World cup Legends

WORLD CUP LEGENDS
ROAD TO THE FINAL
After a stuttering start, England were rampant en route to the World Cup final
ENGLAND 0 – 0 URUGUAY
11 JULY, ATTENDANCE: 87,148
If there was any optimism that England would win the
World Cup, it faded during this lacklustre opening game
in which they came up against a disciplined Uruguay side
that was so defensive minded, England failed to score
for the irst time at Wembley since 1945. For their eforts,
Uruguay were booed from the ield by frustrated England
fans but their players celebrated as if they had been
victorious because they sensed a draw against one of the
favourites would help them through to the next round. As
it happened, England had only a handful of goalscoring
chances, with Jimmy Greaves having the majority of them,
but their build-up play was uninspired and lacking pace
and they left the ield looking exhausted.
ENGLAND 2 – 0 MEXICO
16 JULY, ATTENDANCE: 92,570
The game against Mexico reignited the conidence of
both the England team and the crowd. It also marked the
tournament debuts of Terry Paine, who replaced Manchester
United’s John Connelly, and Martin Peters, who came in for
the injured Alan Ball. England left the pitch winners thanks
to goals in either half by Bobby Charlton, with a thunderous
25-yard shot, and Roger Hunt, who inished tidily from close
range. The win – along with Mexico’s previous draw with
France – all but ended their opposition’s hope of progression
and got England on their way.
England were
continually
frustrated during
their opening game
Nobby Stiles’ tough
tackling against
France didn’t go over
well with FIFA
ENGLAND 2 – 0 FRANCE
20 JULY, ATTENDANCE: 98,270
This game belonged largely to Roger Hunt, primarily
because he scored both England’s goals in their 2-0 win. In
doing so, he ensured England would progress, but perhaps
just as remarkable was Gordon Banks’ third clean-sheet of
the tournament. Nobby Stiles got himself into some bother
following a vicious tackle which led to calls by FIFA oicials
for him to be dropped. Ramsey refused but he couldn’t
ignore a larger problem: one of the biggest star players,
Jimmy Greaves, was injured and had to be sidelined. It
would turn out to be his last game of the tournament.
“A VICIOUS TACKLE BY STILES LED TO
CALLS BY FIFA OFFICIALS FOR HIM TO
BE DROPPED”
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