The Northern Ireland national football B team is a secondary football team run occasionally as support for the

Northern Ireland national football team The Northern Ireland national football team represents Northern Ireland in international association football. From 1882 to 1920, all of Ireland was represented by a single side, the Ireland national football team, organised by the Irish Fo ...

. Primarily seen as a stepping-stone between the under-21 and full international teams, B team matches are also used to give a run-out for fringe players and to honour Irish League players who would not otherwise gain international recognition. Matches are rarely played by Northern Ireland at this level due to their limited player pool, necessitating rapid elevation of young players to the 'Full' squad. Matches have been played against other football associations' 'B' teams and against various national "selects".

History

The Northern Ireland 'B' team made its first appearance in 1957, playing against Romania 'B' who were not deemed worthy of a 'Full' international (note: Romania was commonly referred to as Rumania in the English language up until the 1980s). The occasion of October 23, 1957 marked the first use of the

Windsor Park Windsor Park is a association football, football stadium in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is the home ground of Linfield F.C. who own the land the stadium is built on, while the Irish Football Association own and operate the stadium and pay Li ...

floodlights for an international fixture. A one sided match finished 6-0 with a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three w ...

from

Derek Dougan Alexander Derek Dougan (20 January 1938 – 24 June 2007) was a Northern Ireland international footballer, football manager, football chairman, pundit, and writer. He was also known by his nickname, "The Doog". He was capped by Northern ...

and further goals from

Sammy McCrory Samuel McKee McCrory (11 October 1924 – 4 May 2011) was a professional footballer from Northern Ireland, most notably spending five years with Southend United and scoring the first goal at their Roots Hall stadium. Club career McCrory was bo ...

Sammy Chapman Samuel Edward Campbell Chapman (16 February 1938 – 24 July 2019) was a Northern Ireland international footballer and football manager. Career A former youth player with Manchester United, Chapman signed for Glentoran upon returning to Northe ...

and Jackie Scott. The match against Rumania was followed up with two matches against France B in 1959 and 1960 before Under-23 international matches became de rigueur in the 1960s. The 'B' format re-emerged in the 1990s as national teams focussed on Under-21 rather than Under-23 matches and thus a "stepping stone" from Under-21 to 'Full' was required. Northern Ireland's most recent match at 'B' level was against Scotland B in May 2009.

Fixtures

''None''

Previous matches

Performance Record:

Squad for most recent game

''(vs. Scotland B, May 6, 2009)'' Goalkeepers *

Trevor Carson Trevor Carson (born 5 March 1988) is a Northern Irish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Scottish Premiership club Dundee. Born in Killyleagh, Northern Ireland, Carson started his youth career with Killyleagh Boys before movin ...

(

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

) *

Jonathan Tuffey Jonathan "Jonny" Tuffey (born 20 January 1987 in Banbridge, Northern Ireland) is a Northern Irish footballer and manager who plays as a goalkeeper for NIFL Premiership side Crusaders and is manager of Women's Premiership side Crusaders Strike ...

(

Partick Thistle Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional football club from Glasgow, Scotland. Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not played in Partick since 1908. The club have been m ...

) Defenders *

Chris Casement Christopher Casement (born 12 January 1988) is a Northern Irish professional footballer who currently plays for Leiston. He began his senior career with Ipswich Town for whom he played from 2005 to 2009, during which time he participated in s ...

(

Wycombe Wanderers Wycombe Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play their home ...

) * Craig Cathcart* (

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

) *

Adam Chapman Adam Henry Chapman (born 29 November 1989) is a Northern Irish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Retford United. Born in Doncaster, he started his career with Sheffield United but failed to break into the first team and was ...

(

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and th ...

) *

Shane Duffy Shane Patrick Michael Duffy (born 1 January 1992) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a defender for club Fulham and the Republic of Ireland national team. Duffy came through the youth academy at Everton, where he completed hi ...

( Everton) * Scott Gibb ( Stirling Albion) * Jeff Hughes* (

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been ...

) * Daniel Lafferty (

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foo ...

) *

Rory McArdle Rory Alexander McArdle (born 1 May 1987) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for League Two club Harrogate Town. He has previously played for Sheffield Wednesday, Rochdale, Aberdeen, Bradford City and Scunthorpe United, and r ...

* (

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Bor ...

