Match Summary

England Team

Spain Team

England beat Spain in an international match at Highbury yesterday afternoon by seven goals to one. It was the first match between the two countries to be played in this country, and England, whose team was as strong as could have been picked, gained an ample revenge for their defeat in the only previous match of the kind, played at Barcelona in May, 1929, when Spain won by four goals to three. here was a great crowd of 55,000 present to watch the match. The gates were closed some time before the kick-off and many thousands were left outside disappointed...

Within two minutes Smith scored from a pass by Strange, and not long afterwards good play by Smith and Crooks ended in a pass across the goalmouth from which Johnson scored. Smith got the third goal some time later with a hard shot after a pass from Dean, the ball going through just under the bar. In the second half Crooks scored the first goal from a centre by Rimmer, lofting the ball over the goalkeeper's head. Crooks, once more playing with great determination, forced a number of corners, and then centred for Dean to head the ball through the goal. A free-kick for hands taken by Cooper took the ball once more to Dean in the goalmouth and he placed it back to the feet of Johnson, who shot through with a hard kick. Crooks got the seventh goal, once more coming in to the centre to take a pass from the other wing...

Gorostiza, who is known as the " Red Bullet " for the power of his shooting, proved true to his name with a hard low drive which went with a swerve through the goal just out of the reach of Hibbs's outstretched left hand. - The Times - Thursday 10th December, 1931

IN OTHER NEWS...

It was on 9 December 1931, a few hours after the Spanish team had gone down to a heavy defeat in London, that Spain officially became a republic on their approval of a new constitution.

Source Notes

TheFA.com
Sefutbol.com
Rothmans
Original Newspaper
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CG