The numbers behind O’Neill’s Northern Ireland century

After two stints across almost 14 years, Michael O’Neill will take charge of his 100th Northern Ireland match against Germany on Monday.

It’s a landmark figure for one of the greatest managers in the country’s history, and he has already acknowledged the focus is on a huge World Cup qualifier rather than his own personal landmark.

But what are the numbers behind his century?

O’Neill has used 94 players in his 99 Northern Ireland games to date.

There are no surprise names among his most-used players, and all played a key role in the run to Euro 2016.

Steven Davis leads the way, and he is joined by Jonny Evans at the top of the list.

Paddy McNair is the only active player in the top five, and he continues to build up the caps by playing a key role in the young current squad.

After he was appointed in December 2011, O’Neill first took charge of Northern Ireland in February 2012 in a 3-0 friendly defeat at home to Norway.

His starting team from that night had a number of familiar names, many of whom would help Northern Ireland qualify for Euro 2016 such as Davis, Jonny and Corry Evans, Aaron Hughes, Gareth McAuley and Shane Ferguson.

He would have to wait until August 2013 for his first win as manager as Martin Paterson’s goal gave NI a 1-0 win over Fabio Capello’s Russia at Windsor Park.

Of the 94 players used by O’Neill, 63 were born in Northern Ireland, while 31 qualified through eligibility.

He has handed debuts to 49 players, the last of which was Jamie McDonnell, who won his first cap off the bench in Germany in September.

Across the two spells, 14 players have been handed the captain’s armband by O’Neill.

Davis’ importance to Northern Ireland is evident in the 61 times he wore the armband, and Jonny Evans is the only other player to break double figures.

Including five opposition players, 37 men have scored the 110 goals across O’Neill’s two tenures between them.

Kyle Lafferty leads the way with 12, seven of which came in qualifying for Euro 2016.

Isaac Price has burst on to the international scene and is hot on Lafferty’s heels, and it feels like a matter of when, not if, he moves to the top of the list.

Hume is the latest player to add their name to the list after his superb goal against Slovakia on Friday.

Here are the various goal milestones under Michel O’Neill:

First – Shane Ferguson v Finland (H) – August 2012

25th – Kyle Lafferty v Hungary (H) – September 2015

50th – Josh Magennis v San Marino (A) – September 2017

75th – Michael Smith v Germany (A) – November 2019

Assists for the 110 goals under O’Neill have been shared around 36 players, with three players tied on seven assists each.

It’s no surprise to see Davis up at the top once again, while Norwood’s importance from set-pieces means he is joint top.

Of course, Norwood also supplied one of the most memorable assists in Northern Ireland history when he set up Gareth McAuley to score against Ukraine at Euro 2016.

O’Neill will join Billy Bingham in reaching a century of games in charge of Northern Ireland.

Along with Peter Doherty at the 1958 World Cup, they are the only bosses to lead Northern Ireland to a major tournament.

We’ve already touched on O’Neill’s stats as manager, but how do they compare to Bingham?

They are actually very similar, and O’Neill only needs three more victories to have the most in NI history.

The starting XI which played in Luxembourg in the Nations League in November 2024 had an average age of just 22.2.

Not only is it the youngest starting team under O’Neill, but it was also the youngest Northern Ireland XI since the end of World War Two.

There’s a lot of focus on youth currently with O’Neill’s Northern Ireland squad, but lets not forget some of the legends of his first tenure.

Gareth McAuley was the oldest player to have played under O’Neill when he won his final cap for Northern Ireland against Austria in November 2018 aged 38 years and 348 days – just a few days shy of his 39th birthday.

Aaron Hughes, another key defender for O’Neill, was 38 years and 207 days old when he made his last appearance in June 2018.

Two very different results from O’Neill’s two stints in charge.

The biggest defeat came early in his reign and it was the first time Northern Ireland had conceded six goals in 51 years.

Robin van Persie scored twice in Amsterdam, as did Ibrahim Afellay, while Wesley Sneijder and Ron Vlaar were also on target.

In contrast, O’Neill’s young team produced a five-goal performance at home to Bulgaria in October 2024.

Northern Ireland have faced 46 different countries during O’Neill’s time in charge.

Luxembourg and Germany are currently tied for the most-faced opponents, and it is fitting he will bring up his 100th game when he takes on the Germans for a seventh time.

Seven players have been sent off in O’Neill’s 99 games as Northern Ireland manager.

What immediately jumps out is how much discipline has improved since the start of his first tenure.

Chris Brunt and Kyle Lafferty were both sent off against Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal in September 2013, and Jonny Evans followed suit the following month in Azerbaijan.

Defender McAuley’s dismissal in Cyprus made it four red cards in three international windows, while Chris Baird was controversially sent off for two fouls in the same phase of play the following year.

Nine players have won just one cap under O’Neill for Northern Ireland.

In his first stint in charge, James McPake and Michael O’Connor won their sole international caps under O’Neill in 2012.

A 6-0 defeat in the Netherlands was McPake’s only Northern Ireland appearance, while O’Connor’s 13th cap came after a four-year break away from the international set-up against Luxembourg in 2013.

Paddy Lane and Alfie McCalmont have a handful of Northern Ireland caps each, but all but one came under Ian Baraclough, while Cameron McGeehan‘s sole NI cap came against San Marino in 2023.

Not the most ground-breaking stat you will read in this article, but it provided memories to last a lifetime for everyone involved.