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 (1882–1950), Ireland natio ...

. 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 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 Linfield an annual rent ...

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 wic ...

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 Nor ...

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 ( Partick Thistle) 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 ho ...

) *

Craig Cathcart Craig George Cathcart (born 6 February 1989) is a Northern Irish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for EFL Championship club Watford and the Northern Ireland national team. He has also captained his country's under-21 side. A ...

* (

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 City of Salford, Salford to ...

) * Adam Chapman (

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 t ...

) *

Shane Duffy Shane Patrick Michael Duffy (born 1 January 1992) is an Irish professional association football, footballer who plays as a defender (association football), defender for club Fulham F.C., Fulham and the Republic of Ireland national football tea ...

( Everton) * Scott Gibb (

Stirling Albion Stirling Albion Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the city of Stirling. The club was founded in 1945 following the demise of King's Park after World War II. The club currently competes in Scottish League Two as a member of the ...

) * 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 c ...

) *

Daniel Lafferty Daniel Patrick "Danny" Lafferty (born 18 May 1989) is a Northern Irish professional footballer who plays as a left back for Sligo Rovers. Career Early career Lafferty started his career in the youth team of Oxford United stars before moving ...

(

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 Fo ...

) *

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 Borough ...

) * Ryan McGivern (

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 tw ...

) * 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 (

) *

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 End ...

) *

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 Korea ...

(

) * Oliver Norwood (

) *

Michael O'Connor Michael O'Connor may refer to: Politicians * Michael O'Connor (Australian politician) (1865–1940), Australian politician * Michael O'Connor (Wisconsin politician) (1856–1925), Wisconsin State Assemblyman * Michael J. O'Connor (politici ...

(

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 t ...

) *

James Lawrie James Lawrie (born 18 December 1990) is a Northern Irish semi-professional footballer who plays for club Hanley Town. The striker has represented Northern Ireland at youth level and won three senior caps. One of the most promising players ...

(

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 o ...

) * 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 ou ...

(

AFC Bournemouth AFC Bournemouth () is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest division of English club football. Formed in 1899 as B ...

) *

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, ...

* (

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 Jamie John Ward (born 12 May 1986) is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for Ilkeston Town where he is player-manager. He has represented the Northern Ireland national team. Born in Birmingham he began his career with his home ...

* (

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 Alan William Fettis (born 1 February 1971) is a Northern Ireland former professional footballer and goalkeeping coach at Championship side Middlesbrough As a player, he was as a goalkeeper from 1988 to 2007. He notably played for Hull City and ...

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 ...

* 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 Keith Rowland (born on 1 September 1971) is a Northern Irish football manager and former footballer, who is manager of Tilbury. As a player, he was a defender who notably played in the Premier League for Coventry City and West Ham United. He a ...

* Peter Kennedy * Barry Hunter * Stephen Craigan *

Mike Duff Michael Duff is the name of: * Michael Duff (physicist) (born 1949), British theoretical physicist * Michael Duff (footballer) (born 1978), Northern Irish international footballer and manager * Sir Michael Duff, 3rd Baronet Sir Charles Michael Ro ...

* Danny Griffin *

Gareth McAuley Gareth Gerald McAuley ( ; born 5 December 1979) is a Northern Irish former professional footballer who played as a centre back. He represented Northern Ireland at senior international level, being capped on 80 occasions and scoring nine times ...

*Paul Morgan * Chris Baird 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 *

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 Grant Samuel McCann (born 14 April 1980) is a Northern Irish professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder in the Football League. He was most recently the manager of EFL League One club Peterborough United. Born in ...

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 *

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 b ...

*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 w ...

* 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 Bryan Hamilton (born 21 December 1946) is a Northern Irish former professional football player and manager. He gained 50 caps for Northern Ireland between 1969 and 1980, and later managed the national team for four years. He later became Techn ...

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 2003 ''(1 0-0-1)'' *

Nigel Worthington Nigel Worthington (born 4 November 1961) is a Northern Irish former professional footballer who was most recently the manager of York City. He played a defender and a midfielder, playing his club football for Ballymena United, Notts County, ...

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