Inglaterra 3 - 6 Hungria (Wembley 1953)

25 de Noviembre de 1953 - Estadio de Wembley

Inglaterra 3 Sewell, Mortensen y Ramsey
Hungria 6 Hidegkuti (3), Puskás (2) y Bozsik

Primer tiempo

The Hungarians took the lead at 90 seconds as Hidegkuti scored from 15 yards after receiving a pass from Bozsik. England equalised at 13 minutes through Jackie Sewell, set up by a well-timed pass from Stan Mortensen. The Hungarians, however, were not to be outdone and three more goals followed. Hidegkuti scored his second goal following an unsuccessful English attempt to clear the ball. Hungary went up 3-1 as Ferenc Puskás added another goal, famously referred to by Geoffrey Green in The Times: Billy Wright, defending the edge of the goal area, raced past Puskás as he dragged the ball back before shooting over Merrick. Wright was, according to Green, 'like a fire engine going to the wrong fire'. Puskás said of the goal, "He (Wright) was expecting me to turn inside. If I had, he would have taken me and the ball off the pitch and into the stands. So I dragged the ball back with the studs of my left boot and whacked it high into the net." Later, a Hungarian commentator even suggested installing a plaque at Wembley to commemorate the drag-back. Hungary went up 4-1 as Puskás diverted a József Bozsik free-kick into the net.

Shortly before half-time, Stan Mortensen scored, giving England hope as the whistle blew; England 2, Hungary 4.

Segundo tiempo

Ten minutes into the second half, Bozsik scored and then Hidegkuti completed his hat-trick to make the score 6-2 to Hungary. Alf Ramsey later scored on a penalty for England. The match ended at 6-3 to Hungary. A famous victory had been won by one of the greatest football teams of the 20th century, and the centre of world football shifted eastward across the channel. Pat Ward-Thomas in The Guardian wrote that toward the end: 'England was having more of the ball than before and Matthews was making openings in spite of rigorous attention from Lantos. But England's refusal to shoot quickly was pathetic in its pottering hesitancy, arising from that accursed disease of making sure'.

Six months later, on May 23, 1954, the Hungarians gave a masterclass in the sport's new offensive nature in Budapest against the same outpaced English side with an 7-1 win that heralded a new world order in football. It still ranks as England's worst defeat.