The Northern Ireland national under-19 football team also known as Northern Ireland under-19s or Northern Ireland U19s represents Northern Ireland in association football at under-19 level. It is controlled by the Irish Football Association and began under the name of Ireland Youth when the Home Nations first held a round robin of friendly matches in 1948. The same year they entered the first International Youth Tournament, now the UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship. Their best performance was in 1963 when they finished as runner-up. The team evolved into the Northern Ireland under-18 team then the current under-19 team. As well as the UEFA Under-19 Championships the team also enters the annual Milk Cup (currently as an under-20 side). In addition, the team plays regular friendlies, sometimes as an under-20 or under-18 team by agreement of the opposing association.
Competitive record Champions Runners-up Third Place Fourth Place European Championships 1948–1954 – FIFA Junior Tournament 1955–1980 – UEFA Junior Tournament 1981–2001 – UEFA European U-18 Championship 2002–present – UEFA European U-19 Championship
UEFA European Under-18/19 Championship Finals recordQualification recordYear*Round 1948First round 3 1 0 2 7 12 −5No qualification needed 1949Fourth place 3 0 1 2 3 10 –7No qualification needed 1950did not enterdid not enter 1951Fourth place 3 1 0 2 3 3 0No qualification needed 1952 did not enterdid not enter 1953First round 4 1 0 3 11 16 −5No qualification needed 1954Group stage 5 0 0 5 4 22 −18No qualification needed 1955Group stage 3 0 1 2 2 9 −7No qualification needed 1956did not enterdid not enter 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963Runners-up 5 2 2 1 9 11 –22 1 1 0 4 3 +1 1964Group stage 2 1 0 1 2 3 −1No qualification needed 1965did not enterdid not enter 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975Group stage 3 1 1 1 3 4 −12 2 0 0 5 2 +3 1976Group stage 3 0 0 3 3 10 −7Walkover against 1977Group stage 3 2 0 1 3 1 +22 1 0 1 2 1 +1 1978did not qualify2 0 0 2 2 9 −7 19794 1 1 2 4 6 −2 1980Group stage 3 0 1 2 2 4 −22 1 1 0 2 0 +2 1981did not qualify2 0 0 2 0 4 −4 19822 1 0 1 1 2 −1 19834 0 1 3 2 9 −7 19842 1 0 1 1 3 −2 19866 0 2 4 5 12 −7 19886 1 1 4 8 14 −6 1990did not enterdid not enter 1992did not qualify6 0 3 3 4 10 −6 19934 0 1 3 8 14 −6 19942 0 2 0 1 1 0 19952 2 0 2 6 6 0 19962 1 0 1 4 3 +1 19972 0 0 2 0 6 −6 19982 1 0 1 6 2 +4 19995 3 0 2 9 5 +4 20005 3 1 1 12 5 +7 20012 0 0 2 1 4 −3 20023 1 1 1 2 2 0 20036 2 1 3 10 6 +4 20043 0 1 2 2 5 −3 2005Group stage 3 0 0 3 1 4 −3Qualified as hosts 2006did not qualify6 2 1 3 10 9 +1 20073 0 0 3 2 8 −6 20083 0 1 2 2 4 −2 20093 1 0 2 4 7 −3 20106 1 1 4 10 9 +1 20113 1 1 1 3 3 0 20123 1 0 2 5 8 −3 20133 1 1 1 9 4 +5 20143 1 0 2 1 4 −3 20153 1 0 2 5 7 −2 20166 1 1 4 4 9 −5 20173 1 0 2 2 5 −3 20183 0 1 2 2 9 −7 20193 1 1 1 4 5 −1 2020Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemicQualified as hosts 2021Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic 2022did not qualify3 1 0 2 2 5 −3 20236 1 2 3 7 11 −4 2024Group stage 3 0 1 2 0 5 -5Qualified as hosts 2025did not qualify3 1 0 2 2 7 −5 20263 2 0 1 2 4 −2 2027To be determined TotalRunners-up46973053114–61146392782177252–75*Red border colour indicates tournament was held on home soil.
Honours Milk Cup Elite Section Winners: 1997, 2008, 2009, 2014
Coaches Coaches of the Northern Ireland youth/under-18/under-19 side include: ManagerCareer Billy Cook Norman Kernaghan Joe Kinkead Tommy Casey Jackie Cummings 1979–?? Roy Millar 1983–1999 Mal Donaghy 2000–2008 Steve Beaglehole 2008–2011 Stephen Robinson 2011–2013 Stephen Craigan 2013–2016 Stephen Frail 2016–2020 Gerard Lyttle 2021–2023 Gareth McAuley 2023–
Players Current squad Players born on or after 1 January 2008 will be eligible until the end of the 2027 UEFA European Under-19 Championship.
The following players were named in the squad for the friendly matches against Belgium on 2 October and Wales on 5 October 2026.
Caps and goals correct as of 5 October 2026, after the match against Wales.
Recent call-ups The following players have previously been called up to the Northern Ireland under-19 squad and remain eligible.
COVID = Player withdrew due to a positive COVID test or from being in close contact with someone with a positive COVID test. INJ = Player withdrew from the squad before any games had been played. PRE = Preliminary squad / standby. SEN = Player withdrew from the squad due to a call up to the senior team. SUS = Suspended from national team. WTD = Withdrew due to other reasons.
See also Northern Ireland national football team Northern Ireland national under-21 football team Northern Ireland national under-17 football team
References
External links Fixtures & Results Current squad UEFA U19 Championship Record