Northern Ireland national under-23 football team

Northern Ireland Under-23

Nickname(s)	Green & White Army, Norn Iron
Association	Irish Football Association
Head coach	Ronnie McFall
Home stadium	Various
Home colours Away colours

The Northern Ireland national under-23 team is a football (soccer) team representing Northern Ireland featuring footballers playing in the Irish League. The team first played at this level in 2007 when entering the International Challenge Trophy for national semi-professional Under-23 sides, though previously the Northern Ireland Under-23 team offered a recognised stepping stone for all young players hoping to progress to the full Northern Ireland side.

The Original Under-23s

The original Northern Ireland Under-23 side played a total of ten matches, all but three in the 1960s.^[1] Players to have stepped-up from the Under-23 side to full international level include Pat Jennings, Bryan Hamilton, Neil Lennon and Sammy Clingan.

Results

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Scorers
07-02-1962	Wales	Windsor Park, Belfast	Drew 0–0
27-02-1963	Wales	Vetch Field, Swansea	Lost 1–5	Jimmy McLaughlin
05-02-1964	Wales	Windsor Park, Belfast	Drew 3–3	Willie Irvine (2), Jimmy McLaughlin
10-02-1965	Wales	Ninian Park, Cardiff	Drew 2–2	Willie Irvine, Dave Clements
22-02-1967	Wales	Windsor Park, Belfast	Won 2–1	Vic McKinney (2)
20-03-1968	Wales	Vetch Field, Swansea	Won 1–0	Shaun Dunlop
26-03-1969	Italy	Communale Stadium, Brescia	Lost 1–2	Brendan Mullan
11-04-1989	Republic of Ireland	Dalymount Park, Dublin	Lost 0–3
15-05-1990	Republic of Ireland	Shamrock Park, Portadown	Lost 2–3	Stephen McBride, John Devine
27-04-2004	Serbia & Montenegro	Mourneview Park, Lurgan	Drew 0–0	(billed an Under 21–23 team)[2]

The New Under-23s

The Irish FA announced on 2 October 2007 that they would be entering a side in the International Challenge Trophy (previously the European Challenge Trophy).^[3] The team was to be selected from players playing in the Irish League.

Results

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Scorers
11-12-2007	Belgium	Tournai	Lost 1–2	Peter Thompson
13-05-2008	Republic of Ireland	Mourneview Park, Lurgan	Lost 0–1
18-11-2008	Slovakia	Senec	Lost 0–1
24-11-2009	Wales	Shamrock Park, Portadown	Drew 2–2	Jay Magee, Daryl Fordyce
11-08-2010	Poland	The Showgrounds, Coleraine	Won 2–0	Jordan Owens, Martin Donnelly
13-10-2010	Portugal

References

1. ^ "List of Northern Ireland Under-23 Players and fixtures", 14 May 2008
2. ^ Official Match Programme
3. ^ "NI to compete for U23 silverware ", 14 May 2008

External links

• Irish FA Website