First International

The first international game was played in Scotland on 30 November 1872. Charles Alcock, who was elected to secretary of the FA at the age of 28, devised the idea of an international competition, inaugurating an annual Scotland-England fixture. In 1870 and 1871 he placed advertisements in Edinburgh and Glasgow newspapers, requesting players for an international between the two countries. The only response that he received stated: "devotees of the "association" rules will find no foemen worthy of their steel in Scotland"^[5] For this reason the 1870 and 1871 matches were composed entirely of Scots living in England. Notably, however, Smith of the Queen's Park football club took part in most of the 1870 and 1871 international matches. As early as 1870, Alcock was adamant that these matches were open to every Scotsman [Alcock's italics] whether his lines were cast North or South of the Tweed and that if in the face of the invitations publicly given through the columns of leading journals of Scotland the representative eleven consisted chiefly of Anglo-Scotians ... the fault lies on the heads of the players of the north, not on the management who sought the services of all alike impartially. To call the team London Scotchmen contributes nothing. The match was, as announced, to all intents and purposes between England and Scotland".^[6]

In 1872 the challenge was eventually taken up by Queens Park FC.^[7] The first international currently recognised as official by FIFA (which took place on 30 November 1872,Glasgow, Scotland) ended in a goalless draw between the two sides and thus, one of the most bitterly disputed fixtures in footballing history was born. The 2nd game between the two sides, on the 8 March1873, ended 4-2 in favour of England, the Scots then went on to win the next game 2-1. The fourth game ended in a 2-2 draw after which the Scots enjoyed a 3-game winning streak.

The first non-European international was contested on 28 November 1885, at Newark, New Jersey, between the USA and Canada, the Canadians winning 1-0