Northern Ireland national under-21 football team

Northern Ireland Under-21
Association	Irish Football Association
Head coach	Tommy Wright
Most caps	Liam Donnelly (24)
Top scorer	Liam 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
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	Manager(s)
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	Roy Millar
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
2027	to be determined									7	3	1	3	8	11	Tommy Wright
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)

3 June Friendly	Portugal	4–0	Northern Ireland	Estoril, Portugal
18:30 BST	Sa 14' Quenda 35', 72' Lynch 90' (o.g.)	Report		Stadium: Estádio António Coimbra da Mota Referee: Mathieu Vernice (France)

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	Tommy Wright
Assistant Manager	Steven MacLean
Coach	Corry Evans
Goalkeeping Coach	Conor Brennan
Analyst	Josh Wall

Manager history

Current manager highlighted in green

Last updated after the match against Portugal on 3 June 2026.

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.		22	7	4	11	20	30	–10	31.82%	18.18%	50.00%
Total			169	49	32	88	177	272	-95	28.99%	18.93%	52.07%

* 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 friendly against Portugal on 3 June 2026.^[5]

Caps and goals correct as of 3 June 2026, after the match against Portugal

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1GK	Mason Munn	(2006-03-30) 30 March 2006	2	0	Rangers
1GK	Francis Hurl	(2005-09-30) 30 September 2005	1	0	Huddersfield Town
1GK	Josh Gracey	(2007-12-14) 14 December 2007	0	0	Wolves

2DF	Michael Forbes	(2004-04-29) 29 April 2004	14	1	Unattached
2DF	Jonny Russell	(2004-09-19) 19 September 2004	10	0	Crawley Town
2DF	Conor Barr	(2005-12-19) 19 December 2005	8	0	Derry City
2DF	Sam Inwood	(2005-09-17) 17 September 2005	4	0	Bolton Wanderers
2DF	Bayley McCann	(2005-12-08) 8 December 2005	5	0	Doncaster Rovers
2DF	Sean Brown	(2005-04-01) 1 April 2005	3	0	Linfield
2DF	Harry Lynch	(2006-05-16) 16 May 2006	1	0	Bangor
2DF	Logan Wallace	(2005-11-10) 10 November 2005	1	0	Larne

3MF	Darren Robinson	(2004-12-29) 29 December 2004	18	0	Doncaster Rovers
3MF	Ryan Donnelly	(2006-09-04) 4 September 2006	6	0	Leicester City
3MF	Sam Glenfield	(2005-05-10) 10 May 2005	6	1	Waterford
3MF	Dylan Sloan	(2004-04-15) 15 April 2004	3	0	Larne

4FW	Makenzie Kirk	(2004-02-06) 6 February 2004	14	2	Portsmouth
4FW	Eoin Kenny	(2005-12-30) 30 December 2005	8	1	Portsmouth
4FW	Aodhan Doherty	(2006-05-03) 3 May 2006	6	0	Blackburn Rovers
4FW	Devlan Moses	(2005-10-17) 17 October 2005	3	1	Sheffield Wednesday
4FW	Callum Burnside	(2007-01-16) 16 January 2007	1	0	Rangers
4FW	George Feeney	(2008-01-19) 19 January 2008	1	0	Tottenham Hotspur

Recent call-ups

The following players have previously been called up to the Northern Ireland under-21 squad within the last twelve months and remain eligible.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Stephen McMullan	(2004-12-31) 31 December 2004	11	0	Waterford	v. Latvia, 31 March 2026
GK	Fraser Barnsley	(2004-10-06) 6 October 2004	5	0	Marine	v. Latvia, 31 March 2026
GK	Josh Clarke	(2004-07-28) 28 July 2004	1	0	Partick Thistle	v. Georgia, 9 September 2025

DF	Shea Kearney	(2004-03-26) 26 March 2004	9	0	Dunfermline Athletic	v. Latvia, 31 March 2026
DF	Matthew Orr	(2007-04-16) 16 April 2007	5	1	Nottingham Forest	v. Latvia, 31 March 2026
DF	Josh Briggs	(2006-03-14) 14 March 2006	3	0	West Ham United	v. Latvia, 31 March 2026
DF	Tom Atcheson	(2006-09-22) 22 September 2006	4	0	Blackburn Rovers	v. Germany, 27 March 2026 ^SEN
DF	Tommy Fogarty	(2004-03-15) 15 March 2004	16	0	Morecambe	v. Greece, 18 November 2025
DF	Ruairi McConville	(2005-05-01) 1 May 2005	6	1	Norwich City	v. Germany, 14 October 2025
DF	Broghan Sewell	(2008-10-13) 13 October 2008	1	0	Southampton	v. Germany, 14 October 2025
DF	George Goodman	(2006-12-01) 1 December 2006	0	0	Bradford City	v. Germany, 14 October 2025

