Friendlies
Friendly internationals (or "International Challenge
Matches" as they are now officially advertised) have become quite maligned
in recent times, with mass squad withdrawals and multiple substitutions often
making a mockery of them as spectacles. It wasn't always so, indeed the first
internationals were all friendlies, with the first "competitive" international
matches not held until the International Championship was founded in 1884.
Friendly refers to non-competitive matches held outside
of the World Cup, European Championships, British Championships, or in the
handful of minor tournaments in which Northern Ireland have competed. The term non-competitive for all but the most
recent friendly matches does them a disservice. Who is to say that Ireland
facing England or Wales in the 1880s, or more recently Northern Ireland facing national
powerhouses such as Uruguay, (West) Germany, Italy and France could be anything
other than "competitive"!
Aside from their first four matches (two each against
England and Wales in 1882 and 1883), Ireland seldom played friendlies prior to
the appointment of Peter Doherty as manager in 1951. So rare and unregarded
were the majority of Ireland's pre-Second World War friendlies, that they were
often ignored by lists of internationals, although they did (and do) meet the
criteria of official international matches.
Friendly Record 1882-1951
Venue
|
Pl
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
GF
|
GA
|
GD
|
Home
|
4
|
0
|
1
|
3
|
2
|
19
|
-17
|
Away
|
5
|
0
|
1
|
4
|
4
|
22
|
-18
|
Notable matches:
1882 vs England (Ireland's first international)
1883 vs Wales (Ireland claim a 1-1 draw, avoiding defeat for the first time)
1883 vs Wales (Ireland claim a 1-1 draw, avoiding defeat for the first time)
1902 vs Scotland (Ibrox Disaster fundraiser)
1922 vs Norway (Ireland's first match outside the British
Isles)
1951 vs France (Ireland's final match prior to the
appointment of their first manager)
With the Home Nations re-joining FIFA after the War, and
consequently entering the World Cup for the first time, they began to look
outside of the British Isles more regularly for opponents. In 1951 Ireland
played France in Belfast, their first "foreign" opposition since meeting the same team in 1928. The following
year, they played a return match in Paris. Still friendlies were a rare thing,
with the next match, against Italy, an accident of the weather. Later friendly matches
under Doherty proved a bit of a hard lesson for a team that was in decline after the
1958 World Cup.
Friendly Record 1951-1962
Venue
|
Pl
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
GF
|
GA
|
GD
|
Home
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
2
|
2
|
0
|
Away
|
4
|
0
|
0
|
4
|
5
|
16
|
-11
|
Notable matches:
1957 vs Italy (downgraded World Cup qualifier)
1962 vs Netherland (Doherty's last match as manager)
By the 1960s Northern Ireland appeared to be embracing
friendlies as a regular and worthwhile venture, so much so that the regular
fielding of strong elevens against the British Army and touring selections
fell by the wayside. 1966 brought particularly rich pickings, as West
Germany and Mexico arrived in Belfast for World Cup warm-up matches.
Friendly Record 1962-1968
Venue
|
Pl
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
GF
|
GA
|
GD
|
Home
|
3
|
2
|
0
|
1
|
10
|
5
|
5
|
Away
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
3
|
2
|
1
|
Notable matches:
1966 vs Mexico (Billy Johnston become Northern Ireland's
first substitute, scoring in the process)
The outward looking 1960s made way for a turbulent 1970s for
football in Northern Ireland as the Troubles took hold. Teams refused to travel
to Belfast, and even away friendlies were rare, just two in the whole decade -
a low key draw in Israel and a humiliation at the hands of World Champions,
West Germany.
Friendly Record 1970-1979
Venue
|
Pl
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
GF
|
GA
|
GD
|
Away
|
2
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
6
|
-5
|
The 1980s opened with talk of a glamour friendly that
would mark the Irish FA's Centenary, with a visit by Brazil mooted. Although no
such match materialised, Billy Bingham made good use of a three game tour of
Australia as he built the squad's spirit ahead of a successful World Cup
qualifying campaign. Friendlies remained rare by modern standards; a single match
in France augmenting the British Championship as warm-ups for the 1982 World
Cup Finals. Even with the abandonment of the British Championships in 1984, Northern
Ireland friendlies were still rare. Israel visited Belfast in 1984 and Bingham
arranged a "tactical try-out" match against Spain in 1985. It wasn't
until the build-up to the 1986 World Cup Finals that Northern Ireland played
three friendlies in a year for only the second time.
