England Football Online
Results 1950-1955                        Page Last Updated 20 January 2024

Schweiz/Suisse/Svizzera/Svizra

 
244 vs. Switzerland
 
270 vs. Italy
'B11' vs. France Espoirs
previous match (3 days)
271 vs. Austria
272
next match (129 days)
273 vs. Ireland
 
289 vs. Switzerland
Wednesday, 28 May 1952
End-of-season European Tour Match


Switzerland 0 England 3
[0-1]
 
Hardturm Stadion, Industriequartier, Zürich
Kick-off (CEST & BST): 6.30pm
Attendance: 32,000;
Switzerland won the toss    
  [0-0] Nat Lofthouse header hits the post
[0-1] Jackie Sewell 13
'After a corner kick by Allen had been partially cleared, Sewell, standing on the edge of the penalty box, lobbed the ball so accurately that Schmidhauser could only help into the goal with his head.'
  [0-2] Nat Lofthouse 51
'A long clearance from Ramsey found Finney, who pushed the ball inside to Jackie Sewell, who flicked it forward for Lofthouse, running in, to shoot hard and low past Preiss'
[0-3] Nat Lofthouse 90
'On the stroke of time Lofthouse took full advantage of indecision on the part of the Swiss backs to ram home the third.'
there is no Television or Radio coverage
 
"Lofthouse comes up to scratch" Daily Herald
Officials Switzerland FIFA ruling on substitutes England Party
Referee (black)
Ludovicus Andreas Maria Baert
48 (29 December 1903), Ghent, Belgium
The FIFA ruling of allowing a substitute to replace an injured player prior to the 44th minute, and a goalkeeper at any time, is in place.

The match was watched by Field Marshal Viscount Montgomery.
The match was preceded by a junior Zürich side against a Birmingham Boys side. Birmingham won 5-2, but the match was interrupted by a crowd invasion.
Linesmen
from Switzerland
Wilhelm Rufli
40 (1 December 1911), Bremgartem
Paul Raymond Wyssling
40 (5 January 1912), Zürich
 
Switzerland Team
 
Rank No official ranking system established;
ELO rating 25th
Colours Red jerseys, white shorts, black socks.
Captain Roger Bocquet Selection Selection Commission: -
William Baumgartner, Gaston Tschirren and Leopold Kielholz.
Switzerland Lineup
  Preiss, Thomas 34
107 days
11 February 1918 G Grasshopper FC 2 5ᵍᵃ
final app 1949-52
2 Kernen, Wilhelm 22
296 days
6 August 1929 RB FC La Chaux-de-Fonds 6 0
3 Bocquet, Roger 31
39 days
19 April 1921 LB Lausanne-Sports 36 2
4 Neukom, Wilhelm 32
95 days
23 February 1920 RHB Grasshopper-Club 4 0
5 Eggimann, Olivier 33
121 days
28 January 1919 CHB Servette FC 31 0
6 Schmidhauser, Hannes G. 25
262 days
9 September 1926 LHB FC Locarno 1 0
7 Ballaman, Robert 25
342 days
21 June 1926 OR Grasshopper-Club 10 6
8 Hügi, Joséf 22
126 days
23 January 1930 CF FC Basel 2 0
9 Bader, René 29
295 days
7 August 1922 IR FC Basel 16 1
10 Pasteur, Lucien 30
241 days
30 September 1921 IL Servette FC 5 2
11 Fatton, Jacques 26
161 days
19 December 1925 OL Servette FC 37 24
unused substitutes: Friedrich Jucker (FC Biel), Willy Steffen, Andre Neury, Roger Quinche, Roger Vonlanthen, Ferdinando Riva
 
2-3-5 Preiss -
Kernan, Bocquet -
Neukom, Eggimann, Schmidhausser -
Ballaman, Bader, Hügi, Pasteur, Fatton.
Averages: Age 28 years 197 days Appearances/Goals 13.6 3.2
 
