England scored first through Derek Kevan, but were burned out within an hour of kicking off in high-altitude ciudad de México. Despite officially using substitutes for the first time they were run off their feet in the last 30 minutes. Jimmy Greaves swept the ball into the net just after half-time, but the referee ruled it off-side. Moments later Mexico snatched a second goal and from then on England were on the retreat as they struggled to breathe in Mexico's thin air. Eddie Hopkinson performed wonders in the England goal, but he was often confused by the flight of the ball. Wilf McGuinness was the first player to be substituted after half an hour. He was affected by the heat and had to go to the dressing-room for an emergency intake of oxygen. Doug Holden was the next player hit by the heat, and he was replaced in the fifty-seventh minute by Warren Bradley. It was a match that Ronnie Clayton would never forget. He had been so badly burned while sunbathing that his back came up in a mass of blisters. They burst during the game, and in the dressing-room afterwards the Mexican doctor bathed the Blackburn skipper's back with mentholated spirits. It was this more than anything that finally convinced the Football Association that they should follow Walter Winterbottom's advice and always travel with a team doctor. It was hardly the best organised tour. Ron Flowers at one stage found himself sharing a hotel room with six complete strangers!

Source Notes

TheFA.com
Original newspaper reports
Rothman's Yearbooks
Mike Payne's England: The Complete Post-War Record (Breedon Books Publishing Company, Derby, U.K., 1993)
Norman Giller, Football Author
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CG