Former One Direction star Niall Horan says he will support Scotland at World Cup

Niall Horan has said he is supporting Scotland at the World Cup (Ian West/PA)

Westmeath native and former One Direction star Niall Horan has said he will be supporting Scotland at this year’s World Cup, as Ireland failed to qualify.

Horan, 32, who released his fourth studio album Dinner Party on Friday, was speaking ahead of his performance at Capital’s Summertime Ball on Saturday, during which he performed his old boyband’s song Steal My Girl.

Asked who he would support at the World Cup in the US, Mexico and Canada, which begins on Thursday, Horan told the Press Association: “I think I’m going to go with the Scottish, they’re our Celtic brothers, you know, I’m going to stick with them.”

He described the day festival, which takes place annually at Wembley Stadium, as “a big part of my career for the last 15 years”.

Horan added: “Any opportunity I get to play at Jingle Bell Balls or Summertime Balls, it’s always amazing, and there’s not many companies that can pull off a gig of this size with the line-up that we have, so it’s a pleasure to be here.”

One Direction formed in 2010, when they were put together by Simon Cowell on ITV talent show The X Factor.

One of the group’s members, Liam Payne, died after falling from a hotel balcony in Argentina in 2024, and the boyband’s surviving members, Horan, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik, reunited at his funeral with former manager, Cowell, in November that year.

They had four UK number one singles and four UK number one albums, and are best known for songs such as Story Of My Life, What Makes You Beautiful and Best Song Ever.

Horan’s solo career was launched after he and his fellow One Direction band members went on hiatus in 2016, almost a year after Malik left the group.

He released his debut solo album, Flicker, in 2017, and the albums Heartbreak Weather in 2020 and The Show in 2023.