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
Argentina at the FIFA World Cup Argentina at the FIFA World Cup This is a record of Argentina's results at the FIFA World Cup. Argentina is one of the most successful national football teams in the world, having won two World Cups in 1978 and 1986. Argentina has been runners up three times in 1930, 1990 and 2014. The team was present in all but four of the World Cups, being behind only Brazil, Italy and Germany in number of appearances. Argentina has also won the Copa América 14 times, one less than Uruguay. Moreover, Argentina has also won the Confederations Cup and the gold medal