It was midway through the first half of Northern Ireland’s UEFA Nations League clash against Bulgaria last November. Michael O’Neill’s side were a goal to the good and starting to turn the screw.
The ball was sent back to goalkeeper Pierce Charles, who played an eye-of-the-needle pass into his brother, Shea. A ripple of applause followed and grew louder when the midfielder quickly fed an even more precise ball to Brodie Spencer, who crossed for Isaac Price to double the advantage. The goal was scored at Windsor Park, but it was made in Flixton.
Shea and Pierce, aged 21 and 19 respectively, were playing their first home match together for the national team. Shea was bringing up cap number 20, while it was only Pierce’s second having made his bow away to Belarus three days earlier. While the pair were born in Manchester to a Northern Irish mother, there was no doubt as to who they would represent internationally.
“We always promised our mum when we were younger that we’d play for Northern Ireland,” Shea said when the pair were interviewed by FIFA. “I know she’ll be very happy and she’ll be proud that we’re playing for Northern Ireland now.”
Their careers have been intertwined since the beginning. Shea enrolled in Manchester City’s youth set-up aged seven, with Pierce also going on to join the Premier League heavyweights before leaving for Sheffield Wednesday in 2021. A year later, with Shea still at City, he celebrated a very unique international debut.
“Being my first professional game, not just an international game, there were obviously a lot of nerves, but I was excited as well,” he said of his June 2022 debut against Greece. “It was at Windsor [Park], so obviously it was a good atmosphere and, although we lost the game, it was a great feeling to play in front of that crowd.”
A year later, Shea headed to Southampton where he played a vital role in the Saints regaining their Premier League status. He was allowed to leave on loan before the start of the current campaign, with Sheffield Wednesday his desired location which allowed the brothers to link up once again.
“We’ve got an apartment in Sheffield together, so it’s almost like living at home again,” Pierce added. “It’s close to the family in Manchester, so it’s perfect.”
In October of last year, Pierce was called up to join his brother in the Northern Ireland senior squad following a spate of injuries. O’Neill was impressed by the teen, saying he has “a lot of potential” and possesses “excellent” distribution. Much like Shea, his debut away to Belarus came before he’d played in a professional league match.
“It was quite nerve-wracking,” Pierce admitted. “I’d only played a handful of games at club level in the cups before stepping on to the international stage. But, the team around me helped me a lot and helped me through the game.
“It is quite a unique situation [to have won senior caps before playing a league match]. But, I’ve just got to wait for my opportunity and hopefully it comes sooner rather than later.”
After drawing 0-0 in Hungary, Pierce kept his place in the side for the visit of Bulgaria. He, unsurprisingly, cherishes that match, and in particular the role they both played in the second of five unanswered goals.
“Definitely, 100 per cent,” Pierce replied when asked if that goal was his favourite moment on a pitch with Shea. “It’s probably my favourite game in my short career so far; a 5-0 win with an unbelievable crowd.”
The Charles’ story entered a new chapter a month later. Despite the return of experienced shot-stopper Bailey Peacock-Farrell, who has won 48 caps, Pierce retained his spot in goal. He walked out for the Windsor Park bout against Belarus second in line, behind his brother who, at just 21, became the nation’s youngest-ever captain.
“It was obviously a very proud moment for me,” Shea said. “I didn’t really expect it at the time, but Jonny Evans had just retired and a few of us had been given a chance to go and captain our country.
“Having Pierce walk out behind me was special. I normally walk out near the back, so I wouldn’t normally be next to him. I was thinking that all my family, my mum, dad, brother, were all watching that and the rest of my family and friends.”
“It was such a proud moment,” Pierce continued. “When the atmosphere is so good around you, it’s almost like a dream. It’s one of them that you imagine when you’re 10 or 11-years-old and it all happens so fast, but eventually you get to that point and it all feels worth it in the end.”
Shea skippered his side to a 2-0 victory and a draw in Luxembourg three days later which saw Northern Ireland promoted to League B of the Nations League. Attention now turns to their qualifying campaign for the FIFA World Cup 26™ – where they will face Luxembourg, Germany and Slovakia – which begins in September. Next year will mark 40 years since the Northern Irish have travelled to the global finals, but the pair – together with a talented young squad – are determined to change that.
“I think that (qualifying) is the main goal,” Pierce stated. “Even these friendlies now (in which Northern Ireland drew with Switzerland and lost to Sweden), It’s all preparation towards the September camp when the World Cup qualifiers start. And I think that would just be something special for everyone in the whole country to celebrate if we were to do that.”
“Everyone gets on very well off the pitch – it’s so good,” Shea continued. “That shows on the pitch when we play together. When we’re scoring, everyone’s buzzing for each other. When it’s not going well, everyone’s sticking together and pushing forward and trying to fix the performance. We’ve played with these players all the way through and we’ve known them for a long time and it’s so enjoyable to play with them.
“We’ve played Luxembourg already in the Nations League and they gave us some problems and we beat them and drew with them. But they are a good, solid team. Germany is going to be a really tough game. The games are tough and hopefully we can go in there with confidence that we can beat them.”
The Walters and the Charltons tasted World Cup glory in 1954 and 1966 respectively, while the Koemans, the Laudrups, the Toures, the Ayews and more have all gone down as brothers who shared the global stage together. Will the Charleses add to that list next year?
“Hopefully, we’ll just see how it plays out,” Shea said. “But we hope that that will be a thing.”
