England's first international was against Scotland, away at Partick, on November 30th 1872.
There were then annual matches against the "Home" nations, at The Oval, firstly, a 2-1 win v Wales in 1879 and then a debut by Ireland at the Knock Ground, Belfast, in 1882 (England won 13-0). By 1908 European opposition was taken in during "demonstration" tours to Austria (6-1 and 11-1), Hungary (7-0) and Bohemia (4-0). Belgium were at home in 1921, a 2-0 win for England, France at home, a 4-1 win and Sweden in Stockholm, a 3-1 win in 1923, v Luxembourg (5-2) in 1927 and Spain in 1929 where there was a 3-4 loss in Madrid.
In 1930, it was the Germans in Berlin 3-3, Italy 1933, Czechoslovakia 1934 (lost 1-2). Holland in 1935, Norway (won 6-0) and Finland ((won 8-0) 1937, Switzerland 1938 ((lost 1-2), Yugoslavia 1939 ((lost 1-2), Portugal 1947 ((won 10-0) and then the Brazilian World Cup in 1950, eventually as the English FA eventually agreed to join in the Global fun, 20 years late!!
Brazil hosted 1950 World Cup Finals and England met Chile on June 25th, their first match against a South American country, winning 2-0. England also met USA for the first time (loss 0-1) and Spain (loss 0-1) in their group. They did not "go on" to the next phase.
The first time England played an African nation (apart from South Africa), was in January 1986 v Egypt in a Cairo friendly ((won 4-0). Then on June 6th it was against Morocco in a group match at the 1986 World Cup finals in Monterrey, Mexico. There was a disappointing 0-0 draw, marked by the first sending off of an England player in a World Cup finals match, when Ray Wilkins threw the ball at Paraguayan referee, Gabriel Gonzalez. England qualified from the group in second place with group winners Morocco becoming the first African nation to qualify for the knock-out stages.
Savages FC (Pietermaritzburg, South Africa), and Gezira SC are the oldest African football clubs that remain in existence. Both began play in 1882 followed by Alexandria SC (1890), CDJ Oran from Algeria in 1894 and CAL Oran from Algeria too in 1897.
1909-10 The Football Association Tour of South Africa. An 18-man squad left Southampton on May 7th for the 17-day voyage to South Africa, where they embarked on a 23-match tour, spanning nine weeks. Nine of the squad had previously played in full internationals (though one withdrew after two games because of injury and another player then joined the squad), whilst another two went on to win full caps. THis was a "demonstration" tour......
26 May 1910 - Western Province 1 England 7 Cape Town, British Cape Colony (3,000)
Holley (3), Fleming (2), Duckworth, Raine The first match of the tour, just two days after the visitors' arrival, saw the Football Association XI take on a team restricted to those born locally in the British colony, which was about to be unified with the three other British colonies to form the Union of South Africa, five days later.
28 May 1910 - Western Province 0 England 13 Cape Town, British Cape Colony (3,000) Hibbert (6), Berry (3), Woodward (2), Wedlock, Holley
1 June 1910 - Griqualand West 0 England 2 Kimberley, Cape Province Wall, Hibbert
4 June 1910 - Griqualand West 1 England 7 Kimberley, Cape Province Hibbert (3), Fleming (2), Berry (2)
8 June 1910 -Orange Free State Province 0 England 4 Bloemfontein, Orange Free State Province Hibbert (2), Woodward, Wall
11 June 1910 - Johannesburg 1 England 6 Wanderers Ground, Johannesburg (5,000) Woodward, Wall (3 (1 pen)), Fleming, Holley
13 June 1910 - West Rand 1 England 3 Krugersdorp, Transvaal Province Wall, Raine, Fleming
15 June 1910 - Pretoria 1 England 4 Pretoria, Transvaal Provincenk Hibbert (2), Wedlock, Holley
18 June 1910 - Transvaal Province 0 England 1 Wanderers Ground, Johannesburg Hibbert
20 June 1910 - Klip River 3 England 13 Ladysmith, Natal Province Hibbert (6), Raine (3), Holley (2), Wedlock, Wall
22 June 1910 - Pietermaritzburg 0 England 6 Natal Province Holley (3), Hibbert (2), Wedlock
25 June 1910 - Natal Province 2 England 6 Durban Berry (3), Woodward (2), Hibbert
29 June 1910 - South Africa 0 England 3 Durban, Natal Province (5,000) Hibbert
2 July 1910 - Cape Frontier 0 England 7 East London, Cape Province Wall (3), Fleming (2), Woodward (2)
4 July 1910 - Cape Frontier 0 England 6 King William's Town, Cape Province Fleming (3), Woodward (2), Raine
6 July 1910 - Port Elizabeth 0 England 8 Port Elizabeth, Cape Province Hibbert (3), Woodward (2), Duckworth, Berry, Holley
9 July 1910 - Eastern Province 0 England 10 Port Elizabeth, Cape Province Woodward (3), Fleming (3), Hibbert (3), Richards
12 July 1910 - Grahamstown 0 England 9 Grahamstown, Cape Province Holley (3), Woodward (2), Wedlock, Raine, Berry +?
16 July 1910 - Rand League 1 England 2 Wanderers Ground, Johannesburg, Transvaal Province
Woodward, Fleming
20 July 1910 - East Rand 0 England 5 Vogelfontein, Transvaal Province Woodward (3), Holley (2)
23 July 1910 - South Africa 2 England 6 Wanderers Ground, Johannesburg(13,000)
Fleming (2), Woodward (2), Wall, Holley
27 July 1910 - Western Province 0 England 9 Cape Town, Cape Province Woodward (2), Fleming (2), Raine (2), Silto, Hibbert, Sharpe
30 July 1910 - South Africa 3 England 6 Cape Town, Cape Province (5,000) Holley (2), Woodward (2), Fleming, Berry: with seven full internationals in the side, plus a future cap, managed to complete their fixtures with a hundred per cent record, before the long journey home and the start of the new football season.
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