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All information is complete to and including England's last match, the fifth of the 1957-58 season, against Portugal on 7 May 1958. Diary
Wednesday, 7 May 1958 - England 2 Portugal
1 -
"Portugal,
eliminated from the World Cup, made England's hope of winning it
look sick at Wembley tonight. The side which strolled away to 4—0
victory against the Scots at Hampden Park looked a bunch of
strugglers. Neither the wing halves nor the inside forwards
managed to take a grip on the game and it was a miracle that
England walked in at the interval leading 1—0. The threat was plain enough early on. In the sixth minute, centre
forward Jose Augusto was perfectly placed to receive a cross from
the left wing. With only goalkeeper Eddie Hopkinson to beat, he
blazed wildly over the crossbar and left winger Hernani da Silva
sat beating his hands on the turf in anguish. It sparked England
into action—but what ragged action! They never combined in
those sweeping, copybook moves so carefully worked out by team
manager Walter Winterbottom. Right back Don Howe came brilliantly
upfield, beating three men in a solo run, to show the forwards how
it should be done. As defenders massed towards him he pushed the
ball out to the wing for Douglas to loft it across to outside left
Tom Finney. Finney, in a scoring position himself, unselfishly
nodded the ball to the better placed Haynes, and Johnny's header
was pulled out magnificently by Gomez. It was a moment of
greatness. But Gomez was lucky to turn a Douglas shot around the
post with his body . . . and then a soft, long-range shot from
Bobby Charlton went inside the post for England's first-half goal.
Haynes had slipped the ball through, Charlton hitting it on the
run, but so caressingly that Gomez should have had ample time to
cover it. That was the twenty-fourth minute, and immediately
Portugal hit back, looking more menacing than England. Duarte
gained possession in his own penalty area, came forward and put
through to inside left Francisco Rocha. Da Silva carried on the
move, shot and left back Jim Langley leaped miraculously to head
away for a corner. Typically, the Portuguese pulled the old
substitute trick a minute before half-time. . . .Augusto was
called off and on went Travassos. After fifty-one minutes Portugal
scored. A left wing move cracked England's defence and although
Langley stemmed one shot the ball went to Duarte, who cracked the
ball home. Ten minutes later, Charlton hammered home a goal that
will live in Wembley history—a left foot thunderbolt that Gomez
knew nothing about. Douglas crashed a shot on the bar and Finney
was brought down in the penalty area by left back Martins. As he
was being treated on the touchline, Langley took his first penalty
for England...and MISSED! His shot hit an upright and the ball was
cleared. Back came Finney and, at last, England were on top."
- Bill Holden, Daily Mirror
The England party, twenty players,
including five possible full-backs and nine forwards, set off from
London Airport on board the B.E.A. Viscount, Sir Richard Burton,
bound for Zeman via Zürich, for their Iron Curtain tour, starting in Belgrade
on Sunday. The team will not be named until tomorrow. The side
which beat Portugal will almost certainly get another chance.
There was a 150-minute delay in Zürich, which ended any chance of
Winterbottom and three other selectors, Joe Mears, Harold Shentall
and Harold French, of naming the team tonight. "No one will ever know the small private hell that Bobby Charlton had to live through on the trip here today. It was his first flight since the Munich disaster. It was the first time any Manchester United player had flown since that tragic February day. His destination: Belgrade, the city where so many of his colleagues played their last game. No wonder he sat white-faced, tense and silent as the plane waited on the London Airport tarmac. It was a delay that seemed endless to him—it was actually about half an hour. No wonder he didn't smile until we touched down in Zurich for refuelling. Then, as the skipper of the aircraft drew him to one side and quietly said, 'Congratulations, son, you've made it,' Bobby broke his silence. 'Am I glad!' he breathed. 'I don't mind admitting I was dead scared. Still, it's O.K. now. I know I'm going to be all right.' But the ordeal wasn't over. A loudspeaker boomed out the dramatic message that the plane had developed a petrol-pump fault. And for three hours the second leg of the journey was delayed—three every long hours for the twenty year-old wonder boy. His reaction was immediate and poignant. 'Thank God, they've found out in time,' he said quietly. Then at last, another plane was diverted to take us off again to Zeman Airport—and a rapturous reception."
Saturday, 10 May 1958
-
Walter Winterbottom
was involved in a row with Yugoslav Football Association officials
before the team trained at the Red Army stadium. He was told that
his players could not practice there. When Winterbottom queried,
he was told that it was because the Yugoslavs could not train at
Wembley eighteen months years ago. England party were sent to work
out on the boys' pitch. The England team did eventually train at
the stadium after Winterbottom again protested over the fact that
boys' pitch had not even been mowed. The England team were wearing
new dove grey track suits, and their light training took an hour,
as temperatures were over 80°. |
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