Nations Cup (soccer)

The logo of the competition

The Nations Cup (official sponsor name: Carling Nations Cup ) was a 2011 football tournament in which the four national teams of Ireland , Scotland , Wales and Northern Ireland participated.

Emergence

The then Northern Irish national coach Lawrie Sanchez formulated the idea in 2006 of holding a tournament for the national teams of the Celtic countries of the British Isles instead of friendly matches . The tournament was intended as the successor to the British Home Championship , which was played annually from 1883 to 1984 between the Scottish, Welsh, Northern Irish and English national teams. However, an involvement of England was considered unlikely by Sanchez.

By 2008, the plans had become so concrete that the tournament should be held every two years in February and May. The tournament location should rotate between the participating countries every two years. The first tournament was originally supposed to take place in 2009, but was postponed to 2011 due to scheduling difficulties. In October 2010, the Carling Brewery was won as the tournament's name sponsor.

The tournament

The first edition took place in 2011 in Dublin , Ireland . Participants were Scotland, Ireland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The English association had declined his invitation. The four participating teams each played against each other once.

The tournament was won by hosts Ireland, who won all of their games. The Irish also provided the top scorer in Robbie Keane . Sometimes the games met with little interest from the audience. The Aviva Stadium as the venue was not even half full on average. The game between Wales and Northern Ireland was attended by just 529 spectators.

Other Events

Originally, the second edition of the tournament was to take place in Cardiff , Welsh in 2013 . This was already doubted in January 2012. In the end, the tournament didn't take place.

statistics

Results

rank	country	Gates	Points
1.	Ireland	9-0	9
2.	Scotland	6: 2	6th
3.	Wales	3: 6	3
4th	Northern Ireland	0:10	0

All games were played at the Aviva Stadium in the Irish capital, Dublin .

0Feb 8, 2011	Ireland - Wales	3: 0 (0: 0)	Goals: 1-0 Darron Gibson 60th min., 2-0 Damien Duff 67th min., 3-0 Keith Fahey 83th min.
0Feb 9, 2011	Scotland - Northern Ireland	3: 0 (2: 0)	Goals: 1-0 Kenny Miller 19th min., 2-0 James McArthur 31st min., 3-0 Kris Commons 51st min.
May 24, 2011	Ireland - Northern Ireland	5: 0 (3: 0)	1-0 Stephen Ward 24th min., 2-0 Robbie Keane 27th min., 3-0 Craig Cathcart 44th min. (Own goal), 4-0 Robbie Keane 53rd min. (Penalty), 5-0 Simon Cox 79th min.
May 25, 2011	Wales - Scotland	1: 3 (1: 0)	1: 0 Robert Earnshaw 36.min., 1: 1 James Morrison 56.min., 1: 2 Kenny Miller 65.min., 1: 3 Christophe Berra 71.min.
May 27, 2011	Wales - Northern Ireland	2: 0 (1: 0)	1-0 Aaron Ramsey 35th min., 2-0 Robert Earnshaw 71st min.
May 29, 2011	Ireland - Scotland	1: 0 (1: 0)	1-0 Robbie Keane 24th min.

Goal scorers

• 3 goals:
  •  Robbie Keane
• 2 goals:
  •  Kenny Miller
  •  Robert Earnshaw

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Sanchez wants Celtic tournament . In: BBC Sport , BBC, December 12, 2006. Retrieved January 2, 2009. 
2. ^ 'Four Nations' plan faces delay . In: BBC Sport , BBC, April 11, 2008. Retrieved January 2, 2009. 
3. ↑ Carling main sponsor of the tournament (English) Article dated August 12, 2010
4. ↑ Celtic nations to play 2011 event . In: BBC Sport , BBC, September 18, 2008. Retrieved January 2, 2010.  
5. ^ Carling Nations Cup table. Carling , accessed April 9, 2013 . 
6. ↑ Irish FA chief Jim Shaw says Nations Cup was a one-off. BBC , January 8, 2012, accessed April 9, 2013 . 

Web links

• Official homepage of the Carliong Nations Cup