The 1966–67 British Home Championship has remained famous in the memories of British

Home Nations Home Nations is a collective term with one of two meanings depending on context. Politically it means the nations of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales). In sport, if a sport is g ...

football fans ever since the dramatic climatic match at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...

, where an unfancied Scottish team beat

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

on the same turf they had won the 1966 FIFA World Cup a year before. England had comfortably disposed of

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

in the earlier matches, whilst Scotland had struggled, drawing with Wales and only just beating the Irish. In the final match however, the Scots outplayed their illustrious opponents who were effectively reduced to 10 men with Jack Charlton hobbling and no substitutes allowed claiming a 3–2 victory, thus becoming "World Champions" in the words of many enthusiastic Scottish supporters, who invaded and stole much of the pitch after the game. In contrast to later

pitch invasion A pitch invasion (known in North America as field storming or rushing the field) occurs when a person or a crowd of people spectating a sporting event run onto the competition area, usually to celebrate or protest an incident, or sometimes as ...

s, this was non-violent and resulted in no significant police action. The "World Champions" idea has since taken more tangible form in the

Unofficial Football World Championships The Unofficial Football World Championships (UFWC) is an informal way of calculating the world's best international association football team, using a knock-out title system similar to that used in professional boxing. The UFWC was formalized and ...

. The contest was also important as it formed the first half of the qualifying stages for the

1968 UEFA European Football Championship The 1968 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was held in Italy. This was the third UEFA European Championship, an event held every four years and organised by UEFA. The final tournament took place between 5 and 10 June 1968. It ...

, a competition England would eventually qualify for in the following

1967–68 British Home Championship The 1967–68 British Home Championship football was the final stage of the 1968 UEFA European Football Championship qualifying for the Home Nations, and provided revenge for an England team smarting from a defeat on their home ground to the S ...

and reach the semi-finals, ultimately securing third position overall.

Table

Results

References

External links

Full Results and Line-ups
{{DEFAULTSORT:British

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

1967 in British sport 1966–67 in Northern Ireland association football 1966–67 in English football 1966–67 in Welsh football 1966–67 in Scottish football UEFA Euro 1968 qualifying England at UEFA Euro 1968 England–Scotland football rivalry