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 a 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 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. 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.
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. Later in Venables' 2014 book it was said that Ince was "frozen out" of the squad.
Tournament In the opening round of matches, England beat Japan, and Brazil beat Sweden.
Brazil comfortably beat Japan in their second game. On 8 June, Sweden were leading 3–1 against England but their opponents scored twice in the last two minutes to snatch a draw.
In the final match of the tournament, Brazil beat England.
Venues London Liverpool Birmingham Leeds Nottingham Wembley Goodison Park Villa Park Elland Road City Ground
Results All times listed are British Summer Time (UTC+1)
England vs Japan 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". 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.
GK1 Tim FlowersDF12Gary NevilleDF5 John ScalesDF15David UnsworthDF14Stuart PearceMF11Darren AndertonMF7 David Platt (c)MF4 David Batty MF8 Peter Beardsley FW9 Alan ShearerFW6 Stan Collymore Substitutions:MF17Steve McManaman MF19Paul Gascoigne FW22Teddy Sheringham Manager:Terry Venables GK13Kazuya MaekawaDF19Kazuaki TasakaDF5 Tetsuji Hashiratani (c) DF4 Masami IharaMF2 Akira NarahashiMF15Hiroaki Morishima MF6 Motohiro YamaguchiMF8 Tsuyoshi KitazawaMF20Naoki Soma FW11Kazuyoshi MiuraFW14Masashi Nakayama Substitutions:FW9 Hisashi Kurosaki MF3 Hiroshige Yanagimoto MF16Masahiro Fukuda Manager:Shu Kamo
Brazil vs Sweden
GK1 ZettiRB2 JorginhoCB3 Aldair CB4 RonaldãoLB6 Roberto CarlosDM8 Dunga (c)DM5 César Sampaio AM11ZinhoAM10Juninho PaulistaFW7 EdmundoFW9 RonaldoSubstitutions:DF16André Cruz Manager:Mário Zagallo GK12Bengt AnderssonDF14Pontus KåmarkDF15Teddy LučićDF4 Joachim BjörklundDF5 Roger LjungMF9 Jonas Thern (c) MF16Niclas AlexanderssonMF8 Håkan MildMF21Magnus ErlingmarkFW10Martin Dahlin FW11Kennet Andersson Substitutions:MF19Niklas Gudmundsson FW17Henrik Larsson FW21Dick Lidman Manager:Tommy Svensson
Japan vs Brazil
GK1 Nobuyuki KojimaSW4 Masami IharaDF2 Akira NarahashiDF19Kazuaki Tasaka DF17Norio OmuraDF20Naoki SomaMF15Hiroaki Morishima MF8 Tsuyoshi KitazawaMF6 Motohiro YamaguchiMF11Kazuyoshi MiuraFW14Masashi Nakayama Substitutions:FW16Masahiro Fukuda FW9 Hisashi Kurosaki DF3 Hiroshige Yanagimoto Manager:Shu Kamo GK1 ZettiDF2 JorginhoDF3 AldairDF4 Márcio SantosDF6 Roberto CarlosMF10Juninho Paulista MF8 Dunga (c)MF5 DorivaMF11Zinho FW7 EdmundoFW9 RonaldoSubstitutions:MF13Leonardo FW15Rivaldo Manager:Mário Zagallo
England vs Sweden
GK1 Tim FlowersDF2 Warren BartonDF21Colin CooperDF12Gary Pallister DF3 Graeme Le SauxMF11Darren AndertonMF8 Peter Beardsley MF7 David Platt (c)MF10John Barnes FW9 Alan ShearerFW22Teddy SheringhamSubstitutions:MF18Nick Barmby MF19Paul Gascoigne DF5 John Scales Manager:Terry Venables GK1 Thomas Ravelli (c)DF2 Gary SundgrenDF15Teddy LučićDF4 Joachim BjörklundDF14Pontus KåmarkMF16Niclas AlexanderssonMF20Magnus Erlingmark MF8 Håkan MildMF19Niklas GudmundssonFW17Henrik LarssonFW11Kennet Andersson Substitutions:FW21Dick Lidman MF18Ola Andersson Manager:Tommy Svensson
Sweden vs Japan
GK1 Thomas Ravelli (c)DF2 Gary SundgrenDF15Teddy LučićDF4 Joachim BjörklundDF14Pontus KåmarkMF16Niclas AlexanderssonMF7 Peter WibrånMF18Ola AnderssonMF19Niklas Gudmundsson FW11Kennet AnderssonFW17Henrik LarssonSubstitutions:DF13Mikael Nilsson Manager:Tommy Svensson GK22Kenichi ShimokawaDF2 Akira Narahashi DF4 Masami IharaDF5 Tetsuji Hashiratani (c)DF17Norio OmuraMF18Toshiya Fujita MF6 Motohiro YamaguchiMF8 Tsuyoshi Kitazawa MF20Naoki SomaFW11Kazuyoshi MiuraFW9 Hisashi KurosakiSubstitutions:MF7 Hajime Moriyasu FW16Masahiro Fukuda DF3 Hiroshige Yanagimoto Manager:Shu Kamo
England vs Brazil
GK1 Tim FlowersDF12Gary NevilleDF5 John Scales DF21Colin Cooper DF14Stuart PearceMF11Darren AndertonMF4 David Batty MF7 David Platt (c)MF3 Graeme Le SauxFW9 Alan Shearer FW22Teddy SheringhamSubstitutions:MF19Paul Gascoigne DF2 Warren Barton FW6 Stan Collymore Manager:Terry Venables GK1 ZettiDF2 JorginhoDF3 Aldair DF15Márcio SantosDF6 Roberto Carlos MF8 Dunga (c)MF5 César SampaioMF11ZinhoFW10Juninho Paulista FW7 Edmundo FW9 Ronaldo Substitutions:FW21Giovanni MF19Leonardo DF4 Ronaldão Manager:Mário Zagallo
Standings Team330071+69311167–14302156–12301237–41
Goalscorers
3 goals Kennet Andersson
2 goals Edmundo Zinho Darren Anderton David Platt Håkan Mild
1 goal Juninho Paulista Roberto Carlos Ronaldo Graeme Le Saux Teddy Sheringham Hisashi Kurosaki Masami Ihara Toshiya Fujita
References
External links Umbro Cup 1995 at RSSSF
Books