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 its existence. It was the first time since 1970 that Scotland agreed to travel to Northern Ireland, having refused to play there since 1972.

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

Source:^{[citation needed]}
Rules for classification: 1) points 2) goal difference. The points system worked as follows: 2 points for a win and 1 point for a draw.
(C) Champion

Results[]

16 May 1980

Northern Ireland	1–0	Scotland
Hamilton 36'

Windsor Park, Belfast

Referee:

Clive Thomas

17 May 1980

Wales	4–1	England
Thomas 19' Walsh 30' James 60' Thompson 66' (o.g.)		Mariner 16'

Racecourse Ground, Wrexham

Referee:

Ian Foote

20 May 1980

England	1–1	Northern Ireland
Brotherston 81' (o.g.)		Cochrane 83'

Wembley Stadium, London

Referee:

Gwyn Owen

21 May 1980

Scotland	1–0	Wales
Miller 26'

Hampden Park, Glasgow

Referee:

Hugh Wilson

23 May 1980

Wales	0–1	Northern Ireland
		Brotherston 22'

Ninian Park, Cardiff

Referee:

John Hunting

24 May 1980

Scotland	0–2	England
		Brooking 8' Coppell 75'

Hampden Park, Glasgow

Referee:

António Garrido

References[]

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

External links[]

Full Results and Line-ups

hide v t British Home Championship
Football in the United Kingdom: England Northern Ireland Scotland Wales
Competitors	England Scotland Wales Northern Ireland / Ireland
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 Matches outside the British Home Championship