Northern Ireland national under-21 football team
| Association | Irish Football Association | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Head coach | Tommy Wright | ||
| Most caps | Liam Donnelly (24) | ||
| Top scorer | Liam Donnelly Shayne Lavery (5) | ||
| |||
| First international | |||
| Republic of Ireland
1–1 (Phibsborough, Republic of Ireland; 8 March 1978) | |||
| Biggest win | |||
| 5–0 Luxembourg (Lurgan, Northern Ireland; 16 November 2007) 5–0 Azerbaijan (Ballymena, Northern Ireland; 12 October 2024) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
| 0–6 Spain (Larne, Northern Ireland; 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 European Under-21 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 | |||||||||||
| 2025 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 10 | 10 | Tommy Wright | |||||||||||
| Total | - | 0/25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 110 | 28 | 18 | 64 | 114 | 181 | - | ||
Results and fixtures
2024
| 21 March Friendly | Czech Republic | 3–0 | Pardubice, Czech Republic | |
| 16:30 GMT | Sejk 17', 34' Halinský 78' |
Stadium: CFIG Arena Attendance: 2,892 |
| 26 March 2025 UEFA U-21 Group F Qualifier | Serbia | 1–2 | Leskovac, Serbia | |
| 17:00 GMT | Mitrović 39' | Report | Allen 56' Farquhar 70' |
Stadium: Dubočica Stadium Attendance: 2,958 Referee: Yigal Frid (Israel) |
| 6 September 2025 UEFA U-21 Group F Qualifier | 0–0 | England | Ballymena, Northern Ireland | |
| 19:45 BST | Report | Stadium: Ballymena Showgrounds Attendance: 3,237 Referee: David Šmajc (Slovenia) |
| 10 September 2025 UEFA U-21 Group F Qualifier | 1–2 | Ukraine | Ballymena, Northern Ireland | |
| 19:45 BST | Allen 81' (pen.) | Report | Voloshyn 10' Braharu 30' |
Stadium: Ballymena Showgrounds Attendance: 697 Referee: Oliver Reitala (Finland) |
| 12 October 2025 UEFA U-21 Group F Qualifier | 5–0 | Azerbaijan | Ballymena, Northern Ireland | |
| 15:00 BST | Allen 11' (pen.) McKiernan 56' Kelly 64' Devenny 68' Samigullin 81' (o.g.) |
report | Stadium: Ballymena Showgrounds Attendance: 440 Referee: Heini Ziskason Viðoy (Faroe Islands) |
| 15 October 2025 UEFA U-21 Group F Qualifier | Luxembourg | 0–0 | Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg | |
| 19:30 BST | report | Stadium: Stade Émile Mayrisch Attendance: 257 Referee: Visar Kastrati (Kosovo) |
UEFA European Under-21 Championship
2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | England | 10 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 41 | 6 | +35 | 25 | Final tournament | — | 2–1 | 9–1 | 3–0 | 7–0 | 7–0 | |
| 2 | Ukraine | 10 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 20 | 7 | +13 | 24 | 3–2 | — | 2–1 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 1–0 | ||
| 3 | Serbia | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 18 | −5 | 16 | 0–3 | 1–0 | — | 1–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | ||
| 4 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 11 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | — | 0–1 | 5–0 | |||
| 5 | Luxembourg | 10 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 23 | −17 | 8 | 0–3 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 0–0 | — | 2–0 | ||
| 6 | Azerbaijan | 10 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 4 | 30 | −26 | 3 | 1–5 | 0–3 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 3–2 | — |
Coaching staff
Current coaching staff
- As of 31 August 2023
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Manager | Tommy Wright |
| Assistant Manager | Paul Stephenson |
| Goalkeeping Coach | Roy Carroll |
| Sports Scientist | Simon Coleman |
Manager history
Current manager highlighted in green
Last updated after the match against Luxembourg on 15 October 2024.
| 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. | 25 September 2022 vs. | 11 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 10 | 27 | –17 | 18.18% | 18.18% | 63.64% |
| Tommy Wright | 7 September 2023 vs. | 11 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 10 | 13 | –3 | 27.27% | 18.18% | 54.55% | |
| Total | 158 | 45 | 30 | 83 | 167 | 255 | -88 | 28.48% | 18.99% | 52.53% | ||
- * first two games as caretaker manager
- ** caretaker manager for all 7 games
Players
Current squad
Players born on or after 1 January 2004 will be eligible until the completion of the 2027 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.
