As the elder brother it was John who headed south first, in 1883 and aged just twenty as one of the first Scots to do so. Archie followed in 1885 at much the same age, his first English club being Stanley, later Liverpool Stanley. After two seasons at Bolton's Great Lever as the club imploded financially John had moved onto Preston North End, where in 1888, after short stays at Derby and Bolton Wanderers Archie joined him. But again it was to be brief. He spent the 1888-89 season on the fringes at Aston Villa, before finally settling down at one club. It was again Derby but with a difference. The much steadier John was by then there, he leading line with his younger brother, who to begin with had also been a forward, fitting in behind at halfback, often at Scottish centre-half, if a somewhat robust one.

Over the next fourteen seasons Archie Goodall would make 380 League appearances for The Rams, 424 in all, as John over a decade made 211. And it was in 1899, as John's career began to wind down with fourteen England caps behind him, that his brother would, on a rule change, earn his first cap, but in beating Wales for Ireland. At that point they became the first siblings to play international football for different countries.  

However, the glow of victory would not last long. In the Irish team again two weeks later and against Scotland at Celtic Park the Irish were 5-0 down at half-time, 9-1 down at full-time. Yet things would improve, albeit slowly, so that by 1902 it was 1-5 against the land of his upbringing, in a team that included not just one Scot but three. Alongside Goodall Bob Milne was at left-half and William Gibson captained from left-back. And it would get better still. In 1903 Goodall was one of the group of Irish players that shared the Home Championship for the first time, in the process losing to England but defeating Scotland for the first time.    

Archie Goodall would play his last international game in 1904, in victory as centre-forward against Wales. In doing so he became and remains at thirty-nine the oldest player to represent Ireland as well as being its oldest goal-scorer. By then he had left Derby and moved on to Glossop via Plymouth Argyle. Indeed he would also manage Glossop for the 1904-5 season taking it to mid-table after re-election. Then there was a last fling as a player aged forty-one at Wolves before other careers beckoned, both parallel and new.