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The 1980 British Home Championship Saw only the second undisputed victory for Northern Ireland in the British Isles international football tournament in 96 years of existence. The tournament also finally marked the end of a decade of extremely poor international football results for all the Home Nations. Apart from a disastrous Scottish appearance in the 1978 FIFA World Cup, no British side had been represented at a major football tournament dince England were knocked out by Germany at the 1970 FIFA World Cup. In 1980, England finally qualified for the 1980 UEFA European Championship and although their performance was unspectacular it did lay the ground work for the appearance of three of the Home Nations at the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain. The Home Championships thus allowed spectators and coaches an impression of the reorganised British sides and their capabilities in competitive football.
The opening matches provided two great shocks for the long-established favourites of England and Scotland, with a narrow 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 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 Irish claimed the trophy by defeating Wales in Cardiff, celebrating their eightieth anniversary with a rare triumph.
The points system worked as follows:
- 2 points for a win
- 1 point for a draw
The teams were then divided on goal difference
[edit] Results
Northern Ireland
England
Wales
Scotland
