The 1954 British Home Championship was an international football tournament played between the British Home Nations during the 1953–54 season which also provided the home nations qualifying tournament for the 1954 FIFA World Cup. Both England and Scotland qualified as first and second placed teams respectively, but both were subsequently knocked out by Uruguay. Scotland lost 7–0 to the South Americans in a rout during the group stages whilst England went down 4–2 to them in a hard-fought quarter final. The eventual world cup finalists, Hungary also shocked the British Isles during the season with two victories over England. The first was England's first home defeat to a foreign football team ever when Hungary won 6–3 at Wembley in November. The game was witnessed by a crowd of 100,000 amid much media attention and the scale of the defeat had long-reaching effects on football throughout Britain. Six months later and less than a month before the World Cup in Switzerland, the England team attempted to restore lost pride with a return match in Budapest. The resulting defeat remains the worst in English footballing history, as the team crashed 7–1 to their skilled opponents.
The scale of these defeats is evidenced by England's dominance of the Home Championship, winning victories over the other three nations easily and taking first place. Scotland struggled against Wales following early victory in Ireland and then lost to England, benefitting from an Irish victory over Wales in Wrexham to take second.
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 4 | +7 |
| Scotland | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 8 | 0 |
| Ireland | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 7 | −3 |
| Wales | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 9 | −4 |
The points system worked as follows:
| 3 October 1953 |
Ireland | 1 – 3 | Scotland | Windsor Park, Belfast Referee: Arthur Edward Ellis (England) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lockhart 72' (pen.) | Fleming 47', 69' Henderson 89' |
| 10 October 1953 |
Wales | 1 – 4 | England | Ninian Park, Cardiff Referee: Charles Edward Faultless (Scotland) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allchurch 22' | Wilshaw 45', 49' Lofthouse 52', 53' |
| 4 November 1953 |
Scotland | 3 – 3 | Wales | Hampden Park, Glasgow Referee: Thomas Mitchell (Ireland) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brown 19' Johnstone 42' Reilly 58' |
Charles 49', 88' Allchurch 73' |
| 11 November 1953 |
England | 3 – 1 | Ireland | Goodison Park, Liverpool Referee: Robert Smith (Wales) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hassall 10', 60' Lofthouse 75' |
McMorran 54' |
| 31 March 1954 |
Wales | 1 – 2 | Ireland | Racecourse Ground, Wrexham Referee: Charles Edward Faultless (Scotland) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charles 80' | McParland 1', 52' |
| 3 April 1954 |
Scotland | 2 – 4 | England | Hampden Park, Glasgow Referee: Thomas Mitchell (Ireland) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brown 7' Ormond 89' |
Broadis 13' Nicholls 50' Allen 68' Mullen 83' |
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