| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales |
| Dates | 4 February – 7 April 1888 |
| Teams | 4 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  England (2nd title) |
| Runners-up |  Scotland |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 6 |
| Goals scored | 46 (7.67 per match) |
| Top scorer |  Jack Doughty(6 goals) |
1888–89 → | |
The1887–88British Home Championship was the fifth edition of the annual internationalfootball tournament played between the BritishHome Nations. It was the first edition of the tournament in whichScotland did not at least share in the trophy and was also notable for a record flood of goals, 46 in six games, 26 of them conceded byIreland, who suffered a disastrous competition.
England began the tournament in the same vein as they finished it, winning the opening match 5–1 againstWales at theAlexandra Recreation Ground inCrewe. Wales responded to this, and to their shock defeat by Ireland the year previously with an 11–0 thrashing of the visiting Irish, a Welsh record scoreline which remains standing after137 years. Any hopes of a recovery for the Welsh were however dashed in their final game when Scotland administered a 5–1 beating inEdinburgh.
England returned to the fray and gained revenge for their narrow defeat in the deciding match of the previous year when they in turn thrashed Scotland 5–0 inGlasgow, leaving only the weak Irish in between them and the trophy. Before this however, Ireland received another massive defeat at the hands of Scotland, who beat them 2–10 inBelfast to take second place. In the final game, England needed only a draw to secure the title but managed a win by five goals to one to take their first undisputed championship.
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England(C) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 2 | +13 | 6 |
| Scotland | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 8 | +7 | 4 |
| Wales | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 10 | +3 | 2 |
 Ireland | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 26 | −23 | 0 |
| Scotland | 5–1 | Wales |
|---|---|---|
J. Doughty 41' |
| Name | Apps/Goals by opponent | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
WAL[3] | IRE[4] | SCO[5] | Apps | Goals | |
| Fred Dewhurst | 1/3 | 1/1 | 1/2 | 3 | 6 |
| Tinsley Lindley | 1/1 | 1/1 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| Dennis Hodgetts | 1 | 1 | 1/1 | 3 | 1 |
| Harry Allen | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| John Goodall | 1 | 1/1 | 2 | 1 | |
| George Woodhall | 1/1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | |
| Percy Walters | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | |
| Cecil Holden-White | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | |
| Bob Howarth | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | |
| Billy Moon | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | |
| Albert Allen | 1/3 | 1 | 3 | ||
| George Haworth | 1/1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Frank Saunders | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Charlie Mason | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Bob Roberts | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Albert Aldridge | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Bob Holmes | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Charlie Shelton | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Billy Bassett | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
