Northern Ireland national under-21 football team

Northern Ireland Under-21
AssociationIrish Football Association
Head coachTommy Wright
Most capsLiam Donnelly (24)
Top scorerLiam Donnelly
Shayne Lavery (5)
First colours
Second colours
First international
 Republic of Ireland 1–1 Northern Ireland 
(Phibsborough, Republic of Ireland; 8 March 1978)
Biggest win
 Northern Ireland 5–0 Luxembourg 
(Lurgan, Northern Ireland; 16 November 2007)
 Northern Ireland 5–0 Azerbaijan 
(Ballymena, Northern Ireland; 12 October 2024)
Biggest defeat
 Northern Ireland 0–6 Spain 
(Larne, Northern Ireland; 3 June 2022)
UEFA U-21 Championship
Appearances0

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
France 1994
Spain 1996
Romania 1998
Slovakia 2000 did not qualify 8 1 3 4 5 9 Chris Nicholl
Switzerland 2002 10 2 2 6 12 21 Roy Millar
Germany 2004 8 2 1 5 8 16
Portugal 2006 did not enter did not enter None
Netherlands 2007 did not qualify 4 2 0 2 10 7 Roy Millar
Sweden 2009 8 4 0 4 13 12 Roy Millar, Steve Beaglehole[1]
Denmark 2011 8 2 1 5 12 16 Steve Beaglehole
Israel 2013 8 1 1 6 5 13 Steve Beaglehole, Stephen Robinson[2]
Czech Republic 2015 8 1 0 7 3 17 Stephen Robinson, Jim Magilton[3]
Poland 2017 10 0 2 8 6 18 Jim Magilton
ItalySan Marino 2019 10 6 2 2 15 11 Ian Baraclough
HungarySlovenia 2021 10 2 3 5 7 13 Ian Baraclough, Andy Crosby[4]
Georgia (country)Romania 2023 8 2 1 5 8 18 John Schofield
Slovakia 2025 10 3 2 5 10 10 Tommy Wright
AlbaniaSerbia 2027 to be determined 7 3 1 3 8 11
Total - 0/25 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 117 31 19 67 122 192 -

Results and fixtures

2025

20 March Friendly Moldova  1–1  Northern Ireland Belek, Turkey
13:00 GMT Rotaru 8' Oudnie-Morgan 69' (pen.) Stadium: Cornelia Sport Centre
Referee: Hakan Yurtseven (Turkey)
22 March Friendly Ukraine  1–0  Northern Ireland Belek, Turkey
14:00 GMT Chaban 51' Report Stadium: Bellis Deluxe Centre
25 March Friendly Uzbekistan  0–1  Northern Ireland Belek, Turkey
18:00 GMT Turley 57' Stadium: Bellis Deluxe Centre
9 September 2027 UEFA U-21 Group F Qualifier Georgia  1–1  Northern Ireland Kutaisi, Georgia
17:00 BST Latsabidze 7' Report Orr 66' Stadium: Ramaz Shengelia Stadium
Attendance: 3,260
Referee: Kamal Umudlu (Azerbaijan)
9 October 2027 UEFA U-21 Group F Qualifier Northern Ireland  2–0  Malta Belfast, Northern Ireland
19:45 BST Kirk 7'
Forbes 33'		 Report Stadium: The Oval
Attendance: 542
Referee: Alessandro Dudic (Switzerland)
14 October 2027 UEFA U-21 Group F Qualifier Northern Ireland  1–2  Germany Belfast, Northern Ireland
17:30 BST McConville 4' Report Ouédraogo 79'
Pejčinović 83' (pen.)		 Stadium: The Oval
Attendance: 1,152
Referee: Patrik Kolarić (Croatia)
13 November 2027 UEFA U-21 Group F Qualifier Northern Ireland  1–0  Latvia Belfast, Northern Ireland
19:45 GMT Glenfield 60' Report Stadium: The Oval
Attendance: 487
Referee: Ivar Orri Kristjansson (Iceland)
18 November 2027 UEFA U-21 Group F Qualifier Greece  4–0  Northern Ireland Livadeia, Greece
14:00 GMT Alexiou 19'
Goumas 26'
Tzimas 63' (pen.)
Smyrlis 81'		 Report Stadium: Levadia Municipal Stadium
Attendance: 2,433
Referee: Alejandro Muñiz Ruiz (Spain)

