After enjoying a 1-0 home win against Uruguay in May 1990, the Irish saw themselves in a tricky Euro 92 qualifying group that consisted of Yugoslavia, Austria, Denmark and the minnows, Faroe Islands. They got off to a decent start, two draws against so called tougher opposition, Denmark and Austria was followed by an expected defeat in Belfast against the toughest side in the section, Yugoslavia. They travelled to Belgrade in March 1991 to suffer a 4-1 thrashing against Yugoslavia which was then followed by an even worse result, a humiliating 1-1 draw at home in Belfast against the Faroe Islands. In the return fixture in September, Northern Ireland thrashed the Faroe Islands 5-0 as Colin Clarke scored a hat trick to make him the nations top ever goal scorer. They enjoyed a victory in Belfast the following month against Austria as Kingsley Black and Ian Dowie got on the score sheet and it earned them a respectable third place finish in the group.
The World cup 1994 qualifying group once again consisted of the European Champions Denmark, Spain, Republic of Ireland, Lithuania, Latvia and Albania in what was a large group. They started off their qualification campaign with two home draws against Lithuania and Spain and an expected victory against Albania. They suffered defeat in Belfast against Denmark before enjoying an away win against Albania. Their following two matches, against Spain and Republic of Ireland finished in away defeats for the Irish. Northern Ireland finished the campaign off in fine style, enjoying three consecutive victories against Lithuania and at home and away against Latvia. Their last match of the campaign was a reasonable 0-0 draw against the Republic of Ireland in November 1993.
Northern Ireland found themselves in a Euro 96 qualifying group consisting of Portugal, Austria, republic of Ireland and the tiny Liechtenstein, believing they had a chance of qualification. They started off with two wins out of a possible three, against Liechtenstein and Austria. Their campaign was already over after suffering a 4-0 home defeat in Belfast against the Republic of Ireland in March 1995. They finished their campaign off with two emphatic victories over Liechtenstein and Austria I n November 1995, however it proved too little too late as they finished the campaign off in a respectable third position in the group.