) *

Ryan McGivern Ryan McGivern (born 8 January 1990) is a Northern Irish footballer who plays for NIFL Championship club Newry City. He can play as a left-back or a central defender, and has represented Northern Ireland in international football. He began ...

(

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

) * Robbie Weir (

) Midfielders * Martin Donnelly* (

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

) *

Corry Evans Corry John Evans (born 30 July 1990) is a Northern Irish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder or centre-back for EFL Championship side Sunderland. A Northern Ireland under-21 and senior international, he came through the Manchester ...

(

) *

Shane Ferguson Shane Kevin Ferguson (born 12 July 1991) is a Northern Irish professional footballer who plays for Rotherham United and the Northern Ireland national team. He previously played for Newcastle United in the Premier League, where he had two spells ...

(

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East En ...

) *

Robert Garrett Robert S. Garrett (May 24, 1875 – April 25, 1961) was an American athlete, as well as investment banker and philanthropist in Baltimore, Maryland and financier of several important archeological excavations. Garrett was the first modern Ol ...

( Linfield) *

Pat McCourt Patrick James McCourt (born 16 December 1983) is a Northern Irish former footballer who played as a winger. He started his professional career with Third Division club Rochdale in 2001 before moving to League of Ireland club Shamrock Rovers i ...

(

) *

Niall McGinn Niall McGinn (born 20 July 1987) is a Northern Irish professional footballer, who plays for Scottish Championship club Dundee. McGinn has also played for Dungannon Swifts, Derry City, Celtic, Brentford, Aberdeen (two spells) and South Korean ...

(

) *

Oliver Norwood Oliver James Norwood (born 12 April 1991) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Championship club Sheffield United. Norwood began his career with Manchester United, and had loan spells at Carlisle United, Scunthorpe United ...

(

) * Michael O'Connor (

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...

) Forwards *Curtis Allen* (

Lisburn Distillery Lisburn Distillery Football Club is a Northern Irish intermediate football club who are based in Ballyskeagh, County Down. A founder member of the Irish League, they currently play in the NIFL Premier Intermediate League, the third tier of th ...

) * James Lawrie (

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley of ...

) * Andrew Little ( Rangers) *

Josh McQuoid Joshua Joseph Brian McQuoid (born 15 December 1989) is a semi-professional footballer who plays as a winger or a striker for National League South club Weymouth. Club career AFC Bournemouth Born in Southampton, Hampshire, McQuoid started ...

(

AFC Bournemouth AFC Bournemouth () is a professional association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a r ...

) *

Dean Shiels Dean Andrew Shiels (born 1 February 1985) is a Northern Irish former footballer, who is the current manager of Dungannon Swifts. He played for Hibernian, Doncaster Rovers, Kilmarnock, Rangers, Dundalk, FC Edmonton and Dunfermline Athletic, a ...

* (

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club play their home games at ...

) * Jamie Ward* (

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

) * *Player withdrew from final squad.

Other previous players

Goalkeepers * Alan Fettis *

Roy Carroll Roy Eric Carroll (born 30 September 1977) is a Northern Irish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is best known for his spells at Wigan Athletic, Manchester United (where he won a Premier League winners medal and the 20 ...

*David Miskelly *Elliott Morris * Tom Evans Defenders *

Iain Jenkins Iain Jenkins (born 24 November 1972) is a football player and coach, who works for the Scottish Football Association (SFA) as an Elite Performance Coach. He began his playing career with Everton, from where he was loaned to Bradford City. He t ...

* Pat McGibbon *

Colin Murdock Colin James Murdock (born 2 July 1975) is a former association football player, who played for clubs including Preston North End, Hibernian and Rotherham United, and for Northern Ireland. He is now a lawyer, and a member of The Football Assoc ...

Darren Patterson Darren James Patterson (born 15 October 1969) is a Northern Irish football manager and former professional association football, footballer. As a player he was a Defender (association football), defender, notably playing in the Premier League ...

Aaron Hughes Aaron William Hughes (born 8 November 1979) is a Northern Irish former professional footballer who played as a defender. Hughes played mainly at centre back, but was also used at right back or left back, as well as anywhere in midfield. He i ...

* Keith Rowland * Peter Kennedy * Barry Hunter *

Stephen Craigan Stephen James Craigan (born 29 October 1976) is a Northern Irish former professional footballer. He played in central defence, and spent his entire playing career in Scotland, playing for Motherwell (twice) and Partick Thistle. He has also play ...

