1964 British Home Championship
Encyclopedia
The 1964 British Home Championship
international Home Nations
football tournament was an unusual affair in which victory was shared between the England
, Scotland
and Ireland
national football
teams after all teams scored four points by beating Wales
and then winning one and losing one of their remaining matches. Goal difference was not at this stage used to determine team positions in the tournament, but if it had been, England would have won with a goal difference
of +8 with Scotland second and Ireland third.
England began the tournament the stronger side, defeating Wales 4–0 in Cardiff. Ireland too began well, beating the fancied Scots in a close game in Belfast. In the second round England took the lead with a thumping 8–3 victory over Ireland at home, in which Jimmy Greaves
and Terry Paine
both scored hat-tricks. The Scots gained some ground on the leaders by beating Wales in a close game in Glasgow in which John White scored. He was killed just two months after the tournament concluded. In the final matches, played at the close of the domestic season, England needed only a draw against Scotland to claim the trophy, whilst Ireland had to beat Wales to have any hope of reaching parity. Ireland were successful in another close game at Swansea
, but Scotland edged England 1–0 to claim their own third share of the Championship.
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...
international 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...
football tournament was an unusual affair in which victory was shared between the 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...
, 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...
and 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...
national 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...
teams after all teams scored four points by beating 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...
and then winning one and losing one of their remaining matches. Goal difference was not at this stage used to determine team positions in the tournament, but if it had been, England would have won with a goal difference
Goal difference
In sports such as ice hockey and association football, goal difference is often the first tiebreaker used to rank teams which finish a league competition with an equal number of points....
of +8 with Scotland second and Ireland third.
England began the tournament the stronger side, defeating Wales 4–0 in Cardiff. Ireland too began well, beating the fancied Scots in a close game in Belfast. In the second round England took the lead with a thumping 8–3 victory over Ireland at home, in which Jimmy Greaves
Jimmy Greaves
James Peter 'Jimmy' Greaves is an English former football player, England's third highest international goalscorer, the highest goalscorer in the history of Tottenham Hotspur football club, the highest goalscorer in the history of English top flight football and more recently a television pundit -...
and Terry Paine
Terry Paine
Terence Lionel Paine MBE is a former English footballer.Paine made 713 football league appearances for Southampton F.C. and 111 for Hereford United F.C...
both scored hat-tricks. The Scots gained some ground on the leaders by beating Wales in a close game in Glasgow in which John White scored. He was killed just two months after the tournament concluded. In the final matches, played at the close of the domestic season, England needed only a draw against Scotland to claim the trophy, whilst Ireland had to beat Wales to have any hope of reaching parity. Ireland were successful in another close game at Swansea
Swansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
, but Scotland edged England 1–0 to claim their own third share of the Championship.
Table
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 4 | ||
| 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | ||
| 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 11 | −3 | |
| 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 9 | −6 |
The points system worked as follows:
- 2 points for a win
- 1 point for a draw
Results
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