1979–80 British Home Championship

The 1979-80 British Home Championship saw only the second undisputed victory for Northern Ireland in the British Home Nations international football tournament in 96 years of existence. It was also the first time since 1970 that Scotland agreed to travel to Northern Ireland, having refused to play there since 1972. The tournament also finally marked the end of a decade of extremely poor international football results for all the Home Nations. Apart from disappointing Scottish performances in the 1974 and 1978 FIFA World Cups, no British side had been represented at a major football tournament since England were knocked out by Germany at the 1970 FIFA World Cup. In 1980, England finally qualified for the 1980 UEFA European Championship and although their performance was unspectacular it did lay the groundwork for the appearance of three of the Home Nations at the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain. The Home Championships thus allowed spectators and coaches an impression of the reorganised British sides and their capabilities in competitive football.

The opening matches provided two great shocks for the long-established favourites of England and Scotland, with a narrow Northern Irish home victory over the Scots and a Welsh 4–1 thrashing of the English, putting the underdogs in pole position going into their remaining rounds. Scotland recovered slightly with a narrow victory over the Welsh, but England could only manage a draw with the Northern Irish, who were in the best position to claim undisputed first place for 66 years. In the final matches, England salvaged pride and points with a win over the Scots taking them to second place, but the Northern Irish claimed the trophy by defeating Wales in Cardiff, celebrating their centenary with a rare triumph.

Table

Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Northern Ireland	5	3	2	1	0	3	1	+2
England	3	3	1	1	1	4	5	−1
Wales	2	3	1	0	2	4	3	+1
Scotland	2	3	1	0	2	1	3	−2

The points system worked as follows:

2 points for a win
1 point for a draw

The teams were then divided on goal difference

Results

Northern Ireland v Scotland

16 May 1980

Northern Ireland	1 – 0	Scotland
Billy Hamilton

Windsor Park, Belfast

Wales v England

17 May 1980

Wales	4 – 1	England
Ian Walsh, Mickey Thomas, Robbie James, Phil Thompson Own Goal		Paul Mariner

Racecourse Ground, Wrexham

England v Northern Ireland

20 May 1980

England	1 – 1	Northern Ireland
Noel Brotherston O.G.		Terry Cochrane

Wembley Stadium, London

Scotland v Wales

21 May 1980

Scotland	1 – 0	Wales
Miller 23'

Hampden Park, Glasgow

Wales v Northern Ireland

23 May 1980

Wales	0 – 1	Northern Ireland
		Noel Brotherston

Ninian Park, Cardiff

Scotland v England

24 May 1980

Scotland	0 – 2	England
		Steve Coppell, Trevor Brooking

Hampden Park, Glasgow

References

Guy Oliver (1992). The Guinness Record of World Soccer. Guinness. ISBN 0-85112-954-4.

British Home Championship

Football in the United Kingdom: England Northern Ireland Scotland Wales

Competitors	England Northern Ireland Scotland Wales

Seasons	1883–84 1884–85 1885–86 1886–87 1887–88 1888–89 1889–90 1890–91 1891–92 1892–93 1893–94 1894–95 1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 First World War 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 Second World War 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84

Rous Cup Nations Cup Home Nation matches since 1984

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