1961 British Home Championship

The 1961 British Home Championship international football tournament remained long in the memories of British football fans after four top-class attacking teams tore through each other in high scoring games, netting 40 times in just six matches, a ratio of 6.66 goals a game. England took the British title after an amazing final match performance at Wembley where they put nine goals past Scotland, who refused to surrender and returned with three of their own in a stunning climax. It is useful to note that teams in this period frequently fielded as many as five strikers, hoping to outscore opponents rather than rely on heavy defence. This tactic paid dividends, particularly for England, whose haul of 19 included seven for Jimmy Greaves, whilst both Bobby Charlton and Bobby Smith each scored in each of England's three games.

England had begun the tournament well, administering a 5-2 thrashing of Northern Ireland in Belfast, whilst the Welsh beat a tough Scottish side at home. Welsh hopes of tournament success were disabused in their second match, where England took them apart 5-1, whilst the hapless Irish were again on the reverse of a heavy defeat, losing 5-2 in Glasgow against Scotland. The tournament's final games were equally dramatic, the Welsh storming past Northern Ireland 5-1 to claim second spot, leading to England and Scotland's dramatic finale. The tournament is also notable for those present, which included a medley of stars from the 1950s and young players, who would take the 1960s by storm. This line-up included Danny Blanchflower and Peter McParland for Northern Ireland, Ivor Allchurch and John Charles for Wales, Denis Law and Dave Mackay for Scotland and an England team including Bobby Charlton, Johnny Haynes, Jimmy Greaves and Bobby Robson, some of whom would later win the 1966 FIFA World Cup.

Table

The points system worked as follows:
* 2 points for a win
* 1 point for a draw

Results

footballbox
date = October 8, 1960
team1 = fb-rt|Northern Ireland
score = 2–5
team2 = fb|England
goals1 = Billy McAdams 2
goals2 = Jimmy Greaves 2, Bobby Charlton, Bobby Smith,
Bryan Douglas
stadium = Windsor Park, Belfast----footballbox
date = October 22, 1960
team1 = fb-rt|Wales
score = 2–0
team2 = fb|Scotland
goals1 = Cliff Jones, Roy Vernon
goals2 =
stadium = Ninian Park, Cardiff----footballbox
date = November 9, 1960
team1 = fb-rt|Scotland
score = 5–2
team2 = fb|Northern Ireland
goals1 = Ralph Brand 2, Alex Young, Denis Law,
Eric Caldow (P)
goals2 = Danny Blanchflower, Peter McParland
stadium = Hampden Park, Glasgow----footballbox
date = November 23, 1960
team1 = fb-rt|England
score = 5–1
team2 = fb|Wales
goals1 = Jimmy Greaves 2, Bobby Charlton, Bobby Smith,
Johnny Haynes
goals2 = Ken Leek
stadium = Wembley Stadium, London----footballbox
date = April 12, 1961
team1 = fb-rt|Northern Ireland
score = 1–5
team2 = fb|Wales
goals1 = Derek Dougan
goals2 = Cliff Jones 2, Ivor Allchurch, Ken Leek, Mel Charles
stadium = Windsor Park, Belfast----footballbox
date = April 15, 1961
team1 = fb-rt|England
score = 9–3
team2 = fb|Scotland
goals1 = Jimmy Greaves 3, Bobby Smith 2, Johnny Haynes 2,
Bryan Douglas, Bobby Robson
goals2 = Dave Mackay, Davie Wilson, Patrick Quinn
stadium = Wembley Stadium, London

References

*cite book
author= Guy Oliver| title=The Guinness Record of World Soccer
date=1992
publisher=Guinness
id=ISBN 0-851129-54-4