The following players were named in the squad for a mini tournament against Moldova on the 20 March 2025, Ukraine on the 22 March 2025 and Uzbekistan on the 25 March 2025.[5][6]
Last updated after the match against Luxembourg on 15 October 2024. Names in bold denote players who have been capped for the senior team.
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Stephen McMullan | 31 December 2004 | 6 | 0 | Waterford | |
| GK | Fraser Barnsley | 6 October 2004 | 1 | 0 | Everton | |
| GK | Mason Munn | 30 March 2006 | 0 | 0 | Rangers | |
| DF | Tommy Fogarty | 15 March 2004 | 10 | 0 | Dunfermline Athletic | |
| DF | Shea Kearney | 26 March 2004 | 2 | 0 | Cliftonville | |
| DF | Matty Carson | 29 April 2004 | 0 | 0 | Torquay United | |
| DF | Sam Inwood | 17 September 2005 | 0 | 0 | Bolton Wanderers | |
| DF | Bayley McCann | 8 December 2005 | 0 | 0 | Barnsley | |
| DF | Conor Barr | 19 December 2005 | 0 | 0 | Ballymena United | |
| DF | Tom Atcheson | 22 September 2006 | 0 | 0 | Marine | |
| DF | Matty Orr | 16 April 2007 | 0 | 0 | Linfield | |
| MF | Patrick Kelly | 2 October 2004 | 10 | 1 | Doncaster Rovers | |
| MF | Darren Robinson | 29 December 2004 | 7 | 0 | Hartlepool United | |
| MF | Jamie McDonnell | 16 February 2004 | 5 | 0 | Colchester United | |
| MF | Sam Glenfield | 10 May 2005 | 0 | 0 | Waterford | |
| MF | Rio Oudnie-Morgan | 6 December 2005 | 0 | 0 | Ipswich Town | |
| MF | Francis Turley | 14 January 2006 | 0 | 0 | Celtic | |
| MF | Max Wilson | 30 January 2007 | 0 | 0 | Galway United | |
| FW | Makenzie Kirk | 6 February 2004 | 3 | 0 | St Johnstone | |
| FW | Conor Falls | 2 January 2004 | 1 | 0 | Huddersfield Town | |
| FW | Liam McStravick | 27 November 2004 | 0 | 0 | Airdrieonians | |
| FW | Aodhan Doherty | 3 May 2006 | 0 | 0 | Blackburn Rovers | |
| FW | Rhys Walsh | 8 July 2006 | 0 | 0 | Sunderland | |
Recent call-ups
The following players have previously been called up to the Northern Ireland under-21 squad and remain eligible.
| Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club | Latest call-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Josh Clarke | 28 July 2004 | 1 | 0 | Celtic | v. Luxembourg, 15 October 2024 |
| GK | Pierce Charles | 21 July 2005 | 4 | 0 | Sheffield Wednesday | v. Ukraine, 10 September 2024 |
| DF | Johnny Russell | 19 September 2004 | 2 | 0 | Glentoran | v. Moldova, 20 March 2025 |
| DF | Michael Forbes | 29 April 2004 | 8 | 0 | West Ham United | v. Luxembourg, 15 October 2024 |
| DF | Ruairi McConville | 1 May 2005 | 5 | 0 | Norwich City | v. Luxembourg, 15 October 2024 |
| MF | Charlie Lindsay | 26 January 2004 | 2 | 0 | Glentoran | v. Serbia, 26 March 2024 |
| MF | Dylan Sloan | 15 April 2004 | 2 | 0 | Larne | v. Serbia, 26 March 2024 |
| FW | Rhys Annett | 6 November 2004 | 1 | 0 | Linfield | v. Serbia, 26 March 2024 |
COVID = Player withdrew due to a positive COVID test or from being in close contact with someone with a positive COVID test. | ||||||
Player records
Most appearances
Players still active are highlighted in green
Last updated after the match against Luxembourg on 15 October 2024.
| 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. |
| Caolan Boyd-Munce | 2017–2022 | 21 | 0 | 25 March 2019 vs. | 25 September 2022 vs. | |
| 4 | 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. | |
| Aaron Donnelly | 2021–2024 | 20 | 0 | 2 June 2021 vs. | 15 October 2024 vs. | |
| 7 | 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. | |
| 10 | 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. | |
| Alfie McCalmont | 2019–2022 | 18 | 3 | 25 March 2019 vs. | 25 September 2022 vs. |
Top goalscorers
Players still active are highlighted in green
Last updated after the match against Luxembourg on 15 October 2024.
