Scotland national football team results (1920–1939)
The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international association football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. It is the joint-oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, Scotland's opponents in what is now recognised as the world's first international football match, which took place at Hamilton Crescent in Glasgow in November 1872.[1]
Between the resumption of international football after the First World War in 1920 and the start of the Second World War in 1939, Scotland played 75 international matches, resulting in 46 victories, 12 draws and 17 defeats. Each year Scotland played in the British Home Championship, a round-robin tournament also involving England, Wales and Ireland.[2] Of the 20 tournaments played during this period, Scotland won 7 outright and 4 jointly.[2] One of Scotland's most famous victories came in 1928, when the Wembley Wizards defeated their rivals England 5–1. The team drew large crowds, with the home matches against England in 1931, 1933 and 1937 all setting world record attendances.[3] The match in April 1937 recorded an official attendance of 149,415, which still stands as the record attendance for a European international match.[3]
Scotland started to play matches against opposition from beyond the British Isles between the wars, playing ad-hoc friendly matches against Austria, Czechoslovakia, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland. The first FIFA World Cup was played in 1930, but none of the Home Nations, including Scotland, participated in the tournament before the Second World War. This was because their associations had been excluded from FIFA due to a disagreement regarding the status of amateur players.[4] The four associations, including Scotland, returned to the FIFA fold after the Second World War.[4]
Key
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Results
Scotland's score is shown first in each case.
Record by opponent
| Opponent | P | W | D | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Austria |
3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 |
 Czechoslovakia |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 |
 England |
20 | 11 | 3 | 6 | 35 | 27 |
 France |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
 Germany Germany |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
 Hungary |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
 Ireland |
20 | 15 | 2 | 3 | 46 | 12 |
 Italy |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
 Netherlands |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
 Norway |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 |
 Switzerland |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
 Wales |
20 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 38 | 33 |
| Total | 75 | 46 | 12 | 17 | 156 | 93 |
British Home Championship record
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References
- ^ Soar, Phil; Martin Tyler (1983). Encyclopedia of British Football. Willow Books. pp. 65–66. ISBN 0-00-218049-9.
- ^ a b Rollin, Jack (1985). Soccer: The Records. Guinness Books. p. 25. ISBN 0-85112-449-6.
- ^ a b "Hampden". Scottish Football Association. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
149,415. Scotland v England, 1937 - All-time record gate for a European international match.
- ^ a b "The four British associations return to FIFA after the Second World War: 25th FIFA Congress in Luxembourg in 1946". FIFA. Archived from the original on 14 June 2010. Retrieved 20 February 2010.
- ^ a b c Brown, Alan; Tossani, Gabriele (25 February 2011). "Scotland – International Matches 1911–1920". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai Brown, Alan; Tossani, Gabriele (25 February 2011). "Scotland – International Matches 1921–1930". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak Brown, Alan; Tossani, Gabriele (25 February 2011). "Scotland – International Matches 1931–1939". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Reyes, Macario; Morrison, Neil (1 October 1999). "British Home Championship 1920-1939". www.rsssf.com. RSSSF. Retrieved 30 August 2015.