Hailstones fell from the Lyon sky on June 16, 2016, when Gareth McAuley scored one of the most famous goals in Northern Ireland history. Now, a decade later, Michael O'Neill's squad returns to France for the first time since that magical Euro 2016 campaign, facing Didier Deschamps' star-studded France in Lille on Monday—Les Blues' final warm-up before the World Cup.
A generation has passed, and with it, nearly an entire national team. Of the 23 players who travelled to France ten years ago, only one remains: Josh Magennis, now 35 and recently a free agent after leaving Exeter City. The memories, though, are vivid and unblemished. "I still remember from when we left the hotel in the Culloden and when we got the suits, you know, it was unbelievable," Magennis told BBC Sport NI. "It was just amazing from start to finish."
Magennis carries two indelible moments from that tournament. In injury time against Ukraine, urged to keep the ball in the corner, he instead darted into the box—his involvement leading to Niall McGinn's famous clincher. "We all went over and we were celebrating with our families, and I was looking at the boys' faces and I was like, 'we're actually going to win in a major tournament,'" he recalled. Then came the match against Germany, when goalkeeper Michael McGovern produced one of the best performances of his life. The travelling support, filling French fan zones entirely in green and white, cemented something larger: a collective triumph that still resonates.
Yet that same squad's absence speaks to something equally significant—a changing of the guard. Northern Ireland may have missed out on World Cup qualification after losing to Italy in their playoff, but with a young squad on an upward trajectory, the hopes are genuine and grounded. Against Guinea on Thursday, O'Neill named his youngest starting team since the end of World War Two, with an average age of just 22.1 years.
The influx is striking: Jamie Donley has emerged as a first-choice starter, while Arsenal teenager Ceadach O'Neill and Liverpool's Kieran Morrison made their debuts against Guinea. Everton's Braiden Graham received his first squad call-up. These are not journeymen waiting their turn; they are young talents stepping directly onto the international stage. Magennis understands his role now—not to hold the line, but to hand it over. "I was in that situation when I first came in the squad with Martin Patterson, David Healy and Kyle Lafferty. They were fantastic, and I'm going to do what they did with me," he said.
At 88 caps and counting, Magennis chases the landmark of 100, though he admits uncertainty about reaching it. What matters more, he suggests, is the trajectory of those who come after. "If you're good enough, it doesn't matter how old you are, so Michael will always give you that opportunity," he said. "They're absolutely loving it, they're full of enthusiasm and hopefully they've got a long time in this Northern Ireland squad to come."
As O'Neill's side faces France in Lille, they do so as custodians of something hard-won—not just the memory of 2016, but the obligation to build something new. The promised land of a major tournament may still lie ahead, but the path is being cleared by players young enough to reach it.