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
2006 FIFA World Cup squads 2006 FIFA World Cup squads This article lists the confirmed national football squads for the 2006 FIFA World Cup tournament held in Germany, between 9 June and 9 July 2006. Before announcing their final squad, several teams named a provisional squad of 23 to 33 players, but each country's final squad of 23 players had to be submitted by 15 May 2006. Replacement of injured players was permitted until 24 hours before the team's first World Cup game. Players marked (c) were named as captain for their national squad. Number of caps counts until the start of the World Cup,