This page details

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 ...

records and statistics; the most capped players, the players with the most goals, and Northern Ireland's match record by opponent and decade.

Player records

Most capped players

''after the match against .'' Players with an equal number of caps are ranked in chronological order of reaching the milestone.

Top goalscorers

''after the match against .'' Players with an equal number of goals are ranked in chronological order of reaching the milestone.

Most captaincies

''after the match against .'' Captaincy appearances are only awarded to players who were assigned the captaincy at the start of an international game.
Players with an equal number of captaincies are ranked in chronological order of reaching the milestone.

Most clean sheets

''after the match against .'' A goalkeeper is awarded a clean sheet if he does not concede a goal during his time on the pitch.

Hat-tricks

The result is presented with Northern Ireland's score first.

Red cards

The result is presented with Northern Ireland's score first.

Individual and Team records

Age records

* Youngest player to make debut:

Samuel Johnston Samuel Johnston (December 15, 1733 – August 17, 1816) was an American planter, lawyer, and statesman from Chowan County, North Carolina. He represented North Carolina in both the Continental Congress and the United States Senate, and he was ...

– 15 years and 154 days, 18 February 1882 vs * Oldest player to play a game:

Elisha Scott Elisha Scott (24 August 1893 – 16 May 1959) was a Northern Irish football goalkeeper who played for Liverpool from 1912 to 1934, and still holds the record as their longest-serving player. Life and playing career Elisha Scott played for Lin ...

– 42 years and 200 days, 11 March 1936 vs * Youngest player to play at World Cup finals:

Norman Whiteside Norman Whiteside (born 7 May 1965) is a Northern Irish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder and striker. Whiteside began his career at Manchester United, signing professional forms in 1982 at the age of 17 and quickly be ...

– 17 years and 41 days, 17 June 1982 vs * Oldest player to play at World Cup finals:

Pat Jennings Patrick Anthony Jennings (born 12 June 1945) is a Northern Irish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He played 119 international matches for Northern Ireland in an international career which lasted for over 22 years. D ...

– 41 years and 0 days, 12 June 1986 vs * Youngest player to score a goal:

– 15 years and 161 days, 25 February 1882 vs

Goal records

* First Irish goal:

– 15 years and 161 days, 25 February 1882 vs * Most goals scored in one game by a player: 6 –

Joe Bambrick Joseph Gardiner Absolom Bambrick (3 November 1905 – 13 October 1983) was a Northern Irish footballer who played for Chelsea, Walsall, Glentoran, and Linfield. A former gas worker of medium build, he was a prolific goalscorer in the Irish L ...

, 1 February 1930 vs

Firsts

* First International: 18 February 1882 vs * First home international: 18 February 1882 vs * First win: 12 March 1887 vs * First overseas opponent: , 25 May 1922 * First win over an overseas opponent: 1 May 1957 vs

Streaks

* Most consecutive victories: 5 ** 26 March 2017 – 4 September 2017 ** 21 March 2019 – 5 September 2019 * Most consecutive matches without defeat: 12 ** 29 March 2015 – 4 June 2016 * Most consecutive draws: 4 ** 11 September 2012 – 6 February 2013 * Most consecutive matches without a draw: 24 ** 26 January 1884 – 28 March 1891 * Most consecutive matches without victory: 21 ** 5 November 1947 – 7 November 1953 * Most consecutive defeats: 11 ** 26 January 1884 – 19 February 1887 ** 3 October 1959 – 7 October 1961 * Most consecutive matches scoring: 13 ** 4 November 1933 – 16 March 1938 * Most consecutive matches without scoring: 13 ** 27 March 2002 – 11 October 2003 * Most consecutive matches conceding a goal: 46 ** 18 February 1882 – 27 March 1897 * Most consecutive matches without conceding a goal: 6 ** 27 March 1985 – 26 February 1986

Biggest wins

Heaviest defeats

Competition Records

FIFA World Cup

;Qualification *First match: 1 October 1949 vs *First goal:

Sammy Smyth Samuel Smyth (25 February 1925 – 19 October 2016) was a Northern Irish footballer who played in the Football League for Wolverhampton Wanderers, Stoke City and Liverpool. Career Smyth was born in Belfast in 1925 and played for local clubs D ...

vs , 1 October 1949 ;Finals * First finals: Sweden 1958 * Total number of times qualified for the finals: 3 (

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

), (

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

) and (

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

) * First game: 8 June 1958 vs * First goal:

Wilbur Cush Wilbur may refer to: Places in the United States * Wilbur, Indiana, an unincorporated town * Wilbur, Trenton, New Jersey, a neighborhood in the city of Trenton * Wilbur, Oregon, an unincorporated community * Wilbur, Washington, a small farming t ...

vs , 8 June 1958 * Most Successful final:

– Quarter finals * World Cup top goal scorer: 5 **

Peter McParland Peter James McParland MBE (born 25 April 1934) is a former professional footballer. Club career Dundalk McParland was born in Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland. He was spotted playing for Dundalk in the League of Ireland by Aston Villa man ...

(

)

UEFA European Championship

;Qualification *First match: 10 October 1962 vs *First goal:

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 I ...

vs , 10 October 1962 ;Finals * First finals: France 2016 * Total number of times qualified for the finals: 1 (

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

) * First game: 12 June 2016 vs * First goal:

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 ...

vs , 16 June 2016 * Most Successful final:

- Round of 16 * European Championship scorer: 1 **

(

) **

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 ...

(

)

UEFA Nations League

;Qualification *First match: 8 September 2018 vs *First goal:

Will Grigg William Donald Grigg (born 3 July 1991) is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for EFL League One club Milton Keynes Dons. Grigg began his professional career at Walsall and came to prominence during the 2012–13 season, winni ...

vs , 8 September 2018

Rankings

* Highest FIFA Rank: 20 (September 2017) * Lowest FIFA Rank: 129 (September 2012) * Highest Elo Rank: 5 (1882) * Lowest Elo Rank: 114 (11 October 2013)

Performance