Early International Games in England
The final of the FIFA World Cup is the most watched sporting event, with each subsequent edition breaking the record of the previous. Since 1930, every four years millions of fans and casual watchers are captivated by the competition, which pits the best national football sides against each other. International games, however, existed long before the FIFA organized a competition or was even created. It all, of course, started in the birthplace of the game – the British Isles. This article will track the 5 most notable games that England played in those formative times of the beautiful game.
30 November 1872, Scotland – England 0:0
The first official international game was played between Scotland and England on 30 November 1872 at the West of Scotland Cricket Ground in Glasgow. The game has been described as a tense affair, where both teams invested considerable effort. England had a strong attack at the time, but the Scots were able to hold them. The entire Scot team played for Queen’s Park FC, the largest football club at the time.
There were no coaches or managers at the time. The British team was selected by a special committee of the Football Association. Scotland did not have an official football organization at the time, so their team selection was made by their captain Robert Gardner. There were officially 2,500 tickets sold for the game, but attendance was estimated at around 4,000 as ladies entered free of charge.
12 March 1881, England – Scotland 1:6
On 12 March 1881, in front of a crowd of 8,500 fans at the Kennington Oval in London, Scotland gave England what is still its largest home defeat. Dr. John Smith and George Ker paced the visitors with 2 goals each, while Edgar Field had the unfortunate honor to become the first English player to score an own goal. The game was also significant because Scottish defender Andrew Watson became the first mixed-race footballer to receive an international cap.
18 February 1882, Ireland – England 0:13
Ireland (then still one of the Home Nations of the United Kingdom) made its international debut against England on 18 February 1882 at Bloomfield Ground in Belfast. This was England first game against someone other than Scotland. The more experienced and talented lions gave Ireland a rough welcoming to the international football scene, thrashing them 13:0. Aston Villa attacking duo Howard Vaughton and Arthur Brown scored 5 and 4 goals respectively to lead the way to victory. This is still England’s record biggest win in an official international game.
15 March 1884, Scotland – England 1:0
In the early 80s of the 19th century, the Home Nations in the United Kingdom were playing friendly matches annually. In 1884, they decided to make the regular games into a formal competition. Thus the British Home Championship started, becoming the first international football tournament. It went on to be played for exactly 100 years.
The structure of the competition was simple – the 4 teams played each other once in a round robin format. Two points were awarded for a win, one point for a tie, and whoever was on top of the table after 3 games was the champion.
In the inaugural competition, Scotland and England faced off on 15 March 1884 at Cathkin Park in front of 10,000 fans. Although this was a round robin game, the two teams were considerably better than Ireland and Wales at the time. Both teams had already beaten Ireland and were expected to beat Wales, so the game was a de-facto final.
In a tense game, Dr. John Smith gave Scotland the early lead and they held on to the delight of the home fans. As expected, Scotland subsequently won comfortably against Wales (4-1) and became the champions of the first international football competition.
6 June 1908, Austria – England 1:6
As the Home Nations are all technically part of the same country, England’s first real international game came in 1908 when they arranged an end of season summer tour in continental Europe. They comprehensively defeated Austria six goals to one, with Chelsea attacking duo Jimmy Windridge and George Hildsdon netting a brace each. The win set off the English on a 10-game winning streak, the national team’s best record of consecutive victories to date.
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