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The 1978–79 British Home Championship was a British Home Nations competition, won by the English football side and notable for seeing marked increases in hooliganism and falling attendance which would result in its cancellation in 1984. The English started well, beating Northern Ireland to match the heavy Welsh victory over Scotland on the same day, which featured a hat trick by John Toshack. Scotland recovered by beating the Irish in their next match while England and Wales played out a goalless draw, leaving three sides theoretically capable of winning the Championship in the final round. Wales could only manage a draw with the Irish and so in the deciding match between England and Scotland, a 1–1 half time score gave the Scots some hope but a strong second half performance from England was rewarded with a deserved 3–1 win. This result gave England the Championship, with Wales in second place. The tournament also saw the introduction of goal difference to separate teams, although it had no effect on the eventual outcome.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 19–26 May 1979 |
| Teams | 4 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  England (52nd title) |
| Runners-up |  Wales |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 6 |
| Goals scored | 12 (2 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | John Toshack (3) |
← 1977–78 1979–80 → | |
Table
edit| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England (C)
|
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | +4 | 5 |
| Wales
|
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 4 |
 Scotland
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | −4 | 2 |
 Northern Ireland
|
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 1 |
Rules for classification: 1) points 2) goal difference. The points system worked as follows: 2 points for a win and 1 point for a draw.
Note: For the first time, goal difference was used to divide the teams, although it made no difference to the final outcome at this tournament.
(C) Champions
Results
edit| Scotland | 1–0 | Northern Ireland |
|---|---|---|
Graham  76' |
Report |
| England | 0–0 | Wales |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Northern Ireland | 1–1 | Wales |
|---|---|---|
| Spence 40' |
Report | James 63' |
References
edit- Guy Oliver (1992). The Guinness Record of World Soccer. Guinness. ISBN 0-85112-954-4.