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Northern Ireland at the FIFA World Cup

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The Northern Ireland national football team have appeared in the finals of the FIFA World Cup on three occasions.

Their 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 least populous 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 least populous country to have qualified for more than one World Cup finals tournament, to win a World Cup finals match, to have scored at a World Cup finals, and to have progressed from the first round of the World Cup finals.

Captain of the national side at the 1958 World Cup was Danny Blanchflower, who also captained Tottenham Hotspur in the English league and was twice footballer of the year in England. His younger brother Jackie was also a key member of the national team, and won two league titles in England with Manchester United, until his career was ended by injuries suffered in the Munich air disaster of February 1958.

Despite the presence of world class forward George Best, another Manchester United player, for most of the 1960s and into the 1970s, Northern Ireland failed to qualify for any major tournaments during this time.

Northern Ireland also qualified for the 1982 World Cup. Their opening game was against Yugoslavia at the La Romareda in Zaragoza. It was the international debut of 17-year-old Norman Whiteside who became the youngest player ever in the World Cup finals, a record that still stands. The game finished goalless. Five days later they drew 1–1 with Honduras, which was a disappointment, and many believed had doomed Northern Ireland's chances of advancing in the competition.[1] They needed a win against hosts Spain in the third and final group game at the Mestalla Stadium in Valencia. They faced a partisan atmosphere with a mostly Spanish crowd and a Spanish speaking referee in Héctor Ortiz who was unwilling to punish dirty play from the Spanish players.[2] However a mistake from goalkeeper Luis Arconada gifted Gerry Armstrong the only goal of the game, and despite having Mal Donaghy sent off on 60 minutes, Northern Ireland went on to record an historic 1–0 win and top the first stage group.

A 2–2 draw with Austria at the Vicente Calderón Stadium meant that a win against France would take them into the semi-finals, however a French team inspired by Michel Platini won 4–1 and eliminated Northern Ireland from the competition.

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 qualified for the 2018 World Cup playoffs.

Record at the FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA
Uruguay 1930 Did not enter
Italy 1934
France 1938
Brazil 1950 Did not qualify
Switzerland 1954
Sweden 1958 Quarter-finals 8th 5 2 1 2 6 10
Chile 1962 Did not qualify
England 1966
Mexico 1970
West Germany 1974
Argentina 1978
Spain 1982 Second round 9th 5 1 3 1 5 7
Mexico 1986 Group stage 21st 3 0 1 2 2 6
Italy 1990 Did not qualify
United States 1994
France 1998
South Korea Japan 2002
Germany 2006
South Africa 2010
Brazil 2014
Russia 2018
Qatar 2022 To be determined
Canada Mexico United States 2026
Total Quarter-finals 3/21 13 3 5 5 13 23
*Denotes draws including knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

By Match

World Cup Round Opponent Score Result Venue Scorers
1958 Group stage  Czechoslovakia 1–0 W Halmstad W. Cush
 Argentina 1–3 L Halmstad P. McParland
 West Germany 2–2 D Malmö P. McParland (2)
 Czechoslovakia 2–1 (a.e.t.) W Malmö P. McParland (2)
Quarter-finals  France 0–4 L Norrköping —
1982 Group stage  Yugoslavia 0–0 D Zaragoza —
 Honduras 1–1 D Zaragoza G. Armstrong
 Spain 1–0 W Valencia G. Armstrong
Second round  Austria 2–2 D Madrid B. Hamilton (2)
 France 1–4 L Madrid G. Armstrong
1986 Group stage  Algeria 1–1 D Guadalajara N. Whiteside
 Spain 1–2 L Guadalajara C. Clarke
 Brazil 0–3 L Guadalajara —

Record by Opponent

FIFA World Cup matches (by team)
Opponent Wins Draws Losses Total Goals Scored Goals Conceded
 Algeria 0 1 0 1 1 1
 Argentina 0 0 1 1 1 3
 Austria 0 1 0 1 2 2
 Brazil 0 0 1 1 0 3
 Czechoslovakia 2 0 0 2 3 1
 France 0 0 2 2 1 8
 Honduras 0 1 0 1 1 1
 Spain 1 0 1 2 2 2
 West Germany 0 1 0 1 2 2
 Yugoslavia 0 1 0 1 0 0

