Month: November 2016
England scrape into the 1982 World Cup
Today marks the 35th anniversary of England facing a decisive World Cup qualifier at home to Hungary. It had been a fraught qualifying campaign, but all would end happily for Ron Greenwood’s men as they made it through to the 1982 tournament in Spain…
On September 9, 1981, all hopes seemed lost of England reaching the 1982 World Cup in Spain after suffering an infamous defeat in Norway. With favourites Hungary and Romania – plus outside bet Switzerland – having games in hand, it was out of England’s hands. Things got even worse two weeks later, when Romania and Hungary drew 0-0. This meant that if Hungary took maximum points from their games against Norway and Switzerland and Romania picked up a win and a draw from two meetings with the Swiss, then it would be game over for England before they played their last match at home to Hungary on November 18. All the nation could do was hope.
When Romania took the lead during the second half at home to Switzerland on October 10, it looked just about the end for England and manager Ron Greenwood. But then the Swiss unexpectedly fought back to win 2-1 and throw England a sizeable lifeline. Whatever happened in the other qualifiers, matters were in English hands again. Hungary duly won their next two qualifiers to book their place as one of the top two – and end Swiss hopes at the same time – while a draw in the return game between Switzerland and Romania meant the picture had now totally changed from a few weeks earlier. Suddenly, England needed only a point at home to Hungary to qualify. They had much to thank the Swiss for.
So too did the Football Association. England’s lifeline had seen ticket sales escalate from about 30,000 to a 92,000 midweek Wembley sell-out, meaning the match could be shown live on television (quite a rarity for home games at the time apart from when Scotland visited). The BBC would have the rights, Jimmy Hill hosting live from the stadium in the company of pundits Bobby Charlton, Lawrie McMenemy and Bob Wilson. England looked to finally make it through to a World Cup finals after their failures for the 1974 and 1978 tournaments. Having qualified automatically in 1966 (hosts) and 1970 (holders), it was some 20 years since the Three Lions had last successfully come through a World Cup qualifying group. Missing out again didn’t bear thinking about, particularly now the expanded finals contained 24 teams.
Memories of ’73 evoked
Comparisons were being drawn in the build-up to England’s often-recalled costly draw against Poland at Wembley eight years earlier, not least because Peter Shilton would again be in goal for England. But the situation was not quite the same or as worrying. This time around a draw would be sufficient for England and it was not a head-to-head fight, given Hungary were already through and guaranteed top spot. England had been the only side to beat the Hungarians so far, their excellent 3-1 win in Budapest in June 1981 being at odds with much of the rest of their stumbling qualifying campaign. Now it remained to be seen how determined Hungary were to help out their Eastern European rivals Romania – a side who could unbelievably qualify having scored just five goals in eight matches (two of them against England).
Certainly Hungary did not seem to be sending out the message that they were determined to win at Wembley. “It will be a very nice result for us if we get a draw and I’m sure that will suit England as well,” claimed manager Kalman Meszoly. But Greenwood wasn’t buying such thoughts. “It would be a very clever and far-reaching mind that sent a team out just to get a draw,” he said. “The object of football is to win and score goals. To imagine they would let us win is just not on.”
Do or die for England
And so the nation anxiously waited for this do or die match, willing to forget about the turbulent qualifying campaign if the team could get the result needed to go through. Needing a draw at home is not always to a side’s advantage, as they can seem caught between a natural instinct to attack the visitors and a fear of conceding a vital goal. The situation was effectively identical to when England played Croatia in the infamous Euro 2008 qualifier 26 years later – the visitors having already qualified and England needing just to draw – and like on that painful occasion England would be having to make defensive changes, with young West Ham United defender Alvin Martin stepping into the breach at centre back to replace Dave Watson.
The smart money was on a draw, given that’s what England needed, considering their poor recent form and in recognition of Hungary’s qualities. England had never lost a World Cup match at Wembley – they could ill-afford for it to be now when that record ended. Not that Wembley was quite the fortress it once was, with England having failed to win any of their five home games in 1981 so far. Steve Curry wrote in the Daily Express: “I think England will go to Spain, though the nation may have to endure a night of torture and tension in a low scoring draw. What I am certain of is that every England player knows what the nation expects and is prepared to run himself to exhaustion to achieve it.”
It promised to be a tense night in the Wembley rain, but much of the anxiety eased as Paul Mariner scored after 14 minutes. Terry McDermott floated a free-kick into the area, with goalkeeper Ferenc Meszaros unable to claim in a crowded area. It fell to Trevor Brooking, who fired away from goal into the path of Paul Mariner. The Ipswich Town forward seemed to stumble as he shot, but he managed to divert the ball into the net. It was a slightly strange goal to sum up a surreal qualifying campaign, but also a vitally important one. Wembley erupted, several players mobbing Mariner while old campaigners Brooking and captain Kevin Keegan embraced each other a few yards away. They had waited their whole careers to play at a World Cup – now it was finally within sight.
