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.

Northern Ireland Under-21
AssociationIrish Football Association
Head coachAndy Crosby
Most capsLiam Donnelly (24)
Top scorerLiam 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 2–6 Greece
(The Oval, Belfast; 1 April 2003)
Northern Ireland 2–6 Iceland
(The Showgrounds, Coleraine; 8 September 2009)
UEFA U-21 Championship
Appearances0

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]
Total - 0/23 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 92 23 15 54 96 153 -

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)

2020
4 September 2021 UEFA U-21 Group 8 Qualifier Malta  0–2  Northern Ireland Ta' Qali, Malta
17:00 BST Larkin  58'
Parkhouse  68'		 Report Stadium: Centenary Stadium
Attendance: 0
Referee: Michal Ocenáš (Slovakia)
8 September 2021 UEFA U-21 Group 8 Qualifier Northern Ireland  0–1  Denmark Ballymena, Northern Ireland
17:00 BST Report Olsen  76' (pen.) Stadium: Ballymena Showgrounds
Attendance: 0
Referee: Igor Pajac (Croatia)
9 October 2021 UEFA U-21 Group 8 Qualifier Northern Ireland  2–3  Finland Ballymena, Northern Ireland
18:00 BST O'Neill  23', 59' Report Stavitski  44'
Soisalo  62'
Skyttä  68'		 Stadium: Ballymena Showgrounds
Attendance: 0
Referee: Vitor Fernandes Ferreira (Portugal)
13 October 2021 UEFA U-21 Group 8 Qualifier Northern Ireland  1–0  Ukraine Ballymena, Northern Ireland
18:00 BST O'Neill  61' Report Stadium: Ballymena Showgrounds
Attendance: 0
Referee: Barbeno Luca (San Marino)
17 November 2021 UEFA U-21 Group 8 Qualifier Ukraine  3–0  Northern Ireland Kovalivka, Ukraine
16:30 GMT Babohlo  68'
Isaienko  70'
Kukharevych  74'		 Report Stadium: Kolos Stadium
Attendance: 0
Referee: Rauf Jabarov (Azerbaijan)

Group stage
Main article: 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 8
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Denmark 10 8 2 0 21 9 +12 26 Final tournament — 2–1 1–1 2–1 2–1 5–1
2  Romania 10 6 2 2 22 7 +15 20 1–1 — 3–0 4–1 3–0 4–1
3  Ukraine 10 5 1 4 17 11 +6 16 2–3 1–0 — 0–2 3–0 4–0
4  Finland 10 4 1 5 14 15 −1 13 0–1 1–3 0–2 — 1–1 4–0
5  Northern Ireland 10 2 3 5 7 13 −6 9 0–1 0–0 1–0 2–3 — 0–0
6  Malta 10 0 1 9 4 30 −26 1 1–3 0–3 1–4 0–1 0–2 —
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Players

Current squad

Players born on or after 1 January 1998 will be eligible until the completion of the 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.[5]

The following players were named in the squad for the 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Qualifier against  Ukraine on the 17 November 2020.[6]

Caps and goals updated as of 17 November 2020 after the match against  Ukraine. Names in bold denote players who have been capped for the senior team.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Liam Hughes (2001-08-19) 19 August 2001 2 0 Celtic
1GK Oliver Webber (2000-06-26) 26 June 2000 1 0 Crystal Palace
2DF Eoin Toal (1999-02-15) 15 February 1999 13 0 Derry City
2DF Kofi Balmer (2000-09-19) 19 September 2000 9 0 Ballymena United
2DF Caolan Marron (1998-07-04) 4 July 1998 9 0 Glentoran
2DF Danny Amos (1999-05-20) 20 May 1999 7 0 Doncaster Rovers
2DF Lewis Thompson (1999-10-10) 10 October 1999 6 1 Blackburn Rovers
2DF Ciaron Brown (1998-01-14) 14 January 1998 4 0 Livingston
2DF Jack Scott (2002-09-22) 22 September 2002 3 0 Wolves
2DF Ross Larkin (1999-06-10) 10 June 1999 2 1 Linfield
2DF Daniel Finlayson (2001-01-19) 19 January 2001 1 0 St Mirren
3MF Alfie McCalmont (2000-03-25) 25 March 2000 11 1 Oldham Athletic
3MF Caolan Boyd-Munce (2000-01-26) 26 January 2000 11 0 Birmingham City
3MF JJ McKiernan (2002-01-18) 18 January 2002 2 0 Watford
3MF Amrit Bansal-McNulty (2000-03-16) 16 March 2000 2 0 Como
3MF Andy Scott (2000-06-19) 19 June 2000 1 0 Larne
3MF Trai Hume (2002-03-18) 18 March 2002 1 0 Ballymena United
3MF Liam Ravenhill (2002-11-28) 28 November 2002 0 0 Doncaster Rovers
4FW Shayne Lavery (1998-12-08) 8 December 1998 14 5 Linfield
4FW Paul O'Neill (2000-01-07) 7 January 2000 6 3 Glentoran
4FW Chris McKee (2002-05-07) 7 May 2002 0 0 Rangers