2026

27 March 2027 UEFA U-21 Group F Qualifier Germany  3–0  Northern Ireland Braunschweig, Germany
17:00 GMT Tresoldi 11' (pen.), 41'
Weiper 90'		 Report Stadium: Eintracht-Stadion
Attendance: 10,391
Referee: Jakob Sundberg (Denmark)
31 March 2027 UEFA U-21 Group F Qualifier Latvia  1–3  Northern Ireland Riga, Latvia
12:00 BST Mežsargs 14' Report
  • Kirk 29'
    Kenny 68'
    Moses 90+5'
 Stadium: Daugava National Stadium
Attendance: 145
Referee: Sandi Putros (Denmark)
26 September 2027 UEFA U-21 Group F Qualifier Malta  –  Northern Ireland Malta
BST Report
1 October 2027 UEFA U-21 Group F Qualifier Northern Ireland  –  Georgia Northern Ireland
BST Report
6 October 2027 UEFA U-21 Group F Qualifier Northern Ireland  –  Greece Northern Ireland
BST Report

UEFA European Under-21 Championship

2027 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Germany 7 6 0 1 22 4 +18 18 Final tournament — 2–3 3–0 6 Oct 5–0 6–0
2  Greece 7 6 0 1 21 4 +17 18 Final tournament or Play-offs 0–2 — 4–0 3–0 1 Oct 5–0
3  Northern Ireland 7 3 1 3 8 11 −3 10 1–2 6 Oct — 1 Oct 1–0 2–0
4  Georgia 7 2 3 2 12 9 +3 9 0–2 26 Sep 1–1 — 1–1 4–1
5  Latvia (E) 7 1 2 4 4 12 −8 5 26 Sep 0–1 1–3 1–1 — 6 Oct
6  Malta (E) 7 0 0 7 1 28 −27 0 30 Sep 0–5 26 Sep 0–5 0–1 —
Updated to match(es) played on 31 March 2026. Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(E) Eliminated

Coaching staff

Current coaching staff

As of 27 August 2025
Position Name
Manager Northern Ireland Tommy Wright
Assistant Manager Scotland Steven MacLean
Coach Northern Ireland Corry Evans
Goalkeeping Coach Northern Ireland Conor Brennan
Analyst England Josh Wall

Manager history

  Current manager highlighted in green

Last updated after the match against Latvia on 31 March 2026.

