Northern Ireland national under-21 football team
Football team representing Northern Ireland / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Northern Ireland national under-21 football team?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
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.
Association | Irish Football Association | ||
---|---|---|---|
Head coach | Tommy Wright | ||
Most caps | Liam Donnelly (24) | ||
Top scorer | Liam Donnelly Shayne Lavery (5) | ||
| |||
First international | |||
Rep. of Ireland 1–1 Northern Ireland (Dalymount Park, Phibsborough; 8 March 1978) | |||
Biggest win | |||
Northern Ireland 5–0 Luxembourg (Mourneview Park, Lurgan; 16 November 2007) | |||
Biggest defeat | |||
Northern Ireland 0–6 Spain (Inver Park, Larne; 3 June 2022) | |||
UEFA U-21 Championship | |||
Appearances | 0 |
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.