The men's national football teams of the four Home Nations of the United Kingdom have played each other more times than any other footballing nations in the world. The world's first international football match was played between Scotland and England in Glasgow in 1872 (a 0–0 draw). From then on, all four teams started playing regular friendlies against each other. In 1883 a formal competition between the UK's teams, the British Home Championship, was introduced, guaranteeing that each team would play the other three at least once a season. The Championship was discontinued in 1984, partly due to problems of crowd trouble, and partly due to the desire of England (and to a lesser extent Scotland) to contest international fixtures against larger and more powerful nations.
While the British Home Championship was being played, the UK teams were also drawn together on a number of occasions during qualification competitions for the FIFA World Cup and UEFA European Championship. Early tournaments simply used the British Championship as a qualifying group, but during qualification for the 1974 World Cup, England and Wales were drawn in the same group. Subsequent to this, three more qualification tournaments saw UK teams drawn together while the British Championship was being played. Since the end of the British Home Championship, the teams have played each other mainly when drawn together in international competitions such as the European Championship or the World Cup, with occasional friendly fixtures.[1][2][3][4]
At men's major national tournaments, Home Nations teams have met four times at the UEFA European Championships. England and Wales played the first ever Home Nations tie at a World Cup when they played each other at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, with England winning the match 3–0.[5]
Teams –
The British Home Championship (also known as the Home International Championship, the Home Internationals and the British Championship) was an annual football competition contested between the United Kingdom's four national teams: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (the last of whom competed as Ireland for most of the competition's history). Starting during the 1883–84 season, it was the oldest international football tournament and it was contested until the 1983–84 season, when it was abolished after 100 years.
The 1949–50 and 1953–54 championships doubled up as qualifying stages for the 1950 FIFA World Cup and 1954 FIFA World Cup respectively.
Date | Score | Venue | Notes | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
30 November 1872 | Scotland | 0–0 | England | Hamilton Crescent, Glasgow | |
8 March 1873 | England | 4–2 | Scotland | Kennington Oval, London | |
7 March 1874 | Scotland | 2–1 | England | Hamilton Crescent, Glasgow | |
6 March 1875 | England | 2–2 | Scotland | Kennington Oval, London | |
4 March 1876 | Scotland | 3–0 | England | Hamilton Crescent, Glasgow | |
25 March 1876 | Scotland | 4–0 | Wales | Hamilton Crescent, Glasgow | |
3 March 1877 | England | 1–3 | Scotland | Kennington Oval, London | |
5 March 1877 | Wales | 0–2 | Scotland | Acton Park, Wrexham | |
2 March 1878 | Scotland | 7–2 | England | Hampden Park (I), Glasgow | |
23 March 1878 | Scotland | 9–0 | Wales | Hampden Park (I), Glasgow | |
18 January 1879 | England | 2–1 | Wales | Kennington Oval, London | |
5 April 1879 | England | 5–4 | Scotland | Kennington Oval, London | |
7 April 1879 | Wales | 0–3 | Scotland | Acton Park, Wrexham | |
13 March 1880 | Scotland | 5–4 | England | Hampden Park (I), Glasgow | |
15 March 1880 | Wales | 2–3 | England | Racecourse Ground, Wrexham | |
27 March 1880 | Scotland | 5–1 | Wales | Hampden Park (I), Glasgow | |
18 January 1881 | England | 0–1 | Wales | Alexandra Meadows, Blackburn | |
12 March 1881 | England | 1–6 | Scotland | Kennington Oval, London | |
14 March 1881 | Wales | 1–5 | Scotland | Acton Park, Wrexham | |
18 February 1882 | Ireland | 0–13 | England | Knock Ground, Belfast | |
25 February 1882 | Wales | 7–1 | Ireland | Wrexham | |
11 March 1882 | Scotland | 5–1 | England | Hampden Park (I), Glasgow | |
13 March 1882 | Wales | 5–3 | England | Racecourse Ground, Wrexham | |
25 March 1882 | Scotland | 5–0 | Wales | Hampden Park (I), Glasgow | |
3 February 1883 | England | 5–0 | Scotland | Kennington Oval, London | |
24 February 1883 | England | 7–0 | Ireland | Aigburth Cricket Ground, Liverpool | |
10 March 1883 | England | 2–3 | Scotland | Bramall Lane, Sheffield | |
12 March 1883 | Wales | 0–3 | Scotland | Acton Park, Wrexham | |
17 March 1883 | Wales | 1–1 | Ireland | Belfast | |
14 February 1973 | Scotland | 0–5 | England | Hampden Park, Glasgow | |
24 March 1976 | Wales | 1–2 | England | Racecourse Ground, Wrexham | |
18 February 1992 | Scotland | 1–0 | Northern Ireland | Hampden Park, Glasgow | |
27 May 1997 | Scotland | 0–1 | Wales | Rugby Park, Kilmarnock | |
18 February 2004 | Wales | 4–0 | Scotland | Millennium Stadium, Cardiff | |
