FIFA World Cup
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1998 saw France host the World Cup for the second time, and for a second time Northern Ireland did not make the trip. While the Irish FA, along with the other Home Nations, had not entered the 1938 competition, Northern Ireland's failure to qualify meant that they missed out for a third consecutive tournament, despite an increase to 32 finalists. Following a strong finish to their Euro 96 qualifying campaign Northern Ireland felt they might have had a chance of making it - alas it was not to be. Strong performances against European Champions Germany and a decent home draw with a fancied Portuguese team were off-set by poor results against an (incorrectly) unregarded Ukraine and the group's genuine minnows, Armenia and Albania. Northern Ireland finished second bottom of their group, with a single win to their name. Ultimately, the poor campaign cost manager Bryan Hamilton his job.
European Qualifying Group 9
=
|
Team
|
Pl
|
W
|
D
|
L
| F
| A
|
Dif
|
Pt
|
1
|
GER
|
10
|
6
|
4
|
0
|
23
|
9
|
14
|
22
|
2
|
UKR
|
10
|
6
|
2
|
2
|
10
|
6
|
4
|
20
|
3
|
POR
|
10
|
5
|
4
|
1
|
12
|
4
|
8
|
19
|
4
|
ARM
|
10
|
1
|
5
|
4
|
8
|
17
|
-9
|
8
|
5
|
NIR
|
10
|
1
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
10
|
-4
|
7
|
6
|
ALB
|
10
|
1
|
1
|
8
|
7
|
20
|
-13
|
4
|
Germany qualified for the finals.
Ukraine qualified for the play-offs where they lost 3-1 on aggregate to Croatia.
Results
Ukraine qualified for the play-offs where they lost 3-1 on aggregate to Croatia.
Results
ALB
|
ARM
|
GER
|
NIR
|
POR
|
UKR
| |
ALB
|
1-1
|
2-3
|
1-0
|
0-3
|
0-1
| |
ARM
|
3-0
|
1-5
|
0-0
|
0-2
| ||
GER
|
4-3
|
4-0
|
1-1
|
2-0
| ||
NIR
|
2-0
|
0-0
|
0-1
| |||
POR
|
2-0
|
3-1
|
0-0
|
1-0
| ||
UKR
|
1-0
|
1-1
|
0-0
|
2-1
|
Northern Ireland Line-Ups
 |
| Terry Hayes (physio), Steve Lomas, Danny Griffin, Gerard McMahon, Derek McKinley (team attendant), Jon McCarthy, Kevin Horlock, Cameron Ramsey (medic) Darren Patterson, Jim Magilton, Barry Hunter, Roy Carroll, Alan Fettis, Aidan Davison, Iain Dowie, Gerry Taggart, James Quinn Gerry Armstrong (assistant manager), Keith Rowland, Michael Hughes, Nigel Worthington, Bryan Hamilton (manager), Phil Mulryne, Keith Gillespie, George O'Boyle, Willie McFaul (gk coach) [Our Wee Country Facebook page] |
Match Programmes
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