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England national football team results (1872–1899)

(1872-1899)

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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 15, 2026
Entity authorityQ5378036 ↗
Source-derived summary

The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by The Football Association. It is the joint-oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, England's opponents in what is now recognised as the world's first international football match, which took place at Hamilton Crescent in Glasgow in November 1872. Prior to this, a series of matches had been played between teams representing the two countries, but the Scottish team was drawn almost entirely from players based in and around London and these games are now not regarded as full international matches.

Between 1872 and 1899, which was the end of the 19th century, England played in 61 matches, resulting in 37 wins, 9 draws and 15 defeats. During this time England played annual friendly against Scotland each year until 1883, and added a regular game against Wales in 1879. These two teams remained England's only opponents until the British Home Championship was instituted in 1884, consisting of a round-robin tournament between England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. Of the 15 tournaments staged prior to the 20th century, England won 7 outright and 2 jointly with Scotland.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “England national football team results (1872–1899)” as (1872-1899). Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA concise reference frame for defining the subject, testing terminology and identifying the institution closest to the evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1872, 1899, 1883, 1879—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. The account is most persuasive where England, national and football can be independently traced.
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Why this record matters

The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as (1872-1899). Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 15, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5378036. The first chronological checks are 1872, 1899, 1883 and 1879.

Critical limits

Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

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Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

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  2. Expand the search: follow England national football team results (1872–1899) primary sources, England national football team results (1872–1899) archive and England research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “England national football team results (1872–1899)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.