Northern Ireland at Sweden 1958

First round

Group 1

Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts
 West Germany 3 1 2 0 7 5 1.40 4
 Northern Ireland 3 1 1 1 4 5 0.80 3
 Czechoslovakia 3 1 1 1 8 4 2.00 3
 Argentina 3 1 0 2 5 10 0.50 2

Northern Ireland 1 – 0 Czechoslovakia
Cush 21' Report
Attendance: 10,647
Referee: Seipelt (Austria)

Argentina 3 – 1 Northern Ireland
Corbatta 37' (pen.)
Menéndez 56'
Avio 60'		 Report McParland 4'
Attendance: 14,174
Referee: Ahlner (Sweden)
Play-off

Northern Ireland 2–1 (a.e.t.) Czechoslovakia
McParland 44', 97' Report Zikán 18'
Attendance: 6,196
Referee: Guigue (France)

West Germany 2 – 2 Northern Ireland
Rahn 20'
Seeler 78'		 Report McParland 18', 60'
Attendance: 21,990
Referee: Campos (Portugal)

Quarter-final 1958 World Cup

France 4 – 0 Northern Ireland
Wisnieski 22'
Fontaine 55', 63'
Piantoni 68'		 Report
Attendance: 12,000
Referee: Gardeazabal (Spain)

Northern Ireland at 1982 World Cup

Squad

Head coach: Billy Bingham

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Club
1 1GK Pat Jennings (1945-06-12)12 June 1945 (aged 37) England Arsenal
2 2DF Jimmy Nicholl (1956-02-28)28 February 1956 (aged 26) Canada Toronto Blizzard
3 2DF Mal Donaghy (1957-09-13)13 September 1957 (aged 24) England Luton Town
4 3MF David McCreery (1957-09-16)16 September 1957 (aged 24) United States Tulsa Roughnecks
5 2DF Chris Nicholl (1946-10-12)12 October 1946 (aged 35) England Southampton
6 2DF John O'Neill (1958-03-11)11 March 1958 (aged 24) England Leicester City
7 3MF Noel Brotherston (1956-11-18)18 November 1956 (aged 25) England Blackburn Rovers
8 3MF Martin O'Neill (c) (1952-03-01)1 March 1952 (aged 30) England Norwich City
9 4FW Gerry Armstrong (1954-05-23)23 May 1954 (aged 28) England Watford
10 3MF Sammy McIlroy (1954-08-02)2 August 1954 (aged 27) England Stoke City
11 4FW Billy Hamilton (1957-05-09)9 May 1957 (aged 25) England Burnley
12 2DF John McClelland (1955-12-07)7 December 1955 (aged 26) Scotland Rangers
13 2DF Sammy Nelson (1949-04-01)1 April 1949 (aged 33) England Brighton
14 3MF Tommy Cassidy (1950-11-18)18 November 1950 (aged 31) England Burnley
15 3MF Tommy Finney (1952-11-06)6 November 1952 (aged 29) England Cambridge United
16 3MF Norman Whiteside (1965-05-07)7 May 1965 (aged 17) England Manchester United
17 1GK Jim Platt (1952-01-26)26 January 1952 (aged 30) England Middlesbrough
18 3MF Johnny Jameson (1958-03-11)11 March 1958 (aged 24) Northern Ireland Glentoran
19 4FW Felix Healy (1955-09-27)27 September 1955 (aged 26) Northern Ireland Coleraine
20 3MF Jim Cleary (1956-05-27)27 May 1956 (aged 26) Northern Ireland Glentoran
21 4FW Bobby Campbell (1956-09-13)13 September 1956 (aged 25) England Bradford City
22 1GK George Dunlop (1956-01-16)16 January 1956 (aged 26) Northern Ireland Linfield

Matches

Yugoslavia 0–0 Northern Ireland
Report
Attendance: 25,000

Honduras 1–1 Northern Ireland
Laing 60' Report Armstrong 10'
Attendance: 15,000

Spain 0–1 Northern Ireland
Report Armstrong 47'
Attendance: 49,562

Austria 2–2 Northern Ireland
Pezzey 50'
Hintermaier 68'		 Report Hamilton 27', 75'
Attendance: 20,000