England Team
 
Rank No official ranking system established;
ELO rating 3rd
Colours The 1949 home uniform - White collared jerseys, blue shorts, black socks with white tops.
P 25th of 43, W 15 - D 5 - L 5 - F 66 - A 35.
Captain Billy Wright Manager Walter Winterbottom, 39 (31 March 1913), appointed as FA national director of coaching/team manager on 8 July 1946;
record 28th of 90, W 18 - D 4 - L 6 - F 68 - A 34. Trainer: Jimmy Trotter (Charlton Athletic FC) P 46th of 139, W 31 - D 8 - L 7 - F 137 - A 53.
³ Team chosen by Selection Committee headed by Arthur Oakley, on Tuesday, 27 May, in Zürich.
England Lineup
  one change to the previous match (Allen>Elliott) FINAL league positions (3 May)  
  Merrick, Gilbert H. 30
123 days
26 January 1922 G Birmingham City FC (FL2 3rd) 6 6ᵍᵃ
2 Ramsey, Alfred E. 32
127 days
22 January 1920 RB Tottenham Hotspur FC (FL RU) 22 1
3 Eckersley, William 26
317 days
16 July 1925 LB Blackburn Rovers FC (FL2 14th) 8 0
4 Wright, William A. 28
112 days
6 February 1924 RHB Wolverhampton Wanderers FC (FL 16th) 43 3
most apps 1952
5 Froggatt, Jack 29
193 days
17 November 1922 CHB Portsmouth FC (FL 4th) 8 1
6 Dickinson, James W. 27
34 days
24 April 1925 LHB Portsmouth FC (FL 4th) 20 0
the 25th player to reach the 20-app milestone
717 7 Allen, Ronald 23
134 days
15 January 1929 OR/L West Bromwich Albion FC (FL 13th) 1 0
the 27th Albion player to represent England
8
Sewell, John 25
125 days
24 January 1927 IR Sheffield Wednesday FC (FL2 Winners) 3 2
9
Lofthouse, Nathaniel 26
268 days
27 August 1925 CF Bolton Wanderers FC (FL 5th) 8 9
the 160th (27th post-war) brace scored
10 Baily, Edward F. 26
296 days
6 August 1925 IL Tottenham Hotspur FC (FL RU) 8 5
11 Finney, Thomas 30
53 days
5 April 1922 OL/R Preston North End FC (FL 7th) 39 20
unused substitutes: Ivor Broadis (Manchester City FC (FL 15th)), Billy Elliott (Burnley FC (FL 14th)), Tom Garrett (Blackpool FC (FL 9th)), Bill Nicholson (Tottenham Hotspur FC (FL RU)), Stan Pearson (Manchester United FC (FL CHAMPIONS)) and Bert Williams (Wolverhampton Wanderers FC (FL 16th)).
team notes: Billy Wright extends his record appearance tally, although at this time, the thought was that Crompton had won 42 appearances. Thus Wright's celebration followed this match.
goalscoring records: Nat Lofthouse ends the season as England top goalscorer, scoring seven goals in seven matches.
 
2-3-5 Merrick -
Ramsey, Eckersley -
Wright, Froggatt, Dickinson -
Allen, Sewell, Lofthouse, Baily, Finney.
notes: Tom Finney and Ronnie Allen swapped wings for the second half.
Averages: Age 27 years 330 days Appearances/Goals 15.1 3.5
 
              Match Report by Mike Payne

For the last match of the 1952 summer tour, England travelled to the beautiful city of Zürich. Here they gained another good result to round off a very successful trip.

On a sultry day, 32,000 people were present to see these two sides meet and they did not have to wait long for the first goal. This came in the 13th minute when new cap Ronnie Allen took a right-wing corner. The ball reached Jackie Sewell, who cleverly lobbed it over Preizz and into the Swiss net. That was the only goal of the first half and England, in control, looked in no mood to surrender their lead.


In fact, six minutes into the second period they increased that lead when Nat Lofthouse followed up his success in Vienna by number two.

To round off a competent display by England, the Bolton star added his second and England's third before the end just to emphasise the purple patch he was enjoying.

   

              Match Report by Norman Giller

Billy Wright was credited with taking over the England caps record from Bob Crompton with this forty-third international appearance (although most record books give Crompton's old record as 41 caps). The Swiss were beaten by the same scoring combination that had won the match in Vienna three days earlier: Jackie Sewell one, Nat Lofthouse two. West Bromwich Albion's versatile forward Ronnie Allen won the first of his five caps, and gave a lively performance on the right wing.
    

              Match Report as appears in the F.A. Yearbook 1952-53, page 28

The last match of the tour, at Zurich on May 28th, came as something of an anti-climax. The Swiss were not expected to show a very high standard, and though their forwards played well by approach work, they shot wide of goal. Neither did England produce their previous standard. Yet they won comfortably by 3 goals to 0: Sewell scored early in the first half; then a four-man move covering nearly the length of the field led to a goal by Lofthouse; and finally Lofthouse set the seal on the tour with the third just before the final whistle.
  

              In Other News....
It was on 27 May 1952 that a treaty was signed in Paris by Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands and West Germany to form the European Defence Community with a unified army. The French National Assembly subsequently rejected it, two years later, due to fears of it undermining French sovereignty, whilst also re-arming West Germany, who were then admitted into NATO and the treaty never came into effect. The Epsom Derby was won by Tulyar, a record-equalling fifth and last win for owner Aga Khan III. It was won for the third time by 45-year-old jockey, Charlie Smirke. 16-year-old Lester Piggott, who was to win the race a record nine times, was second in his first Derby, on Gay Time.
              Source Notes
TheFA.com
Original newspaper reports
Drew Herbertson, Scottish FA Historian
  Rothman's Yearbooks
Mike Payne's England: The Complete Post-War Record

Norman Giller, Football Author
cg