* Mike Duff * Danny Griffin * Gareth McAuley *Paul Morgan *

Chris Baird Christopher Patrick Baird (born 25 February 1982) is a Northern Irish former professional footballer who last played for Derby County and represented the Northern Ireland national football team from 2003 to 2016. His preferred position was righ ...

Midfielders *

Jon McCarthy Jonathan David McCarthy (born 18 August 1970) is a former professional footballer who is the assistant manager at Cymru Premier club Connah's Quay Nomads. McCarthy played as a winger and made around 700 appearances in his career, many of wh ...

* Danny Sonner *

Philip Mulryne Philip Patrick Stephen Mulryne, Order of Preachers, OP (born 1 January 1978) is a Northern Irish Dominican friar and priest in the Catholic Church, and retired professional association football, footballer. Born in Belfast, he started his career ...

Stephen Robinson Stephen Kern Robinson (born October 26, 1955) is an American former NASA astronaut. Education He was active in the Boy Scouts of America, where he achieved its second-highest rank, Life Scout. Robinson graduated from Campolindo High Schoo ...

* Michael O'Neill *

Danny Lennon Danny Lennon (born 6 April 1969) is a Scottish football manager and former player, who was most recently the manager of Scottish League One club Clyde. In his playing career he is best known for his spells at Raith Rovers and Partick Thistle. ...

Jeff Whitley Jeffrey Whitley (born 28 January 1979) is a former professional footballer who now works for the Professional Footballers Association as a player wellbeing executive. As a player he was a midfielder who notably played in the Premier League for ...

Tommy Doherty Thomas Edward Doherty (born 17 March 1979 in Bristol) is a Northern Ireland former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He made nine appearances for the Northern Ireland national team. Club career Doherty started his career at B ...

* Grant McCann *

Wayne Carlisle Wayne Thomas Carlisle (born 9 September 1979) is a former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He is assistant manager of Rotherham United. Carlisle was primarily a right-sided midfielder, however was able to play in a wide range ...

* Stuart Elliott *

Steve Jones Steve or Steven Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Steve Jones (English presenter) (born 1945), English musician, disk jockey, television presenter, and voice-over artist * Steve Jones (musician) (born 1955), English rock and roll guita ...

Shaun Holmes Shaun Holmes (born 27 December 1980 in Derry, Northern Ireland) is a Northern Irish footballer. Career He had previously played for Derry City in the League of Ireland but was released by the club on 14 December 2006, as he was not seen as be ...

*Jim Whitley Forwards * Gerry McMahon *

George O'Boyle George O'Boyle (born 14 December 1967 in Belfast) is a Northern Irish former professional footballer and now manager. Playing career Club football O'Boyle, a striker, began his career in 1984 as a youth-team player with Manchester City. He was ...

* David Healy *

Rory Hamill Rory Hamill (born 4 May 1976) is a former footballer from Northern Ireland. Playing career Rory Hamill had been capped for Northern Ireland youth before joining English Premier League club Southampton as a trainee in 1992. He failed to make ...

* Gary Hamilton * Andy Kirk * Andy Smith * James Broome

Former coaches

''(Record: Played Won-Drawn-Lost)'' * Peter Doherty 1957-1959 ''(2 1-1-0)'' * Len Graham 1960 ''(1 0-0-1)''Daily Mirror Northern ireland Soccer Yearbook 2008-09 (ed. Malcolm Brodie) Page 112 * Bryan Hamilton 1994-1997 ''(4 2-0-2)'' * Roy Millar 1998 ''(1 1-0-0)'' *

Lawrie McMenemy Lawrence McMenemy MBE (born 26 July 1936) is an English retired football coach, best known for his spell as manager of Southampton. He is rated in the ''Guinness Book of Records'' as one of the twenty most successful managers in post-war Englis ...

1999 ''(1 0-0-1)'' *

Sammy McIlroy Samuel Baxter McIlroy (born 2 August 1954) is a Northern Irish retired footballer who played for Manchester United, Stoke City, Manchester City, Örgryte (Sweden), Bury, VfB Mödling (Austria), Preston North End and the Northern Ireland nat ...

2003 ''(1 0-0-1)'' * Nigel Worthington 2009 ''(1 0-0-1)''

References

External links

Scotland Future-Northern Ireland 'B' Match Report
at NIFG {{DEFAULTSORT:Northern Ireland B National Football Team B European national B association football teams