Manager First Game Last Game Pld W D L GF GA GD Win % Draw % Loss %
Northern Ireland Danny Blanchflower 8 March 1978 vs. Republic of Ireland 8 March 1978 vs. Republic of Ireland 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 0.00% 100.00% 0.00%
Northern Ireland Billy Bingham 3 April 1990 vs. Israel 3 April 1990 vs. Israel 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1 100.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Northern Ireland Bryan Hamilton 22 March 1994 vs. Romania 22 March 1994 vs. Romania 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0.00% 100.00% 0.00%
Northern Ireland Roy Millar 21 April 1998 vs. Switzerland 21 April 1998 vs. Switzerland 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1 100.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Northern Ireland Chris Nicholl 20 May 1998 vs. Scotland 8 October 1999 vs. Finland 13 3 5 5 11 13 –2 23.08% 38.46% 38.46%
Northern Ireland Roy Millar 28 March 2000 vs. Malta 26 March 2008 vs. Romania 48 18 8 22 64 79 –15 37.50% 16.67% 45.83%
England Steve Beaglehole 19 August 2008 vs. Poland 15 November 2011 vs. Serbia 21 4 3 14 23 39 –16 19.05% 14.29% 66.67%
Northern Ireland Steve Robinson 10 May 2012 vs. North Macedonia 15 October 2013 vs. Serbia 10 0 0 10 5 24 –19 0.00% 0.00% 100.00%
Northern Ireland Jim Magilton* 14 November 2013 vs. Italy 11 October 2016 vs. France 14 1 2 11 8 27 –19 7.14% 14.29% 78.57%
England Ian Baraclough 8 June 2017 vs. Estonia 19 November 2019 vs. Romania 19 9 6 4 22 19 +3 47.37% 31.58% 21.05%
England Andy Crosby** 4 September 2020 vs. Malta 5 June 2021 vs. Scotland 7 3 0 4 9 11 –2 42.86% 0.00% 57.14%
England John Schofield 3 September 2021 vs. Malta 25 September 2022 vs. Scotland 11 2 2 7 10 27 –17 18.18% 18.18% 63.64%
Northern Ireland Tommy Wright 7 September 2023 vs. Luxembourg 21 7 4 10 20 26 –6 33.33% 19.05% 47.62%
Total 168 49 32 87 177 268 -91 29.17% 19.05% 51.79%
  • * 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 2027 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group F matches against Germany and Latvia on the 27 and 31 March 2026; respectively.[5]

Caps and goals correct as of 31 March 2026, after the match against Latvia

Names in bold denote players who have been capped for the senior team.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Fraser Barnsley (2004-10-06) 6 October 2004 5 0 The Football Association Marine
12 1GK Francis Hurl (2005-09-30) 30 September 2005 0 0 The Football Association Huddersfield Town
1GK Stephen McMullan (2004-12-31) 31 December 2004 11 0 Football Association of Ireland Waterford
2 2DF Shea Kearney (2004-03-26) 26 March 2004 9 0 Scottish Football Association Dunfermline Athletic
3 2DF Jonny Russell (2004-09-19) 19 September 2004 9 0 The Football Association Crawley Town
4 2DF Josh Briggs (2006-03-14) 14 March 2006 3 0 The Football Association West Ham United
5 2DF Michael Forbes (2004-04-29) 29 April 2004 13 1 The Football Association Northampton Town
13 2DF Bayley McCann (2005-12-08) 8 December 2005 4 0 The Football Association Alfreton Town
14 2DF Conor Barr (2005-12-19) 19 December 2005 7 0 Football Association of Ireland Derry City
15 2DF Matthew Orr (2007-04-16) 16 April 2007 5 1 The Football Association Nottingham Forest
16 2DF Sean Brown (2005-04-01) 1 April 2005 2 0 Irish Football Association Linfield
17 2DF Sam Inwood (2005-09-17) 17 September 2005 3 0 The Football Association Aldershot Town
6 3MF Darren Robinson (2004-12-29) 29 December 2004 17 0 The Football Association Doncaster Rovers
8 3MF Ryan Donnelly (2006-09-04) 4 September 2006 5 0 The Football Association Leicester City
22 3MF Jack Patterson (2005-10-16) 16 October 2005 2 0 Polish Football Association ŁKS Łódź
3MF Sam Glenfield (2005-05-10) 10 May 2005 5 1 Football Association of Ireland Waterford
7 4FW Aodhan Doherty (2006-05-03) 3 May 2006 6 0 The Football Association Blackburn Rovers
9 4FW Makenzie Kirk (2004-02-06) 6 February 2004 13 2 The Football Association Portsmouth
10 4FW Cole Brannigan (2007-05-12) 12 May 2007 3 0 The Football Association Aston Villa
11 4FW Callum Burnside (2007-01-16) 16 January 2007 0 0 Scottish Football Association Alloa Athletic
19 4FW Eoin Kenny (2005-12-30) 30 December 2005 7 1 Football Association of Ireland Dundalk
21 4FW Devlan Moses (2005-10-17) 17 October 2005 2 1 The Football Association Sheffield Wednesday

