Northern Irelandnational football team record
- 187
- Wins
- 162
- Draws
- 362
- Defeats
711 matches, 1882 to 2026TFN Elo rating 1721, 57th in the world
Northern Ireland have played 711 internationals since 1882: 187 wins, 162 draws and 362 defeats. Their most frequent opponent is England, with 99 meetings. Their biggest win is 7–0 against Wales in the British Home Championship on 1 February 1930.
Northern Ireland's record
| Matches | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals | Win rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All | 711 | 187 | 162 | 362 | 745–1296 | 26% |
| Competitive | 578 | 150 | 125 | 303 | 615–1088 | 26% |
| Friendlies | 133 | 37 | 37 | 59 | 130–208 | 28% |
| At home | 328 | 114 | 72 | 142 | 419–532 | 35% |
| Away | 344 | 63 | 80 | 201 | 287–708 | 18% |
| Neutral venues | 39 | 10 | 10 | 19 | 39–56 | 26% |
Record against every opponent
Northern Ireland have played 77 different national teams. Opponents with a head-to-head page are linked.
| Opponent | P | W | D | L | Goals | Last met |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 England | 99 | 7 | 16 | 76 | 81–324 | 2005 |
 Scotland | 96 | 16 | 17 | 63 | 82–258 | 2024 |
 Wales | 95 | 26 | 24 | 45 | 128–188 | 2026 |
 Germany | 21 | 2 | 4 | 15 | 16–50 | 2025 |
 Spain | 19 | 2 | 5 | 12 | 12–43 | 2024 |
 Denmark | 14 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 12–17 | 2025 |
 Austria | 13 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 19–21 | 2020 |
 Portugal | 13 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 13–14 | 2013 |
 Italy | 12 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 6–21 | 2026 |
 Norway | 12 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 11–27 | 2020 |
 Turkey | 12 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 12–12 | 2013 |
 Bulgaria | 11 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 13–12 | 2024 |
 Finland | 11 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 12–18 | 2023 |
 Ireland | 11 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 4–17 | 2018 |
 France | 10 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 5–25 | 2026 |
 Israel | 10 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 14–8 | 2018 |
 Poland | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 13–14 | 2016 |
 Albania | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 13–5 | 2010 |
 Greece | 9 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 11–13 | 2022 |
 Luxembourg | 9 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 18–9 | 2025 |
 Romania | 9 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 9–9 | 2024 |
 Switzerland | 9 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 4–6 | 2025 |
 Cyprus | 8 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 13–3 | 2022 |
 Hungary | 8 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 4–9 | 2026 |
 Malta | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 14–1 | 2021 |
 Netherlands | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 5–17 | 2019 |
 Sweden | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 11–12 | 2025 |
 Czech Republic | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 6–6 | 2019 |
 Estonia | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 9–7 | 2021 |
 Iceland | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 7–7 | 2025 |
 Latvia | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 8–4 | 2015 |
 Slovakia | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5–7 | 2025 |
 Slovenia | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 5–7 | 2023 |
 Ukraine | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 6–4 | 2026 |
| Yugoslavia | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3–12 | 1991 |
 Azerbaijan | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 8–3 | 2017 |
 Faroe Islands | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 16–3 | 2015 |
 Russia | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2–6 | 2013 |
 San Marino | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 19–0 | 2023 |
 Belarus | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 8–1 | 2024 |
 Liechtenstein | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 15–3 | 2007 |
 Serbia | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3–7 | 2011 |
 Armenia | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1–3 | 2003 |
 Lithuania | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8–3 | 2021 |
 Uruguay | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4–2 | 2014 |
 Belgium | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6–2 | 1997 |
 Bosnia | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2–5 | 2020 |
 Canada | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1–4 | 2005 |
 Chile | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1–4 | 2010 |
 Georgia | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5–1 | 2026 |
 Australia1–1 (1980), 2–1 (1980) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3–2 | 1980 |
| Czechoslovakia1–0 (1958), 2–1 (1958) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3–1 | 1958 |
 Kazakhstan0–1 (2023), 0–1 (2023) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0–2 | 2023 |
 Kosovo2–3 (2022), 2–1 (2022) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4–4 | 2022 |
