England v Scotland (1871)

Between 1870 and 1872, the Football Association (FA) organised five representative association football matches between teams representing England and Scotland, all held in London. The first of these matches was held at The Oval on 5 March 1870, and the fifth was on 21 February 1872. The matches, which were organised by C. W. Alcock, are the precursors to modern international football and referred to as internationals at the time, but are not considered full internationals by FIFA as the players competing in the Scotland team were London-based Scottish players. They were followed by the 1872 match in Glasgow between Scotland and England which is recognised as the first international match.

The 1870 match was initiated by C. W. Alcock who placed advertisements in Scottish newspapers, including the following letter in the Glasgow Herald on 3 November 1870 regarding the second of the five fixtures:

"FOOTBALL. ENGLAND V SCOTLAND. Sir, will you allow me a few lines in your newspaper to notify to Scotch players that a match under the above title will take place in London on Sat 10th inst., according to the rules of the Football Association. It is the object of the committee to select the best elevens at their disposal in the two countries, and I cannot but think that the appearance of some of the more prominent celebrities of football on the northern side of the Tweed would do much to disseminate a healthy feeling of good fellowship among the contestants and tend to promote a still greater extent the extension of the game..."

The first match, then, was organised by the FA and resulted in a 1–1 draw. The match was delayed two weeks from its advertised date due to excessive frost which had made the ground "dangerously unfit for play". Alcock captained the England team whilst Scotland were led by James Kirkpatrick. The match was 0–0 when the teams changed end at half-time - a rule that The Sporting Gazette of Saturday 12 March 1870 described as new - but Scotland took a lead through a goal by Robert Crawford after England had moved their goalkeeper upfield. England fought back to score through Baker to salvage a draw before the end of the game.W.H. Gladstone, an MP and son of the sitting Prime Minister W.E. Gladstone appeared for Scotland and, according to the Manchester Guardian, "did good service on the part of the Scottish team."

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