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Northern Ireland national under-21 football team

Summary

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.

Northern Ireland Under-21
AssociationIrish Football Association
Head coachTommy Wright
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 0–6 Spain Spain
(Inver Park, Larne; 3 June 2022)
UEFA U-21 Championship
Appearances0

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 edit

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 edit

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
  1994
  1996
  1998
  2000 did not qualify 8 1 3 4 5 9 Chris Nicholl
  2002 10 2 2 6 12 21 Roy Millar
  2004 8 2 1 5 8 16
  2006 did not enter did not enter None
  2007 did not qualify 4 2 0 2 10 7 Roy Millar
  2009 8 4 0 4 13 12 Roy Millar, Steve Beaglehole[1]
  2011 8 2 1 5 12 16 Steve Beaglehole
  2013 8 1 1 6 5 13 Steve Beaglehole, Stephen Robinson[2]
  2015 8 1 0 7 3 17 Stephen Robinson, Jim Magilton[3]
  2017 10 0 2 8 6 18 Jim Magilton
   2019 10 6 2 2 15 11 Ian Baraclough
   2021 10 2 3 5 7 13 Ian Baraclough, Andy Crosby[4]
   2023 8 2 1 5 8 18 John Schofield
  2025 To be determined 6 2 0 4 4 8 Tommy Wright
Total - 0/25 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 106 27 16 63 108 179 -

Results and fixtures edit

2023 edit

7 September 2025 UEFA U-21 Group F Qualifier Northern Ireland   0–1   Luxembourg Lurgan, Northern Ireland
14:00 BST report Rodrigues   13' Stadium: Mourneview Park
Attendance: 333
Referee: Andreas Argyrou (Cyprus)
12 September 2025 UEFA U-21 Group F Qualifier Ukraine   1–0   Northern Ireland Poprad, Slovakia
17:30 BST Roman   70' report Stadium: Národné tréningové centrum Poprad
Attendance: 275
Referee: Kai Erik Steen (Norway)
12 October 2025 UEFA U-21 Group F Qualifier Azerbaijan   0–1   Northern Ireland Baku, Azerbaijan
15:00 BST report McGuckin   19' Stadium: Dalga Arena
Attendance: 300
Referee: Georgi Davidov (Bulgaria)
16 October 2025 UEFA U-21 Group F Qualifier Northern Ireland   1–2   Serbia Lurgan, Northern Ireland
19:30 BST McGuckin   51' (pen.) report Lučić   15'
Pantović   82'		 Stadium: Mourneview Park
Attendance: 433
Referee: Kristoffer Hagenes (Norway)
21 November 2025 UEFA U-21 Group F Qualifier England   3–0   Northern Ireland Liverpool, England
19:45 GMT
report Stadium: Goodison Park
Attendance: 7,890
Referee: Lothar D'hondt (Belgium)

2024 edit

21 March Friendly Czech Republic   3–0   Northern Ireland Pardubice, Czech Republic
16:30 GMT Sejk   17', 34'
Halinský   78'		 Stadium: CFIG Arena
Attendance: 2,892
26 March 2025 UEFA U-21 Group F Qualifier Serbia   1–2   Northern Ireland Leskovac, Serbia
17:00 GMT Mitrović   39' Report Allen   56'
Farquhar   70'		 Stadium: Dubočica Stadium
Referee: Yigal Frid (Israel)
6 September 2025 UEFA U-21 Group F Qualifier Northern Ireland   –   England Northern Ireland
BST
10 September 2025 UEFA U-21 Group F Qualifier Northern Ireland   –   Ukraine Northern Ireland
BST
12 October 2025 UEFA U-21 Group F Qualifier Northern Ireland   –   Azerbaijan Northern Ireland
BST
15 October 2025 UEFA U-21 Group F Qualifier Luxembourg   –   Northern Ireland Luxembourg
BST

