Northern Ireland at the FIFA World Cup Northern Ireland at the FIFA World Cup The Northern Ireland national football team have appeared in the finals of the FIFA World Cup on three occasions. Their best World Cup performance was in their first appearance in the finals, the 1958 World Cup, where they reached the quarter-finals after beating Czechoslovakia 2–1 in the play-off. They were knocked out by France, losing 4–0. In the 1958 competition Northern Ireland became the least populous country to have qualified for the World Cup, a record that stood until Trinidad & Tobago qualified for the 2006 World Cup. Northern Ireland remains, however, the
Croatia at the FIFA World Cup taking over as Bosnia and Herzegovina manager in 2008 and sensationally leading them to the verge of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup. Luka Modrić is the only Croatian player to ever win the Golden Ball award. He was team captain in 2018, when Croatia reached the World Cup final. Team Awards Individual Awards Croatia at the FIFA World Cup Croatia national football team have appeared in the FIFA World Cup on five occasions (in 1998, 2002, 2006, 2014 and 2018) since gaining independence in 1991. Before that, from 1930 to 1990 Croatia was part of Yugoslavia. Their best result