Les Ferdinand announced his return to the England attack with an early goal as Bulgaria were pushed back under a storm of attacks. There was a swagger about England, and they should have been at least three goals clear by half-time. Then, as if wanting to prove that football really is a game of two halves, they lost their drive and direction in the second-half and allowed the Bulgarians back into the game. In the last minute, a groan went round Wembley when Bulgaria forced the ball into the net but as their players celebrated what they thought was an equalizer the referee was explaining that he had spotted a handball and disallowed the goal. 'The football we played in the first forty-five minutes is the sort of standard we must set ourselves for the European championships,' said Terry Venables, who preferred not to talk about the second-half.

Source Notes

TheFA.com
Original newspaper reports
Official teamsheet
Rothman's Yearbooks
F.A. Yearbook
Norman Giller, Football Author
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CG