November 2012 vs. England
David Parkhouse 2017–2020 17 3 8 June 2017 vs. Estonia 8 September 2020 vs. Denmark
2019– 17 0 22 March 2019 vs. Bulgaria 16 November 2021 vs. Malta

Top goalscorers[]

  Players still active are highlighted in green

Caps and goals updated as of 16 November 2021 after the match against  Malta.

Rank Player Year(s) U-21 Goals U-21 Caps Goals per game First Goal Last Goal
1 Liam Donnelly 2012–2018 5 24 0.21 8 June 2017 vs. Estonia 11 September 2018 vs. Spain
Shayne Lavery 2016–2020 5 14 0.36 10 November 2017 vs. Albania 25 March 2019 vs. Mexico
3 Adrian Coote 1998–1999 4 12 0.33 21 April 1998 vs. Switzerland 17 August 1999 vs. France
David Healy 1998–1999 4 8 0.5 17 November 1998 vs. Moldova 17 August 1999 vs. France
Sam Morrow 2005–2006 4 4 1 8 February 2005 vs. Scotland 12 April 2006 vs. Liechtenstein
Thomas Stewart 2006–2008 4 19 0.21 16 May 2006 vs. Scotland 26 March 2008 vs. Romania
Josh Magennis 2009–2012 4 17 0.24 8 September 2009 vs. Iceland 7 September 2012 vs. North Macedonia
Oliver Norwood 2009–2012 4 11 0.36 13 November 2009 vs. Germany 2 March 2010 vs. San Marino
2019– 4 10 0.4 9 October 2020 vs. Finland 12 November 2021 vs. Lithuania
10 Gary Hamilton 2000–2001 3 12 0.25 2 June 2000 vs. Wales 10 October 2000 vs. Iceland
Mo Harkin 2000–2001 3 9 0.33 28 March 2000 vs. Malta 10 October 2000 vs. Iceland
Grant McCann 2000–2001 3 11 0.27 10 October 2000 vs. Iceland 5 October 2001 vs. Malta
Lee McEvilly 2002–2003 3 9 0.33 6 September 2002 vs. Scotland 1 April 2003 vs. Greece
Chris Turner 2006–2008 3 12 0.25 1 June 2007 vs. Moldova 16 November 2007 vs. Luxembourg
Andrew Little 2008–2010 3 6 0.5 18 November 2008 vs. Scotland 3 September 2010 vs. San Marino
Billy Kee 2009–2011 3 10 0.3 10 August 2011 vs. Faroe Islands 10 August 2011 vs. Faroe Islands
David Parkhouse 2017–2020 3 17 0.18 8 June 2017 vs. Estonia 4 September 2020 vs. Malta
Alfie McCalmont 2019– 3 14 0.21 14 November 2019 vs. Hungary 12 November 2021 vs. Lithuania

Under-21 graduates[]

Players who have won 25 or more Northern Ireland 'Full' caps after playing for Northern Ireland U21.

  Players still active are highlighted in green

Full caps and goals updated as of 12 October 2021 after the Northern Ireland senior team match against  Bulgaria.

