At the moment it seems highly unlikely that England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland will play together at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. But it wasn't always this way, for fifty years ago the four home nations did just that.
Still, it wasn't an easy road to get there, nor a fast one. The British countries haughtily withdrew from FIFA in the early part of the century and thus did not even attempt qualification for the first three tournaments. By the time of the World Cup's resumption in 1950, though, they were back in the fold.
England qualified for the first tournament by winning the British Home Championship ahead of Scotland; the Scots, also invited to compete, turned down the chance to do so due to their not being champions of the home nations. The then-combined Ireland team, run under the auspices of the IFA, and Wales finished far behind.1954 saw the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland - the IFA team - field separate teams for the first time in qualification, but the situation remained the same with England and Scotland taking the two qualification berths. This time, though, the Scots agreed to take part in the final tournament (yet, in what was to become a recurring theme, they fell at the first hurdle once in Switzerland.)
Then came the historic year of 1958, and qualification for all four home nations. The Home Nations Championship by this time did not serve as passage to the final tournament, so England squared off with the Republic of Ireland and Denmark to qualify; the Scots ousted Spain and Switzerland; Northern Ireland edged Italy and Portugal, and Wales, although runners-up to Czechslovakia in their qualification section, got into the tournament via the most obscure of back doors. Israel were compelled to take part in a play-off to qualify, but Sudan, the African representatives drawn against them, refused to participate. An extra European team was hurriedly sought; Belgium said no, so Wales, as third choice, faced Israel, and beat them twice by two goals to nil to qualify.
The tournament proper was one of mixed success. Wales and Northern Ireland advanced to the next stage; England, facing Brazil and the USSR in what was a tough group, fell out at the first round, while Scotland picked up the wooden spoon by managing just a single point in a group containing France, Yugoslavia, and Paraguay.
Since that tournament there has been not a single World Cup in which all four of the UK countries appeared. Sure, England were to reach the quarter-finals in 1962 before winning the whole thing; Scotland's team of 1978 left the country with high expectations and then came home after the first round; Northern Ireland stunned the world in Spain in 1982; but overall there have been several cases of non-qualification - not least that of Wales, who haven't managed to reach the finals at all since their lucky entry in 1958.
Indeed, 1994 saw precisely zero of the home nations take part. USA '94 had Scotland finish way off the pace behind Italy, Switzerland, and third place Portugal; Northern Ireland couldn't manage to match the feats of the Republic or Spain, who qualified from Group 3; Wales were three points off success behind Romania and Belgium; and England's inability to beat the Netherlands saw them finish behind both the Dutch and Norway.
As for the present day, England are looking to return to major tournament play after missing out on Euro 2008, and they seem to be on track to do so: four wins from four thus far tells its own story. The 'Norn Iron' outfit, too, sees Northern Ireland sit proudly in second place of Group 3, although most of their competitors have a game in hand. Wales have lost out narrowly to both Germany and Russia, severely denting their already-slim hopes of qualification, and Scotland, who haven't been at a World Cup since France '98, look like missing out again after dropping points to Macedonia and Norway. Nothing short of a win against the Netherlands this weekend will do, and that looks like a forlorn hope.
So, will we ever see all four at the World Cup again? Who knows. Then again, this whole question may be irrelevant. There are moves afoot to resurrect the United Kingdom team to compete at the London Olympics in 2012, with some fearing that any attempt at doing so will spell the end for the individual national sides...
Can The Home Nations Ever Qualify Together Again?
At the moment it seems highly unlikely that England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland will play together at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. But it wasn't always this way, for fifty years ago the four home nations did just that.
Still, it wasn't an easy road to get there, nor a fast one. The British countries haughtily withdrew from FIFA in the early part of the century and thus did not even attempt qualification for the first three tournaments. By the time of the World Cup's resumption in 1950, though, they were back in the fold.
England qualified for the first tournament by winning the British Home Championship ahead of Scotland; the Scots, also invited to compete, turned down the chance to do so due to their not being champions of the home nations. The then-combined Ireland team, run under the auspices of the IFA, and Wales finished far behind.1954 saw the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland - the IFA team - field separate teams for the first time in qualification, but the situation remained the same with England and Scotland taking the two qualification berths. This time, though, the Scots agreed to take part in the final tournament (yet, in what was to become a recurring theme, they fell at the first hurdle once in Switzerland.)
Then came the historic year of 1958, and qualification for all four home nations. The Home Nations Championship by this time did not serve as passage to the final tournament, so England squared off with the Republic of Ireland and Denmark to qualify; the Scots ousted Spain and Switzerland; Northern Ireland edged Italy and Portugal, and Wales, although runners-up to Czechslovakia in their qualification section, got into the tournament via the most obscure of back doors. Israel were compelled to take part in a play-off to qualify, but Sudan, the African representatives drawn against them, refused to participate. An extra European team was hurriedly sought; Belgium said no, so Wales, as third choice, faced Israel, and beat them twice by two goals to nil to qualify.
The tournament proper was one of mixed success. Wales and Northern Ireland advanced to the next stage; England, facing Brazil and the USSR in what was a tough group, fell out at the first round, while Scotland picked up the wooden spoon by managing just a single point in a group containing France, Yugoslavia, and Paraguay.
Since that tournament there has been not a single World Cup in which all four of the UK countries appeared. Sure, England were to reach the quarter-finals in 1962 before winning the whole thing; Scotland's team of 1978 left the country with high expectations and then came home after the first round; Northern Ireland stunned the world in Spain in 1982; but overall there have been several cases of non-qualification - not least that of Wales, who haven't managed to reach the finals at all since their lucky entry in 1958.
Indeed, 1994 saw precisely zero of the home nations take part. USA '94 had Scotland finish way off the pace behind Italy, Switzerland, and third place Portugal; Northern Ireland couldn't manage to match the feats of the Republic or Spain, who qualified from Group 3; Wales were three points off success behind Romania and Belgium; and England's inability to beat the Netherlands saw them finish behind both the Dutch and Norway.
As for the present day, England are looking to return to major tournament play after missing out on Euro 2008, and they seem to be on track to do so: four wins from four thus far tells its own story. The 'Norn Iron' outfit, too, sees Northern Ireland sit proudly in second place of Group 3, although most of their competitors have a game in hand. Wales have lost out narrowly to both Germany and Russia, severely denting their already-slim hopes of qualification, and Scotland, who haven't been at a World Cup since France '98, look like missing out again after dropping points to Macedonia and Norway. Nothing short of a win against the Netherlands this weekend will do, and that looks like a forlorn hope.
So, will we ever see all four at the World Cup again? Who knows. Then again, this whole question may be irrelevant. There are moves afoot to resurrect the United Kingdom team to compete at the London Olympics in 2012, with some fearing that any attempt at doing so will spell the end for the individual national sides...
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