1965–66 British Home Championship

1965–66 British Home Championship
Tournament details
Host country	England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales
Dates	2 October 1965 – 2 April 1966
Teams	4
Final positions
Champions	England
Runners-up	Ireland
Tournament statistics
Matches played	6
Goals scored	25 (4.17 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Willie Irvine (3)
	← 1964–65 1966–67 →

The 1965–66 British Home Championship was a cause of great excitement as it supplied spectators and commentators a view of England prior to their contesting the 1966 FIFA World Cup on home soil at which they were one of the favourites. None of the other Home Nations had qualified for the World Cup and so were determined to spoil England's preparation, leading to some very dramatic and heavily contested matches, particularly England's final game in Glasgow.

The England team began with a subdued goalless draw with the Welsh side whilst Ireland beat Scotland 3–2 in a close fought game at home. Both England and Scotland improved in their second games, England beating a tough Irish side at home 2–1, whilst the Scots put four goals past the struggling Welsh. Wales suffered further in their final match of the series, losing 1–4 at home to the Irish, who claimed a surprise second place in the tournament. England and Scotland then played a thrilling game in Glasgow, which England finally won 4–3 to take the title of British Champions, a title they would add to at the World Cup three months later.

Table

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
England (C)	3	2	1	0	6	4	+2	5
Ireland	3	2	0	1	8	5	+3	4
Scotland	3	1	0	2	9	8	+1	2
Wales	3	0	1	2	2	8	−6	1

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
Rules for classification: 1) points. The points system worked as follows: 2 points for a win and 1 point for a draw.
(C) Champions

Results

2 October 1965

Ireland	3–2	Scotland
Dougan 42' Crossan 60' Irvine 89'		Gilzean 17', 81'

Windsor Park, Belfast

Attendance: 50,000

Referee: Jack Taylor (England)

2 October 1965

Wales	0–0	England

Ninian Park, Cardiff

Attendance: 30,000

Referee: Archibald Webster (Scotland)

24 November 1965

Scotland	4–1	Wales
Murdoch 1', 22' Henderson 15' Greig 86'		Allchurch 14'

Hampden Park, Glasgow

Attendance: 49,888

Referee: Jim Finney (England)

10 November 1965

England	2–1	Ireland
Baker 19' Peacock 73'		Irvine 21'

Wembley Stadium, London

Attendance: 70,000

Referee: Leo Callaghan (Wales)

30 March 1966

Wales	1–4	Ireland
Davies 74'		Irvine 2' Wilson 42' Welsh 53' Harvey 55'

Ninian Park, Cardiff

Attendance: 12,860

Referee: Jim Finney (England)

2 April 1966

Scotland	3–4	England
Law 41' Johnstone 62', 81'		Hurst 18' Hunt 34', 47' Charlton 73'

Hampden Park, Glasgow

Attendance: 123,052

Referee: Henri Faucheux (France)

References

Guy Oliver (1992). The Guinness Record of World Soccer. Guinness. ISBN 0-85112-954-4.

External links

Full Results and Line-ups

v t e British Home Championship
Football in the United Kingdom: England Northern Ireland Scotland Wales
Competitors	England Ireland / Northern Ireland Scotland Wales
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Rous Cup Nations Cup Matches outside the British Home Championship