Northern Ireland schedules Guinea friendly ahead of France clash in 2026

Northern Ireland will face Guinea in Spain on June 4, 2026, before playing France four days later in Lille.

Upcoming friendlies Northern Ireland is set to play Guinea in an international friendly on Thursday, June 4, 2026, at the Estadio Ciudad de La Linea in the Province of Cadiz, with the exact kick-off time to be announced later. This match is the first of two planned post-season fixtures. Following this, the team will go up against France, led by Kylian Mbappé, in a World Cup send-off game in Lille on June 8, 2026. ## Recent World Cup hopes Northern Ireland missed its chance to qualify for the 2026 World Cup after a 2-0 loss to Italy in the play-off semi-final held in Bergamo. Guinea also failed to advance to the tournament, finishing fourth in its qualifying group, ending hopes of competing in the USA, Canada, and Mexico. ## Guinea's football journey Despite reaching the quarter-finals at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, Guinea did not qualify for the most recent edition held in December. The team, currently ranked 80th in the FIFA world rankings, features Serhou Guirassy, the Borussia Dortmund striker who has netted 11 goals in 28 appearances for Guinea. ## Northern Ireland's African opponents Northern Ireland has faced African teams in four prior matches, with the most recent being a 1-1 draw against Morocco at Windsor Park in 2010. One of the most notable encounters took place at the 1986 World Cup, where Norman Whiteside scored in a 1-1 tie with Algeria. ## Future fixtures After the June friendlies, Northern Ireland will return to action in September with Nations League games, including an away match in Georgia and a home fixture against Hungary.