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Northern Ireland at the FIFA World Cup

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 a 

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.

Record at the FIFA World Cup

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FIFA World Cup record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA
  1930 Did not enter
  1934
  1938
  1950 Did not qualify
  1954
  1958 Quarter-finals 8th 5 2 1 2 6 10
  1962 Did not qualify
  1966
  1970
  1974
  1978
  1982 Second round 9th 5 1 3 1 5 7
  1986 Group stage 21st 3 0 1 2 2 6
  1990 Did not qualify
  1994
  1998
    2002
  2006
  2010
  2014
  2018
  2022
      2026 To be determined
      2030
  2034
Total Quarter-finals 3/25 13 3 5 5 13 23
*Denotes draws including knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

By Match

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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

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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

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First round

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Group 1

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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
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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

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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

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Squad

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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)   Arsenal
2 2DF Jimmy Nicholl (1956-02-28)28 February 1956 (aged 26)   Toronto Blizzard
3 2DF Mal Donaghy (1957-09-13)13 September 1957 (aged 24)   Luton Town
4 3MF David McCreery (1957-09-16)16 September 1957 (aged 24)   Tulsa Roughnecks
5 2DF Chris Nicholl (1946-10-12)12 October 1946 (aged 35)   Southampton
6 2DF John O'Neill (1958-03-11)11 March 1958 (aged 24)   Leicester City
7 3MF Noel Brotherston (1956-11-18)18 November 1956 (aged 25)   Blackburn Rovers
8 3MF Martin O'Neill (c) (1952-03-01)1 March 1952 (aged 30)   Norwich City
9 4FW Gerry Armstrong (1954-05-23)23 May 1954 (aged 28)   Watford
10 3MF Sammy McIlroy (1954-08-02)2 August 1954 (aged 27)   Stoke City
11 4FW Billy Hamilton (1957-05-09)9 May 1957 (aged 25)   Burnley
12 2DF John McClelland (1955-12-07)7 December 1955 (aged 26)   Rangers
13 2DF Sammy Nelson (1949-04-01)1 April 1949 (aged 33)   Brighton
14 3MF Tommy Cassidy (1950-11-18)18 November 1950 (aged 31)   Burnley
15 3MF Tommy Finney (1952-11-06)6 November 1952 (aged 29)   Cambridge United
16 3MF Norman Whiteside (1965-05-07)7 May 1965 (aged 17)   Manchester United
17 1GK Jim Platt (1952-01-26)26 January 1952 (aged 30)   Middlesbrough
18 3MF Johnny Jameson (1958-03-11)11 March 1958 (aged 24)   Glentoran
19 4FW Felix Healy (1955-09-27)27 September 1955 (aged 26)   Coleraine
20 3MF Jim Cleary (1956-05-27)27 May 1956 (aged 26)   Glentoran
21 4FW Bobby Campbell (1956-09-13)13 September 1956 (aged 25)   Bradford City
22 1GK George Dunlop (1956-01-16)16 January 1956 (aged 26)   Linfield

Matches

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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

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Squad

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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)   Tottenham Hotspur
2 2DF Jimmy Nicholl (1956-12-28)28 December 1956 (aged 29)   West Bromwich Albion
3 2DF Mal Donaghy (1957-09-13)13 September 1957 (aged 28)   Luton Town
4 2DF John O'Neill (1958-03-11)11 March 1958 (aged 28)   Leicester City
5 2DF Alan McDonald (1963-10-12)12 October 1963 (aged 22)   Queens Park Rangers
6 3MF David McCreery (1957-09-16)16 September 1957 (aged 28)   Newcastle United
7 3MF Steve Penney (1964-01-16)16 January 1964 (aged 22)   Brighton
8 3MF Sammy McIlroy (c) (1954-08-02)2 August 1954 (aged 31)   Manchester City
9 4FW Jimmy Quinn (1959-11-18)18 November 1959 (aged 26)   Blackburn Rovers
10 3MF Norman Whiteside (1965-05-07)7 May 1965 (aged 21)   Manchester United
11 4FW Ian Stewart (1961-09-10)10 September 1961 (aged 24)   Newcastle United
12 1GK Jim Platt (1952-01-26)26 January 1952 (aged 34)   Coleraine
13 1GK Philip Hughes (1964-11-19)19 November 1964 (aged 21)   Bury
14 4FW Gerry Armstrong (1954-05-23)23 May 1954 (aged 32)   Tottenham Hotspur
15 3MF Nigel Worthington (1961-11-04)4 November 1961 (aged 24)   Sheffield Wednesday
16 3MF Paul Ramsey (1962-09-03)3 September 1962 (aged 23)   Leicester City
17 4FW Colin Clarke (1962-10-30)30 October 1962 (aged 23)   Bournemouth
18 2DF John McClelland (1955-12-07)7 December 1955 (aged 30)   Watford
19 4FW Billy Hamilton (1957-05-09)9 May 1957 (aged 29)   Oxford United
20 2DF Bernard McNally (1963-02-17)17 February 1963 (aged 23)   Shrewsbury Town
21 3MF David Campbell (1965-06-02)2 June 1965 (aged 20)   Nottingham Forest
22 4FW Mark Caughey (1960-08-31)31 August 1960 (aged 25)   Linfield

Matches

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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

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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.

Rank Player 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

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Rank Player 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

See also

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References

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  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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