Northern Ireland national under-21 football team
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.
| Association | Irish Football Association | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Head coach | Tommy Wright | ||
| Most caps | Liam Donnelly (24) | ||
| Top scorer | Liam Donnelly Shayne Lavery (5) | ||
| |||
| First international | |||
 Rep. of Ireland 1–1 Northern Ireland .svg.png.webp){kind=small} (Dalymount Park, Phibsborough; 8 March 1978) | |||
| Biggest win | |||
Northern Ireland 5–0 Luxembourg  (Mourneview Park, Lurgan; 16 November 2007) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
Northern Ireland 0–6 Spain  (Inver Park, Larne; 3 June 2022) | |||
| UEFA U-21 Championship | |||
| Appearances | 0 | ||
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 | ||||||||||||||||||
 1994 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1996 | ||||||||||||||||||
 1998 | ||||||||||||||||||
 2000 |
did not qualify | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 9 | Chris Nicholl | ||||||||||
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} 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 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 4 | Tommy Wright | ||||||||||
| Total | - | 0/25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 104 | 26 | 16 | 62 | 106 | 175 | - | ||
Results and fixtures
2022
| 22 September International friendly | Northern Ireland | 1–3 |  Scotland | Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| 14:30 BST | McKee  72' |
Report | Bowie 35' Doak 37'Mulligan 57' |
Stadium: Blanchflower Park |
| 25 September International friendly | Scotland | 1–1 | Northern Ireland | Paisley, Scotland |
| 14:00 BST | Clarke 3' |
Report | Taylor 17' |
Stadium: St Mirren Park |
2023
| 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 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 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 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  | – | Northern Ireland | Liverpool, England |
| 19:45 GMT | report | Stadium: Goodison Park |
2024
UEFA European Under-21 Championship
2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | |
|
|
|
|
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ukraine |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | +5 | 9 | Final tournament | — | 3–2 | 6 Sep '24 | 21 Nov | 17 Nov | 1–0 | |
| 2 | England |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 4 | +10 | 6 | Play-offs | 11 Oct '24 | — | 9–1 | 15 Oct '24 | 26 Mar '24 | 21 Nov | |
| 3 | Serbia |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 10 | −5 | 6 | 15 Oct '24 | 18 Nov | — | 2–0 | 21 Nov | 26 Mar '24 | ||
| 4 | Azerbaijan |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 3 | 26 Mar '24 | 22 Mar '24 | 10 Sep '24 | — | 3–2 | 0–1 | ||
| 5 | Luxembourg |
4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 9 | −6 | 3 | 0–3 | 0–3 | 22 Mar '24 | 6 Sep '24 | — | 15 Oct '24 | ||
| 6 | Northern Ireland |
4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 3 | 10 Sep '24 | 6 Sep '24 | 1–2 | 12 Oct '24 | 0–1 | — |
Coaching staff
Current coaching staff
- As of 31 August 2023
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Manager | Tommy Wright |
| Assistant Manager | Paul Stephenson |
| Goalkeeping Coach | Roy Carroll |
| Sports Scientist | Simon Coleman |
Manager history
Current manager highlighted in green
Last updated after the match against Serbia on 16 October 2023.
| 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. |
4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 4 | –2 | 25.00% | 0.00% | 75.00% | |
| Total | 151 | 43 | 28 | 80 | 159 | 246 | -87 | 28.48% | 18.54% | 52.98% | ||
- * first two games as caretaker manager
- ** caretaker manager for all 7 games
Players
Current squad
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 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Qualifiers against Azerbaijan and Serbia on the 12 & 16 October 2023.[5]
Caps and goals updated as of 16 October 2023 after the match against Serbia. Names in bold denote players who have been capped for the senior team.
