The 10 greatest Northern Ireland strikers in football history have been ranked

Despite the Northern Ireland national team having had many creative and talented players over the years, many believe that they have not been as blessed when it comes to options up front. Northern Ireland has produced some incredibly talented players over the years such as the legendary George Best, Danny Blanchflower, Martin O’Neill and Sammy McIlroy who may have been let down in recent times as they have not had clinical strikers up front to finish off the chances they have created.

And while Northern Ireland sides have not had much joy at international level, a lot of the lack of success comes down to their best players playing at different periods of time as opposed to them having a large crop of talented players all in one squad.

With all that in mind, the 10 greatest Northern Ireland strikers in football history have been ranked. Included in the list is a mixture of very famous and recognisable names such as David Healy and Norman Whiteside, however, there are also some names included that you may not have heard of before but are some of the best and most talented players in Northern Irish football history.

Ranking factors:

• Goals scored and appearances for Northern Ireland
• Significant moments representing Northern Ireland

10 Colin Clarke

International career span: 1986-1993

The first name included on the list of greatest Northern Irish strikers in football history is Colin Clarke. Clarke, who enjoyed a prolific goalscoring career representing clubs such as Southampton, Bournemouth and Portsmouth, is the joint third top goalscorer in Northern Irish national team history. Clarke managed to score 13 goals in 38 international appearances which is a very good return and is tied with Billy Gillespie and all-time appearance record holder, Steven Davis, as the third top goalscorer in national team history.

Clarke was a typical old-fashioned centre forward who was a brilliant physical presence in the box and also worked hard to create chances for his teammates. Clarke’s best and most significant moment in a Northern Ireland shirt came in the 1986 World Cup where he scored on the biggest stage against an elite Spain side.

9 Gerry Armstrong

International career span: 1977-1986

Gerry Armstrong’s best and most prolific times of his professional footballing career came in a Northern Ireland shirt. Armstrong definitely was not a prolific or frequent goalscorer at club level and only managed to score just over 50 goals but at international level, he turned up more often than not.

In the 1982 World Cup, Armstrong achieved legendary status representing his national team where he scored arguably the most significant goal in Northern Irish history when he guided his side to an iconic 1-0 victory over Spain despite playing over 30 minutes of the match with just 10 men. It is arguably this goal and moment alone which earns Armstrong a place on this list.

8 Billy Hamilton

International career span: 1979-1986

Despite scoring just five goals in 41 international appearances, Billy Hamilton is fully deserving of his standing on this list of greatest Northern Irish strikers in history. Hamilton’s legacy in a Northern Ireland shirt is tied heavily to his incredible efforts in the 1982 World Cup where he was one of the strongest performers for his national side.

Not only was Hamilton a significant part of Northern Ireland’s success in the tournament due to his unbelievable work rate and selflessness, he also provided the assist for Gerry Armstrong’s iconic winning goal against Spain in what is still to this day likely the most famous result in Northern Irish football history.

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7 Kyle Lafferty

International career span: 2006-2022

Coming in at number seven in the list of greatest Northern Ireland strikers in football history is a man who has arguably the most impressive longevity in the history of his national side, former Rangers striker, Kyle Lafferty.

Lafferty sits second in the all-time goalscorer standings for Northern Ireland with 20 goals in 89 appearances. The physical centre forward holds a significant place in the history of his national side as he ranks highly for goals as well as appearances. Lafferty’s best days in a Northern Ireland shirt came during the EURO 2016 qualifiers. He managed to score a very impressive seven goals in nine appearances during the qualifiers and was a key factor in why Northern Ireland made it to the EURO finals.

6 Iain Dowie

International career span: 1990-1999

There are not many more strikers who have represented the Northern Irish national team who were more reliable than Iain Dowie. Dowie, despite being a relatively prolific goalscorer at club level for clubs such as Southampton and Luton, was not as prolific at international level but due to his hard-working nature, he was a constantly reliable option up front for Northern Ireland for the duration of his nine-year international career.

