England Team

A marvellous performance by England in front of a good crowd at Wembley and the millions watching on television. It rounded off a very successful tournament which England had now won with maximum points from their three games. It was a night to savour as England's all-round strength, coupled with some outstanding individual displays, tore the Scots apart. The visitors did not play that badly, but England in this mood were too good for them.

The game was won and lost in the midfield area where Bobby Charlton, Alan Ball, Martin Peters and Alan Mullery won total dominance from Scotland's Bremner and company. With Bobby Moore and Brian Labone also outstanding, the whole side was able to play with a cool composure, safe in the knowledge that everyone was doing their job.

The first goal came after 15 minutes. It began with a lovely move out of defence involving Charlton, Francis Lee, Ball and Keith Newton before Peters took Newton's pass and hit a cross-shot wide of the diving Herriot. Four minutes later they added a second goal and this one was a real beauty. Lee, who had been a revelation since coming into the side, took a pass from Charlton and made rapid strides down the left wing. He hurdled over a challenge from McNeill before hitting the ball square and low for Geoff Hurst to touch home superbly.

Despite Bremner's tireless running and Gray's promise, Scotland struggled to make an impact on England's solid defence, so it came as something of a surprise when they pulled a goal back just before the interval. Gray's deep cross from the left was met with a magnificent header by Stein, a bustling, old-fashioned type of centre-forward, and the ball sailed into the far corner with Gordon Banks well-beaten. With Charlton and his fellow midfielders stroking the ball around majestically, it was only a matter of time before other goals arrived.

On the hour the result was settled. Another telling thrust by Charlton and Ball ended with a shot rebounding to Peters. As the West Ham player aimed to shoot, his legs were whipped from under him by Greig for, what was, an obvious penalty. Up stepped Hurst and he almost decapitated Herriot with the ferocity of his shot that made it 3-1. England were now well on top and another thrilling move brought them a fourth goal.

A lovely, triangular-passing movement between Lee, Ball and Peters ended with the latter side-footing the ball with supreme accuracy past the bamboozled Scottish defenders and wide of the goalkeeper. It rounded off a superb exhibition by England and Sir Alf Ramsey must have been delighted with his side's current form. They now embarked on a fact-finding summer tour of South America in preparation for the following year's defence of the World Cup in Mexico. They certainly must have departed in high spirits.
  

The old West Ham double-act of Hurst and Peters sunk the Scots with two goals each, the second of Hurst's goals coming from a thunderous penalty that many observers considered the hardest they had ever seen a ball hit from the spot. Colin Stein scored to make it 2-1 at half-time, and the final scoreline was harsh on a Scottish team powerfully driven from midfield by Billy Bremner and Archie Gemmill.  The victory put England in just the right mood for their fact-finding tour in preparation for their 1970 World Cup defence.
    

Scotland were unbeaten in their last three visits to Wembley, culminating in their victory over the world champions in 1967. They had to repeat that victory to regain the British Championship, having been held to a 1-1 draw by Northern Ireland at Hampden Park four nights earlier. A month earlier they had drawn with West Germany in a World Cup qualifyiong match at Hampden which had to be seen as a setback. England needed only a point to retain the championship.
England went ahead when, from Newton's pass, Martin Peters evaded Murdoch and surprised Herriot with his shot. Four minutes later, Lee supplied Geoff Hurst with the opportunity to notch England's second. Scotland pulled one back just before the interval. Colin Stein headed over Banks, winning his 50th cap, from Gray's cross. The revival was quashed on the hour, however, when Greig brought down Peters in the area. Hurst blasted his second from the penalty. England were now in control and Peters netted his second from Ball's pass four minutes later.
Scotland narrowly lost 3-2 in Hamburg to go out of the World Cup but gained a share of the British Championship the following year.
     

Source Notes

TheFA.com
LondonHearts.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