Until 1921 Irish Football Association had represented the whole country of Ireland. After the dissolution of Ireland, the Football Association of Ireland organized a separate team of the Northern Ireland in 1923. But many footballers kept playing for both teams. In 1950 FIFA intervened and since then only Northern Ireland citizens were allowed to play for national team. In 1953 it was announced that neither the Republic of Ireland nor Northern Ireland could be named as Ireland. And the team was defined as the Northern Ireland national football team under the auspice of Irish Football Association.
Ireland made its debut playing against England its first international game in February 1882. Northern Ireland played in the World Cup finals three times and their first appearance in the 1958 World Cup was their best performance in that championship. The team managed to reach the quarterfinals.
Among team’s best footballers are David Healy, he’s a top scorer (35) and has 92 caps, Pat Jennings is the most capped player (119). The team is guided by Michael O’Neill and its home stadium is Windsor Park.
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