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
Ecuador at the FIFA World Cup Ecuador at the FIFA World Cup The Ecuadorian national football team has appeared at three FIFA World Cups, the world's premier football tournament for national football teams. Ecuador's first participation in the World Cup was in 2002. Their best performance was in 2006, where they were eliminated in the Round of 16. From 1930 to 1938, Ecuador did not enter to qualify in the FIFA World Cup. Ecuador first entered to the World Cup qualifiers for the 1950 tournament, but withdrew from qualification. Ecuador did not enter for the 1954 and 1958 tournaments. From 1962 to 1998, Ecuador failed to