UEFA European Under-21 Championship edit

2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification edit

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification            
1   Ukraine 6 6 0 0 15 2 +13 18[a] Final tournament — 3–2 6 Sep '24 1–0 4–0 1–0
2   England 7 6 0 1 32 5 +27 18[a] Play-offs 11 Oct '24 — 9–1 3–0 7–0 15 Oct '24
3   Serbia 7 3 1 3 9 16 −7 10 15 Oct '24 0–3 — 1–2 2–0 2–0
4   Northern Ireland (Y) 6 2 0 4 4 8 −4 6 10 Sep '24 6 Sep '24 1–2 — 0–1 12 Oct '24
5   Luxembourg (E) 8 1 1 6 4 23 −19 4 0–3 0–3 1–1 15 Oct '24 — 6 Sep '24
6   Azerbaijan (E) 6 1 0 5 4 14 −10 3 0–3 1–5 10 Sep '24 0–1 3–2 —
Updated to match(es) played on 26 March 2024. Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(E) Eliminated; (Y) Cannot qualify directly, but may advance via the play-offs.
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Ranked on head-to-head points: Ukraine 3, England 0.

Coaching staff edit

Current coaching staff edit

As of 31 August 2023
Position Name
Manager   Tommy Wright
Assistant Manager   Paul Stephenson
Goalkeeping Coach   Roy Carroll
Sports Scientist   Simon Coleman

Manager history edit

  Current manager highlighted in green

Last updated after the match against   Serbia on 26 March 2024.

Manager First Game Last Game Pld W D L GF GA GD Win % Draw % Loss %
  Danny Blanchflower 8 March 1978 vs.   8 March 1978 vs.   1 0 1 0 1 1 0 0.00% 100.00% 0.00%
  Billy Bingham 3 April 1990 vs.   3 April 1990 vs.   1 1 0 0 2 1 +1 100.00% 0.00% 0.00%
  Bryan Hamilton 22 March 1994 vs.   22 March 1994 vs.   1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0.00% 100.00% 0.00%
  Roy Millar 21 April 1998 vs.   21 April 1998 vs.   1 1 0 0 2 1 +1 100.00% 0.00% 0.00%
  Chris Nicholl 20 May 1998 vs.   8 October 1999 vs.   13 3 5 5 11 13 –2 23.08% 38.46% 38.46%
  Roy Millar 28 March 2000 vs.   26 March 2008 vs.   48 18 8 22 64 79 –15 37.50% 16.67% 45.83%
  Steve Beaglehole 19 August 2008 vs.   15 November 2011 vs.   21 4 3 14 23 39 –16 19.05% 14.29% 66.67%
  Steve Robinson 10 May 2012 vs.   15 October 2013 vs.   10 0 0 10 5 24 –19 0.00% 0.00% 100.00%
  Jim Magilton* 14 November 2013 vs.   11 October 2016 vs.   14 1 2 11 8 27 –19 7.14% 14.29% 78.57%
  Ian Baraclough 8 June 2017 vs.   19 November 2019 vs.   19 9 6 4 22 19 +3 47.37% 31.58% 21.05%
  Andy Crosby** 4 September 2020 vs.   5 June 2021 vs.   7 3 0 4 9 11 –2 42.86% 0.00% 57.14%
  John Schofield 3 September 2021 vs.   25 September 2022 vs.   11 2 2 7 10 27 –17 18.18% 18.18% 63.64%
  Tommy Wright 7 September 2023 vs.   7 2 0 5 4 11 –7 28.57% 0.00% 71.43%
Total 154 44 28 82 161 253 -92 28.57% 18.18% 53.25%
  • * first two games as caretaker manager
  • ** caretaker manager for all 7 games

Players edit

Current squad edit

Players born on or after 1 January 2002 will be eligible until the completion of the 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.

