Northern Ireland began their Nations League B Group 2 campaign with a dramatic victory over Georgia in Tbilisi on Friday, as brothers Pierce and Shea Charles starred at opposite ends of the pitch. Shea, the Fulham midfielder, struck in the 99th minute to give Michael O’Neill’s side their first ever away win in the Nations League, in front of around 60 visiting supporters. It was Northern Ireland’s latest ever goal.
For much of the closing stages, it had looked as though goalkeeper Pierce would be the headline-maker. The 21-year-old saved a second-half penalty from Ballon d’Or nominee Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and made several other smart stops to keep Georgia out. At that point, a clean sheet looked set to be Northern Ireland’s first competitive one away from home since Charles’ 2024 international debut against Belarus, and a draw would have been a solid start on their return to the second tier after six years away. Georgia had raised the tempo after half-time.
O’Neill praised both brothers. “The two boys were brilliant,” he said. “I thought Pierce played extremely well, not just his distribution but he makes a big save in the second half as well. He gives you a great range of control because of his passing and everything around that. He gives the back three a lot of security because they know they can go back there. Shea was colossal, not just on the ball but I felt physically, his ability to step past people, the amount of time he was fouled and the referee for some reason didn’t want to produce a card despite the number of fouls on him. I thought he was fabulous.”
Pierce, who was named player of the match, credited pre-match research for his penalty save. Shea said he always backed his younger brother. “I always back Pierce. He’s done really well to save it and make a few other really good saves. It’s credit to him for the win,” Shea said. “I thought after the penalty save we really stuck together and got a bit of control of the game. I think that’s why we’ve come away with the win.”
Shea, 22, felt he should have scored “a couple more” before his late winner, but it was another commanding display in midfield. Since his summer move from Southampton to Fulham, he has already faced Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea. The Manchester City youth product believes international matches against the likes of Rodri, Sandro Tonali and Christian Eriksen have helped him adapt to the Premier League. “It’s helped me a lot,” he said, recalling the Spain game in June 2024 as an example of the level he now encounters. “I feel really good and I think our team as well is in a really good place. Everyone’s getting a lot of minutes at club level so when we’re coming here we’re only getting stronger every time.”
Northern Ireland have little time to rest. After flying home in the early hours of Saturday, they face Hungary at Windsor Park on Monday night in the second game of a four-game window. It will be their first match in Belfast since November and will be shown live across the BBC. Shea is keen to build on the away win. “I think it just sets us up really well for the Hungary game on Monday. This is really exciting and hopefully we can push on,” he said. “Everyone’s buzzing and can’t wait to get back to Belfast and just try and get the win there.”