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
South American nations at the FIFA World Cup though Kahn won the Golden Ball as the most outstanding player. This match also marked Brazilian captain Cafu's third appearance in a World Cup Final, a feat that has yet to be accomplished by any other player in the history of the tournament. The title marked Brazil's fifth World Cup championship, which is more than any other nation has achieved, also being the first team to win all seven of their games without any extra time or penalty kicks. At the 2006 FIFA World Cup participated fourth nations of South America: Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Paraguay. Ecuador were drawn into Group