Seeing the game out
England now effectively had a two-goal cushion in terms of what was needed to qualify, something that would only have been taken away if Hungary had scored with both shots they managed during the night as they offered little going forward. Shilton dealt competently with both efforts, as the shots poured in at the other end towards Meszaros – who had recently helped his Sporting Lisbon side knock Keegan and Southampton out of the UEFA Cup.
England could have won by a big score as they looked to wrap up the win in the second half, with players including Keegan, McDermott, Bryan Robson and substitute debutant Tony Morley all going close. Yet the real issue was England didn’t throw it all away and thankfully they were not troubled, the only disappointment being they didn’t add to their goal tally. Although the pessimists couldn’t relax until it was over, the match wasn’t quite the anxiety-fest that had been anticipated with the England defence holding firm. Keegan picked up a cut lip for his troubles, but he wasn’t complaining. Like several of his colleagues, he was set to finally grace a World Cup finals when it was probably going to be his last chance (butthings wouldn’t go to plan quite as much as he hoped – a story for another day).
The atmosphere at Wembley was frenzied, TV viewers able to hear the passionate singing as the referee prepared to blow the final whistle. Thousands roared as the 1-0 win was confirmed and England had finally made it. “England are back” chanted the crowd, while Greenwood was given a belated 60th birthday present – a week after reaching the landmark – as he could look forward to bowing out from management on the greatest stage.
The media reaction to England’s progression was positive, Alan Thomson writing in the Daily Express: “Don’t look for heroes this morning – just salute them all. Last night England played with a new-born pride and passion, with fury and with skill. But most of all they played their football from the heart and by doing so they restored to us our dignity.” Stuart Jones began his report in The Times by writing: “England have reached the World Cup finals in Spain. These nine words cannot begin to tell the tale of the last 14 torturous months, but in years to come they will be all that matters. For now the disappointment of Switzerland and despair of Norway are forgotten, pushed to the back shelf of the memory by the events that unfolded in the drizzle of Wembley last night.”
It had been a joyful end to a campaign that had been extremely stressful at times, England losing more World Cup qualifiers in this series than in total previously. Yet a combination of good fortune and making the most of a second opportunity that was unexpectedly handed their way meant Greenwood and his players – affectionately dubbed ‘Dad’s Army’ – could look ahead to a summer in Spain…
Six of the Best – England Wembley wins over Scotland
Ahead of England playing Scotland on Friday, we look back at six memorable Wembley wins for England against their old rivals since the Second World War…
April 2nd, 1955, England 7-2 Scotland (Home International Championship)
Wembley first hosted an England-Scotland clash in 1924, with the most famous pre-war meeting producing a 5-1 win for Scotland in 1928. Although England gained revenge by winning 5-2 two years later, they would face a long wait to beat the Scots by at least four goals to properly banish the pain of 1928. But in April 1955 came their moment, Dennis Wilshaw breaking the deadlock in the opening minute as the floodgates opened.
By half-time it was 4-1, Nat Lofthouse netting twice and Don Revie also scoring for England with Lawrie Riley having netted for Scotland. In the second half Wilshaw scored a further three times past Fred Martin, with Tommy Docherty marginally reducing Scotland’s level of humiliation when he scored a late consolation to make it 7-2. It was the first time England had scored more than five against the Scots and their biggest winning margin over them since 1888. It had certainly been an England debut to remember for 18-year-old Duncan Edwards.
April 15th, 1961, England 9-3 Scotland (Home International Championship)
Poor old Frank Haffey. Whatever he did in his football career he would forever be associated with a spring afternoon in 1961 when he kept goal for Scotland against England at Wembley. Haffey infamously conceded nine goals and would become the butt of jokes such as “Heard the time? Nearly 10 past Haffey”. By half-time England led 3-0 through goals by Bobby Robson and Jimmy Greaves (2). The second half saw Dave Mackay and David Wilson briefly give the Scots hope, before Bryan Douglas and Bobby Smith put England 5-2 up. Pat Quinn again gave Scotland an outside chance of a high-scoring draw when he scored after 76 minutes to make it 5-3, but a flurry of goals in the closing stages Johnny Haynes (2), Greaves and Smith completed the 9-3 victory and a day to forget for Haffey, who was never capped again.
Jimmy Greaves scored a hat-trick for England against Scotland in 1961.
For Greaves it was a day when he enjoyed much happier fortunes than future TV buddy Ian St John, who was on the losing side. But Greaves would feel some sympathy for Haffey and the criticism he received, writing in his autobiography: “It’s true he had a poor game, but Frank wasn’t the only Scot who didn’t perform well that day. In truth I don’t think any international team of the time could have lived with England that day. Johnny Haynes was outstanding.”
