Northern Ireland national under-21 football team

Northern Ireland Under-21

Association	Irish Football Association
Head coach	John Schofield
Most caps	Liam Donnelly (24)
Top scorer	Liam Donnelly Shayne Lavery (5)
First colours Second colours
First international
Rep. of Ireland 1–1 Northern Ireland (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 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
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
Total	-	0/23	0	0	0	0	0	0	-		100	25	16	59	104	171		-

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

Scotland   v   Northern Ireland

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

Scotland   v   Northern Ireland

5 June International friendly	Scotland	3–2	Northern Ireland	Dumbarton, Scotland
14:00 BST	Clayton 25' Williamson 44' Middleton 78' (pen.)		Wylie 29' Waide 69'	Stadium: Dumbarton Football Stadium Attendance: 0

Malta   v   Northern Ireland

3 September 2023 UEFA U-21 Group C Qualifier	Malta	4–1	Northern Ireland	Ta' Qali, Malta
15:30 BST	Engerer 24' Veselji 36' (40), pen.' Attard 84'	Report	Lane 58'	Stadium: Centenary Stadium Referee: Milovan Milačić (Montenegro)

Northern Ireland   v   Slovakia

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)

Russia   v   Northern Ireland

8 October 2023 UEFA U-21 Group C Qualifier	Russia	1–0* (Result void)	Northern Ireland	Khimki, Russia
17:00 BST	Prokhin 16'	Report		Stadium: Arena Khimki Attendance: 250 Referee: Luka Bilbija (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Note: On 28 February 2022, FIFA and UEFA suspended Russian national teams from all competitions due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. [5] On 2 May 2022, UEFA declared all of their results to be null and void. [6]

Spain   v   Northern Ireland

12 October 2023 UEFA U-21 Group C Qualifier	Spain	3–0	Northern Ireland	Seville, Spain
19:45 BST	Gómez 26' (pen.), 32' Ruiz 56'	Report		Stadium: Estadio de La Cartuja Referee: Vitaliy Romanov (Ukraine)

Northern Ireland   v   Lithuania

12 November 2023 UEFA U-21 Group C Qualifier	Northern Ireland	4–0	Lithuania	Ballymena, Northern Ireland
14:00 GMT	McCalmont 8', 75' O'Neill 44' (pen.) Conn-Clarke 87'	Report		Stadium: Ballymena Showgrounds Referee: Joonas Jaanovits (Estonia)

Northern Ireland   v   Malta

16 November 2023 UEFA U-21 Group C Qualifier	Northern Ireland	0–2	Malta	Lurgan, Northern Ireland
19:30 GMT		Report	Grima 49' Zammit 89'	Stadium: Mourneview Park Attendance: 347 Referee: Kári Á Høvdanum (Faroe Islands)

2022

Slovakia   v   Northern Ireland

25 March 2023 UEFA U-21 Group C Qualifier	Slovakia	2–1	Northern Ireland	Žilina, Slovakia
15:00 GMT	Trusa 37' Kadák 86' (pen.)	Report	Johnston 61'	Stadium: Štadión pod Dubňom Attendance: 1,377 Referee: Visar Kastrati (Kosovo)

France   v   Northern Ireland

28 March International friendly	France	5–0	Northern Ireland	Calais, France
19:45 BST	Larouci 21' Diop 64' Gouiri 66' Caqueret 73' Kalimuendo 76'	Report		Stadium: Stade de l'Épopée

Northern Ireland   v   Spain

3 June 2023 UEFA U-21 Group C Qualifier	Northern Ireland	0–6	Spain	Larne, Northern Ireland
13:00 BST		Report	Ruiz 22' Gil 50', 61' Miranda 64' Riquelme 76' V. Gómez 87'	Stadium: Inver Park Attendance: 1,100 Referee: Vitālijs Spasjoņņikovs (Latvia)

Lithuania   v   Northern Ireland

7 June 2023 UEFA U-21 Group C Qualifier	Lithuania	1–1	Northern Ireland	Alytus, Lithuania
16:00 BST	Tutyškinas 90+7'	Report	Taylor 17'	Stadium: Alytus Stadium Attendance: 374 Referee: Nenad Minaković (Serbia)

2023 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship

Group stage

Main article: 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group C

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Spain	8	8	0	0	37	5	+32	24	Final tournament		—	3–2	3–0	8–0	7–1	4–1
2	Slovakia	8	5	0	3	18	10	+8	15	Play-offs		2–3	—	2–1	3–1	4–0	Canc.
3	Northern Ireland	8	2	1	5	8	18	−10	7			0–6	1–0	—	4–0	0–2	Canc.
4	Lithuania	8	2	1	5	7	22	−15	7			0–2	0–2	1–1	—	2–1	0–3
5	Malta	8	2	0	6	10	25	−15	6			0–5	1–3	4–1	1–3	—	Canc.
6	Russia [lower-alpha 1]	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Disqualified		1–0	3–0	1–0	Canc.	6–0	—

Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
Notes:

1. On 28 February 2022, FIFA and UEFA suspended Russian national teams from all competitions due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. ^[7] On 2 May 2022, UEFA declared all of their results to be null and void. ^[8]

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. ^[9]

The following players were named in the squad for the 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Qualifiers against   Spain and   Lithuania on the 3 & 7 June 2022. ^[10]

Caps and goals updated as of 7 June 2022 after the match against   Lithuania. Names in bold denote players who have been capped for the senior team .