Northern Ireland 1–4 France
Armstrong 75' Report Giresse 33', 80'
Rocheteau 46', 68'
Attendance: 37,000

Northern Ireland at 1986 World Cup

Squad

Head coach: Billy Bingham

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Club
1 1GK Pat Jennings (1945-06-12)12 June 1945 (aged 40) England Tottenham Hotspur
2 2DF Jimmy Nicholl (1956-12-28)28 December 1956 (aged 29) England West Bromwich Albion
3 2DF Mal Donaghy (1957-09-13)13 September 1957 (aged 28) England Luton Town
4 2DF John O'Neill (1958-03-11)11 March 1958 (aged 28) England Leicester City
5 2DF Alan McDonald (1963-10-12)12 October 1963 (aged 22) England Queens Park Rangers
6 3MF David McCreery (1957-09-16)16 September 1957 (aged 28) England Newcastle United
7 3MF Steve Penney (1964-01-16)16 January 1964 (aged 22) England Brighton
8 3MF Sammy McIlroy (c) (1954-08-02)2 August 1954 (aged 31) England Manchester City
9 4FW Jimmy Quinn (1959-11-18)18 November 1959 (aged 26) England Blackburn Rovers
10 3MF Norman Whiteside (1965-05-07)7 May 1965 (aged 21) England Manchester United
11 4FW Ian Stewart (1961-09-10)10 September 1961 (aged 24) England Newcastle United
12 1GK Jim Platt (1952-01-26)26 January 1952 (aged 34) Northern Ireland Coleraine
13 1GK Philip Hughes (1964-11-19)19 November 1964 (aged 21) England Bury
14 4FW Gerry Armstrong (1954-05-23)23 May 1954 (aged 32) England Tottenham Hotspur
15 3MF Nigel Worthington (1961-11-04)4 November 1961 (aged 24) England Sheffield Wednesday
16 3MF Paul Ramsey (1962-09-03)3 September 1962 (aged 23) England Leicester City
17 4FW Colin Clarke (1962-10-30)30 October 1962 (aged 23) England Bournemouth
18 2DF John McClelland (1955-12-07)7 December 1955 (aged 30) England Watford
19 4FW Billy Hamilton (1957-05-09)9 May 1957 (aged 29) England Oxford United
20 2DF Bernard McNally (1963-02-17)17 February 1963 (aged 23) England Shrewsbury Town
21 3MF David Campbell (1965-06-02)2 June 1965 (aged 20) England Nottingham Forest
22 4FW Mark Caughey (1960-08-31)31 August 1960 (aged 25) Northern Ireland Linfield

Matches

Algeria 1 – 1 Northern Ireland
Zidane 59' Report Whiteside 6'
Attendance: 22,000

Northern Ireland 1 – 2 Spain
Clarke 46' Report Butragueño 1'
Salinas 18'
Attendance: 28,000

Northern Ireland 0 – 3 Brazil
Report Careca 15', 87'
Josimar 42'
Attendance: 51,000

Record players

One of Northern Ireland's record World Cup players, Norman Whiteside, also holds the record for the youngest player ever to appear in the tournament. When he was fielded against Yugoslavia, he was only 17 years and 41 days old.

No. Name Matches World Cups
1 Billy Hamilton 8 1982 and 1986
David McCreery 8 1982 and 1986
Sammy McIlroy 8 1982 and 1986
Jimmy Nicholl 8 1982 and 1986
Norman Whiteside 8 1982 and 1986
6 Mal Donaghy 7 1982 and 1986
Pat Jennings 7 1982 and 1986
8 Gerry Armstrong 6 1982 and 1986
9 Eleven players 5

Top goalscorers

No. Name Goals World Cups
1 Peter McParland 5 1958
2 Gerry Armstrong 3 1982
3 Billy Hamilton 2 1982
4 Wilbur Cush 1 1958
Colin Clarke 1 1986
Norman Whiteside 1 1986

References

  1. ^ Whiteside, Norman (2007). Determined. Headline Publishing Group. p. 129. ISBN 978-0-7553-1598-7.
  2. ^ Whiteside, Norman (2007). Determined. Headline Publishing Group. p. 135. ISBN 978-0-7553-1598-7.
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