Charles brothers deliver as Northern Ireland beat Georgia in Nations League opener

Northern Ireland beat Georgia in their Nations League B Group 2 opener on Friday in Tbilisi after goalkeeper Pierce Charles saved a penalty and his older brother Shea Charles scored a 99th-minute winner, Northern Ireland's latest ever goal, to secure the landmark away victory.

Pierce Charles, a Queens Park Rangers loanee, denied a penalty from Ballon d'Or nominee Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and made several other notable saves as Georgia increased the tempo after half-time; the performance threatened to be the defining contribution on a night that marked Northern Ireland’s return to the second tier of the competition after six years away. The save also preserved what would have been the side’s first competitive clean sheet away from home since Pierce's 2024 international debut against Belarus.

The match finished as an away win for Northern Ireland, with around 60 visiting supporters in Tbilisi witnessing Shea Charles's stoppage-time strike after Pierce had been named player of the match for his goalkeeping display. Pierce, 21, credited pre-match research for his penalty save on Paris St-Germain star Kvaratskhelia from 12 yards.

Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill praised both players, saying: "The two boys were brilliant. 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."

Shea, who said of his brother: "I always back Pierce. He's done really well to save it and make a few other a really good saves. It's credit to him for the win," also reflected on the team reaction after the penalty: "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."

More and more used to the big stage, Shea Charles, 22, is a Fulham midfielder who moved from Southampton to Craven Cottage in the summer and has already faced Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea since that switch. The Manchester City youth product said: "It's helped me a lot. I remember when we played the Spain game [in June 2024], I said these are the kind of people you play against in the Premier League, so it's all experience. 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 flew home in the early hours of Saturday and will host Hungary at Windsor Park on Monday night in the second fixture of this four-game window; the match will be their first in Belfast since November and will be shown live across the BBC. "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," Shea said. "Everyone's buzzing and can't wait to get back to Belfast and just try and get the win there."