Once upon a time, Northern Ireland once enjoyed regular success on the international stage. If you’ve ever listened to Gerry Armstrong for more than ten seconds, you might have heard about it. From what I can piece together, they qualified for the 1982 World Cup and beat the hosts, Spain. It escapes me now who scored the winner.

It might sound like a fairytale, but Northern Ireland are on the verge of qualifying for their first World Cup since 1986 and it has less to do with luck or spoiling tactics and more to do with getting what they deserve for assured self-belief and faith in their gameplan and abilities. When they beat England it was treated as the sort of once-in-a-decade-result that keeps the crowds sufficiently satisfied in times when qualification for a major tournament is unlikely. Ditto their remarkable defeat of Spain that Gerry Armstrong had nothing to do with. For much of the last two decades it is that occasional success has been all they’ve had to sustain themselves, yet the crowds fill the bafflingly intimidating Windsor Park each time. The sectarian behaviour of a minority hasn’t always cast them in a favourable light, but purely in terms of vociferous support, their loyalty is to be applauded.

Your appreciation of the success of Northern Ireland have enjoyed in recent years will depend on how much you agree with the following statements.
- Lawrie Sanchez is an average to slightly above average manager.
- Nigel Worthington is of a similar managerial standard.
- They have a squad of made up of decent professionals with very limited experience at the apparent Holy Grail level of the Champions League.
With these humble ingredients, they’ve put together a couple of impressive qualifying campaigns and although it hasn’t always ended in a need to dig out the passport, it has always had a swagger to it. There seems to be a dictate coming down from above that requires a degree of style and although the technical limitations may ultimately find them out, Northern Ireland have been trying to do the right things for much of the last decade. Nigel Worthington may have been tempted to resort to packed midfields and long hoofs forward, but his achievements have come about largely playing an attractive brand of football.

The obvious comparison might be made with their southern equivalents, where any semblance of style has been utterly decimated in the pursuit of the points, but it goes beyond a mere contrast of neighbours. Although they may not feel they have the talents to go toe to toe with the perceived bigger teams, Northern Ireland have concocted a style of play that is quite clearly competitive and doesn’t require a lobotomy to watch. Boxing clever doesn’t necessarily mean boxing dull. There is perhaps a lesson in there for the Republic, Wales, Scotland and to a lesser extent England, who will qualify for a World Cup thanks to ruthless pragmatism rather than swashbuckling style befitting of players who have excelled at international club level. It’s a results driven business, but a touch more flair might silence England’s boo boys and ensure Thomond Park is more than a third full when the Boys In Green make a rare appearance in Limerick.

In a world where international football is regarded as a superfluous irritant by some managers and certain players who know who’s paying their wages, the Northern Ireland squad – typified by David Healy who at club level averages a goal every four games but for his country registers one around every two games – look genuinely excited and motivated to be wearing the national jersey. Every child who has ever kicked a ball dreams about making it to a World Cup and that prospect seems to spur the players on to produce performances they rarely match at their clubs. That might beg questions about their motivation for their clubs, but for anyone who still enjoys the unfashionable notion of international football, it would be great to see them get what they deserve.

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