International Career
Dougan represented Northern Ireland at schoolboy, youth, amateur and B level as a wing-half and centre-defender. Dougan won 43 senior caps and scored 8 goals for Northern Ireland. He made his international debut on 8 June 1958 in 1–0 win against Czechoslovakia during the 1958 FIFA World Cup, his country's first-ever World Cup finals match. He made his final appearance for Northern Ireland on 14 February 1973 in a 1974 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Cyprus.
Together with Pat Jennings and Martin O'Neill, Dougan was also one of seven Northern Ireland internationals to feature in a Shamrock Rovers XI against Brazil in an exhibition match in July 1973. Dougan scored one of Rovers goals in the 4–3 defeat. The Rovers XI was actually an All-Ireland team, which also featured Republic of Ireland internationals. The Northern Ireland-based IFA had opposed the staging of the game, with the FAI also having reservations (according to Republic manager Liam Tuohy). Dougan, who had helped organise it, was subsequently alleged that his involvement in this game meant he never played for Northern Ireland again, though this overlooks the fact that he hadn't actually played in any of Northern Ireland's five previous games, had failed to score in any of the last 10 Northern Ireland games he had played in and, at 35, was in any case near the end of his career. Dougan continued to be an advocate of an All-Ireland soccer team, however.
Read more about this topic: Derek Dougan
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