In this series, we look at Northern Irish footballers playing outside the UK and Ireland, in countries like Hong Kong, South Korea, Spain, Germany, France, Italy, Brazil, Greece etc. This post looks at 3 times World Cup winners West Germany and 1 time winner Germany. Sure Northern Ireland might have played Germany and West Germany loads of times down the years, but how many Northern Irishmen actually went over to Deutschland to work as a footballer? It would appear only a hat-trick thus far.
Before we look at those nuts lads who went to Germany, here are the records of every Northern Ireland
v. Germany match, as well as v. West Germany
, Saarland
and East Germany
.
Northern Ireland v Germany (1991 – today)
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02 Jun 1992 – Germany vs Northern Ireland – Draw – 1–1 – International Friendly (Michael Hughes)
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29 May 1996 – Northern Ireland vs Germany – Draw – 1–1 – International Friendly (George O’Boyle)
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09 Nov 1996 – Germany vs Northern Ireland – Draw – 1–1 – FIFA World Cup Qualifier (Gerry Taggart)
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20 Aug 1997 – Northern Ireland vs Germany – Loss – 1–3 – FIFA World Cup Qualifier (Michael Hughes)
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27 Mar 1999 – Northern Ireland vs Germany – Loss – 0–3 – UEFA Euro 2000 Qualifier
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08 Sep 1999 – Germany vs Northern Ireland – Win – 4–0 – UEFA Euro 2000 Qualifier
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04 Jun 2005 – Northern Ireland vs Germany – Loss – 1–4 – International Friendly (David Healy penalty)
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21 Jun 2016 – Northern Ireland vs Germany – Loss – 0–1 – UEFA Euro 2016 Group Stage
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11 Oct 2016 – Germany vs Northern Ireland – Win – 2–0 – FIFA World Cup Qualifier
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05 Oct 2017 – Northern Ireland vs Germany – Loss – 1–3 – FIFA World Cup Qualifier (Josh Magennis)
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09 Sep 2019 – Northern Ireland vs Germany – Loss – 0–2 – UEFA Euro 2020 Qualifier
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19 Nov 2019 – Germany vs Northern Ireland – Win – 6–1 – UEFA Euro 2020 Qualifier (Michael Smith)
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07 Sep 2025 – Germany vs Northern Ireland – Win – 3–1 – FIFA World Cup Qualifier (Isaac Price)
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13 Oct 2025 – Northern Ireland vs Germany – Loss – 0–1 – FIFA World Cup Qualifier
Northern Ireland v. West Germany (up to 1991)
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15 Jun 1958 – Northern Ireland vs West Germany – Draw – 2–2 – FIFA World Cup Group Stage (Peter McParland 2)
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26 Oct 1960 – Northern Ireland vs West Germany – Loss – 3–4 – FIFA World Cup Qualifier (Billy McAdams hat-trick)
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10 May 1961 – West Germany vs Northern Ireland – Win – 2–1 – FIFA World Cup Qualifier (Billy McAdams)
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07 May 1966 – Northern Ireland vs West Germany – Loss – 0–2 – International Friendly
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27 Apr 1977 – West Germany vs Northern Ireland – Win – 5–0 – International Friendly
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17 Nov 1982 – Northern Ireland vs West Germany – Win – 1–0 – UEFA Euro 1984 Qualifier
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16 Nov 1983 – West Germany vs Northern Ireland – Loss – 0–1 – UEFA Euro 1984 Qualifier
Northern Ireland v. East Germany (up to 1991)
Surprisingly Northern Ireland never played East Germany at full level during the existence of the East German state. However Northern Ireland did play against East Germany at youth level. Notably, they met in the qualifiers for the 1980 UEFA European Under-18 Championship, which served as the precursor to the modern Under-19 and Under-21 tournaments. This match was significant as it marked Northern Ireland’s qualification for the 1980 European Youth Championship Finals held. Notably though, Belfast Linfield once played East Germany in a friendly in 1984 – crazy days.
Northern Ireland v. Saarland (1950 – 1956)
The short-lived FIFA country of Saarland had an international football team from 1950 to 1956. Whilst they did compete in World Cup qualifiers and a few friendlies, they never played Northern Ireland.
Here are the hat-trick of Northern Irish lads who headed to Germany.
1.Liam Boyce.
Other clubs he was at – Cliftonville, Ross County, Burton Albion, Heart Of Midlothian, Derry City.
Northern Ireland caps – Under 19 – 6 caps, 1 goal, Under 21 – 9 caps, Full level – 28 caps, 2 goals.
Dreams came true though, as Liam Boyce joined the “German Green and White Army” when he signed for the mighty German club Werder Bremen on 31 August 2010. His tenure there lasted just over a year. He was released by the German club in October 2011, having unfortunately only made three appearances for the club’s reserves side. Liam also unfortunately missed out on the Euro 2016 squad – back then only a squad of 23 was allowed and Kyle Lafferty, Josh Magennis, Conor Washington and Will Grigg’s On Fire were the 4 forwards that Michael O’Neill chose. Liam’s 2 full Northern Ireland goals were both at Windsor Park – one in a 1-0 win over New Zealand in a 2017 friendly. The second v. Romania in a 1-1 Nations League draw.
2.Paul Munster.
Other clubs he was at – Cliftonville, London City, Slavia Prague, Orebro SK, Bunkeflo IF, Hradec Králové, Linfield.
Northern Ireland caps – 0 .
On the pitch, Paul started his career at Cliftonville in his birth city of Belfast, before heading to Canada! He was a sensation there, scoring 25 goals in 19 matches, yet it wasn’t enough to get a Northern Ireland call up back in 2004. He was the League’s top scorer! Munster also played club football in Czechia and Sweden, before a stint at Linfield, where he won 3 Irish leagues and 2 Irish Cups. He almost went to Italy to join Hellas Verona, but in the end played his final 4 professional matches for German side FC Anker Wismar, who played in the NOFV-Oberliga Nord.
As a manager, Paul has managed in Sweden, India, Indonesia and even Vanuatu and Brunei. Quite the traveller!
3.Danny Sonner.
Other clubs he was at – Wigan Athletic, Burnley, Bury, Port Vale, Sheffield Wednesday, Ipswich Town, Birmingham City, Walsall, Nottingham Forest, Peterborough United, Wrexham.
Northern Ireland caps – 13 Full Caps (1997-2004), B Level 4 Caps, 1 Goal (1995-1999).
Red Herrings
These lads didn’t quite make the cut…
