No, it’s not fake news, it’s not all a dream, the Northern Ireland international football team were once in the World Cup Final! It was a tournament known as the Little World Cup or the Mini-World Cup and it took place in April 1963…it does seem a bit of an odd moniker though as when I researched it, I found that it was only European teams in it. So it should really be referred to as The Little European Cup Final.
In April 1963, Northern Ireland’s Youth team reached the final of the UEFA European Youth Tournament—known by some as the “Little World Cup”—marking what is arguably the greatest achievement in Irish football history. Although they were defeated by England in the Wembley final, many members of the squad later went on to earn long and successful careers across local football, as well as in the English, Scottish, and international game.
Of the sixteen players named in the tournament programme, six would later achieve full senior international caps—most notably Pat Jennings and Dave Clements. Another reached Under-23 level, while four others represented Northern Ireland at Amateur level.
Qualification for the Little World Cup
To qualify we had to beat our island rivals Republic of Ireland over two legs.
Preliminary Round
Republic of Ireland (1) 1 Keogh 70 (pen)
Northern Ireland (1) 1 Warburton 59
Dalymount Park, Dublin
NIR: Jennings; Corbett, McClelland, Nicholl, Napier, Clements, Warburton, Reid, Guy, J. Anderson, McKinney
Northern Ireland (1) 3 Guy 23, 74, McKinney 25
Republic of Ireland (1) 2 Downey 18, Connolly 65
Windsor Park, Belfast
UEFA Youth Tournament Under 18, 1963
Qualifiers 11-11 Malmö Sweden 2-0 Finland 18-11 Radom Poland 1-1 Hungary 2-12 Budapest Hungary 2-1 Poland 17- 2 Lisboa Portugal 4-2 France 14- 3 Versailles France 3-1 Portugal 24- 2 Klagenfurt Austria 1-2 West Germany 10- 3 München West Germany 2-2 Austria 3- 2 Split Yugoslavia 1-1 Bulgaria 10- 3 Pazardzhik Bulgaria 1-0 Yugoslavia 1- 3 Dublin Ireland 1-1 Northern Ireland 6- 3 Belfast N. Ireland 3-2 Ireland 6- 3 Athinai Greece 2-1 Turkey 13- 3 Ankara Turkey 1-1 Greece 2- 3 Sevilla Spain 2-2 Italy 13- 3 Roma Italy 3-2 Spain 14- 2 Esch/Alzette Luxembourg 0-2 Belgium 13- 3 Namur Belgium 8-1 Luxembourg 6- 3 Dordrecht Netherlands 11-2 Wales Automatic qualifiers Romania (holders) England (hosts) Scotland (bye) Switzerland (bye) East Germany (bye, withdraw) Czechoslovakia and Soviet Union (drawn against each other, bothqualified after withdrawal East Germay; it is not clear whether a match East Germany vs Czechoslovakia (Ost-Berlin 18-11, 3-0)was related to this tournament) Final Tournament in England, April 13-23
Group A 13- 4 Slough Greece 7-2 West Germany Redhill Scotland 3-1 Switzerland 15- 4 Aldershot West Germany 2-1 Scotland Hersham Switzerland 1-1 Greece 17- 4 Tooting Scotland 4-0 Greece Brighton West Germany 2-1 Switzerland 1.SCOTLAND 3 2 0 1 8- 3 4 2.West Germany 3 2 0 1 6- 9 4 3.Greece 3 1 1 1 8- 7 3 4.Switzerland 3 0 1 2 3- 6 1 Group B 13- 4 Tonbridge Bulgaria 2-0 France Hastings Italy 3-0 Hungary 15- 4 Kingston Hungary 1-1 Bulgaria Hounslow Italy 4-1 France 17- 4 Fulham Bulgaria 2-1 Italy Reading France 3-1 Hungary 1.BULGARIA 3 2 1 0 5- 2 5 2.Italy 3 2 0 1 8- 3 4 3.France 3 1 0 2 4- 7 2 4.Hungary 3 0 1 2 2- 7 1 Group C 13- 4 Wimbledon England 5-0 Netherlands Brentford Romania 1-0 Soviet Union 15- 4 Eastbourne Netherlands 3-0 Soviet Union London England 3-0 Romania 17- 4 Tottenham England 2-0 Soviet Union Guildford Romania 2-0 Netherlands 1.ENGLAND 3 3 0 0 10- 0 6 2.Romania 3 2 0 1 3- 3 4 3.Netherlands 3 1 0 2 3- 7 2 4.Soviet Union 3 0 0 3 0- 6 0 Group D 13- 4 Bournemouth Czechoslovakia 4-2 Sweden Eastbourne N. Ireland 2-1 Belgium 15- 4 London Belgium 2-1 Sweden Woking N. Ireland 1-0 Czechoslovakia 17- 4 Bromley N. Ireland 3-3 Sweden Wealdstone Belgium 2-0 Czechoslovakia 1.N. IRELAND 3 2 1 0 6- 4 5 2.Belgium 3 2 0 1 5- 3 4 3.Czechoslovakia 3 1 0 2 4- 5 2 4.Sweden 3 0 1 2 6- 9 1 13 April 1963 N. Ireland 2 Ross, McKinney Belguim 1 Eastbourne NIR: Jennings; Corbett, McClelland, Nicholl, Napier, Todd, Dunlop, Guy, Ross, Clements, McKinney 15 April 1963 N. Ireland 1 Ross Czechoslovakia 0 Woking NIR: Jennings; Corbett, McCurley, Nicholl, Napier, Todd, Dunlop, Guy, Ross, Clements, McKinney 17 April 1963 N. Ireland 3 Guy (2), Clements Sweden 3 Bromley NIR: Jennings; Corbett, McCurley, Nicholl, Napier, Todd, McKeown, Dunlop, Guy, Clements, McKinney Semifinals 19- 4 London England 1-0 Scotland Southampton N. Ireland 3-3 Bulgaria [Northern Ireland won on coin toss] Semi-Final 19 April 1963 Northern Ireland 3 McKinney (2), Ross
Bulgaria 3 Southampton NIR: Jennings; Corbett, McCurley, Nicholl, Napier, Todd, Dunlop, Guy, Ross, Clements, McKinney Third Place Match 22- 4 Portsmouth Scotland 4-2 Bulgaria Final [att: 34,582] 23- 4 London England 4-0 Northern Ireland [Napiers (og) 5, Sammels 48, Whittaker 67, Sissons 59] [ref: Kreitlein (West Germany)] [England: Cowen; Badger, Shaw; T.Smith, Chatterly, R.Harris; French, Sommels, J.Jones, Sissons, Whittaker] [N.Ireland: Jennings; Corbett, McCurley; Nicholl, Napier, Todd; Dunlop, Guy, Clements, Ross, McKinney] Although we lost the final 4-0 to England away, it was a great run and the final had a staggering 34,000 at it. It would be interesting to hear from some Northern Ireland fans who were at it.
Other Useful Links - https://www.rsssf.org/tablese/ec-u18-63.html https://www.11v11.com/matches/england-v-northern-ireland-23-april-1963-260343/ https://nifootball.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-little-world-cup-1963.html
