Umbro Cup
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | England |
| Dates | 3–11 June 1995 |
| Teams | 4 (from 3 confederations) |
| Venue(s) | 5 (in 5 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Brazil |
| Runners-up |  England |
| Third place |  Sweden |
| Fourth place |  Japan |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 6 |
| Goals scored | 21 (3.5 per match) |
| Attendance | 175,517 (29,253 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Kennet Andersson (3 goals) |
The Umbro Cup was a friendly international football competition that took place in England in June 1995. The trophy was sponsored by the sports equipment brand Umbro, the manufacturers of the England national team's kit.
Host nation England, Sweden, Japan and world champions Brazil participated in the tournament. Brazil were the eventual champions, after winning all three of their games.
The staging of the competition served as an rehearsal for England's hosting of UEFA Euro 1996 the following summer. Matches took place at Wembley Stadium, Elland Road, Goodison Park, Villa Park and the City Ground.
Background[edit]
England did not compete in the 1994 FIFA World Cup due to coming third in Group 2 in the qualifying round. This led to Graham Taylor resigning on 23 November 1993, six days after England's failure to qualify. England then appointed Terry Venables as manager on 28 January 1994.[1] This, combined with the fact that England qualified automatically for UEFA Euro 1996 as hosts, meant that by mid-1995 the team had not played competitive football for more than 18 months. In preparation for Euro 1996 a rehearsal tournament was organised and sponsored by Umbro.[2][3][4]
Venables named a 23 man squad for the competition, but was missing some choices due to injuries. Two players, Paul Ince and Andy Cole withdrew later and were replaced by Jamie Redknapp and Warren Barton.[2] Later in Venables 2014 book it was said that Ince was "frozen out" of the squad.[5]
Tournament[edit]
In the opening round of matches, England beat Japan,[6][7][8] and Brazil beat Sweden.[9]
Brazil comfortably beat Japan in their second game.[10][11] On 8 June, Sweden were leading 3–1 against England but their opponents scored twice in the last two minutes to snatch a draw.[12][13]
In the final match of the tournament, Brazil beat England.[14][15][16][17]
Venues[edit]
| London | Liverpool | Birmingham | Leeds | Nottingham |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wembley | Goodison Park | Villa Park | Elland Road | City Ground |
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Results[edit]
All times listed are British Summer Time (UTC+1)
England vs Japan[edit]
The first match of the tournament took place at Wembley and pitted England against Japan. Due to several injuries, four players made their England debuts, leading to a line-up which Veneables described as "a little disjointed".[6] Darren Anderton gave England the lead shortly after the half-time interval but Masami Ihara equalised for Japan. England's captain, David Platt, was fouled late in the game but the referee opted not to award a penalty kick. With only two minutes of the game remaining, Japan's captain, Tetsuji Hashiratani, used his hand to stop the ball going into the goal. He was sent off and a penalty awarded, which Platt scored to give England a 2–1 victory.[6]
        England
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     Japan
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Brazil vs Sweden[edit]
    Brazil
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   Sweden
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Japan vs Brazil[edit]
| Japan | 0–3 | Brazil |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Roberto Carlos  7'Zinho 52', 64' |
Japan
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    Brazil
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England vs Sweden[edit]
| England | 3–3 | Sweden |
|---|---|---|
| Sheringham 44' Platt 89'Anderton 90+1' |
Report | Mild 11', 37' K. Andersson 46' |
England
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Sweden
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Sweden vs Japan[edit]
Sweden
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Japan
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England vs Brazil[edit]
  England
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Brazil
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Standings[edit]
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil
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3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | +6 | 9 |
| England
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3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 7 | –1 | 4 |
| Sweden
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3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 6 | –1 | 2 |
| Japan
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3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 | –4 | 1 |
Goalscorers[edit]
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3 goals 2 goals |
1 goal
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References[edit]
- ^ Venables 2014, p. 10
- ^ a b "England in Minor Tournaments - Umbro Cup". englandfootballonline.com. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
- ^ "Unanswered queries are a concern for Venables". Birmingham Post. 30 May 1995. p. 15. Retrieved 5 September 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Churchill, Barry (4 June 1995). "Super skipper saves blushes for Venables". Sunday Mercury. p. 84. Retrieved 5 September 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Venables 2014, p. 37
- ^ a b c Malam, Colin (4 June 1995). "Reliable Platt on spot to save face for England". The Sunday Telegraph. p. 90. Retrieved 29 August 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Weaver, Paul (4 June 1995). "A stuttering embarrassment". The Sunday Telegraph. p. 90. Retrieved 29 August 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Lacey, David (5 June 1995). "Brazil fine-tune for Wembley show". The Guardian. p. 20. Retrieved 29 August 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Lacey, David (5 June 1995). "England slog is no surprise". The Guardian. p. 20. Retrieved 29 August 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Lacey, David (7 June 1995). "Brazilians exhibit their finest arts". The Guardians. p. 21. Retrieved 29 August 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Winter, Henry (7 June 1995). "Zinho leads Brazilian masterclass in artistry". The Daily Telegraph. p. 35. Retrieved 29 August 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Moore, Glenn (9 June 1995). "England's great escape finalised by Anderton". The Independent. p. 38. Retrieved 29 August 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Winter, Henry (9 June 1995). "Anderton's late strike rescues England". The Daily Telegraph. p. 39. Retrieved 29 August 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Lacey, David (12 June 1995). "Brazilian masters prove class apart". The Guardian. p. 18. Retrieved 29 August 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Moore, Glenn (12 June 1995). "England's limitations exposed". The Independent. p. 27. Retrieved 29 August 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Winter, Henry (12 June 1995). "Brazilian panache gives Venables food for thought". The Daily Telegraph. p. 41. Retrieved 29 August 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Hughes, Rob (14 June 1995). "The new boys from Brazil". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
External links[edit]
- Umbro Cup 1995 at RSSSF
- Umbro Cup Archived 2017-04-21 at the Wayback Machine at Football Database
Books[edit]
- Venables, Terry; Alex, Montgomery (2014), Born to Manage: The Autobiography, Simon & Schuster, ISBN 978-1-47112-991-9