1981–82 British Home Championship

The 1981-82 British Home Championship between the British Home Nations was won by a dominant England football team which won all three of its matches as the tournament returned after being abandoned in 1981 due to civil disturbances in Northern Ireland. The championship was eagerly awaited because for the first time since 1958, three of the Home Nations were featuring in a World Cup; the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain and this was a chance to see them in competitive action before the World Cup began. The end-of-season format that had been used throughout the 1970s was dropped as it was felt three games in eight days was too intense at the end of a season and prior to a World Cup. The English began impressively with a heavy victory over Northern Ireland at home, followed by victory away in Wales. The Scots could only manage a draw with the disappointing Irish by contrast although they did beat Wales. The Welsh managed to salvage a result in their third game with a 3–0 defeat of Northern Ireland to claim third place. In the final deciding match in Glasgow, England edged victory through a Paul Mariner goal and thus claimed the championship. In the World Cup, Scotland were eliminated in the first round whilst England went out in the second round without losing a game. The unfancied Irish however provided a shock by beating hosts Spain and eliminating Yugoslavia in the first round before falling victim to the inspired French in round two.

Table

Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
England	6	3	3	0	0	6	0	+6
Scotland	3	3	1	1	1	3	3	0
Wales	2	3	1	0	2	3	2	+1
Northern Ireland	1	3	0	1	2	1	8	−7

The points system worked as follows:

2 points for a win
1 point for a draw

The teams were then divided on goal difference

Results

England v Northern Ireland

23 February 1982

England	4 – 0	Northern Ireland
Bryan Robson, Kevin Keegan, Ray Wilkins, Glenn Hoddle

Wembley Stadium, London

Wales v England

27 April 1982

Wales	0 – 1	England
		Trevor Francis

Ninian Park, Cardiff

Northern Ireland v Scotland

28 April 1982

Northern Ireland	1 – 1	Scotland
Sammy McIlroy		John Wark

Windsor Park, Belfast

Scotland v Wales

24 May 1982

Scotland	1 – 0	Wales
Asa Hartford

Hampden Park, Glasgow

Wales v Northern Ireland

27 May 1982

Wales	3 – 0	Northern Ireland
Ian Rush, Alan Curtis, Peter Nicholas

Racecourse Ground, Wrexham

Scotland v England

29 May 1982

Scotland	0 – 1	England
		Paul Mariner

Hampden Park, Glasgow

References

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

British Home Championship

Football in the United Kingdom: England Northern Ireland Scotland Wales

Competitors	England Northern Ireland Scotland Wales

Seasons	1883–84 1884–85 1885–86 1886–87 1887–88 1888–89 1889–90 1890–91 1891–92 1892–93 1893–94 1894–95 1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 First World War 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 Second World War 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84

Rous Cup Nations Cup Home Nation matches since 1984

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