 Mexico4–1 (1966), 0–3 (1994) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4–4 | 1994 |
 Moldova2–2 (1998), 0–0 (1999) | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2–2 | 1999 |
 Morocco2–1 (1986), 1–1 (2010) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3–2 | 2010 |
 USA5–0 (1948), 1–2 (2021) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6–2 | 2021 |
 Algeria1–1 (1986) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1–1 | 1986 |
 Andorra2–0 (2024) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2–0 | 2024 |
 Argentina1–3 (1958) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1–3 | 1958 |
 Barbados1–1 (2004) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1–1 | 2004 |
 Brazil0–3 (1986) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0–3 | 1986 |
 Colombia0–2 (1994) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0–2 | 1994 |
 Costa Rica0–3 (2018) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0–3 | 2018 |
 Croatia0–3 (2016) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0–3 | 2016 |
 Guinea1–0 (2026) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1–0 | 2026 |
 Honduras1–1 (1982) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1–1 | 1982 |
 Montenegro0–2 (2010) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0–2 | 2010 |
 New Zealand1–0 (2017) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1–0 | 2017 |
 Panama0–0 (2018) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0–0 | 2018 |
 Qatar1–1 (2015) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1–1 | 2015 |
 St Kitts and Nevis2–0 (2004) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2–0 | 2004 |
 South Africa1–2 (1924) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1–2 | 1924 |
 South Korea2–1 (2018) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2–1 | 2018 |
 Thailand0–0 (1997) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0–0 | 1997 |
 Trinidad and Tobago3–0 (2004) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3–0 | 2004 |
Biggest wins and heaviest defeats
Biggest wins
- v WalesBritish Home Championship, 1 Feb 19307–0 for Northern Ireland
- v WalesBritish Home Championship, 7 Feb 18917–2 for Northern Ireland
- v BulgariaNations League, 15 Oct 20245–0 for Northern Ireland
- v Faroe IslandsEuro qualifying, 11 Sept 19915–0 for Northern Ireland
- v CyprusEuro qualifying, 21 Apr 19715–0 for Northern Ireland
Heaviest defeats
- v EnglandFriendly, 18 Feb 18820–13 for Northern Ireland
- at EnglandBritish Home Championship, 18 Feb 18992–13 for Northern Ireland
- at ScotlandBritish Home Championship, 23 Feb 19010–11 for Northern Ireland
- at WalesBritish Home Championship, 3 Mar 18880–11 for Northern Ireland
- at EnglandBritish Home Championship, 9 Mar 18950–9 for Northern Ireland
Latest results
- v GeorgiaNations League, 5 Oct 20260–0 for Northern Ireland
- v UkraineNations League, 2 Oct 20263–0 for Northern Ireland
- v HungaryNations League, 28 Sept 20260–0 for Northern Ireland
- at GeorgiaNations League, 25 Sept 20261–0 for Northern Ireland
- at FranceFriendly, 8 Jun 20261–3 for Northern Ireland
- v GuineaFriendly, 4 Jun 20261–0 for Northern Ireland
- at WalesFriendly, 31 Mar 20261–1 for Northern Ireland
- at ItalyWorld Cup qualifying, 26 Mar 20260–2 for Northern Ireland
- v LuxembourgWorld Cup qualifying, 17 Nov 20251–0 for Northern Ireland
- at SlovakiaWorld Cup qualifying, 14 Nov 20250–1 for Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland's rating through history
The TFN Elo rating rises with wins and falls with defeats, weighted by the opponent’s strength, the margin and the competition.
Record by competition
| Competition | P | W | D | L | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| British Home Championship | 260 | 47 | 47 | 166 | 275–689 |
| World Cup qualifying | 146 | 47 | 39 | 60 | 158–169 |
| Friendly | 133 | 37 | 37 | 59 | 130–208 |
| Euro qualifying | 124 | 46 | 26 | 52 | 138–159 |
| Nations League | 26 | 6 | 8 | 12 | 28–31 |
| World Cup | 13 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 13–23 |
| European Championship | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2–3 |
| Nations Cup | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0–10 |
| Maple Cup | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1–4 |
Top scorers
- 1David Healy22
- 2Kyle Lafferty15
- 3Gerry Armstrong11
- 4Iain Dowie11
- 5Josh Magennis11
- 6Colin Clarke10
- 7Steven Davis10
- 8Gareth McAuley9
- 9Jimmy Quinn9
- 10George Best7
Counted from the 281 of 711 matches with scorer records, which are mostly competitive matches, so totals can be lower than official tallies.
Questions answered
When did Northern Ireland play their first international?
On 18 February 1882, a 0–13 defeat against England in a friendly.
What is Northern Ireland's biggest win?
7–0 against Wales in the British Home Championship on 1 February 1930.
What is Northern Ireland's heaviest defeat?
0–13 against England in a friendly on 18 February 1882.
Who have Northern Ireland played the most?
England: 99 matches, with 7 wins, 16 draws and 76 defeats for Northern Ireland.
What is Northern Ireland's longest winning run?
5 wins in a row, from 21 March 2019 to 5 September 2019.
Former names
- Ireland, 1882 to 1956
Results through 6 October 2026. Page updated 3 November 2026. How these numbers are calculated.