On this day: George Best, Pat Jennings make international debuts

There is little doubt that George Best and Pat Jennings are two of the finest footballers to have been born in Northern Ireland.

The colourful Best is widely regarded to have been one of the best players to have ever laced up a pair of boots, while in his prime, there were few better goalkeepers in the world than Jennings.

It was on this day back in 1964 that the pair made their senior international debuts in a Home Championship encounter against Wales at Swansea City's Vetch Field.

A fresh-faced Best, aged 17, had only made his debut for Manchester United seven months earlier, with 18-year-old Jennings in the middle of his first season between the posts for Watford.

Speaking about his first call-up alongside Best to the Belfast Telegraph last year, Jennings recalled: "I didn't know anything about George at that stage other than what I'd read about him in the papers.

"He'd just broken into the Manchester United team and was doing well, by all accounts.

"We ended up as roommates. It was probably a case of putting the two young lads together and even in the couple of training sessions we had before the game, I could tell that he was a special talent."

The teenagers impressed during the 3-2 victory over the Welsh, but their international careers would end up taking very different paths.

Jennings remains his country's record appearance holder on 119, which is some way ahead of Best, who only turned out for Norn Iron 37 times, scoring nine goals.

Best's well-publicised lifestyle off the pitch did not help matters and to this day he remains arguably the greatest player to have never played in a World Cup.

"George obviously only played 37 times for Northern Ireland and looking back that's my one regret for George - that he only made those 37 appearance and never played in a World Cup.

"We were hoping that he was going to do it in 1982, but it didn't work out."

In contrast to his friend, Jennings was a part of the Northern Ireland squads that went to World Cups in 1982 and 1986, when he was 41 years old.