1954 British Home Championship
Encyclopedia
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.
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...
was an 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 played between the British Home Nations
Home Nations
Home Nations is a collective term with one of two meanings depending on the context. Politically, it means the nations of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom...
during the 1953–54 season which also provided the home nations qualifying tournament for the 1954 FIFA World Cup
1954 FIFA World Cup
The 1954 FIFA World Cup, the fifth staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in Switzerland from 16 June to 4 July. Switzerland was chosen as hosts in July 1946. The tournament set a number of all-time records for goal-scoring, including the highest average goals scored per game...
. Both 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...
and 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...
qualified as first and second placed teams respectively, but both were subsequently knocked out by Uruguay
Uruguay national football team
The Uruguayan national football team represents Uruguay in international association football and is controlled by the Uruguayan Football Association, the governing body for football in Uruguay. The current head coach is Óscar Tabárez...
. 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
Hungary national football team
The Hungary national football team represents Hungary in international football and is controlled by the Hungarian Football Federation....
also shocked the British Isles
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
during the season with two victories over England. The first
England v Hungary (1953)
England v Hungary was an international football game played on November 25, 1953. The game was played between Hungary - then the world's number one ranked team, the Olympic champions and on a run of 24 unbeaten games - and England, then the world's number three ranked team, the inventors of the...
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
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, the England team attempted to restore lost pride with a return match in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
. 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
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...
and then lost to England, benefitting from an Irish victory over Wales
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...
in Wrexham
Wrexham
Wrexham is a town in Wales. It is the administrative centre of the wider Wrexham County Borough, and the largest town in North Wales, located in the east of the region. It is situated between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley close to the border with Cheshire, England...
to take second.
Table
| Team | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 4 | ||
| 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 7 | −3 | |
| 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 9 | −4 |
The points system worked as follows:
- 2 points for a win
- 1 point for a draw
Results
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