| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales |
| Dates | 19 February – 2 April 1898 |
| Teams | 4 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  England (8th title) |
| Runners-up |  Scotland |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 6 |
| Goals scored | 23 (3.83 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Fred Wheldon James Gillespie (3 goals) |
| ← 1896–97 1898–99 → | |
The 1897–98 British Home Championship was the fifteenth edition of the annual football tournament played between the British Home Nations. England won the title after whitewashing all three opponents and taking the maximum six points. Scotland came second after winning two of their games whilst Ireland came third following a close victory over Wales in Llandudno.
Ireland's win over Wales was the first match of the tournament and gave Ireland a short lived advantage in the competition. England ended this advantage in the second game with a close 3–2 win over the Irish in Belfast and Scotland joined the other two on two points with a 5–2 thrashing of the Welsh. Scotland then briefly took the lead with a win over Ireland in Belfast before England joined them by beating Wales by the same scoreline in Wrexham. In the final and deciding match, played at Celtic Park in Glasgow, the Scots were defeated by a fast and powerful England side who ran out 3–1 winners and took the championship.
Table
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England (C)
|
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 3 | +6 | 6 |
| Scotland
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 5 | +4 | 4 |
 Ireland
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 6 | −3 | 2 |
 Wales
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 9 | −7 | 0 |
Rules for classification: 1) points. The points system worked as follows: 2 points for a win and 1 point for a draw.
(C) Champions
Results
| Wales | 0 – 1 | Ireland |
|---|---|---|
 85' Jack Peden |
| Ireland | 2 – 3 | England |
|---|---|---|
| 15' John Pyper 70' Joe McAllen |
37' Gilbert Smith 40' Charlie Athersmith 50' Tommy Morren |
| Scotland | 5 – 2 | Wales |
|---|---|---|
| James Gillespie 12', 20', 61' James McKee 29', 40' |
44' Thomas Thomas 89' Morgan Morgan-Owen |
| Ireland | 0 – 3 | Scotland |
|---|---|---|
| Scottish FA | 30' Tommy Robertson 42' Bob McColl 70' William Stewart |
| Wales | 0 – 3 | England |
|---|---|---|
| 9', 75' Fred Wheldon 88' Gilbert Smith |
| Scotland | 1 – 3 | England |
|---|---|---|
| Jimmy Millar 48' |
3' Fred Wheldon 23', 72' Steve Bloomer |
Winning squad
| Name | Apps/Goals by opponent | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 WAL |
IRE |
SCO |
Apps | Goals | |
| Fred Wheldon | 1/2 | 1 | 1/1 | 3 | 3 |
| Gilbert Smith | 1/1 | 1/1 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| Charlie Athersmith | 1 | 1/1 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| Jack Robinson | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| William Oakley | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Billy Williams | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Frank Forman | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | |
| Ernest Needham | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | |
| Fred Spiksley | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | |
| Steve Bloomer | 1/2 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Tommy Morren | 1/1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Charles Wreford-Brown | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Jimmy Turner | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Charlie Richards | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Ben Garfield | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Tom Booth | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| John Goodall | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Tom Perry | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
References
- England Did It. The Scottish Referee, 4 April 1898, scan via London Hearts Supporters Club
- Reyes, Macario; Morrison, Neil (1 October 1999). "British Home Championship 1884–1899". The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
- "British Championships 1898". Scotland Football Stats. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
- Monday, 28 March 1898 | Wales 0 England 3, England Football Online
- Saturday, 5 March 1898 | Ireland 2 England 3 , England Football Online
- Saturday, 2 April 1898 | Scotland 1 England 3, England Football Online
- Guy Oliver (1992). The Guinness Record of World Soccer. Guinness. ISBN 0-85112-954-4.