Friendly Record 1980-1986
Venue
|
Pl
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
GF
|
GA
|
GD
|
Home
|
3
|
2
|
1
|
0
|
6
|
2
|
4
|
Away
|
6
|
2
|
3
|
1
|
5
|
7
|
-2
|
The glory era of the early-1980s faded rapidly. For their
first post-Mexico 86 friendly, Bingham wasn't even able to take charge of the
side as they travelled to Israel due to his connections with Saudi Arabia. There
was an attempt to blood new talent which, while producing some good friendly results,
failed to translate to successful tournament qualifications. Still, Northern
Ireland made less use of friendlies than their near-neighbours.
Friendly Record 1987-1993
Venue
|
Pl
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
GF
|
GA
|
GD
|
Home
|
6
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
7
|
6
|
1
|
Away
|
4
|
0
|
2
|
2
|
4
|
6
|
-2
|
Notable matches:
1989 vs Chile (a record low 2,500 attendance for an
international match at Windsor Park)
1990 vs Uruguay (a 1-0 win over World Cup-bound Uruguay
who defeated England four days later)
1992 vs Germany (a 1-1 draw with reigning World
Champions)
With Bryan Hamilton's appointment as manager, Northern
Ireland undertook more regular friendly matches (with an added "minor
tournament" participation in the Canada Cup) than they had played before.
Of the five sides that visited Windsor Park in Hamilton's four year reign, none
could be said to be minnows, and results were more than respectable. Long
distance trips away from home were less fruitful, and for the first time saw the
selection of some incredibly inexperienced squads, a sneak-peek at what was to come.
Friendly Record 1994-1997
Venue
|
Pl
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
GF
|
GA
|
GD
|
Home
|
5
|
2
|
1
|
2
|
7
|
5
|
2
|
Away
|
2
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
2
|
-2
|
Neutral
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
5
|
-5
|
Notable matches:
1994 vs Romania (an impressive 2-0 win against a team
that would reach the World Cup quarter-finals)
1996 vs Germany (Northern Ireland avoid defeat for the
fifth consecutive match against the Germans, who would go on to win Euro 96)
1997 vs Thailand (Northern Ireland's only ever match in
Asia)
During Lawrie McMenemy's two years as Northern Ireland
manager, their friendly results far outshone their competitive ones. At home there were wins over Slovakia and Switzerland,
a disappointing draw with Canada and a "moral victory" defeat by
World Champions France. Away from Windsor, there was a heavy defeat by Spain
that highlighted rifts between players and management, before a weakened
Northern Ireland recorded their first away win against the Republic of
Ireland in a charity match for the Omagh Bomb Fund.
Friendly Record 1998-1999
Venue
|
Pl
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
GF
|
GA
|
GD
|
Home
|
4
|
2
|
1
|
1
|
3
|
2
|
1
|
Away
|
2
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
2
|
4
|
-2
|
Notable matches:
1999 vs Republic of Ireland (in aid of the Omagh Fund,
Northern Ireland's first away win in Dublin)
1999 vs France (the World Cup trophy visited Belfast in
the company of the World Champions)
Friendlies proved a happy start for Sammy McIlroy's international
management career, with David Healy recording four goals in his first four
matches. Later, friendlies became less happy occurrences for Northern Ireland
with the sectarian targeting of Neil Lennon marring matches against Norway and
Cyprus. On the field, results were also poor, a 4-1 reverse by Poland (in
Cyprus), a 0-0 draw in Liechtenstein and a 5-0 defeat in a "celebration"
match against Spain among the nadirs as squad withdrawals became very common.
