Northern Ireland marked their return to Nations League B with a 1-0 win over Georgia in Tbilisi.
Shea Charles’ 98th-minute winner gave Michael O’Neill’s side a first ever win at this level of the competition with the midfielder poking home past Liverpool goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili.
The late goal came only after Charles’ younger brother Pierce had saved Paris St-Germain star Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s second-half penalty.
The Queens Park Rangers loanee also denied Otar Kiteishvili and Georges Mikautadze with second-half saves to preserve what was Northern Ireland’s first competitive clean sheet since October 2024.
The visitors were playing at this level of the competition for the first time in six years after 2024 promotion from League C in a game that Uefa ordered to be played behind closed doors after crowd trouble at Georgia’s home fixture with Armenia in March 2025.
However, it was then decided that around 60 Northern Ireland fans who had booked tickets before the announcement of the sanctions were to be admitted. Then it was said that thousands of Georgian schoolchildren could also attend.
If that made for a strange atmosphere at the Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena, the game certainly got off to a slow start.
Northern Ireland were marginally the better side in the first half and Shea Charles felt he should have done better with a header put wide from an Isaac Price cross.
The closest either side came in the opening 45 minutes, however, was when Giorgi Kvernadze’s header was cleared off the line by Trai Hume.
Georgia lifted the tempo considerably to start a much-improved second half and eight minutes after the restart Pierce Charles made a fantastic save after half-time replacement Giorgi Chakvetadze picked out Mikautadze unmarked in the box.
And the Northern Ireland goalkeeper was to the fore again 10 minutes later when the video assistant referee (VAR) judged Daniel Ballard had pulled Luka Lochoshvili’s shirt in the box.
This time the 21-year-old dived low to his left to parry away Kvaratskhelia’s poor penalty.
Opposing goalkeeper Mamardashvili made a smart stop himself to deny Shea Charles from close range in the 75th minute, while the Northern Ireland midfielder dragged another effort wide with five minutes to go.
It was a case of fourth time lucky for the Fulham midfielder who, having always looked his side’s most dangerous player, found the net already well beyond the signalled six minutes of added time.
A wait for another VAR check only added to the late drama as Northern Ireland made the best possible start to this four-game window.
O’Neill’s side are next in action back in Belfast against Hungary on Monday night (19:45 BST).
Analysis: Charles brothers steal show in away-day win
Reflecting on the summer’s World Cup, where he was part of Fifa’s Technical Study Group, O’Neill felt it was noteworthy how many games were decided by individual brilliance.
If ever there was a game needed such a moment, PSG superstar Kvaratskhelia would of course have been the player expected to provide it. Roaming into various pockets of space, he was kept largely quiet through the first half.
The 25-year-old Ballon d’Or nominee was much more prominent after the break, but still missed the mark when he sent a tame penalty towards Pierce Charles’ with 25 minutes to go.
Instead, it was Northern Ireland’s most expensive footballer who stepped up to provide the winner with O’Neill calling his performance “colossal”.
The second international goal from Fulham’s £30m summer signing will win no prizes for aesthetics, but the 22-year-old again was the dominant figure for his side in the middle of the park while also looking the most likely to score throughout.
O’Neill will also be pleased with his side’s defensive application as a whole.
While Pierce Charles made two strong saves beyond his penalty stop, the away clean sheet was earned by a trio of centre-backs who had not played together before in Daniel Ballard, Ciaron Brown and Tom Atcheson.
There seems sure to be more change to that unit for Hungary on Monday after Ballard suffered a late injury, but this was a particularly solid start to the Nations League campaign.