The 1885–86 British Home Championship was the third annual international football tournament played between the British Home Nations. As common for the time, the matches were punctuated by some high scorelines and for the first time two teams finished level on points at the top of the table, thus sharing the championship as goal difference would not be introduced to separate teams for over nearly 90 years.
England and Scotland were the joint winners, with Wales third and Ireland last with zero points. The tournament began in February 1886 with a match between Wales and Ireland which Wales won comfortably 5–0. Ireland next played against England and Scotland, suffering two heavy defeats in which they conceded 13 goals for three in reply. With the three leaders therefore equal on points, England and Scotland played their match, sharing points in a 1–1 draw. Wales then played against England and Scotland in the final games but lost both, resulting in England and Scotland sharing the title.
Table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Scotland (C)
|
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 4 | +8 | 5 |
| 2 |  England (C)
|
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 3 | +7 | 5 |
| 3 |  Wales
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 2 |
| 4 |  Ireland
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 18 | −15 | 0 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points. The points system worked as follows: 2 points for a win and 1 point for a draw.
(C) Joint champions
Results
| Ireland | 2–7 | Scotland |
|---|---|---|
|
|
| Scotland | 1–1 | England |
|---|---|---|
Somerville  80' |
Lindley 35' |
Winning squads
| Name | Apps/Goals by opponent | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 WAL[3] |
IRE[4] |
SCO[5] |
Apps | Goals | |
| Tinsley Lindley | 1 | 1/1 | 1/1 | 3 | 2 |
| Ralph Squire | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Percy Walters | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Benjamin Spilsbury | 1/4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | |
| Fred Dewhurst | 1/1 | 1/1 | 2 | 2 | |
| George Brann | 1/1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | |
| Herby Arthur | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | |
| Norman Bailey | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | |
| Charles Bambridge | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | |
| Nevill Cobbold | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | |
| Jimmy Forrest | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | |
| Andrew Amos | 1/1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Arthur Walters | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Richard Baugh | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Charles Dobson | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| John Leighton | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Thelwell Pike | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| William Rose | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| George Shutt | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Name | Apps/Goals by opponent | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
WAL[6] |
IRE[7] |
ENG[8] |
Apps | Goals | |
| Charles Heggie | 1/1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| George Somerville | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Michael Dunbar | 1/1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| James Gourlay | 1/1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| James Kelly | 1/1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| David Allan | 1/1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| William Harrower | 1/1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| James McCall | 1/1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Bob McCormick | 1/1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Ralph Aitken | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Walter Arnott | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Charles Campbell | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Woodville Gray | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Alexander Hamilton | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Joe Lindsay | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| James McAulay | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| John Macdonald | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Michael Paton | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| William Sellar | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| John Cameron | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| James Connor | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Robert Fleming | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Leitch Keir | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| William McLeod | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Andrew Thomson | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Willie Turner | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| George Gillespie | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Andrew Jackson | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Bob Kelso | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| James Lundie | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| John Marshall | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| James McGhee | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| William Semple | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
References
- ^ "British Home Championship 1884–1899". The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
- ^ "British Championships 1886". Scotland Football Stats. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
- ^ Monday, 29 March 1886 | Wales 1 England 3, England Football Online
- ^ Saturday, 13 March 1886 | Ireland 1 England 6, England Football Online
- ^ Saturday, 27 March 1886 | Scotland 1 England 1 , England Football Online
- ^ Sat 10 Apr 1886 Scotland 4 Wales 1, London Hearts Supporters Club
- ^ Sat 20 Mar 1886 Ireland 2 Scotland 7, London Hearts Supporters Club
- ^ Sat 27 Mar 1886 Scotland 1 England 1, London Hearts Supporters Club
- Guy Oliver (1992). The Guinness Record of World Soccer. Guinness. ISBN 0-85112-954-4.
