| The match that changed the game. Hungary arrived in England
as Olympic champions and undefeated for three years, prompting the
English press to call the friendly "the match of the century".
It was England's first defeat on home soil by continental opposition,
and the emphatic 6-3 scoreline led captain Billy Wright to acknowledge:
"We completely underestimated the advances that Hungary had
made, and not only tactically. I looked down and noticed that the
Hungarians had on these strange, lightweight boots, cut away like
slippers under the ankle bone. I turned to big Stan Mortensen and
said: 'We should be all right here, Stan, they haven't got the proper
kit.' "
England were unprepared for the Hungarian 4-2-4 formation. Nandor
Hidegkuti was wearing the No 9 shirt but played in midfield, and
his marker, centre-half Harry Johnston, ended up getting pulled
out of
position. Hungarian forwards Sandor Kocsis and Ferenc Puskas were
continually swapping positions, confusing the English defence and
prompting The Times correspondent Geoffrey Green to describe Wright
as "a fire engine heading for the wrong fire".
Hidegkuti scored after just 90 seconds. England equalised through
Jackie Sewell but Hungary roared back with three more goals before
half-time. Mortensen added a second for England before the break
but Hungary score twice more in the second half. Alf Ramsey got
England's third, a penalty. Tom Finney, who watched England's woe
from the Wembley stands, spoke for everyone when he said: "I
came away wondering to myself what we had been doing all these years."
Six months later the Hungarians beat England
again, 7-1 in Budapest.
Line-ups
England: Merrick - Ramsey, Eckersley - Wright,
Johnston, Dickinson -
Matthews, Taylor, Mortensen, Sewell, Robb.
Goals: Sewell 13, Mortensen 38, Ramsey pen 57.
Hungary: Grosics (Geller 76) - Lorant, Buzanszky,
Zakarias, Lantos -
Bozsik, Hidegkuti - Budai, Kocsis, Puskas, Czibor.
Goals: Hidegkuti 2, 20, 53, Puskas 24, 27, Bozsik 50.
Referee: Horn (Holland).
Att: 100,000. |