The following players were named in the squad for the friendly international against   Czech Republic on 21 March 2024 and the 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Qualifier against   Serbia on the 26 March 2024.[5][6]

Last updated after the match against   Serbia on 26 March 2024. Names in bold denote players who have been capped for the senior team.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Stephen McMullan (2004-12-31) 31 December 2004 (age 19) 4 0   Fleetwood Town
1GK Pierce Charles (2005-07-21) 21 July 2005 (age 18) 2 0   Sheffield Wednesday
1GK Fraser Barnsley (2004-10-06) 6 October 2004 (age 19) 1 0   Everton
2DF Carl Johnston (2002-05-29) 29 May 2002 (age 21) 15 1   Fleetwood Town
2DF Sam McClelland (2002-01-04) 4 January 2002 (age 22) 13 0   Dundee United
2DF Sean Stewart (2003-01-21) 21 January 2003 (age 21) 11 0   Cliftonville
2DF Tommy Fogarty (2004-03-15) 15 March 2004 (age 20) 6 0   Ebbsfleet United
2DF Ruairi McConville (2005-05-01) 1 May 2005 (age 18) 3 0   Brighton
2DF Odhran Casey (2002-04-09) 9 April 2002 (age 22) 2 0   Cliftonville
2DF Ethan McGee (2002-08-23) 23 August 2002 (age 21) 2 0   Linfield
2DF Craig Farquhar (2003-05-09) 9 May 2003 (age 20) 1 1   Crystal Palace
2DF Johnny Russell (2004-09-19) 19 September 2004 (age 19) 1 0   Glentoran
3MF Charlie Allen (2003-11-22) 22 November 2003 (age 20) 10 1   York City
3MF Patrick Kelly (2004-10-02) 2 October 2004 (age 19) 6 0   West Ham United
3MF Justin Devenny (2003-10-11) 11 October 2003 (age 20) 4 0   Crystal Palace
3MF Darren Robinson (2004-12-29) 29 December 2004 (age 19) 3 0   Derby County
3MF Charlie Lindsay (2004-01-26) 26 January 2004 (age 20) 2 0   Glentoran
4FW Josh Archer (2003-07-21) 21 July 2003 (age 20) 1 0   Linfield
4FW Dylan Sloan (2004-04-15) 15 April 2004 (age 20) 1 0   Larne
4FW Dale Taylor (2003-12-12) 12 December 2003 (age 20) 11 3   Wycombe Wanderers
4FW Ciaran McGuckin (2003-12-30) 30 December 2003 (age 20) 9 2   Dundalk
4FW Benji Magee (2002-05-16) 16 May 2002 (age 21) 2 0   Loughgall
4FW Rhys Annett (2004-11-06) 6 November 2004 (age 19) 1 0   Linfield