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Stephen McMullan | 31 December 2004 | 4 | 0 | Fleetwood Town | |
| GK | Josh Clarke | 28 July 2004 | 0 | 0 | Celtic | |
| GK | Fraser Barnsley | 6 October 2004 | 0 | 0 | Everton | |
| DF | Aaron Donnelly | 8 June 2003 | 15 | 0 | Dundee (on loan from Nottingham Forest) | |
| DF | Sam McClelland | 4 January 2002 | 12 | 0 | St Johnstone | |
| DF | Carl Johnston | 29 May 2002 | 12 | 1 | Fleetwood Town | |
| DF | Sean Stewart | 21 January 2003 | 9 | 0 | Cliftonville (on loan from Norwich City) | |
| DF | Michael Forbes | 29 April 2004 | 4 | 0 | West Ham United | |
| DF | Michael Glynn | 12 March 2002 | 3 | 0 | Larne | |
| DF | Tommy Fogarty | 15 March 2004 | 3 | 0 | Birmingham City | |
| MF | Terry Devlin | 6 November 2003 | 9 | 0 | Portsmouth | |
| MF | Charlie Allen | 22 November 2003 | 7 | 0 | Leeds United | |
| MF | JJ McKiernan | 18 January 2002 | 6 | 0 | Morecambe | |
| MF | Charlie McCann | 24 April 2002 | 6 | 0 | Forest Green Rovers | |
| MF | Ross McCausland | 12 May 2003 | 6 | 0 | Rangers | |
| MF | Jamie McDonnell | 16 February 2004 | 4 | 0 | Nottingham Forest | |
| MF | Patrick Kelly | 2 October 2004 | 4 | 0 | West Ham United | |
| MF | Justin Devenny | 11 October 2003 | 1 | 0 | Crystal Palace | |
| MF | Charlie Lindsay | 26 January 2004 | 1 | 0 | Derby County | |
| MF | Darren Robinson | 29 December 2004 | 1 | 0 | Derby County | |
| FW | Chris McKee | 7 May 2002 | 10 | 1 | Linfield | |
| FW | Ciaran McGuckin | 30 December 2003 | 6 | 2 | Rotherham United | |
| FW | Liam McStravick | 27 November 2004 | 0 | 0 | Airdrieonians | |
Recent call-ups
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 | Dylan Berry | 14 May 2003 | 2 | 0 | Havant & Waterlooville (on loan from Norwich City) |
v. Ukraine, 12 September 2023 |
| GK | Dermot Mee | 20 November 2002 | 4 | 0 | Manchester United |
v. Scotland, 25 September 2022 |
| DF | Jack Scott | 22 September 2002 | 14 | 0 | Linfield |
v. Ukraine, 12 September 2023 |
| DF | Craig Farquhar | 9 May 2003 | 0 | 0 | Larne |
v. Ukraine, 12 September 2023 |
| DF | Brodie Spencer | 6 May 2004 | 0 | 0 | Motherwell (on loan from Huddersfield Town) |
v. Luxembourg, 7 September 2023 SEN |
| DF | Cameron Stewart | 20 February 2003 | 0 | 0 | Cove Rangers (on loan from Ipswich Town) |
v. Scotland, 25 September 2022 |
| DF | Henry Jeffcott | 15 November 2003 | 0 | 0 | Arsenal |
v. Scotland, 25 September 2022 |
| FW | Callum Marshall | 28 November 2004 | 2 | 0 | West Ham United |
v. Ukraine, 12 September 2023 |
| FW | Euan Williams | 15 January 2003 | 2 | 0 | Charlton Athletic |
v. Scotland, 25 September 2022 |
| FW | Matthew Lusty | 14 July 2003 | 1 | 0 | Dungannon Swifts (on loan from Larne) |
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. | ||||||
Player records
Top appearances
Players still active are highlighted in green
Caps and goals updated as of 16 October 2023 after the match against Serbia.
| 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
Players still active are highlighted in green
Caps and goals updated as of 16 October 2023 after the match against Serbia.
| 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 | 9 | 0.33 | 2 June 2021 vs. |
25 September 2022 vs. |
Under-21 graduates
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
References
- Roy Millar managed for the first seven qualifying matches. Steve Beaglehole managed the last game of the qualification campaign.
- Steve Beaglehole managed for the first five qualifying matches. Stephen Robinson managed for the remainder of the qualification campaign.
- Stephen Robinson managed for the first four qualifying matches. Jim Magilton managed for the remainder of the qualification campaign.
- Ian Baraclough managed for the first five qualifying matches. Andy Crosby was appointed caretaker manager for the remainder of the qualification campaign.
- "Tommy Wright welcomes three newcomers into Northern Ireland U21s squad". 6 October 2023.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Northern Ireland national under-21 football team.
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