Soccer Trivia

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England

Alan Mullery of Spurs was the first England player to be shown the red card in an international when he was dismissed against Yugoslavia in Florence on 5 June 1968.

Alexander Morten, the England goalkeeper when they beat Scotland 4-2 in England’s second official international at the Kennington Oval on 8 March 1873, appeared for Scotland in the first unofficial international between the two counties, the 1-1 drawn on 5 March 1870. 

England played their first game on foreign soil when they beat Austria 6-1 in Vienna on 6 June 1908. 

When England drew 0-0 with Scotland at Hampden Park in the British Home International Championships on 25 April 1970, it was the first time they had played out a scoreless draw since their first ever official meeting in 1872.

On 3 February 1945 Frank Wong Soo was the first player of Chinese extraction to play for England. Indeed, Frank was the first non-white player of any ethnic background to present England long before Viv Anderson, the first “official” black player, made his debut for England in 1979.   Frank was born in Buxton, Derbyshire, in 1914 and was the son of a Chinese father and an English mother.  He was one of the best inside forwards of the immediate pre-war era, certainly during his time at Stoke City, where he formed part of a legendary team that included players such as Sir Stanley Matthews and Neil Franklin. This famous trio played together in the England team that faced Scotland at Villa Park on 3rd February 1945.

England players first wore their names on the back of their shirts during the 1992 European Championships in Sweden.

Billy Ferguson was the first Irish player to be sent off in an international, and the first player from any country to be sent off during the Home Internationals, when Northern Ireland lost 2-0 to England. 1967.

Frederick Patey Chappell, who was born in England, changed his name to Frederick Brunning Maddison in 1873, having played for England in the first international in 1872 against Scotland.  However, he had already played for Scotland in the 1-1 draw on 25 February 1871, the third unofficial international involving England and Scotland.

Alexander Morten, the England goalkeeper when they beat Scotland 4-2 in England's second official international at the Kennington Oval on 8 March 1873, appeared for Scotland in the first unofficial international between the two countries, the 1-1 draw on 5 March 1870.

In 1950-51 Leslie Compton became the oldest player to make his debut for England when he played against Wales aged 38 years and two months. 

The 1956 Home international championship finished in a four-way tie for the first time, all the teams having three points.   

Tommy Lawton of Chelsea scored the fastest England goal in history. He scored after just 17 seconds in England's 10-0 friendly win over Portugal in Lisbon on 27 May 1947.

England's longest unbeaten run stands at 20 matches played between the 3-2 loss to Scotland on 13 April 1889 and the 2-1 way home defeat to Scotland on 4 April 1896.   England's record during this seven-year period was 16 wins and 4 draws.

Billy Wright of Wolverhampton Wanderers holds the record for the highest number of consecutive appearances for England, with 70 between October 1951 and the USA in May 1959. He was captain in all 70 matches.

England twice scored 13 goals against Ireland.  On 18 February 1882 England won 13-0 in Belfast and on 18 February 1899 England beat Ireland 13-2 in Sunderland.

William Stanley-Kenyon of the Wanderers became England's first every goalscorer during their 4-2 win over Scotland on 8 March 1873. He scored two goals - and is therefore the first player to score twice for England.

The smallest Wembley crowd for an England match is 15,628 for the match against Chile on 23 May 1989.  The gate was affected by a tube strike.

James Henry Forrest, who played for Blackburn Rovers from 1884 to 1890, was the first professional footballer to play for England against Scotland.