Recent call-ups edit

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

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK David Walsh (2002-07-05) 5 July 2002 (age 21) 1 0   Linfield v.   England, 21 November 2023
GK Josh Clarke (2004-07-28) 28 July 2004 (age 19) 1 0   Celtic v.   England, 21 November 2023
GK Dylan Berry (2003-05-14) 14 May 2003 (age 20) 2 0   Macclesfield (on loan from Norwich City) v.   Ukraine, 12 September 2023
GK Dermot Mee (2002-11-20) 20 November 2002 (age 21) 4 0   Manchester United v.   Scotland, 25 September 2022
DF Aaron Donnelly (2003-06-08) 8 June 2003 (age 20) 16 0   Dundee v.   Czech Republic, 21 March 2024 SEN
DF Michael Forbes (2004-04-29) 29 April 2004 (age 19) 5 0   West Ham United v.   England, 21 November 2023
DF Cameron Stewart (2003-02-20) 20 February 2003 (age 21) 0 0   Cove Rangers (on loan from Ipswich Town) v.   England, 21 November 2023
DF Matty Carson (2004-04-29) 29 April 2004 (age 19) 0 0   Southampton v.   England, 21 November 2023
DF Michael Glynn (2002-03-12) 12 March 2002 (age 22) 3 0   Larne v.   Serbia, 16 October 2023
DF Jack Scott (2002-09-22) 22 September 2002 (age 21) 14 0   Coleraine v.   Ukraine, 12 September 2023
DF Brodie Spencer (2004-05-06) 6 May 2004 (age 19) 0 0   Huddersfield Town v.   Luxembourg, 7 September 2023 SEN
DF Henry Jeffcott (2003-11-15) 15 November 2003 (age 20) 0 0   Arsenal v.   Scotland, 25 September 2022
MF Barry Baggley (2002-01-11) 11 January 2002 (age 22) 8 1   Waterford v.   Czech Republic, 21 March 2024 INJ
MF Jamie McDonnell (2004-02-16) 16 February 2004 (age 20) 5 0   Nottingham Forest v.   Czech Republic, 21 March 2024 INJ
MF Sean McAllister (2003-01-01) 1 January 2003 (age 21) 0 0   Inverness Caledonian Thistle v.   Czech Republic, 21 March 2024 INJ
MF Terry Devlin (2003-11-06) 6 November 2003 (age 20) 10 0   Portsmouth v.   England, 21 November 2023
MF JJ McKiernan (2002-01-18) 18 January 2002 (age 22) 7 0   Morecambe v.   England, 21 November 2023
MF Charlie McCann (2002-04-24) 24 April 2002 (age 21) 7 0   Forest Green Rovers v.   England, 21 November 2023
MF Harry Wilson (2004-02-16) 16 February 2004 (age 20) 0 0   Fleetwood Town v.   England, 21 November 2023
MF Archie Heron (2004-09-15) 15 September 2004 (age 19) 0 0   Luton Town v.   England, 21 November 2023
MF Ross McCausland (2003-05-12) 12 May 2003 (age 20) 6 0   Rangers v.   England, 21 November 2023 SEN
FW Chris McKee (2002-05-07) 7 May 2002 (age 21) 10 1   Linfield v.   Czech Republic, 21 March 2024 INJ
FW Conor Falls (2004-01-02) 2 January 2004 (age 20) 1 0   Huddersfield Town v.   Czech Republic, 21 March 2024 INJ
FW Makenzie Kirk (2004-02-06) 6 February 2004 (age 20) 0 0   Hearts v.   England, 21 November 2023
FW Liam McStravick (2004-11-27) 27 November 2004 (age 19) 0 0   Airdrieonians v.   Serbia, 16 October 2023
FW Callum Marshall (2004-11-28) 28 November 2004 (age 19) 2 0   West Bromwich Albion v.   Ukraine, 12 September 2023
FW Euan Williams (2003-01-15) 15 January 2003 (age 21) 2 0   Charlton Athletic v.   Scotland, 25 September 2022

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 edit

Most appearances edit

  Players still active are highlighted in green

Last updated after the match against   Serbia on 26 March 2024.

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.   16 October 2018 vs.  
2 Sean Friars 1998–2001 21 2 21 April 1998 vs.   5 June 2001 vs.  
Caolan Boyd-Munce 2017–2022 21 0 25 March 2019 vs.   25 September 2022 vs.  
4 Kofi Balmer 2019–2022 20 0 22 March 2019 vs.   4 June 2022 vs.  
Ethan Galbraith 2019–2022 20 1 22 March 2019 vs.   7 June 2022 vs.  
6 Terry McFlynn 2000–2003 19 2 28 March 2000 vs.   10 October 2003 vs.  
Rory McArdle 2006–2008 19 1 6 February 2006 vs.   26 March 2008 vs.  
Thomas Stewart 2006–2008 19 4 6 February 2006 vs.   26 March 2008 vs.  
9 Chris Casement 2007–2009 18 2 6 February 2007 vs.   17 November 2009 vs.  
Cameron Dummigan 2014–2018 18 0 9 September 2014 vs.   16 October 2018 vs.  
Alfie McCalmont 2019–2022 18 3 25 March 2019 vs.   25 September 2022 vs.  
12 Jeff Whitley 1998–2000 17 1 21 April 1998 vs.   10 October 2000 vs.  
Ciarán Toner 2000–2003 17 1 28 March 2000 vs.   1 April 2003 vs.  
Josh Magennis 2009–2012 17 4 11 August 2009 vs.   13 November 2012 vs.  
David Parkhouse 2017–2020 17 3 8 June 2017 vs.   8 September 2020 vs.  

Top goalscorers edit

  Players still active are highlighted in green

Last updated after the match against   Serbia on 26 March 2024.

