1938–39 British Home Championship

The 1938–39 British Home Championship was a football tournament played between the British Home Nations during the 1938–39 seasons and was the last edition of the tournament to be completed before the outbreak of the Second World War in August 1939 suspended all professional sporting competitions. As a result, this was the final opportunity for many spectators to see their sporting heroes in an international setting, as players such as Wales's Dai Astley or Scotland's Tommy Walker would no longer be young enough to play for their country by the time professional football began again in 1946.

1938–39 British Home Championship
Tournament details
Host countryEngland, Ireland, Scotland and Wales
Dates8 October 1938 – 15 April 1939
Teams4
Final positions
Champions England
 Scotland
 Wales
Tournament statistics
Matches played6
Goals scored27 (4.5 per match)
Top scorer(s)England Willie Hall (5)

The opening matches saw an immediate advantage for Wales and Scotland who beat England and Northern Ireland respectively. Scotland then followed by beating the Welsh in their second match during a close contest whilst England succeeded in victory over the Irish by a seven-goal margin to bring them into joint second place behind the Scots. During the match, Willie Hall scored five goals, an English record that has been equalled but never broken as of 2007. In the final games, Wales beat the Irish, resulting in a whitewash of three defeats for Ireland and joint first place for the Welsh. England joined Wales and Scotland on four points with a 2–1 victory over Scotland in Glasgow to share the title among the three nations, as goal difference was not at this stage used to determine position. The win was sealed by a goal from Tommy Lawton, who scored in all of England's matches

Table

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Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
  England (C) 3 2 0 1 11 5 +6 4
  Wales (C) 3 2 0 1 9 6 +3 4
  Scotland (C) 3 2 0 1 6 4 +2 4
  Ireland 3 0 0 3 1 12 −11 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  0–2  Scotland
  Delaney   34'
Walker   49'
Attendance: 40,000
Referee: Herbert R. A. Mortimer (England)

Wales  4–2  England
Astley    
B. Jones  
Hopkins  
Matthews  
Lawton   (pen.)

Scotland  3–2  Wales
Gillick   38'
Walker   83', 84'
Astley   17'
L. Jones   85'
Attendance: 34,810
Referee: Thomas J. Thompson (England)

England  7–0  Ireland
Lawton   8'
Hall   36'   38'   40'   55'   65'
Matthews   75'
Report
Attendance: 40,386[1]
Referee: Reginald Mortimer (England)

Wales  3–1  Ireland
Cumner  
Glover  
Boulter  
Milligan  

Scotland  1–2  England
Dougal   20' Beasley   67'
Lawton   88'
Attendance: 149,269
Referee: William R.Hamilton (Ireland)

References

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  1. ^ "England vs Northern Ireland, 16 November 1938". EU-Football.
  • Guy Oliver (1992). The Guinness Record of World Soccer. Guinness. ISBN 0-85112-954-4.