MF	Jack Patterson	(2005-10-16) 16 October 2005	2	0	ŁKS Łódź	v. Latvia, 31 March 2026
MF	Harry Wilson	(2004-02-16) 16 February 2004	2	0	Cliftonville	v. Greece, 18 November 2025
MF	Patrick Kelly	(2004-10-02) 2 October 2004	16	1	Barnsley	v. Germany, 14 October 2025
MF	Jamie McDonnell	(2004-02-16) 16 February 2004	9	0	Oxford United	v. Germany, 14 October 2025
MF	Joe Sheridan	(2007-10-29) 29 October 2007	1	0	Cliftonville	v. Germany, 14 October 2025
MF	Francis Turley	(2006-01-14) 14 January 2006	2	1	Celtic	v. Georgia, 9 September 2025

FW	Cole Brannigan	(2007-05-12) 12 May 2007	3	0	Aston Villa	v. Latvia, 31 March 2026
FW	Liam McStravick	(2004-11-27) 27 November 2004	5	0	Cliftonville	v. Greece, 18 November 2025
FW	Rio Oudnie-Morgan	(2005-12-06) 6 December 2005	3	1	Billericay Town	v. Greece, 18 November 2025
FW	Kieran Morrison	(2006-11-09) 9 November 2006	3	0	Liverpool	v. Greece, 18 November 2025
FW	Ceadach O'Neill	(2008-04-10) 10 April 2008	3	0	Arsenal	v. Germany, 14 October 2025
FW	Jamie Donley	(2005-01-03) 3 January 2005	1	0	Oxford United	v. Germany, 14 October 2025
FW	Braiden Graham	(2007-11-07) 7 November 2007	0	0	Everton	v. Georgia, 9 September 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 Portugal on 3 June 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.	16 October 2018 vs.
2	Sean Friars	1998–2001	21	2	21 April 1998 vs.	5 June 2001 vs.
2	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.
	Darren Robinson	2023–	18	0	7 September 2023 vs.	3 June 2026 vs.

Leading Goalscorers

Players still active are highlighted in green

Last updated after the match against Portugal on 3 June 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.	11 September 2018 vs.
1	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.

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.
↑ "Squad for U21 friendly against Portugal revealed". Irish Football Association. 22 May 2026. Retrieved 22 May 2026.

External links

NI U21 Appearance Details from NIFG

[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] "Squad for U21 friendly against Portugal revealed". Irish Football Association. 22 May 2026. Retrieved 22 May 2026.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

Northern Ireland national football team
General	Irish Football Association Ireland national football team (1882–1950) Managers
Venues	Windsor Park Celtic Park Solitude Grosvenor Park The Oval Dalymount Park Balmoral Showgrounds Bloomfield Ulster Cricket Ground
Results	1882–99 1900–29 1930–59 1960–79 1980–99 2000–19 2020–present Matches v Home Nations
Statistics	Records & Statistics U21 Records & Statistics
Players	Players Pre-1950 players Dual Ireland footballers
Goals	David Healy
World Finals	Summary 1958 1982 1986
European Finals	Summary 2016
Other tournaments	British Home Championship (1884–1984) 2011 Nations Cup
Culture	Green and White Army Rivalry with the Republic of Ireland
Other teams	Women's B Amateur (defunct) U-23 U-21 U-19 U-18 Schools U-17 U-16 Schools Juniors

National sports teams of Northern Ireland
Men	Cricket Football B U23 U21 U19 U18 U17 U16 CP Futsal Volleyball
Women	Football U19 U17 Netball Volleyball
Mixed	Badminton
Commonwealth Games

Competitive Record

UEFA European Under-21 Championship Record

Results and fixtures

2025

2026

UEFA European Under-21 Championship

2027 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification

Coaching staff

Current coaching staff

Manager history

Players

Current squad

Recent call-ups

Player records

Most appearances

Leading Goalscorers

See also

References

External links