Cuthbert Ottaway Cuthbert Ottaway Cuthbert John Ottaway (19 July 1850 – 2 April 1878), was an English footballer. He was the first captain of the England football team and led his side in the first official international football match. Representing his university at five different sports – a record that remains unmatched – Ottaway was also a noted cricketer until his retirement shortly before his early death at the age of only 27. Cuthbert Ottaway was born in Dover, the only child of James Ottaway, a surgeon and former mayor of the town. He was educated at Eton (where he was a
Slovenia national football team who later initiated the first World Cup tournament. France won 5–0 and, although the match was not official by international standards, it was, at least in Slovenia, widely accepted as the first appearance of a Slovenian national team. In 1991, Slovenia was the first of the republics, alongside Croatia, to gain independence from Yugoslavia. With the recognition of the new country by the international community, the team was also recognized by FIFA and UEFA. The new Slovenian national football team played its first FIFA-recognized game on 3 June 1992 in Tallinn against Estonia. The match ended in a 1–1 draw,