THIS was England's fourth meeting with Yugoslavia, the first had come some 17 years earlier, and at last, on a rain-soaked Wembley pitch, they finally gained their first victory. But for Beara in the visitors' goal, the score might have been doubled.

Right from the start England set about the Yugoslavs with an abundance of attacking flair. At the centre of the inspired play was Stanley Matthews. The England maestro had played in that first meeting in Belgrade all those years ago and by the end of this match he had more than exacted revenge for the 2-1 defeat then. The Yugoslav defenders tried everything they knew to stop him and resorted to many variations of the 'tackle'. Sometimes it was more suited to Twickenham than Wembley!

In the first half-hour England put together some lovely football. With Matthews and Tom Finney at their brilliant best and Johnny Haynes and Johnny Brooks setting up some super moves, goalkeeper Beara had every opportunity to show his class and agility. He made a breathtaking one-handed save from a Haynes thunderbolt after some brilliant play by Matthews and Finney. Then a Ronnie Clayton through ball sent Brooks racing clear, only for Beara to make another fine save from the final shot.

On 13 minutes, though, England took a deserved lead. A goal-kick by Ted Ditchburn gave Matthews and Finney the chance to combine down the left. Matthews passed to Haynes, who immediately turned the ball square for Brooks to ghost in and crash his hot into the roof of the net.

Straight after the goal Beara again produced heroics to deny Matthews a goal after another brilliant burst. Sadly for England their rhythm was upset on the half-hour when Haynes had to go off injured after being tackled in the act of shooting. Tommy Taylor came on to replace and Finney moved to inside-right with Brooks moving over to partner Frank Blunstone.

For a quarter of an hour either side of half-time, England lost control of the midfield, but during this stage of the game their half-back line was magnificent. With Bukas showing all his undoubted skills and Zebec showing tremendous pace, England had to hold steady. But Billy Wright, Clayton and Jimmy Dickinson controlled things so superbly that Ditchburn was rarely troubled.

With 25 minutes left the result was finally put beyond doubt. Finney, who continually left Horvat stranded, set off on a longer run, holding the ball and evading desperate tackles. He weaved his way to the right-hand by-line before turning the ball neatly inside where Taylor was left with the simple task of firing into an empty net.

By this time the rain was lashing down and in the last 15 minutes it was all England. Matthews, for the upteenth time, was scythed down by Stanković. This time though it was in the penalty area and Roger Byrne stepped up for the spot-kick. Once again it was Beara to the rescue as he leapt like a salmon to save the ball a foot inside the post. But England were not to be denied and they kept ip the pressure. The floodlights came on five minutes from the end to lift the gloom and soon Frank Blunstone was heading just wide from yet another Matthews cross.

Then, with the last minute ticking away, Matthews again passed to Blunstone and this time the Chelsea winger gave Taylor a second chance to fire into an empty net.

It was an excellent victory with Matthews brilliant throughout and Finney outstanding. The only blot came with the news that Haynes' injury looked like keeping him ot of the side for the following week's World Cup match against Denmark at Molineux.
  

Johnny Haynes was heavily tackled by Yugoslav right-back Belin in the thirtieth minute, and was unable to continue. It had been agreed beforehand that substitutes would be allowed in the case of injury and Tommy Taylor came on in place of the limping Fulham player. England had taken a thirteenth minute lead when Johnny Brooks fired the ball high into the net after taking a neat pass from Haynes. England dominated throughout the second half and Taylor scored twice, while his Manchester United team-mate Roger Byrne had a penalty saved by world-class Yugoslav goalkeeper Vladimir Beara. Stanley Matthews ran the Yugoslav left-back into such a state of confusion that he finally resorted to rugby tackling him in a bid to stop his dribbling runs. England would have had half a dozen goals but for the magnificent goalkeeping of Beara. The Yugoslavs had no idea how to contain Stanley Matthews, and after he had been rugby tackled he said "For a minute I thought the game had been switched to Twickenham."
  

Yugoslavia were unbeaten in their three previous meetings with England. England had lost twice in Belgrade and there had been a 2-2 draw at Highbury in 1950. Yugoslavia had beaten Great Britain in the 1948 Olympic semi-final at Wembley before losing the final. They had also lost the 1952 final 2-0 to Hungary in Helsinki and six of that side were appearing at Wembley, In the 1954 World Cup they had reached the quarter-finals, like England, but lost to eventual winners West Germany.
England took the lead in the 13th minute. From a pass by Haynes, Johnny Brooks ran in and found the target with a well-hit shot. In the 65th minute Finney expertly drew the defence with a mazy dribble and then passed to substitute Tommy Taylor who scored the second. Ten minutes later Matthews was upended by Stankovic (who had been sent off in the 1948 Olympic final) but Beara saved Byrne's penalty kick. England's fourth Wembley miss in just under 12 months. But in the dying seconds Taylor scored again, this time from Blunstone's pass.
  

England defeated Yugoslavia at Wembley before 70,000 as comfortably as the score suggests. Both teams showed skill and artistry in mid-field but, while England created the final openings from which their goals were scored, the attacks of the Yugoslavs petered out as they reached the England penalty area. After good work by England's forwards, Brooks scored the first goal after 12 minutes. The England attack became somewhat disorganised after Haynes was compelled to leave the field because of an injury, but Taylor, who came on as substitute, scored twice in the second half and, in spite of some acrobatic saves by the Yugoslav goalkeeper, England fully deserved their victory.