May 10th, 1969, England 4-1 Scotland (Home International Championship)
Since that 1961 meeting Scotland had won twice and drawn on their other visit to Wembley, the most famous encounter being their 1967 triumph in a Euro ’68 qualifier as England suffered their first defeat as world champions. Although England’s progression thanks to a 1-1 draw in the return fixture had helped heal the wounds a bit, there was still a wish for the bad memories to be banished as the Scots arrived for a rare Saturday night fixture in May 1969.
Bobby Moore leads England out for their 4-1 win over Scotland in 1969.
It was two of the heroes of 1966 who led England to glory, with Martin Peters and Geoff Hurst putting them into a 2-0 lead before Colin Stein reduced the deficit shortly before half-time. But a penalty from Hurst made it 3-1 on the hour, with Peters sealing the 4-1 win shortly afterwards as they finished with a 100% record in the Home Internationals. It was the first of four successive Wembley wins for England over Scotland. Ken Jones wrote in the Daily Mirror: “At Wembley Scotland were not a bad team. But they were destroyed by bad habits and a lack of awareness that is now instinctive in England’s play.”
May 24th, 1975, England 5-1 Scotland (Home International Championship)
In the mid-1970s the bragging rights lay with the Scots. In 1974 they beat England at Hampden Park, won the Home International Championship and were the only British representatives at the World Cup in West Germany. England went into the Wembley clash in May 1975 looking to get one over on their old rivals and also finish the 1974-75 season unbeaten under Don Revie.
Gerry Francis and Kevin Beattie celebrate as England thrash Scotland 5-1.
Within seven minutes it looked odds-on that would be the case, Gerry Francis and Kevin Beattie both finding the net. Colin Bell made it 3-0 shortly before half-time, although Bruce Rioch quickly reduced the arrears from the spot. But the second half brought further goals from the impressive Francis and David Johnson, completing a resounding 5-1 win as Stewart Kennedy became the latest Scottish goalkeeper to endure a day to forget at Wembley.
A buoyant Frank McGhee wrote in the Daily Mirror: “Suddenly on Saturday it felt great to be English, to smile at strangers, to scoff at Scotsmen, to walk 10-feet tall. For a few hours at least a lot of us were able to forget inflation, strikes, the bill for the rates, the Common Market and the long trudge home.” The match marked the end of captain Alan Ball’s England career after 72 caps. Scotland would gain revenge by beating England 2-1 at Hampden Park 12 months later, and again when they visited Wembley in 1977.
June 15th, 1996, Scotland 0-2 England (Euro ’96 group stage)
The group stage draw for Euro ’96 threw up a corker, with England and Scotland paired in the same group. Seven years had passed since the annual meetings were scrapped in 1989 along with the Rous Cup, but now the sides would meet in a crucial fixture midway through the group stage. Technically the Scots were the home side, but that was in name only as England looked to triumph at Wembley – something they had done on the last three occasions they had hosted the fixture in 1983, 1986 and 1988.
Paul Gascoigne’s unforgettable goal for England against Scotland.
But a frustrating draw with Switzerland in the tournament opener meant the pressure was on England to win, something they seldom looked like doing during a goalless first half. But the introduction of Jamie Redknapp gave England a new impetus, with Alan Shearer’s excellent header breaking the deadlock. As is well remembered, David Seaman saved a Gary McAllister penalty (with Uri Geller claiming the credit!) moments before Paul Gascoigne scored an unforgettable goal to wrap up victory. England’s Euro ’96 campaign was up and running, while Scotland agonisingly fell one goal short of joining them in the knockout rounds.
August 14th, 2013, 3-2 (Friendly)
In the 17 years after the Euro ’96 clash, Scotland only visited Wembley again in November 1999 for the second leg of their Euro 2000 play-off. The Scots had won the battle but lost the war, England progressing despite losing on the night. That had marked the last meeting at the old stadium and the sides did not meet again until 2013. The FA was celebrating its 150th birthday and the Scotland clash was finally resurrected in August. It may only officially have been a friendly at the start of the new season, but the revival of the fixture was met with an enjoyable encounter that whetted the appetite for further meetings.
Rickie Lambert scores England’s winner against Scotland in 2013.
Scotland twice went ahead through James Morrison and Kenny Miller, England pegging them back through Theo Walcott and Danny Welbeck. And then came the Roy of the Rovers finale, 31-year-old Rickie Lambert scoring England’s winner moments after coming on for his international debut as they triumphed 3-2. It may not necessarily have been the highest quality meeting of the sides, nor England’s best performance, but this entertaining match had done the long history of England v Scotland proud and proved far more memorable than the usual August friendlies against foreign opposition.
Like two old acquaintances meeting up for the first time in years, there was a sense of “let’s not leave it so long next time”. And indeed they didn’t, a return fixture being played in Glasgow the following year before the luck of the World Cup qualifying draw paired the teams together again. More memories are there to be made on Friday night…
