Major General James G. Blunt

The 1988 Rous Cup was the fourth staging of the Rous Cup international football competition, based around the England–Scotland football rivalry. For the second year in succession, a third team was invited to create a three-team tournament.

After having Brazil's participation in the previous year, the FA again invited South American opposition to participate, this time Colombia.

England won the competition for a second time after being the only team to win a game; the two other matches ended in draws.

Results

All times listed are British Summer Time (UTC+1)

Scotland vs Colombia

Scotland 0–0 Colombia
Report
Attendance: 20,487
SCOTLAND:
GK 1 Jim Leighton (Aberdeen)
DF 2 Richard Gough (Rangers)
DF 3 Steve Nicol (Liverpool)
MF 4 Roy Aitken (Celtic) (c)
DF 5 Alex McLeish (Aberdeen)
DF 6 Willie Miller (Aberdeen) downward-facing red arrow 67'
MF 7 Kevin Gallacher (Dundee United)
MF 8 Paul McStay (Celtic) downward-facing red arrow 58'
FW 9 Ally McCoist (Rangers)
MF 10 Murdo MacLeod (Borussia Dortmund)
FW 11 Mo Johnston (Nantes)
Substitutions:
MF 0 Derek Ferguson (Rangers) upward-facing green arrow 58'
FW 0 Andy Walker (Celtic) upward-facing green arrow 67'
Manager:
Andy Roxburgh
COLOMBIA:
GK 1 René Higuita (Atlético Nacional)
DF 2 Luis Fernando Herrera (Atlético Nacional)
DF 3 Luis Carlos Perea (Atlético Nacional)
DF 4 Andrés Escobar (Atlético Nacional)
DF 5 Carlos Hoyos (América)
MF 6 Bernardo Redín (Deportivo Cali)
MF 7 Leonel Álvarez (Atlético Nacional)
MF 8 Alexis García (Atlético Nacional)
MF 9 Carlos Valderrama (Deportivo Cali) (c)
FW 10 Arnoldo Iguarán (Millonarios)
FW 11 John Jairo Tréllez (Atlético Nacional) downward-facing red arrow 68'
Substitutions:
MF 0 Jaime Arango (Atlético Nacional) upward-facing green arrow 68'
Manager:
Francisco Maturana

England vs Scotland

England 1–0 Scotland
Beardsley 12' Report
Attendance: 70,480
ENGLAND:
GK 1 Peter Shilton (Derby County)
DF 2 Gary Stevens (Everton)
DF 3 Kenny Sansom (Arsenal)
MF 4 Neil Webb (Nottingham Forest)
DF 5 Dave Watson (Everton)
DF 6 Tony Adams (Arsenal)
MF 7 Bryan Robson (Manchester United) (c)
MF 8 Trevor Steven (Everton) downward-facing red arrow 72'
FW 9 Peter Beardsley (Liverpool)
FW 10 Gary Lineker (Barcelona)
MF 11 John Barnes (Liverpool)
Substitutions:
MF 0 Chris Waddle (Tottenham Hotspur) upward-facing green arrow 72'
Manager:
Bobby Robson
SCOTLAND:
GK 1 Jim Leighton (Aberdeen)
DF 2 Richard Gough (Rangers)
DF 3 Steve Nicol (Liverpool)
MF 4 Roy Aitken (Celtic) (c)
DF 5 Alex McLeish (Aberdeen)
DF 6 Willie Miller (Aberdeen) downward-facing red arrow 74'
MF 7 Neil Simpson (Aberdeen)
MF 8 Paul McStay (Celtic) downward-facing red arrow 77'
FW 9 Ally McCoist (Rangers)
MF 10 Murdo MacLeod (Borussia Dortmund)
FW 11 Mo Johnston (Nantes)
Substitutions:
MF 0 Tommy Burns (Celtic) upward-facing green arrow 74'
FW 0 Kevin Gallacher (Dundee United) upward-facing green arrow 77'
Manager:
Andy Roxburgh

England vs Colombia

England 1–1 Colombia
Lineker 22' Report Escobar 66'
ENGLAND:
GK 1 Peter Shilton (Derby County)
DF 2 Viv Anderson (Manchester United)
DF 3 Kenny Sansom (Arsenal)
MF 4 Steve McMahon (Liverpool)
DF 5 Mark Wright (Derby County)
DF 6 Tony Adams (Arsenal)
MF 7 Bryan Robson (Manchester United) (c)
MF 8 Chris Waddle (Tottenham Hotspur) downward-facing red arrow 73'
FW 9 Peter Beardsley (Liverpool)
FW 10 Gary Lineker (Barcelona)
MF 11 John Barnes (Liverpool) downward-facing red arrow 73'
Substitutions:
MF 0 Glenn Hoddle (AS Monaco) upward-facing green arrow 73'
FW 0 Mark Hateley (AS Monaco) upward-facing green arrow 73'
Manager:
Bobby Robson
COLOMBIA:
GK 1 René Higuita (Atlético Nacional)
DF 2 Luis Fernando Herrera (Atlético Nacional)
DF 3 Luis Carlos Perea (Atlético Nacional)
DF 4 Andrés Escobar (Atlético Nacional)
DF 5 Carlos Hoyos (América)
MF 6 Bernardo Redín (Deportivo Cali)
MF 7 Leonel Álvarez (Atlético Nacional)
MF 8 Alexis García (Atlético Nacional)
MF 9 Carlos Valderrama (Deportivo Cali) (c)
FW 10 Arnoldo Iguarán (Millonarios) downward-facing red arrow
FW 11 Jaime Arango (Atlético Nacional) downward-facing red arrow
Substitutions:
FW 0 John Jairo Tréllez (Atlético Nacional) upward-facing green arrow
MF 0 Didí (Atlético Nacional) upward-facing green arrow
Manager:
Francisco Maturana

Final standings

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 England 2 1 1 0 2 1 +1 3
 Colombia 2 0 2 0 1 1 0 2
 Scotland 2 0 1 1 0 1 –1 1
1988 Rous Cup
tournament winners
England
England

Goalscorers