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.   11 September 2018 vs.  
Shayne Lavery 2016–2020 5 14 0.36 10 November 2017 vs.   25 March 2019 vs.  
3 Adrian Coote 1998–1999 4 12 0.33 21 April 1998 vs.   17 August 1999 vs.  
David Healy 1998–1999 4 8 0.5 17 November 1998 vs.   17 August 1999 vs.  
Sam Morrow 2005–2006 4 4 1 8 February 2005 vs.   12 April 2006 vs.  
Thomas Stewart 2006–2008 4 19 0.21 16 May 2006 vs.   26 March 2008 vs.  
Josh Magennis 2009–2012 4 17 0.24 8 September 2009 vs.   7 September 2012 vs.  
Oliver Norwood 2009–2012 4 11 0.36 13 November 2009 vs.   2 March 2010 vs.  
Paul O'Neill 2019–2021 4 10 0.4 9 October 2020 vs.   12 November 2021 vs.  
10 Gary Hamilton 2000–2001 3 12 0.25 2 June 2000 vs.   10 October 2000 vs.  
Mo Harkin 2000–2001 3 9 0.33 28 March 2000 vs.   10 October 2000 vs.  
Grant McCann 2000–2001 3 11 0.27 10 October 2000 vs.   5 October 2001 vs.  
Lee McEvilly 2002–2003 3 9 0.33 6 September 2002 vs.   1 April 2003 vs.  
Chris Turner 2006–2008 3 12 0.25 1 June 2007 vs.   16 November 2007 vs.  
Andrew Little 2008–2010 3 6 0.5 18 November 2008 vs.   3 September 2010 vs.  
Billy Kee 2009–2011 3 10 0.3 10 August 2011 vs.   10 August 2011 vs.  
David Parkhouse 2017–2020 3 17 0.18 8 June 2017 vs.   4 September 2020 vs.  
Alfie McCalmont 2019–2022 3 18 0.17 14 November 2019 vs.   12 November 2021 vs.  
Dale Taylor 2021– 3 11 0.27 2 June 2021 vs.   25 September 2022 vs.  

Under-21 graduates edit

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

  Players still active are highlighted in green

Full caps and goals updated as of 19 June 2023 after the Northern Ireland senior team match against   Kazakhstan.

Name U21 Caps U21 Goals U21 Career Full Caps Full Goals Full Career
Chris Baird 6 1 2002–2003 79 0 2003–2016
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 72 2 2010–
Sammy Clingan 11 1 2003–2006 39 0 2006–2014
Stuart Dallas 2 0 2011–2012 62 3 2011–
Steven Davis 3 0 2003–2004 140 13 2005–
Stuart Elliott 3 0 1998–1999 39 4 2000–2007
Corry Evans 10 0 2008–2010 70 2 2009–
Jonny Evans 3 0 2006 102 5 2006–
Warren Feeney 8 2 2001–2003 46 5 2002–2011
Shane Ferguson 11 0 2008–2012 57 2 2009–
Danny Griffin 10 1 1998–1999 29 1 1996–2004
David Healy 8 4 1998–1999 95 36 2000–2013
Damien Johnson 11 0 1998–1999 56 0 1999–2009
Kyle Lafferty 2 0 2006 89 20 2006–2022
Neil Lennon 2 0 1990–1994 40 2 1994–2002
Josh Magennis 17 4 2009–2012 71 10 2010–
Grant McCann 11 3 2000–2001 39 4 2001–2012
George McCartney 5 0 2000–2001 34 1 2001–2010
Michael McGovern 10 0 2005–2006 33 0 2010–2020
Conor McLaughlin 7 0 2010–2012 43 1 2011–2021
Paddy McNair 2 0 2014 62 6 2015–
Philip Mulryne 5 1 1998–1999 27 3 1997–2007
Oliver Norwood 11 4 2009–2012 57 0 2010–2018
Jordan Thompson 12 0 2016-2018 30 0 2018–
Jamie Ward 7 2 2006–2008 35 4 2011–2018
Gavin Whyte 7 0 2015-2018 30 5 2018–

See also edit

References edit

  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. ^ "Wright reveals squad for upcoming U21 matches". 7 March 2024.
  6. ^ "Wright expecting tough challenges for U21s". 21 March 2024.

External links edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Northern Ireland national under-21 football team.
  • NI U21 Appearance Details from NIFG

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