1955 British Home Championship
Encyclopedia
The 1955 British Home Championship
was a football
tournament played between the British Home Nations
during the 1954–55 football season. It was won by a strong England
side which included players such as Johnny Haynes
and Nat Lofthouse
as well as future manager Don Revie
. England and Scotland
, had competed at the 1954 FIFA World Cup
in the summer before the tournament began and both teams had struggled, eventually being knocked out by Uruguay
, Scotland by a 7–0 margin.
England began the tournament as favourites and proved their status with a simple victory over Ireland
in their first match. Scotland matched this with a difficult win over Wales
in their match, although only by one goal to nil. Both Wales and Ireland improved in their second matches, the Irish holding Scotland to a 2–2 draw whilst the Welsh almost achieved the same against England in London
, eventually losing 3–2. The final games were played at the conclusion of the domestic season, and saw Ireland fall to the Welsh under their inspirational goalscorer John Charles
, who netted a hat trick
in a 3–2 victory. England had by this time taken the championship with a comprehensive demoilition of Scotland 7–2 in their final match, Dennis Wilshaw
claiming four of the goals.
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 a 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 played between the British Home Nations
Home Nations
Home Nations is a collective term with one of two meanings depending on the context. Politically, it means the nations of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom...
during the 1954–55 football season. It was won by a strong England
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...
side which included players such as Johnny Haynes
Johnny Haynes
John Norman "Johnny" Haynes was an English footballer, best known for his 18 years at Fulham. He played a club-record 658 games and scored 158 goals for the club between 1952 and 1970...
and Nat Lofthouse
Nat Lofthouse
Nathaniel "Nat" Lofthouse, OBE was an English professional footballer who played for Bolton Wanderers for his whole career...
as well as future manager Don Revie
Don Revie
Donald George 'Don' Revie, OBE, , was an English footballer who played for Leicester City, Hull City, Sunderland, Manchester City and Leeds United as a deep-lying centre forward. After managing Leeds United he managed England from 1974 until 1977...
. England and 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...
, had competed at the 1954 FIFA World Cup
1954 FIFA World Cup
The 1954 FIFA World Cup, the fifth staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in Switzerland from 16 June to 4 July. Switzerland was chosen as hosts in July 1946. The tournament set a number of all-time records for goal-scoring, including the highest average goals scored per game...
in the summer before the tournament began and both teams had struggled, eventually being knocked out by Uruguay
Uruguay national football team
The Uruguayan national football team represents Uruguay in international association football and is controlled by the Uruguayan Football Association, the governing body for football in Uruguay. The current head coach is Óscar Tabárez...
, Scotland by a 7–0 margin.
England began the tournament as favourites and proved their status with a simple victory over 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 their first match. Scotland matched this with a difficult win over 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 their match, although only by one goal to nil. Both Wales and Ireland improved in their second matches, the Irish holding Scotland to a 2–2 draw whilst the Welsh almost achieved the same against England in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, eventually losing 3–2. The final games were played at the conclusion of the domestic season, and saw Ireland fall to the Welsh under their inspirational goalscorer John Charles
John Charles
William John Charles, CBE , commonly known as John Charles, was a Welsh international footballer best remembered for spells with Leeds United and Juventus. Rated by many as the greatest all-round footballer ever to come from Wales, he was equally adept at centre-forward or centre-back...
, who netted a hat trick
Hat Trick
Hat trick, hat-trick or hattrick may refer to:* hat-trick — in various sports, achieving three goals, wickets, etc. in a single match* Hattrick — online football management game** Hattrick Limited — producers of this game...
in a 3–2 victory. England had by this time taken the championship with a comprehensive demoilition of Scotland 7–2 in their final match, Dennis Wilshaw
Dennis Wilshaw
Dennis James Wilshaw was an English international footballer. He scored 172 goals in 379 appearances in the Football League, and also scored ten goals in twelve appearances for the England national team.-Playing style:...
claiming four of the goals.
Table
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 4 | ||
| 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 9 | −4 | |
| 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 6 | −1 | |
| 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7 | −3 |
The points system worked as follows:
- 2 points for a win
- 1 point for a draw
Results
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