6 February 2007 | Northern Ireland | 0–0 | Wales | Windsor Park, Belfast | |
20 August 2008 | Scotland | 0–0 | Northern Ireland | Hampden Park, Glasgow | |
14 November 2009 | Wales | 3–0 | Scotland | Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff | |
14 August 2013 | England | 3–2 | Scotland | Wembley Stadium, London | |
18 November 2014 | Scotland | 1–3 | England | Celtic Park, Glasgow | |
25 March 2015 | Scotland | 1–0 | Northern Ireland | Hampden Park, Glasgow | |
24 March 2016 | Wales | 1–1 | Northern Ireland | Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff | |
8 October 2020 | England | 3–0 | Wales | Wembley Stadium, London | |
12 September 2023 | Scotland | 1–3 | England | Hampden Park, Glasgow | |
26 March 2024 | Scotland | 0-1 | Northern Ireland | Hampden Park, Glasgow |
Date | Competition | Score | Venue | Notes | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
25 May 1985 | Rous Cup | Scotland | 1–0 | England | Hampden Park, Glasgow | |
23 April 1986 | Rous Cup | England | 2–1 | Scotland | Wembley Stadium (I), London | |
23 May 1987 | Rous Cup | Scotland | 0–0 | England | Hampden Park, Glasgow | |
21 May 1988 | Rous Cup | England | 1–0 | Scotland | Wembley Stadium (I), London | |
27 May 1989 | Rous Cup | Scotland | 0–2 | England | Hampden Park, Glasgow | |
9 February 2011 | 2011 Nations Cup | Northern Ireland | 0–3 | Scotland | Aviva Stadium, Dublin | |
25 May 2011 | 2011 Nations Cup | Wales | 1–3 | Scotland | Aviva Stadium, Dublin | |
27 May 2011 | 2011 Nations Cup | Wales | 2–0 | Northern Ireland | Aviva Stadium, Dublin |
Opponent | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | W% |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Northern Ireland | 98 | 75 | 16 | 7 | 76.53 |
Scotland | 112 | 47 | 24 | 41 | 41.96 |
Wales | 102 | 67 | 21 | 14 | 65.69 |
Opponent | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | W% |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
England | 98 | 7 | 16 | 75 | 7.14 |
Scotland | 95 | 15 | 17 | 63 | 15.79 |
Wales | 96 | 28 | 24 | 44 | 29.17 |
Opponent | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | W% |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
England | 112 | 41 | 24 | 47 | 36.61 |
Northern Ireland | 95 | 63 | 17 | 15 | 66.32 |
Wales | 107 | 61 | 23 | 23 | 57.01 |
Opponent | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | W% |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
England | 102 | 14 | 21 | 67 | 13.73 |
Northern Ireland | 96 | 44 | 24 | 28 | 45.83 |
Scotland | 107 | 23 | 23 | 61 | 21.5 |
Seven British Overseas Territories have a national football team affiliated to FIFA – Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat and Turks and Caicos Islands. All play within the CONCACAF (North American) area, with the exception of Gibraltar. This makes fixtures between the Home Nations and the overseas territories rare, although the North American overseas territories play between each other often.
In 2013, the Gibraltar Football Association became a member of UEFA enabling their national team to play international fixtures. This opened the possibility of Gibraltar playing against a Home Nation during the qualification phase of major international competitions. To date, there have been three matches between Gibraltar and one of the Home Nations – Scotland played them twice as part of their UEFA Euro 2016 qualification group, beating them on both occasions; and Wales defeated them in a friendly match. These fixtures are the only occasions when a Home Nation and an overseas territory have played each other in an official international match.
Date | Competition | Score | Venue | Notes | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
29 March 2015 | UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying | Scotland | 6–1 | Gibraltar | Hampden Park, Glasgow | |
11 October 2015 | UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying | Gibraltar | 0–6 | Scotland | Estádio Algarve, Faro | |
11 October 2023 | Friendly | Wales | 4–0 | Gibraltar | Racecourse Ground, Wrexham | |
3 June 2024 | Friendly | Gibraltar | v | Scotland | Estádio Algarve, Faro |
Date | Competition | Score | Venue | Notes | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4 July 2007 | 2007 Island Games | Gibraltar | 2–0 | Bermuda | Diagoras Stadium, Rhodes | |
20 May 2008 | 2008 Four Nations | England C | 1–0 | Gibraltar | Llanelian Road, Old Colwyn | |
22 May 2008 | 2008 Four Nations | Wales C | 6–2 | Gibraltar | Belle Vue, Rhyl | |
24 May 2008 | 2008 Four Nations | Scotland Semi-Pro | 4–2 | Gibraltar | Park Hall, Oswestry | |
15 November 2011 | Friendly | Gibraltar | 3–1 | England C | Victoria Stadium, Gibraltar | |
15 July 2013 | 2013 Island Games | Bermuda | 8–0 | Falkland Islands | Bermuda National Stadium, Hamilton | |
11 November 2018 | Friendly | Falkland Islands | 1–3 | FA England Representative Team | Stanley Stadium, Stanley | [6] |