Name U21 Caps U21 Goals U21 Career Full Caps Full Goals Full Career
Chris Baird 6 1 2002–2003 79 0 2003–2016
Kingsley Black 1 0 1990 30 1 1988–1994
Liam Boyce 9 0 2010–2012 28 2 2011–
Noel Brotherston 1 0 1978 27 3 1980–1985
Chris Brunt 2 1 2005–2006 65 3 2004–2017
Roy Carroll 11 0 1998–1999 45 0 1997–2017
Craig Cathcart 15 0 2006–2009 65 2 2010–
Sammy Clingan 11 1 2003–2006 39 0 2006–2014
Stuart Dallas 2 0 2011–2012 58 3 2011–
Steven Davis 3 0 2003–2004 130 12 2005–
Mal Donaghy 1 0 1978 91 0 1980–1994
Iain Dowie 1 1 1990 59 12 1990–1999
Stuart Elliott 3 0 1998–1999 39 4 2000–2007
Corry Evans 10 0 2008–2010 66 2 2009–
Jonny Evans 3 0 2006 91 4 2006–
Warren Feeney 8 2 2001–2003 46 5 2002–2011
Shane Ferguson 11 0 2008–2012 52 2 2009–
Keith Gillespie 1 0 1994 86 2 1995–2008
Danny Griffin 10 1 1998–1999 29 1 1996–2004
Billy Hamilton 1 0 1978 41 5 1979–1989
David Healy 8 4 1998–1999 95 36 2000–2013
Michael Hughes 1 0 1990 71 5 1991–2004
Damien Johnson 11 0 1998–1999 56 0 1999–2009
Kyle Lafferty 2 0 2006 85 20 2006–
Neil Lennon 2 0 1990–1994 40 2 1994–2002
Josh Magennis 17 4 2009–2012 63 8 2010–
Jim Magilton 1 0 1990 52 5 1991–2002
Grant McCann 11 3 2000–2001 39 4 2001–2012
George McCartney 5 0 2000–2001 34 1 2001–2010
David McCreery 1 0 1978 67 0 1976–1990
Michael McGovern 10 0 2005–2006 33 0 2010–
Conor McLaughlin 7 0 2010–2012 43 1 2011–
Paddy McNair 2 0 2014 51 5 2015–
Philip Mulryne 5 1 1998–1999 27 3 1997–2007
Jimmy Nicholl 1 0 1978 73 1 1976–1986
Oliver Norwood 11 4 2009–2012 57 0 2010–2018
John O'Neill 1 0 1978 39 2 1980–1986
Michael O'Neill 1 0 1994 31 4 1988–1996
Bailey Peacock-Farrell 1 0 2018 27 0 2018–
James Quinn 1 0 1994 50 4 1996–2006
Maik Taylor 1 0 1998 88 0 1999–2011
Jamie Ward 7 2 2006–2008 35 4 2011–2018

Managers[]

  Current manager highlighted in green

Last updated after the match against  Malta on 16 November 2021.

Manager First Game Last Game Pld W D L GF GA GD Win % Draw % Loss %
Northern Ireland Danny Blanchflower 8 March 1978 vs. Republic of Ireland 8 March 1978 vs. Republic of Ireland 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 0.00% 100.00% 0.00%
Northern Ireland Billy Bingham 3 April 1990 vs. Israel 3 April 1990 vs. Israel 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1 100.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Northern Ireland Bryan Hamilton 22 March 1994 vs. Romania 22 March 1994 vs. Romania 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0.00% 100.00% 0.00%
Northern Ireland Roy Millar 21 April 1998 vs. Switzerland 21 April 1998 vs. Switzerland 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1 100.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Northern Ireland Chris Nicholl 20 May 1998 vs. Scotland 8 October 1999 vs. Finland 13 3 5 5 11 13 –2 23.08% 38.46% 38.46%
Northern Ireland Roy Millar 28 March 2000 vs. Malta 26 March 2008 vs. Romania 48 18 8 22 64 79 –15 37.50% 16.67% 45.83%
England Steve Beaglehole 19 August 2008 vs. Poland 15 November 2011 vs. Serbia 21 4 3 14 23 39 –16 19.05% 14.29% 66.67%
Northern Ireland Steve Robinson 10 May 2012 vs. North Macedonia 15 October 2013 vs. Serbia 10 0 0 10 5 24 –19 0.00% 0.00% 100.00%
Northern Ireland Jim Magilton* 14 November 2013 vs. Italy 11 October 2016 vs. France 14 1 2 11 8 27 –19 7.14% 14.29% 78.57%
England Ian Baraclough 8 June 2017 vs. Estonia 19 November 2019 vs. Romania 19 9 6 4 22 19 +3 47.37% 31.58% 21.05%
England Andy Crosby** 4 September 2020 vs. Malta 5 June 2021 vs. Scotland 7 3 0 4 9 11 –2 42.86% 0.00% 57.14%
England John Schofield 3 September 2021 vs. Malta 6 2 0 4 6 10 –4 33.33% 0.00% 66.67%
Total 142 42 26 74 153 225 -72 29.58% 18.31% 52.11%
  • * first two games as caretaker manager
  • ** caretaker manager for all 7 games

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Roy Millar managed for the first seven qualifying matches. Steve Beaglehole managed the last game of the qualification campaign.
  2. ^ Steve Beaglehole managed for the first five qualifying matches. Stephen Robinson managed for the remainder of the qualification campaign.
  3. ^ Stephen Robinson managed for the first four qualifying matches. Jim Magilton managed for the remainder of the qualification campaign.
  4. ^ Ian Baraclough managed for the first five qualifying matches. Andy Crosby was appointed caretaker manager for the remainder of the qualification campaign.
  5. ^ "Regulations of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship 2021-23". UEFA. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
  6. ^ "Schofield chooses 22-man squad for qualifiers against Lithuania and Malta". 5 November 2021.

External links[]

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