Northern Ireland’s men’s and women’s teams have started their respective Homeless World Cup 2024 campaigns strongly.
To date Team NI have won four and lost two in the group stage in the men’s competition.
And the women’s team are doing even better. They lost only once in their group games and will now play for the main Homeless World Cup women’s trophy.
Team NI’s two teams are among more than 50 four-a-side teams taking part in the week-long event, which is being staged at Seoul’s Hanyang University in South Korea.
The men’s team began their Group C campaign at the weekend with a 3-2 victory over Austria – and they followed that success up with a 3-1 win against Denmark.
Indonesia got the better of them by three goals to one in game three, however they bounced back in their fourth game, defeating Hungary 5-3.
Game five was one-way traffic against Greece. Northern Ireland racked up 13 goals in that one, while the Greeks scored a consolation.
Next up they faced Argentina. The game ended 4-4, however the Argentinians won a penalty shootout and earned an extra point. Northern Ireland got a point for the draw.
Their remaining two games in the group will see them take on Norway tomorrow (Wednesday 25 September) and Hong Kong the following day.
The top two teams in each of four nine-team groups will compete for the main Homeless World Cup men’s trophy, while the remaining teams will play games to determine overall placings.
Northern Ireland are currently lying in second position in the Group C table with 13 points from six games. They are just ahead of Austria (also 13 points from six games) on goal difference. Indonesia are top with 15 points (five wins out of five).
If Northern Ireland win their final two group games they should be competing for the main Homeless World Cup men’s trophy this weekend.
The women’s team have already reached the top tier in their competition.
They defeated Egypt 5-3 in their opening Group B encounter before easing past Republic of Ireland in game two on a 2-1 scoreline.
In their third group stage game they hammered Austria by six goals to nil, however they were then defeated heavily by high-scoring Mexico. The Mexicans won 10-3.
Game five saw them defeat France by four goals to three and earlier today they enjoyed an emphatic 10-0 victory over Denmark. And in their final group game they were on fire once again, defeating Norway 8-1.
The Northern Ireland women’s team finished second in their group with 18 points, while Mexico led the way with an impressive 21 points (100% record). Egypt came third on 15 points and France finished fourth with 12.
The top four teams in each of two eight-team groups have now reached Section 1 in stage two of the women’s competition.
Northern Ireland have been placed in Section 1 Group A where they will play France, Romania and Kenya. Romania topped Group A in stage one on 19 points, while Kenya finished third on 17 points.
The games in the section will determine the teams' opponents in the last eight.
The first game at stage two for Northern Ireland is against France tomorrow, while they will play Kenya and Romania on Thursday.
The teams in the other group (Section 1 Group B) are Mexico, India, Egypt and Poland.
Street Soccer NI, a charity working with the homeless and disadvantaged groups across Northern Ireland, has put the Northern Ireland teams together. The teams are being supported this year by Simon Community NI, Choice Housing, Irish FA Foundation and others.
Image: Action from the Team NI Women v Republic of Ireland Women clash at the Homeless World Cup in Seoul. Northern Ireland won the game 2-1 thanks to a last minute goal from Megan Neill.
