Home / Sports / 20-Year-Old Striker Donley Leads Northern Ireland to Crucial World Cup Qualifier Win
20-Year-Old Striker Donley Leads Northern Ireland to Crucial World Cup Qualifier Win
18 Nov
Summary
- Jamie Donley, 20, scores winning goal for Northern Ireland
- Donley's performance praised by manager Michael O'Neill
- Northern Ireland secures play-off spot despite loss of World Cup hopes
On November 18, 2025, Northern Ireland secured a 1-0 win over Luxembourg in their final World Cup Group A qualifier, thanks to a penalty goal from 20-year-old striker Jamie Donley. Despite their hopes of a top-two finish in the group being dashed by a loss to Slovakia last week, Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill was delighted with Donley's performance.
O'Neill praised Donley's "real quality," noting that the young player has different attributes from Northern Ireland's other strikers and could be the solution to their problem position. Donley's goal came in the 44th minute after Christopher Martins was penalized for a foul on Ciaron Brown. Earlier, Donley had also seen one of his strikes ruled out due to an offside call on Ethan Galbraith in the build-up.
