However, the towering Swiss international, who never scored a goal for any of his clubs in England, was finally replaced by Jamie Carragher, who had previously been a right-back. 4th. Richard Shaw (252) - played for Port Vale and Notts County between 1884 and 1890. He appeared in 92 English games and scored 12 goals.
Shaw's career was ended when he broke his leg during a match against Northampton Town on 3 October 1890. The injury was so severe that it required amputation above the knee. 5th. Harold Barton (253) - played for Southampton and Bournemouth between 1919 and 1936. He appeared in 209 English games and scored 7 goals.
Barton failed to score during his time at Southampton, but helped the team win the First Division title in 1932–33. However, he did not play in any of their matches during that season as he was suspended after being sent off in a 1-1 draw with Leeds United on 15 September 1933. He later said that he had been suffering from fever and depression at the time of the game and did not feel like playing.
He died in August 1998 at the age of 83.
6th. Paul McGrath (254) - plays as a centre-back for Manchester United and is one of the most decorated Irish players in history.
George Best never played in a World Cup, and when Northern Ireland qualified in 1982, he was 36 years old. However, the team of 22 hand-picked by Billy Bingham did not contain the country's best player. Northern Ireland won their group by defeating the hosts, going undefeated throughout qualification and allowing only one goal (to Honduras). In the first round they defeated Australia, who had beaten them in 1978, and then drew 1-1 with Sweden after leading through George Best. The loss eliminated Northern Ireland from contention.
Best started his career at Manchester United where he became one of the world's most talented players in the 1960s. In five seasons he scored 45 goals and provided 46 assists. He also won two European Championships with the Red Devils. In 1974 he was named Footballer of the Year after scoring 31 goals for his country.
However, alcoholism ended his career early at the age of 26. Best died in an auto accident in August 1967, just months after winning his second European Championship with Northern Ireland. He is still considered one of the greatest players in international football history. The last game he participated in was against Sweden on June 8, 1982. He was diagnosed with leukemia three weeks later.
After retirement, Best served as assistant manager to former teammate Tommy Docherty at Scottish club Dundee. When Docherty was appointed manager of Northern Ireland in 1985, he asked Best to join him as his assistant.
Four goals have been scored by an Irish international player in a single match. On February 25th, 1934, Paddy Moore became the first player to accomplish this feat in a qualification match for the 1934 World Cup Finals versus Belgium. The game ended in a 6-6 draw.
Moore got his chance when senior players were dropped from the team due to a political row with Britain over payments to Irish players. He played in all six matches as Ireland finished second in its group to qualify for the finals.
The next year, he scored twice in a 5-1 win over Norway at the 1934 World Cup qualifiers. This made him the first player to score multiple goals in a single match for Ireland. However, none of these games counted towards Ireland's final ranking so they didn't award him any medals then.
After retiring from playing football, he went on to become one of the most successful managers in the history of the game, winning two league titles with Dundalk and one with Shamrock Rovers. He also managed the Irish national team between 1952 and 1960. He died in 1969 at the age of 48.
As for the first goal scored by an Irish player in an official FIFA match, it was scored by Pat Jennings in the third minute of injury time against South Africa on June 9th, 1984.
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