| 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 | 18 | 0.17 | 14 November 2019 vs. | 12 November 2021 vs. | |
| Dale Taylor | 2021–2024 | 3 | 15 | 0.2 | 2 June 2021 vs. | 25 September 2022 vs. | |
| Charlie Allen | 2022–2024 | 3 | 14 | 0.21 | 26 March 2024 vs. | 12 October 2024 vs. |
Under-21 graduates
Players who have won 25 or more Northern Ireland 'Full' caps after playing at least twice for the Northern Ireland U21.
Players still active are highlighted in green
Full caps and goals updated as of 19 June 2023 after the Northern Ireland senior team match against Kazakhstan.
| Name | U21 Caps | U21 Goals | U21 Career | Full Caps | Full Goals | Full Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chris Baird | 6 | 1 | 2002–2003 | 79 | 0 | 2003–2016 |
| 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 | 72 | 2 | 2010– |
| Sammy Clingan | 11 | 1 | 2003–2006 | 39 | 0 | 2006–2014 |
| Stuart Dallas | 2 | 0 | 2011–2012 | 62 | 3 | 2011– |
| Steven Davis | 3 | 0 | 2003–2004 | 140 | 13 | 2005– |
| Stuart Elliott | 3 | 0 | 1998–1999 | 39 | 4 | 2000–2007 |
| Corry Evans | 10 | 0 | 2008–2010 | 70 | 2 | 2009– |
| Jonny Evans | 3 | 0 | 2006 | 102 | 5 | 2006– |
| Warren Feeney | 8 | 2 | 2001–2003 | 46 | 5 | 2002–2011 |
| Shane Ferguson | 11 | 0 | 2008–2012 | 57 | 2 | 2009– |
| Danny Griffin | 10 | 1 | 1998–1999 | 29 | 1 | 1996–2004 |
| David Healy | 8 | 4 | 1998–1999 | 95 | 36 | 2000–2013 |
| Damien Johnson | 11 | 0 | 1998–1999 | 56 | 0 | 1999–2009 |
| Kyle Lafferty | 2 | 0 | 2006 | 89 | 20 | 2006–2022 |
| Neil Lennon | 2 | 0 | 1990–1994 | 40 | 2 | 1994–2002 |
| Josh Magennis | 17 | 4 | 2009–2012 | 71 | 10 | 2010– |
| Grant McCann | 11 | 3 | 2000–2001 | 39 | 4 | 2001–2012 |
| George McCartney | 5 | 0 | 2000–2001 | 34 | 1 | 2001–2010 |
| Michael McGovern | 10 | 0 | 2005–2006 | 33 | 0 | 2010–2020 |
| Conor McLaughlin | 7 | 0 | 2010–2012 | 43 | 1 | 2011–2021 |
| Paddy McNair | 2 | 0 | 2014 | 62 | 6 | 2015– |
| Philip Mulryne | 5 | 1 | 1998–1999 | 27 | 3 | 1997–2007 |
| Oliver Norwood | 11 | 4 | 2009–2012 | 57 | 0 | 2010–2018 |
| Jordan Thompson | 12 | 0 | 2016-2018 | 30 | 0 | 2018– |
| Jamie Ward | 7 | 2 | 2006–2008 | 35 | 4 | 2011–2018 |
| Gavin Whyte | 7 | 0 | 2015-2018 | 30 | 5 | 2018– |
See also
- Northern Ireland national football team
- Northern Ireland national under-17 football team
- Northern Ireland national under-19 football team
References
- ^ Roy Millar managed for the first seven qualifying matches. Steve Beaglehole managed the last game of the qualification campaign.
- ^ Steve Beaglehole managed for the first five qualifying matches. Stephen Robinson managed for the remainder of the qualification campaign.
- ^ Stephen Robinson managed for the first four qualifying matches. Jim Magilton managed for the remainder of the qualification campaign.
- ^ Ian Baraclough managed for the first five qualifying matches. Andy Crosby was appointed caretaker manager for the remainder of the qualification campaign.
- ^ "Wright names U21s squad for three friendlies". 7 March 2025.
- ^ "U21s draw with Moldova in Turkey". 20 March 2025.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Northern Ireland national under-21 football team.