1963–64 British Home Championship

The 1963–64 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.

1963–64 British Home Championship
Tournament details
Host countryEngland, Ireland, Scotland and Wales
Dates12 October 1963 – 15 April 1964
Teams4
Final positions
Champions England
 Ireland
 Scotland
Tournament statistics
Matches played6
Goals scored27 (4.5 per match)
Top scorer(s)England Jimmy Greaves (5)

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.

Table

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Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
  England (C) 3 2 0 1 12 4 +8 4
  Scotland (C) 3 2 0 1 4 3 +1 4
  Ireland (C) 3 2 0 1 8 11 −3 4
  Wales 3 0 0 3 3 9 −6 0
Source: [citation needed]
Rules for classification: 1) points. The points system worked as follows: 2 points for a win and 1 point for a draw.
(C) Co-champions

Results

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Ireland  2–1  Scotland
Bingham   26'
Wilson   63'
St John   50'
Attendance: 39,000
Referee: Jack Taylor (England)

Wales  0–4  England
Smith   5', 68'
Greaves   67'
Charlton   86'
Attendance: 48,350
Referee: William Brittle (Scotland)

Scotland  2–1  Wales
White   44'
Law   48'
Jones   60'
Attendance: 56,067
Referee: William Clements (England)

England  8–3  Ireland
Paine   2', 37', 61'
Greaves   20', 30', 60', 65'
Smith   46'
Crossan   42'
Wilson   74', 85'
Attendance: 55,000
Referee: Leo Callaghan (Wales)

Scotland  1–0  England
Gilzean   78'
Attendance: 133,245

Wales  2–3  Ireland
Godfrey   24'
Davies   63'
McLaughlin   8'
Wilson   37'
Harvey   45'
Attendance: 10,434
Referee: Ken Dagnall (England)

References

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  1. ^ Hat Trick For Scots, video footage from official Pathé News archive
  • Guy Oliver (1992). The Guinness Record of World Soccer. Guinness. ISBN 0-85112-954-4.
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