The World of Soccer Cup, an association football friendly tournament, took place in the summer of 1977, hosted by Singapore and Australia.

Overview

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The tournament was the idea of English entrepreneur Reg Lambourne, Strata Travel owner Tom Lawrence and Red Star Belgrade FC Secretary General Dr Miroljub Stojkovic and consisted of two competitions. The first (also known as Metro 20th Anniversary Tournament) was a straight knock-out tournament in Singapore, and the second was a mini-league in which the top two teams would play in the final. The first trophy was won by Red Star Belgrade (FK Crvena zvezda) and the second by Celtic, and was the last ever trophy Jock Stein would ever lift for Celtic.

Teams that participated

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  • Celtic FC Latchford, McGrain, Burns, Stanton, McDonald, Aitken, Wilson, Conn, Glavin, Edvaldsson, Lennox, Doyl, Kay (Manager Jock Stein)
  • Red Star Belgrade Stojanović, Jelikić, Jovanović, Muslin, Bogićević, Novković, Nikolić, Petrović, Savić, Sušić, Filipović, Šestić, Lukić (Manager Gojko Zec)
  • Arsenal Rimmer, Rice, Nelson, Powling, O'Leary, Young, Brady, Hudson, Macdonald, Stapleton, Armstrong, Rix, Mathews (Manager Terry Neill)
  • A select XI from the host nation
  • Reilly, Harris, Wilson, Bennett, Williams, Harding, Barnes, Rooney, Kosmina, Ollerton, Sharne, Nyskohus, Maher, Abonyi (Manager Jimmy Shoulder)
Team Notes
  Celtic Scottish Premier Division champions
  Red Star Belgrade Yugoslav First League champions
  Arsenal
  Singapore XI Host nation (1st tournament)
  Australia Host nation (2nd tournament)

Results

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In Singapore

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Semi-finals
  Arsenal1–3  Red Star Belgrade
Macdonald Filipović, Šestić, Savić
National Stadium
Attendance: 55,000
  Celtic5–0  Singapore XI
Conn (2), Burns, Lennox, Edvaldsson
National Stadium
Attendance: 45,000
Third place playoff
  Arsenal5–1  Singapore XI
Macdonald (3), Stapleton, Brady
National Stadium
Attendance: 45,000
Final
  Celtic1–3  Red Star Belgrade
Lennox pen Petrović, Filipović (2)
National Stadium
Attendance: 50,000
Referee: Jack Taylor

In Australia

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Group stage
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
  Celtic 3 2 1 0 7 5 +2 7
  Red Star Belgrade 3 1 1 1 4 4 0 4
  Australia XI 3 1 0 2 7 7 0 3
  Arsenal 3 1 0 2 4 6 −2 3


  Arsenal1–3  Australia XI
Armstrong Kosmina, Harding, Ollerton
  Celtic1–1  Red Star Belgrade
McDonald Savić
Attendance: 21,000
Referee: Jack Taylor
  Arsenal2–3  Celtic
Rice, Macdonald Wilson (2), Glavin pen
Attendance: 21,460
  Arsenal1–0  Red Star Belgrade
Brady
Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide
Attendance: 12,000
  Australia XI2–3  Celtic
Barnes, Ollerton Glavin, Edvaldsson (2)
Attendance: 12,742
Referee: Richard Lorenc
  Australia XI2–3  Red Star Belgrade
Kosmina, Harding Savić, Šestić, Filipović
Attendance: 10,100
Referee: Stewart Mellings
Final
  Celtic2–0  Red Star Belgrade
McDonald, Edvaldsson
Attendance: 23,000
Referee: Jack Taylor

References

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  1. ^ Official Program and was there