Former Prime Minister Tony Blair was said to be gutted after the gaffe, which is detailed in newly unsealed documents from the National Archives of Ireland in Dublin

Former British prime minister Tony Blair once suggested that ­nationalists in Northern Ireland may support England in the World Cup after Ireland were knocked out, according to reports on a 2002 meeting.

Blair asked if Irish nationalists would support England in World Cup - Sir Tony Blair appeared tired while making the remark in 2002.

Tony Blair once suggested that nationalists in Northern Ireland may support England in the World Cup after Ireland was knocked out, according to reports on a 2002 meeting. The former prime minister and architect of the Belfast Agreement was said to have been “crestfallen” after the gaffe,