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 Mason Munn (2006-03-30) 30 March 2006 0 0 Scotland Forfar Athletic v.  Greece, 18 November 2025
GK Josh Clarke (2004-07-28) 28 July 2004 1 0 Scotland Partick Thistle v.  Georgia, 9 September 2025
GK Josh Gracey (2007-12-14) 14 December 2007 0 0 England Telford United v.  Georgia, 9 September 2025
DF Tom Atcheson (2006-09-22) 22 September 2006 4 0 England Blackburn Rovers v.  Germany, 27 March 2026 SEN
DF Tommy Fogarty (2004-03-15) 15 March 2004 16 0 England Morecambe v.  Greece, 18 November 2025
DF Ruairi McConville (2005-05-01) 1 May 2005 6 1 England Norwich City v.  Germany, 14 October 2025
DF Broghan Sewell (2008-10-13) 13 October 2008 1 0 England Southampton v.  Germany, 14 October 2025
DF George Goodman (2006-12-01) 1 December 2006 0 0 England Bradford City v.  Germany, 14 October 2025
DF Matty Carson (2004-04-29) 29 April 2004 2 0 England Torquay United v.  Uzbekistan, 25 March 2025
MF Harry Wilson (2004-02-16) 16 February 2004 2 0 Northern Ireland Cliftonville v.  Greece, 18 November 2025
MF Patrick Kelly (2004-10-02) 2 October 2004 16 1 England Barnsley v.  Germany, 14 October 2025
MF Jamie McDonnell (2004-02-16) 16 February 2004 9 0 England Oxford United v.  Germany, 14 October 2025
MF Joe Sheridan (2007-10-29) 29 October 2007 1 0 Northern Ireland Cliftonville v.  Germany, 14 October 2025
MF Francis Turley (2006-01-14) 14 January 2006 2 1 Scotland Celtic v.  Georgia, 9 September 2025
MF Dylan Sloan (2004-04-15) 15 April 2004 2 0 Northern Ireland Larne v.  Georgia, 9 September 2025
MF Max Wilson (2007-01-30) 30 January 2007 2 0 England Preston North End v.  Uzbekistan, 25 March 2025
FW Liam McStravick (2004-11-27) 27 November 2004 5 0 Northern Ireland Cliftonville v.  Greece, 18 November 2025
FW Rio Oudnie-Morgan (2005-12-06) 6 December 2005 3 1 England Billericay Town v.  Greece, 18 November 2025
FW Kieran Morrison (2006-11-09) 9 November 2006 3 0 England Liverpool v.  Greece, 18 November 2025
FW Ceadach O'Neill (2008-04-10) 10 April 2008 3 0 England Arsenal v.  Germany, 14 October 2025
FW Jamie Donley (2005-01-03) 3 January 2005 1 0 England Oxford United v.  Germany, 14 October 2025
FW Braiden Graham (2007-11-07) 7 November 2007 0 0 England Everton v.  Georgia, 9 September 2025
FW Conor Falls (2004-01-02) 2 January 2004 4 0 Northern Ireland Cliftonville v.  Uzbekistan, 25 March 2025
FW Rhys Walsh (2006-07-08) 8 July 2006 2 0 England Sunderland v.  Uzbekistan, 25 March 2025

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

Most appearances

  Players still active are highlighted in green

Last updated after the match against Latvia on 31 March 2026.

