AS in 1953, when Hungary were the never-to-be-forgotten visitors, England were once again taught a football lesson by an emerging power in the game. Whereas the home side employed the traditional game, the Swedes strolled effortlessly through the proceedings with an air of authority not born out by the final scoreline. All through the match there was so much to admire in the deft touches of the talented Swedish team, but for England there must be many question-marks in their attempts to build a side capable of mounting a serious challenge on the 1962 World Cup in Chile.

On a dull, grey afternoon, 72,000 people gathered to see a game that was full of incident. It started well enough for England, who settled quickly. In fact for the opening 20 minutes they controlled the play and during that time they scored an excellent goal. It was on eight minutes that a move involving Don Howe, John Connelly, Jimmy Greaves and Brian Clough, worked its way down the right nicely. When the final pass came in, Connelly met the ball to flick the ball past Nyholm.

However, as the half wore on Sweden began to find their feet and by the half-hour they could easily have been level. Twice Berntdsson met Simonsson passes but succeeded only in rattling each of Eddie Hopkinson's posts. Simonsson, by now, was stamping his undoubted class on the game and he gave Trevor Smith a torrid afternoon at the heart of England's defence. Smith looked slow and ponderous as the balance and skill of Simmonsen weaved patterns around him.

For England, Bobby Charlton was struggling in his role of midfield provider and all the forwards were guilty of holding on to the ball too long.. Clough almost added a second for England before half-time when he intercepted a sloppy backpass by Johansson, but he too was thwarted by a goalpost.

After the break, the Swedes stepped up a gear. Superbly marshalled by Jönsson at right-half, they began to make their extra skills count. The inside trio of Thillberg, Simonsson and Börjesson were constantly in the action.

A fast interchange of passes between Simonsson and Börjesson ended with a rebound falling just right for Simonsson to shoot home from the narrowest of angles with great accuracy. The Swedes were delighted but the crowd began to barrack the England players. Hopkinson bore the brunt of their frustration as he mixed some brave saves with inexplicable errors. Smith, too, was struggling and England were now really up against it. Clough did hit the bar with a header, from a Connelly centre, but that was an isolated raid.

With 15 minutes to go, the result was settled by a third Swedish goal. A clever move down the right drew the whole England defence over and the ever-dangerous Simonsson, spotting Salomonsson unmarked in the middle, flicked the ball inside for the number-ten [nine] to shoot home.

England, to their credit, rallied strongly towards the end and Greaves contributed his best moment by cleverly putting Charlton through to reduce the arrears with a well-taken goal. Alas, the fightback was too late and Sweden, with Jonsson and Simonsson outstanding, ended worthy winners.
     

An unchanged team was given a second chance, but a defeat by Sweden signalled the end of the international road for Hopkinson, Smith and Cloughie. They carried the can for a pathetic performance that brought rare jeers from England supporters. The Swedes, World Cup runners-up to Brazil when host nation in 1958, played a smooth, walkabout game punctuated with sudden changes of pace that had England's defenders exposed to the perils of panic. It all started promisingly for England when John Connelly put the finishing touch to a swift five-man movement, but this was one of the few memorable moments from England for the 72,000 Wembley spectators.  The Swedes rattled the England woodwork twice in the first-half as warning signs of what was to follow. Within 15 minutes of the second-half Sweden were 2-1 in the lead as they tore the England defence apart, and man-of-the-match Agne Simonsson made it 3-1 in the 75^th minute. The skilful Swedish centre-forward made such an impression that the next day he was signed by Real Madrid. Jimmy Greaves cleverly created an opening for Bobby Charlton to make it 3-2, but there were plenty of witnesses to the fact that England had been flattened by the Swedes and flattered by the scoreline. It might easily have been a repeat of the six-goal drubbing received from Hungary six years earlier. The 'dream team' pairing of Greaves and Clough rarely got out of nightmare territory. Both were instinctive predators, and continually found themselves being drawn to the same place. There was room for only one of them, and it was Greaves who survived. Cloughie was thrown on the scrapheap, and it left him embittered that he was never given another chance. At one stage he had the embarrassment of falling and sitting on the ball close to the Swedish goal-line. "It was as if I was trying to hatch the bloody thing," he said later.
   

Sweden had reached the World Cup final in their own country the previous year before failing to the mighty Brazilians. They had won the Olympic title at Wembley in 1948 and had won and drawn in their previous two meetings with England.
England started well with a neat passing move ending with Clough crossing for John Connelly to slot home the opener. But just after half-time a defensive error involving Charlton and Flowers enabled Berndtsson to supply Agne Simonsson (who had scored in the World Cup final) with a headed equaliser.
Simonsson struck again after an hour's play, beating Hopkinson from an acute angle after Borjesson's shot was blocked. Later Simonsson's skilful ball control killed off the home side as he sent Bengt Salomonsson away to score the third.
Bobby Charlton scored from a pass by Greaves but England had suffered their second defeat at Wembley by a continental side.
Sweden, surprisingly, failed to qualify for the 1962 World Cup, losing a play-off to Switzerland in Berlin. England gained their revenge with a 2-1 win in Gothenburg in 1965 and Sweden were back at Wembley in 1968.
        

The visit by Sweden, the last World Cup runners-up, was reckoned to be a vital test. The form shown against Wales ten days earlier encouraged the selectors not to make any changes, an Haynes, who had missed the Welsh match through injury, was again omitted. The game, however, was disappointing and England suffered her second home defeat, though Connelly gave us an early lead by completing a move started by Greaves and Clough. Just on halftime Clough missed from close range, the ball jamming against the post. Sweden's first goal came in the 52nd minute, when a bad back-pass by Charlton went to right-winger Berndtsson, whose centre was neatly headed past Hopkinson by Simonsson. Five minutes later the same two players combined for Simonsson to circle two defenders and score with a fine shot through a narrow gap. At this point Clough again figured in a near miss, heading against the bar, after a pleasing movement with Greaves and Connelly. Sweden then made it three, Salomonsson netting from 12 yds, after a swift cross from the right wing. With nine minutes to go Charlton scored England's second, but that was all. Sweden had won a worth victory, one which left England with many problems.