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
DF Aaron Donnelly (2000-03-27) 27 March 2000 0 0 Cliftonville v.  Ukraine, 13 October 2020
MF Luke Wilson (2000-02-15) 15 February 2000 0 0 Portadown v.  Ukraine, 17 November 2020 COVID
MF Ethan Galbraith (2001-05-11) 11 May 2001 11 0 Manchester United v.  Ukraine, 13 October 2020
FW Ben Wilson (2001-12-05) 5 December 2001 0 0 Brighton v.  Finland, 9 October 2020 INJ
FW Harry Robinson (2000-09-26) 26 September 2000 1 0 Motherwell v.  Denmark, 8 September 2020
FW Christopher Conn (2001-11-22) 22 November 2001 0 0 Burnley v.  Denmark, 8 September 2020

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 17 November 2020 after the match against  Ukraine.

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 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.
6 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.
8 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 17 November 2020 after the match against  Ukraine.

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 0.50 17 November 1998 vs. 17 August 1999 vs.
Sam Morrow 2005–2006 4 4 1.00 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.
9 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 0.50 18 November 2008 vs. 3 September 2010 vs.
Billy Kee 2009–2011 3 10 0.30 10 August 2011 vs. 10 August 2011 vs.
David Parkhouse 2017–2020 3 17 0.18 8 June 2017 vs. 4 September 2020 vs.
Paul O'Neill 2019– 3 6 0.50 9 October 2020 vs. 13 October 2020 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 18 November 2020 after the Northern Ireland senior team match against  Romania.

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 27 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 57 2 2010–
Sammy Clingan 11 1 2003–2006 39 0 2006–2014
Stuart Dallas 2 0 2011–2012 52 3 2011–
Steven Davis 3 0 2003–2004 124 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 64 2 2009–
Jonny Evans 3 0 2006 89 4 2006–
Warren Feeney 8 2 2001–2003 46 5 2002–2011
Shane Ferguson 11 0 2008–2012 46 1 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 79 20 2006–
Neil Lennon 2 0 1990–1994 40 2 1994–2002
Josh Magennis 17 4 2009–2012 57 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 42 1 2011–
Paddy McNair 2 0 2014 42 4 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
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  Ukraine on 17 November 2020.

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. 10101100.00%100.00%0.00%
Billy Bingham 3 April 1990 vs. 3 April 1990 vs. 110021+1100.00%0.00%0.00%
Bryan Hamilton 22 March 1994 vs. 22 March 1994 vs. 10100000.00%100.00%0.00%
Roy Millar 21 April 1998 vs. 21 April 1998 vs. 110021+1100.00%0.00%0.00%
Chris Nicholl 20 May 1998 vs. 8 October 1999 vs. 133551113–223.08%38.46%38.46%
Roy Millar 28 March 2000 vs. 26 March 2008 vs. 48188226479–1537.50%16.67%45.83%
Steve Beaglehole 19 August 2008 vs. 15 November 2011 vs. 2143142339–1619.05%14.29%66.67%
Steve Robinson 10 May 2012 vs. 15 October 2013 vs. 100010524–190.00%0.00%100.00%
Jim Magilton* 14 November 2013 vs. 11 October 2016 vs. 141211827–197.14%14.29%78.57%
Ian Baraclough 8 June 2017 vs. 19 November 2019 vs. 199642219+347.37%31.58%21.05%
Andy Crosby** 4 September 2020 vs. - 520357–240.00%0.00%60.00%
Total 134 39 26 69 143 211 -68 29.10% 19.40% 51.50%
  • * first two games as caretaker manager
  • ** caretaker manager

See also

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. "Regulations of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship 2019-21" (PDF). UEFA. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  6. "Andy Crosby introduces three new faces to U21 panel for Euro qualifiers in Ballymena". 12 November 2020.
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