Wembley 1953

The Golden Team & Hungarian Football

Chapter 5 · Wembley, 25 November 1953

On 25 November 1953 Hungary beat England 6–3 at Wembley, and English football's belief that it was the best in the world ended in ninety minutes. The match was called the "Match of the Century", a label that sounds inflated but reflects how it was felt at the time. This chapter looks at how Hungary prepared, how England did not, what happened on the pitch, and the 7–1 return match in Budapest six months later. Scorers and times are well documented; a few colourful stories are flagged as anecdotes.

England at Home

England had played international football since 1872 and had never lost a home match to a team from outside the British Isles. The English game believed the rest of the world was a long way behind. (England had lost at home to the Republic of Ireland in 1949, but that was a British-Isles opponent, so the claim stands for continental sides.) England had also entered the World Cup only in 1950 and gone out early, which was explained away as a one-off.

How Hungary Prepared

Gusztáv Sebes treated the match as a problem to be solved in advance. The steps usually described are:

Study the opponent

Hungary's coaches watched England and noted that the English centre-half marked the centre-forward directly, which was the weakness Hidegkuti's role was designed to exploit (Chapter 4).

Match the conditions

Sebes arranged training with the heavier English-style ball and, in the account usually given, with a pitch and conditions similar to Wembley's, so the team was not surprised on the day.

Settled team

The side was the one that had played together for years, with an agreed way of playing, and Honvéd players made up much of it.

Anecdotes, not records Stories such as Puskás juggling the ball in the warm-up while England looked on, or the Hungarians' lighter boots, are repeated in many accounts. They fit the story well but are not firmly documented in every detail, so treat them as colour.

England's Preparation

England's approach was far less thorough. The team was selected by a committee, as was usual, and had little time together before the match. Reports describe a short training session and no special plan for Hungary's unusual forward line. The English centre-half, Harry Johnston, was left to decide whether to follow Hidegkuti. That is the dilemma described in Chapter 4, and it was not solved in advance.

The contrast Hungary prepared for England specifically; England prepared in the way it always had. The result owes something to talent and tactics and something to the difference in preparation. This was the same attitude to learning from abroad that Chapter 3 describes in the story of Jimmy Hogan.

The Match

Around 100,000 people attended Wembley. The scorers, by the usual record, were:

Minute (approx.)	Scorer	Score
1	Hidegkuti (HUN)	0–1
15	Sewell (ENG)	1–1
20	Hidegkuti (HUN)	1–2
24	Puskás (HUN)	1–3
38	Mortensen (ENG)	2–3
38	Puskás (HUN)	2–4
50	Bozsik (HUN)	2–5
56	Hidegkuti (HUN)	2–6
57	Mortensen, penalty (ENG)	3–6

Hidegkuti scored a hat-trick, with the first goal after under a minute. Puskás's second goal, in which he dragged the ball back with the sole of his boot to leave a defender off balance before shooting, is the most replayed moment. Sources vary by a minute on some timings, so the minutes above are approximate.

Why 6–3 mattered more than the score England did not lose narrowly, or through bad luck. They were outplayed in a way that shocked those watching, and English newspapers said so. It forced English football to ask what it had been missing.

The Return in Budapest

England played Hungary again in Budapest on 23 May 1954, shortly before the World Cup, and lost 7–1. This margin is still England's heaviest defeat. The two results together removed any argument that Wembley had been a fluke.

The Aftermath

In England, 1953 started a long argument about coaching, tactics and the national team's selection, and the Football Association gradually moved towards coaching schemes. In Hungary, the result confirmed the team as the best in Europe and, in many eyes, in the world, which made the World Cup the following year the obvious next test. It is the subject of Chapter 6.

Exercises

Exercise 1

List three things Hungary did to prepare for the Wembley match, and one way England's preparation differed.

→ Solution

Exercise 2

Give the score of each match (Wembley 1953 and Budapest 1954) and explain why having both results mattered.

→ Solution

Exercise 3

Pick one story about the match that the chapter calls an anecdote, and explain why it should be treated with care.

→ Solution

Quick Reference

Date and place: 25 November 1953, Wembley
Result: Hungary 6, England 3
Scorers: Hidegkuti (3), Puskás (2), Bozsik (HUN); Sewell, Mortensen (2, one penalty) (ENG)
Significance: England's first home defeat to a continental side
Preparation: Hungary studied England and trained for the conditions; England did not
Return match: Budapest, 23 May 1954, Hungary 7, England 1

Next chapter: Bern 1954: The Final, where the unbeaten run met West Germany at the World Cup.