"ENGLAND v. SWITZERLAND MATCH POSTPONED
"In the Highbury area this morning the fog was the worst of the week. At 10.45 a.m. Mr. Tom Whittaker, Arsenal manager, reported visibility on ground as nil. The F.A. and Swiss officials were then conferring at F.A. offices. Just before 11 o'clock, the Football Association announced that the match would be postponed until to-morrow, provided the weather conditions are suitable. Tickets for the match, already issued, will be available for tomorrow." - Wednesday, 1 December 1948, Gloucestershire Echo.
 
"Persisting thick fog at Highbury caused the England v Switzerland soccer international to be postponed until tomorrow. The fogbound area was now stated to spread in a great semi-circle over Eastern England bounded by a line running from Lem (Yorks), southwards through Nottingham, Birmingham, Abingdon (Berks), Farnborough (Hants), Croydon, and up to Felixstowe." - Wednesday, 1 December 1948, The Citizen
 

This match, postponed from the previous day because of dense fog, saw the defeat of yet another European challenge to England's unbeaten home record against Continental sides. In fact, Switzerland were annihilated!
 
Before the kick-off, several question marks had been put against an unfamiliar England line-up. Six changes had been made from the previous match but all of the newcomers came out of the game well. Ted Ditchburn had little to do, but Alf Ramsey looked perfectly at home in his first appearance. Johnny Hancocks was a success and Jack Rowley moved smoothly and dangerous.

The biggest success of the new boys, though, was John Haines. England still searching for a replacement for Wilf Mannion, seemed to have found an answer at inside-left made a very impressive debut, showing plenty of imagination and flair.

Despite the fact that all these new players did well, it was the magic of the irrepressible Stanley Matthews that once again stood out. The mercurial winger enjoyed the freedom of Highbury as he ran the poor Swiss defenders ragged. Everytime he received the ball he left a trail of wreckage behind him with his superb artistry.

Ramsey cleared early on from his goal-line, but after that it was virtual one-way traffic. After five minutes, England opened the scoring when Jackie Milburn robbed Bader in the area and crossed for Haines to head home.

After 25 minutes of continuous pressure, Matthews waltzed towards the middle and sent in a low cross from which Hancocks scored with a good shot. A minute later, Haines headed in a Hancocks corner as the whole Swiss defence stood and watched.

The second half opened with Switzerland trying vainly to fight back. Tamini, Bickel and Fatton all made gallant efforts but England soon regained control and scored further goals to increase their lead. Rowley produced a thunderbolt from outside the box before Hancocks, from a cross by Matthews, and finally Milburn ended the contest in style. Switzerland had no answer to England's power and especially could do nothing to stop Matthews and Hancocks.
   

Jack Haines and Johnny Hancocks both scored two goals in their international debuts, but the goal that had the Highbury crowd roaring came from  another debutant, Manchester United's Jack Rowley. He showed why he was rated to have one of the hardest shots in the game with a left foot drive that bulleted into the net from thirty-five yards. Haines, who scored both his goals in the first half, never got another chance of a  after collecting an injury with West Bromwich Albion. There were also debuts for Tottenham team-mates Ted Ditchburn and Alf Ramsey. Both gave sound performances in an England defence that was rarely troubled by a Swiss team that lacked its usual clockwork precision and never looked like repeating their victory of 1947. The game was postponed twenty-four hours because of persistent fog, and this explains why there were only 35,000 at Highbury to watch a confident performance by England. Jack Rowley's goal was hailed as a masterpiece. Billy Wright played the ball through to him and everybody thought he had lost control when he slipped over. But while down on one knee he took his measure and as he got up crashed in a shot from thirty-five yards that had 'goal' written all over it from the moment it left his boot.
    

For the match against Switzerland at Highbury on December 2nd, England fielded a reorganised team, with Ditchburn (Tottenham H.) in goal, Ramsey (Southampton) at right-back), Cockburn left-half, and three new forwards, Rowley (Manchester United), Haines (West Bromwich Albion) and Hancocks (Wolverhampton Wanderers). The experiment was a triumphant success. The new team played with dash and brilliance and a high degree of co-ordination, and the result, a 6-0 victory for England, indicates the extent to which the Swiss were outclassed.
The result was never in doubt after Haines headed in a beautiful centre from Milburn in the fifth minute of the game. Matthews prepared the way for Hancocks to score again with a low drive after another twenty minutes. Shortly afterwards Haines headed through again from a perfectly placed centre by Hancocks.
Ten minutes after the interval, Rowley scored with the most amazing shot of the match, a terrific drive from thirty yards which was in the net before the crowd realised what had happened. After sixty-five minutes, Matthews, executing a typical piece of trickery, popped the ball between the Swiss right-half's legs to Hancocks who crashed home the fifth goal. A minute later Milburn scored again from the edge of the penalty area. England had given a wonderful exhibition in a one-sided game, in which their defence was never seriously tested.