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 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
2011											8	2	1	5	12	16		Steve Beaglehole
2013											8	1	1	6	5	13		Steve Beaglehole, Stephen Robinson
2015											8	1	0	7	3	17		Stephen Robinson, Jim Magilton
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
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

Main articles: Northern Ireland national under-21 football team results (2020–present) and Northern Ireland national under-21 football team results (1978–2019)

2023

Northern Ireland v Luxembourg

7 September 2025 UEFA U-21 Group F Qualifier	Northern Ireland	0–1	Luxembourg	Lurgan, Northern Ireland
14:00 BST		report	Rodrigues 13'	Stadium: Mourneview Park Attendance: 333 Referee: Andreas Argyrou (Cyprus)

Ukraine v Northern Ireland

12 September 2025 UEFA U-21 Group F Qualifier	Ukraine	1–0	Northern Ireland	Poprad, Slovakia
17:30 BST	Roman 70'	report		Stadium: Národné tréningové centrum Poprad Attendance: 275 Referee: Kai Erik Steen (Norway)

Azerbaijan v Northern Ireland

12 October 2025 UEFA U-21 Group F Qualifier	Azerbaijan	0–1	Northern Ireland	Baku, Azerbaijan
15:00 BST		report	McGuckin 19'	Stadium: Dalga Arena Attendance: 300 Referee: Georgi Davidov (Bulgaria)

Northern Ireland v Serbia

16 October 2025 UEFA U-21 Group F Qualifier	Northern Ireland	1–2	Serbia	Lurgan, Northern Ireland
19:30 BST	McGuckin 51' (pen.)	report	Lučić 15' Pantović 82'	Stadium: Mourneview Park Attendance: 433 Referee: Kristoffer Hagenes (Norway)

England v Northern Ireland

21 November 2025 UEFA U-21 Group F Qualifier	England	3–0	Northern Ireland	Liverpool, England
19:45 GMT	Morton 31' Elliott 52', 80'	report		Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 7,890 Referee: Lothar D'hondt (Belgium)

2024

Czech Republic v Northern Ireland

21 March Friendly	Czech Republic	3–0	Northern Ireland	Pardubice, Czech Republic
16:30 GMT	Sejk 17', 34' Halinský 78'			Stadium: CFIG Arena Attendance: 2,892

Serbia v Northern Ireland

26 March 2025 UEFA U-21 Group F Qualifier	Serbia	1–2	Northern Ireland	Leskovac, Serbia
17:00 GMT	Mitrović 39'	Report	Allen 56' Farquhar 70'	Stadium: Dubočica Stadium Attendance: 2,958 Referee: Yigal Frid (Israel)

Northern Ireland v England

6 September 2025 UEFA U-21 Group F Qualifier	Northern Ireland	0–0	England	Ballymena, Northern Ireland
19:45 BST		Report		Stadium: Ballymena Showgrounds Attendance: 3,237 Referee: David Šmajc (Slovenia)

Northern Ireland v Ukraine

10 September 2025 UEFA U-21 Group F Qualifier	Northern Ireland	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)

Northern Ireland v Azerbaijan

12 October 2025 UEFA U-21 Group F Qualifier	Northern Ireland	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)

Luxembourg v Northern Ireland

15 October 2025 UEFA U-21 Group F Qualifier	Luxembourg	0–0	Northern Ireland	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

Main article: 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group F

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	Northern Ireland	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	—

Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

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 2002 will be eligible until the completion of the 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.

The following players were named in the squad for the 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Qualifiers against Azerbaijan on the 12 October 2024 and Luxembourg on the 15 October 2024.

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
	1GK	Stephen McMullan	(2004-12-31) 31 December 2004	6	0	Caernarfon Town
	1GK	Josh Clarke	(2004-07-28) 28 July 2004	1	0	Celtic
	1GK	Fraser Barnsley	(2004-10-06) 6 October 2004	1	0	Everton
	2DF	Aaron Donnelly	(2003-06-08) 8 June 2003	20	0	Colchester United
	2DF	Carl Johnston	(2002-05-29) 29 May 2002	17	1	Fleetwood Town
	2DF	Sean Stewart	(2003-01-21) 21 January 2003	14	0	Cliftonville
	2DF	Tommy Fogarty	(2004-03-15) 15 March 2004	10	0	Dunfermline Athletic
	2DF	Michael Forbes	(2004-04-29) 29 April 2004	8	0	Bristol Rovers
	2DF	Ruairi McConville	(2005-05-01) 1 May 2005	5	0	Brighton
	2DF	Shea Kearney	(2004-03-26) 26 March 2004	2	0	Cliftonville
	2DF	Matty Carson	(2004-04-29) 29 April 2004	0	0	Torquay United
	2DF	Josh Briggs	(2006-03-14) 14 March 2006	0	0	West Ham United
	3MF	Terry Devlin	(2003-11-06) 6 November 2003	14	0	Portsmouth
	3MF	Charlie Allen	(2003-11-22) 22 November 2003	14	3	Linfield
	3MF	JJ McKiernan	(2002-01-18) 18 January 2002	11	1	Lincoln City
	3MF	Patrick Kelly	(2004-10-02) 2 October 2004	10	1	Doncaster Rovers
	3MF	Justin Devenny	(2003-10-11) 11 October 2003	8	1	Crystal Palace
	3MF	Darren Robinson	(2004-12-29) 29 December 2004	7	0	Hartlepool United
	3MF	Jamie McDonnell	(2004-02-16) 16 February 2004	5	0	Colchester United
	3MF	Dylan Sloan	(2004-04-15) 15 April 2004	2	0	Larne
	4FW	Dale Taylor	(2003-12-12) 12 December 2003	15	3	Wigan Athletic
	4FW	Matthew Lusty	(2003-07-14) 14 July 2003	3	0	Larne
	4FW	Makenzie Kirk	(2004-02-06) 6 February 2004	3	0	St Johnstone

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	Pierce Charles	(2005-07-21) 21 July 2005	4	0	Sheffield Wednesday	v. Ukraine, 10 September 2024
DF	Johnny Russell	(2004-09-19) 19 September 2004	2	0	Glentoran	v. Ukraine, 10 September 2024
DF	Tom Atcheson	(2006-09-22) 22 September 2006	0	0	Marine	v. Ukraine, 10 September 2024
MF	Charlie Lindsay	(2004-01-26) 26 January 2004	2	0	Glentoran	v. Serbia, 26 March 2024
MF	Harry Wilson	(2004-02-16) 16 February 2004	0	0	Unattached	v. England, 21 November 2023
MF	Archie Heron	(2004-09-15) 15 September 2004	0	0	Missouri State University	v. England, 21 November 2023
FW	Rhys Annett	(2004-11-06) 6 November 2004	1	0	Linfield	v. Serbia, 26 March 2024
FW	Conor Falls	(2004-01-02) 2 January 2004	1	0	Huddersfield Town	v. Czech Republic, 21 March 2024 INJ
FW	Liam McStravick	(2004-11-27) 27 November 2004	0	0	Airdrieonians	v. Serbia, 16 October 2023
FW	Callum Marshall	(2004-11-28) 28 November 2004	2	0	Huddersfield Town	v. Ukraine, 12 September 2023
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

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–	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–	3	15	0.2	2 June 2021 vs.	25 September 2022 vs.
	Charlie Allen	2022–	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

External links

• NI U21 Appearance Details from NIFG