1951 British Home Championship
Encyclopedia
The 1951 British Home Championship
football
tournament was the Home Nations follow-up to England's
disastrous appearance at their first World Cup, the 1950 FIFA World Cup
in Brazil
. There the much vaunted English had been beaten by the USA
and Spain
. The Scots
had refused to go, and the Welsh
and the Irish
had failed to qualify. The Scots went on to capitalise on the demoralised English by taking the Home Championship away from them too.
The tournament began with wins for the favourites away from home, England beating the Irish and Scotland the Welsh. In the second matches, this dominance was emphasised with powerful wins by England in Sunderland over the Welsh and Scotland who beat the Irish 6–1 including four goals from Billy Steel
. In the final game at Wembley Stadium, a tense and furious game brought the trophy to Scotland, who finished 3–2 winners. Wales had already beaten Ireland to claim third spot.
The points system worked as follows:
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British Home Championship
The British Home Championship was an annual football competition contested between the United Kingdom's four national teams, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland from the 1883–84 season until the 1983–84...
football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
tournament was the Home Nations follow-up to England's
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
disastrous appearance at their first World Cup, the 1950 FIFA World Cup
1950 FIFA World Cup
The 1950 FIFA World Cup, held in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July, was the fourth FIFA World Cup. It was the first World Cup since 1938, the planned 1942 and 1946 competitions having been canceled owing to World War II...
in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. There the much vaunted English had been beaten by the USA
United States men's national soccer team
The United States men's national soccer team represents the United States in international association football competitions. It is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF...
and Spain
Spain national football team
The Spain national football team represents Spain in international association football and is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Spain. The current head coach is Vicente del Bosque...
. The Scots
Scotland national football team
The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...
had refused to go, and the Welsh
Wales national football team
The Wales national football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales , the governing body for football in Wales, and the third oldest national football association in the world. The team have only qualified for a major international...
and the Irish
Northern Ireland national football team
The Northern Ireland national football team represents Northern Ireland in international association football. Before 1921 all of Ireland was represented by a single side, the Ireland national football team, organised by the Irish Football Association...
had failed to qualify. The Scots went on to capitalise on the demoralised English by taking the Home Championship away from them too.
The tournament began with wins for the favourites away from home, England beating the Irish and Scotland the Welsh. In the second matches, this dominance was emphasised with powerful wins by England in Sunderland over the Welsh and Scotland who beat the Irish 6–1 including four goals from Billy Steel
Billy Steel
Billy Steel was a Scottish footballer who played for St. Mirren, Morton, Derby County, Dundee and the Scotland national team....
. In the final game at Wembley Stadium, a tense and furious game brought the trophy to Scotland, who finished 3–2 winners. Wales had already beaten Ireland to claim third spot.
Table
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 4 | ||
| 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 6 | ||
| 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 8 | −3 | |
| 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 12 | −9 |
The points system worked as follows:
- 2 points for a win
- 1 point for a draw
Results
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