1928 British Home Championship

The 1928 British Home Championship was an international football tournament played during the 1927–28 season between the British Home Nations. The competition was won by Wales who did not lose a game and only dropped a single point during the tournament. This championship is most notable for what became known as the "Wembley Wizards" when a scratch Scottish team crushed a highly-regarded England side 5–1 at the English national stadium of Wembley.

England had endured a dreadful run of form in the years following the First World War, only managing to even share the trophy once in the previous eight years. This trend reached its nadir in 1928, as they began the campaign with a 2–0 defeat to Ireland in Belfast. Wales and Scotland both began well, with a competitive 2–2 draw in Wrexham, Wales following this by defeating England 2–1 in Burnley to take the lead in the competition, a position they made unassailable by beating Ireland by the same scoreline in their final match. Ireland nevertheless still claimed second place by beating the Scots by a single goal in their own final match. In the last game, between England and Scotland at Wembley, Scotland decimated England with powerful attacking football from a team only recently brought together following the defeat to Ireland.

Table

Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
 Wales 5 3 2 1 0 6 4 +2
 Ireland 4 3 2 0 1 4 2 +2
 Scotland 3 3 1 1 1 7 4 +3
 England 0 3 0 0 3 2 9 −7

The points system worked as follows:

Results

22 October 1927
Ireland  2 – 0  England Windsor Park, Belfast
Jackie Mahood, Own Goal  

29 October 1927
Wales  2 – 2  Scotland Racecourse Ground, Wrexham
Ernie Curtis, Jimmy Gibson (Own Goal) Hugh Gallacher, John Hutton (P)

28 November 1927
England  1 – 2  Wales Turf Moor, Burnley
Own Goal Wilf Lewis, Own Goal

4 February 1928
Ireland  1 – 2  Wales Windsor Park, Belfast
Jimmy Chambers Wilf Lewis, Willie Davies

25 February 1928
Scotland  0 – 1  Ireland Firhill Park, Glasgow
  Jimmy Chambers

31 March 1928
12:30
England  1 – 5  Scotland Wembley Stadium, London
Attendance: 80,868
Referee: Willie Bell ( Scotland)
Bob Kelly  89' Alex Jackson  3'  65'  85'
Alex James  44'  74'

References