Adidas football shirt Northern Ireland 2006

The Northern Ireland national football team is a team of football players that represent Northern Ireland in international competitions, such as the qualifying rounds for the World Cup and European Championship.

Originally, the team represented the entire island of Ireland under the name "Ireland". After the independence of the Irish Free State (the current Republic of Ireland), the latter got its own football association with its own national football team. Until 1950 Northern Ireland continued to play under the name "Ireland" (in the British Home Championship even until the mid-1970s) and players were selected from all over Ireland.

The best performance at a World Cup was reaching the quarter-finals in 1958, losing 4-0 to France. In the 1970s and 1980s, the country was still a formidable opponent. In 1982 and 1986 it qualified for the World Cup finals. Northern Ireland qualified for the European Championship for the first time on October 8, 2015.