This evening England play Malta in a Euro Championship qualifying tie. England have already wrapped up top spot in their Euro 2024 qualifying group but will be looking to continue their unbeaten qualification campaign on tonight against rock-bottom Malta at Wembley. The visitors, yet to pick up a point in Group C, are likely to find the going tough against a Three Lions outfit that have scored 19 goals in their six games so far. England put four past the Maltese in Ta’ Qali in the reverse fixture back in June but should be able to go one better when they welcome the minnows to north-west London. The Three Lions have scored 12 of their 19 Euro 2024 qualifying goals on home soil and thrashed second-bottom North Macedonia 7-0 in Manchester earlier this year. Malta have conceded 18 goals compared with the North Macedonians’ 14 and lost 4-0 in Italy in their last away game, so expect a heavy defeat for the bottom-placed side.
On 16 November 1938, England recorded a memorable 7-0 victory over Northern Ireland in a Home International Championship match at Old Trafford. Tottenham's Willie Hall, of Spurs (below) stole the show scoring 5 goals - equalling what is still the record for England* - including a hat-trick in under 4 minutes (34th, 36th, 38th minutes), which is also an England record. The other goals came from Tommy Lawton and Stanley Matthews, while Joe Mercer made his England debut. Those were the days!
*Howard Vaughton of Aston Villa (below), scored the first 5 goals against Ireland on February 18th 1882 in a 13-0 win. (Receipts for this match amounted to £9.19 shillings and 7 pence! He later became the director of a Birmingham firm which manufactured the second FA Cup trophy.
Steve Bloomer (v Wales 16th March 1896 Cardiff), Willie Hall (v Ireland 16th November 1938 Old Trafford) and Malcolm MacDonald (16th April 1975 Wembley) have done the same since. Bloomer between 1895 and 1899 scored in TEN consecutive England matches, totalling 19 goals.
Willie Hall played 10 times for England and made 205 League appearances for Spurs – scoring 27 times - before the Second World War effectively ended his playing career. Tragically after the war he suffered the part amputation of both his legs. He was a very popular personality which was highlighted when Eamonn Andrews (in dark suit) highlighted his life story in TVs famous programme, ‘This Is Your Life’ in February 1959.
England first played an international on November 30th v Scotland in 1872 in Glasgow. However, after that, international matches were held at the "end of the season"; February, March and April and only between the Home International countries. Summer tours took England into Europe in April, May and June.
In 1923, the first England "November" international was in Belgium on the 1st, a 2-2 draw in Antwerp. In 1927 the next November game for England was against Wales in Burnley on the 28th, losing 1-2.
The first international on November 16th (today's anniversary) was in 1932 in Wrexham, a 0-0 draw.
Matches on either the 15th or the 16th November happened firstly in 1949. On the 16th November 1949, England played a Home Championship match which acted as a FIFA World Cup qualifier; they beat Ireland 9-2 at Maine Rd, Manchester. Arthur Rowley scored 4, but did not get picked for the World Cup team the following year in the USA.
From this game (1949), England did not lose any match played in November through to 2000. They won 8, drew 2 and lost eventually in Italy 1-0 in a friendly on November 15th 2000.
Between 2004 and 2021, England played ten games either on the 15th or the 16th November, winning 5, including a recent 0-10 v San Marino, when Harry Kane scored 4.
Wins were: Austria away 0-1 in 2007: Sweden home win 1-0 in 2011: Slovenia home win 3-1 UEFA Euro. 2014
In other years, England drew twice (to Netherlands 1-1 in 2006 and 2-2 to Spain in 2016) and
losses 3, (to Denmark 2-3 in 2004 in a home friendly, to Chile 0-2 in a friendly in 2013, and away in Belgium 2-0 in the Nations' League).
Euro Champ Qualifying | Group Stage
Nov 17, 2023 at 7.45pm UK
Wembley Stadium
England
vs.
Malta
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