Boxing national side
Northern Ireland U21
National team · United Kingdom
«Northern Ireland U21s»
The first match was a trip south. On 8 March 1978 the Irish Football Association's new under-21 side went to Dalymount Park in Dublin and drew 1–1 with the Republic of Ireland. Danny Blanchflower was in charge for that one game. The fixture with the Republic has stayed the team's fiercest, an Irish derby that seldom gets a competitive airing now because the two sides are drawn in different qualifying groups.
The team has no fixed home. Windsor Park belongs to the senior side, so the under-21s take their qualifiers to smaller grounds. They have used Ballymena Showgrounds, which holds about 3,050, Mourneview Park in Lurgan and The Oval in Belfast. Home kit is green shirts, white shorts and green socks.
Several players who came through the under-21 side went on to win senior caps: Steven Davis, Jonny Evans, Kyle Lafferty. Liam Donnelly played more under-21 games than anyone else, 24 of them.
The best qualifying campaign came in the 2019 cycle under Ian Baraclough, when the team reached the play-offs and kept itself in the running longer than in any other cycle. Tommy Wright took over as head coach in August 2023.
The European Under-21 Championship finals are still out of reach. Northern Ireland has never qualified for the tournament.
Latest results
Fixtures and results| 26 Sep | UEFA U21 Championship - Qualification |
Malta U21
A
|
4:0 | W |
| 3 Jun | Friendlies |
Portugal U21
A
|
0:4 | L |
| 31 Mar | UEFA U21 Championship - Qualification |
Latvia U21
A
|
3:1 | W |
| 27 Mar | UEFA U21 Championship - Qualification |
Germany U21
A
|
0:3 | L |
| 18 Nov 2025 | UEFA U21 Championship - Qualification |
Greece U21
A
|
0:4 | L |
| 13 Nov 2025 | UEFA U21 Championship - Qualification |
Latvia U21
H
|
1:0 | W |
Standing
UEFA U21 Championship - QualificationGroup stage · Group F
| # | Team | M | W | D | L | Goals | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Germany U21
|
7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 22:4 | 18 |
| 2 |
Greece U21
|
7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 21:4 | 18 |
| 3 |
 Northern Ireland U21
|
7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 8:11 | 10 |
| 4 |
 Georgia U21
|
7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 12:9 | 9 |
| 5 |
Latvia U21
|
7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4:12 | 5 |
| 6 |
Malta U21
|
7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1:28 | 0 |
Team statistics
matches counted in total: 34| Metric | Total | Home | Away |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matches | 34 | 15 | 19 |
| Scored | 35 | 19 | 16 |
| Conceded | 54 | 19 | 35 |
| Scored per game | 1.0 | 1.3 | 0.8 |
| Conceded per game | 1.6 | 1.3 | 1.8 |
| Difference | −19 | 0 | −19 |
Fixtures of Northern Ireland U21
-
1 Oct · 19:45
Georgia U21
H
UEFA U21 Championship - Qualification
-
26 Sep
Malta U21
A
4:0
W
-
3 Jun
Portugal U21
A
0:4
L
-
31 Mar
Latvia U21
A
3:1
W
-
27 Mar
Germany U21
A
0:3
L
-
18 Nov
Greece U21
A
0:4
L
-
13 Nov
Latvia U21
H
1:0
W
-
14 Oct
Germany U21
H
1:2
L
-
9 Oct
Malta U21
H
2:0
W