Friendly Record 2000-2003
Venue
|
Pl
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
GF
|
GA
|
GD
|
Home
|
6
|
0
|
1
|
5
|
1
|
13
|
-12
|
Away
|
4
|
2
|
1
|
1
|
6
|
3
|
3
|
Neutral
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
4
|
-3
|
Notable matches:
2000 vs Luxembourg (David Healy scored twice on his debut,
setting himself on the road to becoming Northern Ireland's record goalscorer)
2001 vs Norway (a small section of the crowd at Windsor
Park subjected Neil Lennon to abuse, galvanising support for the recently
introduced Football For All scheme)
2002 vs Poland (Steve Lomas' goal in a 4-1 defeat was
Northern Ireland's last in any match for two years)
2002 vs Cyprus (Neil Lennon, who was set to captain
Northern Ireland, withdrew and retired from international football after
receiving a death threat)
Life under surprise appointee Lawrie Sanchez's management
got off to a mixed start as the goal drought ended in a 4-1 friendly defeat by Norway. In
line with earlier regimes, there were morale building end-of-season tours to the Caribbean and
the USA along with glamour friendlies against Germany and Portugal to mark the
Irish FA's 125th Anniversary. In
general, results were mixed, with a defeat by 10-man Canada and a draw with Malta
gained only courtesy of a late penalty save among the poorest to date.
Friendly Record 2004-2007
Venue
|
Pl
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
GF
|
GA
|
GD
|
Home
|
7
|
1
|
3
|
3
|
5
|
11
|
-6
|
Away
|
7
|
4
|
3
|
0
|
10
|
3
|
7
|
Neutral
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
3
|
-3
|
Notable matches:
2004 vs Norway (David Healy ended Northern Ireland's two-year
goalscoring drought in a 4-1 defeat)
2004 vs Trinidad & Tobago (Healy scores twice (his
13th & 14th) to become Northern Ireland's record goalscorer)
As he was appointed mid-way through a qualification
campaign, Nigel Worthington was not afforded the opportunity to formulate game-plans
in friendlies before being thrown into the cauldron of competitive matches. Later however, if combined with the matches played in the Nations Cup, this was the period in
which Northern Ireland played more friendlies than ever before. Player withdrawals
became ever more common, and made end-of-season matches in particular even more
shambolic, and virtually all matches instantly forgettable.
Friendly Record 2008-2011
Venue
|
Pl
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
GF
|
GA
|
GD
|
Home
|
6
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
6
|
7
|
-1
|
Away
|
5
|
0
|
1
|
4
|
0
|
7
|
-7
|
Neutral
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
2
|
-2
|
Notable matches:
2010 vs Morocco (the eligibility issue came to a head as
Adam Barton was awarded a "trial" cap, before opting to represent the
Republic of Ireland)
Michael O'Neill's international management career got off
to a difficult start with heavy defeats by Norway and the Netherlands. It was his 11th friendly match before he tasted victory, breaking the team's overall 20 match winless run.
Friendly Record 2012-date
Venue
|
Pl
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
GF
|
GA
|
GD
|
Home
|
3
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
4
|
6
|
-2
|
Away
Neutral |
7
1 |
0
0 |
2
1 |
5
0 |
0
1 |
11
1 |
-11
0 |
Notable matches:
2012 vs Netherlands (Northern Ireland's heaviest defeat since 1949)
2014 vs Uruguay (match for the Unofficial World
Championship and also for the Copa Antel)
2015 vs Latvia (Northern Ireland win their first friendly since 2008 vs Georgia)
Summary: (to end of 2015)
2015 vs Latvia (Northern Ireland win their first friendly since 2008 vs Georgia)
Summary: (to end of 2015)
Venue
|
Pl
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
GF
|
GA
|
GD
|
Home
|
49
|
14
|
14
|
21
|
53
|
78
|
-25
|
Away
|
48
|
9
|
15
|
24
|
37
|
87
|
-50
|
Neutral
|
7
|
0
|
1
|
6
|
2
|
15
|
-14
|
104
|
23
|
30
|
51
|
92
|
180
|
-89
|
The Future
With the introduction of the UEFA Nations League planned for 2018, opportunities for friendly internationals will become rare in
the future. It is fair to say that in their modern format they will hardly be
missed as long-gone are the days where they brought a bit of added glamour to
Windsor Park or provided an opportunity for a decent, competitive spectacle.
How the Nations League will be treated remains to be seen.
Sad, but sadly inevitable.
Records:
Most appearances: Maik Taylor (35)
Most goals: David Healy (14)
Sad, but sadly inevitable.
Records:
Most appearances: Maik Taylor (35)
Most goals: David Healy (14)
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