The ground first held international football on 10 May 1952, when England schools, captained by future York manager Wilf McGuinness, beat Ireland 5–0 before 16,000 spectators. It has hosted a number of youth international matches, most notably the England under-18's 4–0 win over Northern Ireland on 13 October 1996, in which 16-year-old Michael Owen scored a hat-trick for England. Bootham Crescent hosted three matches in the 2001 UEFA European Under-16 Championship, including France's 2–0 win over Russia in the quarter-final on 30 April 2001, watched by 557 spectators.