Cymru take on Northern Ireland in an International Challenge Match on Tuesday night at the Cardiff City Stadium (7:45pm) for what will be the first meeting between the two nations in a decade.
The last time Cymru faced Northern Ireland was in Paris as the two teams came together in the Round of 16 at EURO 2016 and it was Chris Coleman’s side that edged a 1-0 victory through an own goal from Gareth McAuley. Michael O’Neill was the manager of Northern Ireland then and has now returned for a second spell.
The match on Tuesday night is a consequence of both teams losing their respective World Cup semi-final play-offs. Cymru were defeated by Bosnia and Herzegovina on penalties following a 1-1 draw in Cardiff while Northern Ireland suffered a 2-0 defeat to Italy in Bergamo to end their World Cup hopes.
“It’s hard when you lose a game to realise the positives,” said O’Neill after the match. “The players are disappointed and you have to feel that disappointment with them as well. But for a nation of our size, to come with a team of that age and play as we did, there’s a lot more positives.”
Northern Ireland’s appearance at EURO 2016 remains the only time they have qualified for the EURO finals, but they have been to three FIFA World Cups in 1958, 1982 and 1986.
There is a World Cup connection between Cymru and Northern Ireland in that both nations produced their best performances at the finals in 1958. While Jimmy Murphy’s Cymru were eliminated at the quarter-final stage by eventual champions Brazil, Northern Ireland were also knocked out at the same point by France.
Northern Ireland are currently 71st in the FIFA World Rankings while Cymru sit in 37th place. Despite the disappointment of missing out on a place at the World Cup, the match will provide an opportunity for both Craig Bellamy and O’Neill to give senior international experience to some of the fringe players in their respective squads and start their preparations for the next UEFA Nations League campaign.
Fixtures between Cymru and what was then a unified Ireland team date back to 1882. The first meeting took place in Wrexham in February that year as John Price scored four goals for Cymru in a 7-1 victory. The first match between Cymru and Northern Ireland was also played in Wrexham as the visitors claimed a 2-1 win.
In fact, Cymru’s all-time record win came against Ireland back in March 1888. Jack Doughty scored four goals in the 11-0 win at the Racecourse in Wrexham, while two goals each for Roger Doughty, Edmund Howell, Job Wilding and a strike from William Pryce-Jones completed the scoring for the home side.
The last time Northern Ireland claimed a victory over Cymru was at Cardiff in May 1980 as Noel Brotherston scored the only goal of the game for Billy Bingham’s side. Mike England was manager of the Cymru side that included Joey Jones, Brian Flynn, Mickey Thomas, Terry Yorath, Leighton James and Ian Rush, who was making just his second senior international appearance.
Northern Ireland’s last victory was against Luxembourg in November last year as Jamie Donley scored from the penalty spot to secure a 1-0 win in Belfast. The side will be in League B for the next UEFA Nations League campaign and have been grouped with Hungary, Ukraine and Georgia, while Cymru will meet Portugal, Denmark and Norway in League A.