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	1 GK	Dermot Mee	(2002-11-20) 20 November 2002 (age 19)	3	0	Manchester United
	1 GK	David Walsh	(2002-07-05) 5 July 2002 (age 20)	1	0	Linfield
	2 DF	Kofi Balmer	(2000-09-19) 19 September 2000 (age 21)	20	0	Larne
	2 DF	Jack Scott	(2002-09-22) 22 September 2002 (age 19)	14	0	St Patrick's Athletic (on loan from Wolves)
	2 DF	Aaron Donnelly	(2003-06-08) 8 June 2003 (age 19)	12	0	Nottingham Forest
	2 DF	Sam McClelland	(2002-01-04) 4 January 2002 (age 20)	7	0	Chelsea
	2 DF	Sean Stewart	(2003-01-21) 21 January 2003 (age 19)	5	0	Norwich City
	3 MF	Ethan Galbraith	(2001-05-11) 11 May 2001 (age 21)	20	1	Manchester United
	3 MF	Oisin Smyth	(2000-05-05) 5 May 2000 (age 22)	10	0	Oxford United
	3 MF	Barry Baggley	(2002-01-11) 11 January 2002 (age 20)	7	1	Fleetwood Town
	3 MF	Terry Devlin	(2003-11-06) 6 November 2003 (age 18)	3	0	Dungannon Swifts
	3 MF	Dylan Boyle	(2002-01-15) 15 January 2002 (age 20)	3	0	Fleetwood Town
	3 MF	Charlie Allen	(2003-11-22) 22 November 2003 (age 18)	2	0	Leeds United
	4 FW	John McGovern	(2002-10-17) 17 October 2002 (age 19)	8	0	Newry City
	4 FW	Dale Taylor	(2003-12-12) 12 December 2003 (age 18)	7	2	Nottingham Forest
	4 FW	Chris McKee	(2002-05-07) 7 May 2002 (age 20)	4	0	Linfield
	4 FW	Ciaran McGuckin	(2003-12-30) 30 December 2003 (age 18)	2	0	Rotherham United
	4 FW	Ross McCausland	(2003-05-12) 12 May 2003 (age 19)	1	0	Rangers
	4 FW	Marcus Daws	(2003-12-26) 26 December 2003 (age 18)	1	0	Bournemouth
	4 FW	Calvin McCurry	(2001-12-26) 26 December 2001 (age 20)	0	0	Ards
	4 FW	Euan Williams	(2003-01-15) 15 January 2003 (age 19)	0	0	Charlton Athletic

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	Dylan Berry	(2003-05-14) 14 May 2003 (age 19)	1	0	Norwich City	v.   France, 28 March 2022
DF	Finn Cousin-Dawson	(2002-07-04) 4 July 2002 (age 20)	7	0	Bradford City	v.   France, 28 March 2022
DF	Carl Johnston	(2002-05-29) 29 May 2002 (age 20)	6	1	Fleetwood Town	v.   France, 28 March 2022
DF	Shea Charles	(2003-11-05) 5 November 2003 (age 18)	3	0	Manchester City	v.   France, 28 March 2022
DF	Trai Hume	(2002-03-18) 18 March 2002 (age 20)	9	0	Sunderland	v.   Malta, 16 November 2021
DF	Kyle McClelland	(2002-02-10) 10 February 2002 (age 20)	2	0	Hibernian	v.   Spain, 12 October 2021
MF	JJ McKiernan	(2002-01-18) 18 January 2002 (age 20)	2	0	Watford	v.   France, 28 March 2022
MF	Charlie McCann	(2002-04-24) 24 April 2002 (age 20)	2	0	Rangers	v.   France, 28 March 2022
MF	Isaac Price	(2003-09-26) 26 September 2003 (age 18)	2	0	Everton	v.   France, 28 March 2022
FW	Harry Anderson	(2002-11-01) 1 November 2002 (age 19)	1	0	Portadown	v.   Malta, 16 November 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 7 June 2022 after the match against   Lithuania.

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.
3	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.
5	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.
	Caolan Boyd-Munce	2017–2021	19	0	25 March 2019 vs.	16 November 2021 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.
11	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 7 June 2022 after the match against   Lithuania.

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	16	0.19	14 November 2019 vs.	12 November 2021 vs.

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   Lithuania on 7 June 2022.

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.		9	2	1	6	8	23	–15	22.22%	11.11%	66.67%
Total			145	42	27	76	155	238	-83	28.97%	18.62%	52.41%

• * first two games as caretaker manager
• ** caretaker manager for all 7 games

See also

• Northern Ireland national football team
• Northern Ireland national under-17 football team
• Northern Ireland national under-19 football team

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. "FIFA/UEFA suspend Russian clubs and national teams from all competitions". fifa.com. FIFA. 28 February 2022. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
6. "UEFA decisions for upcoming competitions relating to the ongoing suspension of Russian national teams and clubs". uefa.com. UEFA. 2 May 2022. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
7. "FIFA/UEFA suspend Russian clubs and national teams from all competitions". fifa.com. FIFA. 28 February 2022. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
8. "UEFA decisions for upcoming competitions relating to the ongoing suspension of Russian national teams and clubs". uefa.com. UEFA. 2 May 2022. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
9. "Regulations of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship 2021-23". UEFA. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
10. "U21 squad revealed for Euro qualifiers against Spain and Lithuania". 31 May 2022.

External links

• NI U21 Appearance Details from NIFG