1965 British Home Championship
Encyclopedia
The 1965 British Home Championship
was an outright victory for the English
football
team in the run up to the 1966 FIFA World Cup
which was held in the country. England's preparation for the tournament had included a rare pre-season tour of the Americas, in which they had beaten the USA 10–0 in New York, but crashed to a 1–5 defeat by Brazil in Rio de Janeiro
and also lost to Argentina. The Home Championship was a close contest however and an unexpected Welsh defeat of Scotland as well as a drubbing of Northern Ireland in their final game helped them to an impressive second. In the end however, none of the other home nations would qualify for the world cup finals, which England would go on to win.
The tournament opened with a dramatic match between England and Ireland
, in which England went 4–0 up in the first half hour, but eventually were forced to hold on in the face of an Irish counter attack which reduced the deficit to 4–3. Fancied Scotland
meanwhile began badly with a loss to Wales
in Cardiff. In the second games, Ireland again ran a favourite close, eventually succumbing 3–2 to the Scots in a close game in which the lead changed several times. The Welsh too played well, only narrowly losing to eventual champions England. In the final match, the already last-placed Irish were demolished by a more driven Welsh team seeking a rare title, going down 5–0. In London, the Scots and the English fought out a 2–2 draw which put the championship out of Wales' reach by giving England five points.
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...
was an outright victory for the English
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...
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...
team in the run up to the 1966 FIFA World Cup
1966 FIFA World Cup
The 1966 FIFA World Cup, the eighth staging of the World Cup, was held in England from 11 July to 30 July. England beat West Germany 4–2 in the final, winning the World Cup for the first time, so becoming the first host to win the tournament since Italy in 1934.-Host selection:England was chosen as...
which was held in the country. England's preparation for the tournament had included a rare pre-season tour of the Americas, in which they had beaten the USA 10–0 in New York, but crashed to a 1–5 defeat by Brazil in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
and also lost to Argentina. The Home Championship was a close contest however and an unexpected Welsh defeat of Scotland as well as a drubbing of Northern Ireland in their final game helped them to an impressive second. In the end however, none of the other home nations would qualify for the world cup finals, which England would go on to win.
The tournament opened with a dramatic match between England and Ireland
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...
, in which England went 4–0 up in the first half hour, but eventually were forced to hold on in the face of an Irish counter attack which reduced the deficit to 4–3. Fancied Scotland
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...
meanwhile began badly with a loss to Wales
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...
in Cardiff. In the second games, Ireland again ran a favourite close, eventually succumbing 3–2 to the Scots in a close game in which the lead changed several times. The Welsh too played well, only narrowly losing to eventual champions England. In the final match, the already last-placed Irish were demolished by a more driven Welsh team seeking a rare title, going down 5–0. In London, the Scots and the English fought out a 2–2 draw which put the championship out of Wales' reach by giving England five points.
Table
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 6 | ||
| 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 4 | ||
| 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 0 | |
| 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 12 | −7 |
The points system worked as follows:
- 2 points for a win
- 1 point for a draw
Results
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