1961 British Home Championship
Encyclopedia
The 1961 British Home Championship
international football
tournament saw a series of high scoring games, with 40 goals scored in just six matches - a ratio of 6.66 goals per game. England
took the British title after a final match at Wembley in which they put nine goals past Scotland
, who returned with three of their own. Teams in this period frequently fielded as many as five strikers, hoping to outscore opponents rather than rely on heavy defence . This tactic paid dividends, particularly for England, whose haul of 19 included seven for Jimmy Greaves
, whilst both Bobby Charlton
and Bobby Smith each scored in each of England's three games.
England had begun the tournament well, winning 5–2 against Ireland
in Belfast, whilst the Welsh
beat a tough Scottish side at home. Welsh hopes of tournament success were disabused in their second match, where England took them apart 5–1, whilst the Northern Irish were again on the reverse of a heavy defeat, losing 5–2 in Glasgow against Scotland. In the tournament's final games, Wales beat Northern Ireland 5–1 to claim second spot, leading to England and Scotland's dramatic finale.
Players at the tournament included a medley of stars from the 1950s, and young players who would take the 1960s by storm. This line-up included Danny Blanchflower
and Peter McParland
for Ireland, Ivor Allchurch
and John Charles
for Wales, Denis Law
and Dave Mackay for Scotland and an England team including Bobby Charlton
, Johnny Haynes
, Jimmy Greaves
and Bobby Robson
, some of whom would later win the 1966 FIFA World Cup
.
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...
international 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 saw a series of high scoring games, with 40 goals scored in just six matches - a ratio of 6.66 goals per game. 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...
took the British title after a final match at Wembley in which they put nine goals past 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...
, who returned with three of their own. Teams in this period frequently fielded as many as five strikers, hoping to outscore opponents rather than rely on heavy defence . This tactic paid dividends, particularly for England, whose haul of 19 included seven for Jimmy Greaves
Jimmy Greaves
James Peter 'Jimmy' Greaves is an English former football player, England's third highest international goalscorer, the highest goalscorer in the history of Tottenham Hotspur football club, the highest goalscorer in the history of English top flight football and more recently a television pundit -...
, whilst both Bobby Charlton
Bobby Charlton
Sir Robert "Bobby" Charlton CBE is an English former professional football player, a member of the England team who won the World Cup and Ballon d'Or for European Footballer of the Year in 1966...
and Bobby Smith each scored in each of England's three games.
England had begun the tournament well, winning 5–2 against 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 Belfast, whilst 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...
beat a tough Scottish side at home. Welsh hopes of tournament success were disabused in their second match, where England took them apart 5–1, whilst the Northern Irish were again on the reverse of a heavy defeat, losing 5–2 in Glasgow against Scotland. In the tournament's final games, Wales beat Northern Ireland 5–1 to claim second spot, leading to England and Scotland's dramatic finale.
Players at the tournament included a medley of stars from the 1950s, and young players who would take the 1960s by storm. This line-up included Danny Blanchflower
Danny Blanchflower
Robert Dennis "Danny" Blanchflower was a former Northern Ireland international footballer and football manager, and journalist who captained Tottenham Hotspur F.C. during its double-winning season of 1961. He was ranked as the greatest player in Spurs history by The Times in 2009...
and Peter McParland
Peter McParland
Peter James McParland, MBE is a former professional footballer.-Dundalk & Aston Villa:...
for Ireland, Ivor Allchurch
Ivor Allchurch
Ivor John Allchurch MBE was a Welsh international footballer. His brother was Len Allchurch.Known as 'The Golden Boy' of Welsh football, Allchurch played for Swansea Town, Newcastle United and Cardiff City, where he amassed 691 games scoring 249 goals. His record of 68 caps for Wales stood until...
and 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...
for Wales, Denis Law
Denis Law
Denis Law is a retired Scottish football player, who enjoyed a long and successful career as a striker from the 1950s to the 1970s....
and Dave Mackay for Scotland and an England team including Bobby Charlton
Bobby Charlton
Sir Robert "Bobby" Charlton CBE is an English former professional football player, a member of the England team who won the World Cup and Ballon d'Or for European Footballer of the Year in 1966...
, 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...
, Jimmy Greaves
Jimmy Greaves
James Peter 'Jimmy' Greaves is an English former football player, England's third highest international goalscorer, the highest goalscorer in the history of Tottenham Hotspur football club, the highest goalscorer in the history of English top flight football and more recently a television pundit -...
and Bobby Robson
Bobby Robson
Sir Robert William "Bobby" Robson, CBE was an English footballer and manager, who coached seven European clubs and the England national team during his career....
, some of whom would later win 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...
.
Table
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 6 | ||
| 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 6 | ||
| 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 13 | −5 | |
| 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 15 | −10 |
The points system worked as follows:
- 2 points for a win
- 1 point for a draw
Results
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