The Scotland national football team has represented Scotland in
association football since the world's first international football
match on St. Andrew's Day (Scotland's National Day), 30 November 1872.
Controlled by the Scottish Football Association, the team competes in
the two major professional tournaments, the FIFA World Cup and the UEFA
European Championship, but not the Olympic Games. Most of their home
matches are played at the national stadium, Hampden Park. They have a
long-standing rivalry with England, with annual matches from 1872 until
1989, and six matches since then. They have qualified for the FIFA World
Cup on eight occasions and the UEFA European Championship twice; they
have never progressed beyond the first group stage of a finals
tournament, but they did once beat the FIFA World Cup winners –
England, in 1967. Their supporters are collectively known as the Tartan
Army. The Scottish Football Association operates a roll of honour for
every player who has made more than 50 appearances for the team. Kenny
Dalglish, with 102 appearances between 1971 and 1986, holds the record
for Scotland; he also shares the record for goals scored (30), with
Denis Law.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotland_national_football_team>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1700:
Great Northern War: Swedish forces led by King Charles XII
defeated the Russian army of Tsar Peter the Great at the Battle of
Narva.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Narva_(1700)>
1853:
Russian warships led by Pavel Nakhimov destroyed an Ottoman
fleet of frigates at the Battle of Sinop, precipitating the Crimean War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimean_War>
1962:
Burmese diplomat U Thant became United Nations Secretary-
General, following the death of Dag Hammarskjöld in September 1961.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U_Thant>
1979:
The Wall, a rock opera and concept album by Pink Floyd, was
first released.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wall>
1993:
US President Bill Clinton signed the Brady Handgun Violence
Prevention Act into law, requiring purchasers of handguns to pass a
background check.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brady_Handgun_Violence_Prevention_Act>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
saltire:
1. (heraldry) An ordinary (geometric design) in the shape of an X. It
usually occupies the entire field in which it is placed.
2. The Saint Andrew's cross, the flag of Scotland.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/saltire>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Laws are like Cobwebs which may catch small Flies, but let Wasps
and Hornets break through. But in Oratory the greatest Art is to hide
Art.
--Jonathan Swift
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jonathan_Swift>