Dowie was a very consistent performer during his time representing the national team, hence his 59 caps, and was not just a forward up front, he also was huge for the players around him being able to express themselves due to his abilities as a target man, working as a focal point to bring others into the game.

5 Jimmy Quinn

International career span: 1985-1996

Jimmy Quinn is one of the most technically gifted strikers Northern Ireland has ever produced. The Reading legend who was an incredibly prolific goalscorer at club level with over 200 goals to his name, scored 12 goals in 46 appearances for the national side and provided some crucial goals in crucial moments during European Championship and World Cup qualifiers.

Like Dowie, Quinn was a very selfless striker and was incredibly helpful to the players around him due to his physical presence and ability to hold off and battle with the opposition’s defenders. There typically was no in-between for the type of goals Quinn scored for his national side, he either scored typical poacher goals from within the box or he scored screamers from outside the box.

4 Norman Whiteside

International career span: 1982-1989

Despite Norman Whiteside operating throughout his career mainly as an attacking midfielder, he also regularly operated as a striker. The Manchester United legend, Whiteside, is viewed as one of the most talented and technically gifted players Northern Ireland has ever produced and is arguably not rated fairly enough as he is truly one of the greats of the British game.

Whiteside only made 38 national team appearances in a seven-year spell but during that time, his impact on the youth of Northern Irish football was huge as he was at the time he was playing an elite-level player with a lot of skill in a team full of lesser talented players who worked hard. A great part of Whiteside’s game, particularly when he played up front, was that he was not afraid to get stuck in and do the dirty work which had a huge impact on his team.

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3 Derek Dougan

International career span: 1958-1973

The next name included in the list of greatest strikers in Northern Ireland history is one of the greatest strikers in Wolverhampton Wanderers history, the great Derek Dougan. Dougan has a reputation of being one of the most physical and fearless strikers of all time and loved an aerial duel and a big, physical tackle.

Despite being a horrible, physical centre forward to play against, Dougan also had a side to his game which could see him switch up his style and be a very technical dribbler with tidy feet. Dougan’s longevity for his country is arguably the most impressive thing about his run at international level as he represented Northern Ireland on 43 separate occasions across 15 years.

2 Joe Bambrick

International career span: 1928-1938

Taking the number two spot on the list of greatest strikers in Northern Ireland’s history is one of the most iconic figures in Northern Irish football history, Joe Bambrick. Bambrick, born in Belfast in 1905, represented the IFA national team 11 times and averaged over a goal a game which is ridiculously impressive.

Bambrick was a legend at international level, but is best known for his contributions to Northern Irish football at club level. Across two spells at Northern Irish clubs, Linfield and Glentoran, Bambrick scored an incredible 314 goals in just 205 games which is one of the most impressive goal returns in club football history. Despite being just 5’11, Bambrick had an incredible physical and aerial presence but was known for his smart movement inside the box which put him in many positions where he just had to tap the ball into the back of the net which could explain his phenomenal goalscoring record for club and country.

1 David Healy

International career span: 2000-2013

Taking the top spot on the list of greatest strikers in Northern Ireland’s history is the country’s all-time top goalscorer, David Healy. Healy is the country’s top goalscorer with an excellent 36 goals in 95 international appearances, leading the second top goalscorer, Kyle Lafferty by 16 goals.

The Manchester United academy graduate enjoyed a decent club career in particular representing Preston North End, Leeds United and Rangers – scoring just five times for the latter – but when he put that green and white jersey on, he was a completely different player and massively improved. Although not the biggest of players, Healy’s game was heavily focused on his physicality and difficulty for defenders to deal with and this opened up many goalscoring opportunities for him. As well as having strong off-the-ball abilities, Healy had excellent finishing abilities, hence his great goalscoring record for his national side and was also able to play in multiple different systems and styles which led to him having a long career representing his national side.

All statistics are courtesy of Transfermarkt – correct as of 16-10-24.