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. England 16 October 2018 vs. Slovakia
2 Sean Friars 1998–2001 21 2 21 April 1998 vs. Switzerland 5 June 2001 vs. Czech Republic
Caolan Boyd-Munce 2017–2022 21 0 25 March 2019 vs. Mexico 25 September 2022 vs. Scotland
4 Kofi Balmer 2019–2022 20 0 22 March 2019 vs. Bulgaria 4 June 2022 vs. Spain
Ethan Galbraith 2019–2022 20 1 22 March 2019 vs. Bulgaria 7 June 2022 vs. Lithuania
Aaron Donnelly 2021–2024 20 0 2 June 2021 vs. Scotland 15 October 2024 vs. Luxembourg
7 Terry McFlynn 2000–2003 19 2 28 March 2000 vs. Malta 10 October 2003 vs. Greece
Rory McArdle 2006–2008 19 1 6 February 2006 vs. Israel 26 March 2008 vs. Romania
Thomas Stewart 2006–2008 19 4 6 February 2006 vs. Israel 26 March 2008 vs. Romania
10 Chris Casement 2007–2009 18 2 6 February 2007 vs. Wales 17 November 2009 vs. Czech Republic
Cameron Dummigan 2014–2018 18 0 9 September 2014 vs. Serbia 16 October 2018 vs. Slovakia
Alfie McCalmont 2019–2022 18 3 25 March 2019 vs. Mexico 25 September 2022 vs. Scotland

Leading Goalscorers

  Players still active are highlighted in green

Last updated after the match against Latvia on 31 March 2026.

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. Estonia 11 September 2018 vs. Spain
Shayne Lavery 2016–2020 5 14 0.36 10 November 2017 vs. Albania 25 March 2019 vs. Mexico
3 Adrian Coote 1998–1999 4 12 0.33 21 April 1998 vs. Switzerland 17 August 1999 vs. France
David Healy 1998–1999 4 8 0.5 17 November 1998 vs. Moldova 17 August 1999 vs. France
Sam Morrow 2005–2006 4 4 1 8 February 2005 vs. Scotland 12 April 2006 vs. Liechtenstein
Thomas Stewart 2006–2008 4 19 0.21 16 May 2006 vs. Scotland 26 March 2008 vs. Romania
Josh Magennis 2009–2012 4 17 0.24 8 September 2009 vs. Iceland 7 September 2012 vs. North Macedonia
Oliver Norwood 2009–2012 4 11 0.36 13 November 2009 vs. Germany 2 March 2010 vs. San Marino
Paul O'Neill 2019–2021 4 10 0.4 9 October 2020 vs. Finland 12 November 2021 vs. Lithuania
10 Gary Hamilton 2000–2001 3 12 0.25 2 June 2000 vs. Wales 10 October 2000 vs. Iceland
Mo Harkin 2000–2001 3 9 0.33 28 March 2000 vs. Malta 10 October 2000 vs. Iceland
Grant McCann 2000–2001 3 11 0.27 10 October 2000 vs. Iceland 5 October 2001 vs. Malta
Lee McEvilly 2002–2003 3 9 0.33 6 September 2002 vs. Scotland 1 April 2003 vs. Greece
Chris Turner 2006–2008 3 12 0.25 1 June 2007 vs. Moldova 16 November 2007 vs. Luxembourg
Andrew Little 2008–2010 3 6 0.5 18 November 2008 vs. Scotland 3 September 2010 vs. San Marino
Billy Kee 2009–2011 3 10 0.3 10 August 2011 vs. Faroe Islands 10 August 2011 vs. Faroe Islands
David Parkhouse 2017–2020 3 17 0.18 8 June 2017 vs. Estonia 4 September 2020 vs. Malta
Alfie McCalmont 2019–2022 3 18 0.17 14 November 2019 vs. Hungary 12 November 2021 vs. Lithuania
Dale Taylor 2021–2024 3 15 0.2 2 June 2021 vs. Scotland 25 September 2022 vs. Scotland
Charlie Allen 2022–2024 3 14 0.21 26 March 2024 vs. Serbia 12 October 2024 vs. Azerbaijan

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. ^ "U21 squad for Euro qualifiers named by Wright". Irish Football Association. 18 March 2026. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
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