1962 British Home Championship

The 1962 British Home Championship was a football competition played in the season preceding the 1962 FIFA World Cup in Chile, for which only England had qualified from the home nations. Although they were expected to do well in the World Cup, England suffered a poor home championship and were eventually dispatched from the World Cup by the eventual winner Brazil in the quarter finals.

The Home Championship began very well for Scotland, who in their first match scored a 6–1 defeat of Ireland in Belfast. England could not match this pace in their encounter with Wales who held them to a draw and became a contender for the title in the process. In the second game the Scots beat the Welsh 2–0 but England again failed to impress, again drawing 1–1 with the poor Irish. In the final matches, Wales beat Ireland comprehensively with Mel Charles taking all four goals and achieving second position, whilst England played Scotland knowing that only a win would get them the title. In the event, the impressive Scots ran out 2–0 winners, taking the championship and achieving a rare whitewash of the other three teams.

Table

Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
 Scotland 6 3 3 0 0 10 1 +9
 Wales 3 3 1 1 1 5 3 +2
 England 2 3 0 2 1 2 4 −2
 Ireland 1 3 0 1 2 2 11 −9

The points system worked as follows:

Results

7 October 1961
Ireland  1 – 6  Scotland Windsor Park, Belfast
Jimmy McLaughlin Alex Scott 3, Ralph Brand 2, Davie Wilson

14 October 1961
Wales  1 – 1  England Ninian Park, Cardiff
Graham Williams Bryan Douglas

22 November 1961
England  1 – 1  Ireland Wembley Stadium, London
Bobby Charlton Jimmy McIlroy

8 November 1961
Scotland  2 – 0  Wales Hampden Park, Glasgow
Ian St John 2  

11 April 1962
Wales  4 – 0  Ireland Ninian Park, Cardiff
Mel Charles 4  

14 April 1962
Scotland  2 – 0  England Hampden Park, Glasgow
Davie Wilson, Eric Caldow (P)  

References

  • Guy Oliver (1992). The Guinness Record of World Soccer. Guinness. ISBN 0-85112-954-4.