1956 British Home Championship

The 1956 British Home Championship was a football tournament played during the 1955/56 season between the British Home Nations. It was the only occasion during the hundred year run of the Home Championship in which all four teams finished level on points. As goal difference was not used to determine position until 1979, all four teams shared the trophy, holding it for three months each. Had goal difference been used to determine the winner, then England would have won with Scotland second.

The competition began unusually with victories by underdogs Wales and Northern Ireland over England and Scotland in their opening matches. This gave added incentive to the favourites in the following matches, which England and Scotland both won easily. Nevertheless, all four teams stood a good chance of victory going into the final round, with both Wales and Northern Ireland seeking a rare undisputed tournament success. Unfortunately for all concerned the teams cancelled each other out, both matches resulting in 1-1 draws leaving all four equal on points and thus sharing the trophy.

Table

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

Results

footballbox
date = October 22, 1955
team1 = fb-rt|Wales
score = 2–1
team2 = fb|England
goals1 = Derek Tapscott, Cliff Jones
goals2 = "Own Goal"
stadium = Ninian Park, Cardiff----footballbox
date = October 8, 1955
team1 = fb-rt|Northern Ireland
score = 2–1
team2 = fb|Scotland
goals1 = Jackie Blanchflower, Billy Bingham
goals2 = Lawrie Reilly
stadium = Windsor Park, Belfast----footballbox
date = November 9, 1955
team1 = fb-rt|Scotland
score = 2–0
team2 = fb|Wales
goals1 = Bobby Johnstone 2
goals2 =
stadium = Hampden Park, Glasgow----footballbox
date = November 2, 1955
team1 = fb-rt|England
score = 3–0
team2 = fb|Northern Ireland
goals1 = Dennis Wilshaw 2, Tom Finney
goals2 =
stadium = Wembley Stadium, London----footballbox
date = April 11, 1956
team1 = fb-rt|Wales
score = 1–1
team2 = fb|Northern Ireland
goals1 = Roy Clarke
goals2 = Jimmy Jones
stadium = Ninian Park, Cardiff----footballbox
date = April 14, 1956
team1 = fb-rt|Scotland
score = 1–1
team2 = fb|England
goals1 = Graham Leggat
goals2 = Johnny Haynes
stadium = Hampden Park, Glasgow

References

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