Scotland v England in 1872: The story of football's first international
theathletic.com
Tape between the posts, a team with eight forwards and jaunty hats – football in the 19th century was different
  • gorgonizedbyurTITS@alien.topOPBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Quick summary for those who can’t access the article:

    • The Scottish team was made up of players from Queen’s Park since the Scottish Football Association hadn’t been formed yet.

    • On the other hand, the English team traveled by train for 12 and a half hours to get there. They had players from Oxford University, Cambridge University, 1st Surrey Rifles, and Crystal Palace.

    • Around 2,500 to 4,000 people attended the match.

    Interesting Rules of the Game at the Time:

    • Goalkeepers were allowed to handle the ball all the way up to the halfway line.

    • There were no penalties, yellow or red cards, and even shin pads weren’t required.

    • Teams changed ends after each goal or at halftime if the game was tied.

    • There were two “umpires” in each half of the field, one representing each team. If the umpires couldn’t agree on a decision, the referee, who stood off the pitch on halfway, would make the final call.

    • There were also some differences in how Scotland and England played.

    • Scotland liked to pass the ball as a team, while England’s players preferred to dribble like rugby players with the ball, surrounded by their teammates for protection. This is actually pretty cool concept to me lol

    • Both teams had a lot of forwards on their sides, with Scotland playing 2-2-6 and England playing 1-2-7.

    • So, how did the game turn out? Was it a good match? Well, according to reports, it was an exciting and fast-paced game between two evenly matched teams, despite their different approaches to this new style of football. Scotland hit the crossbar once and England hit the post, but despite having 13 strikers on the field, the game ended with no goals scored.