On a bitterly cold day and, with a pitch covered in icy patches, England produced another fine performance to continue their good run. Belgium became the latest vićtims of the unbeaten home record against continental sides and they ended the match well beaten.

England's recent good form has coincided with the excellent play of two players in particular. Redfern Froggatt and Nat Lofthouse have been superb with Lofthouse especially the outstanding star of the England side.

The Duke of Gloucester was the VIP guest and he, and the rest of the disappointing crowd of 65,000, enjoyed some sparkling football.

England took the lead early on, a familiar pattern, when Tom Finney fed a lovely pass to Lofthouse. He nodded it down to his right foot before crashing a drive against the Belgium crossbar. When the rebound came out, Billy Elliott was on hand to hit a firm shot wide of Boogaerts.

From that moment, England rarely lost control. Playing neat and constructive football they continually split the Belgium defence to set up many chances. Roy Bentley missed, so did Finney but, shortly before half-time, the deserved second goal duly arrived. It was a real beauty.

Redfern Froggatt made another good break, this time down the left. When his centre came over, Finney and Bentley combined well to set up Lofthouse. Again, he fired in a fierce shot, which this time went in off the crossbar.

Six minutes into the second half, England emphasised their dominance with a third goal. This time Finney sent Bentley away down the left. He carefully measured a lovely cross into the middle where Lofthouse's challenge forced Boogaerts to fumble, allowing Elliott the chance to shoot home from close range as the ball fell loose.

It was all England now and on the hour they scored again. Redfern Froggatt, who had already missed several good chances including a sitter just previously, this time made no mistake when he headed home Finney's free-kick perfectly.

Apart from the occasional break from the hard working Coppings and Mermans, Belgium had little to offer although it must be said that England's defence held together brilliantly to emphasise what a good team performance it had been.

With the second half being played in driving sleet, the conditions were awful but nonetheless the football certainly warmed the crowd. Belgium did make a spirited rally towards the end and at last gave Gil Merrick something to warm him up. But the final word had to come from the man Lofthouse.

He rose superbly to head in Bentley's precise cross to round off a fine performance and another excellent result.
  

Nat Lofthouse kept up his one-man bombardment with a double strike that took his haul to nine goals in five games. Redfern Froggatt scored his first goal for England, and Burnley winger Billy Elliott netted twice against the outplayed Belgians. The game was played in a driving sleet, and ice patches formed on the famous Wembley turf, making it difficult for defenders to keep their feet. England led 2-0 at the end of a first-half in which they might have had half a dozen goals against a completely outplayed Belgian team.
  

Belgium had appeared at Wembley twice before in unofficial internationals. England had never failed to beat them at home but had lost 3-2 in Brussels in 1936. Belgium had not competed in the 1950 World Cup. England took the lead in only the fourth minute. Lofthouse hit a thunderous shot against the bar and Billy Elliott scored from the rebound.

Just before the interval Finney and Bentley neatly prised open the Belgian defence and Nat Lofthouse unleashed another powerful shot which this time went in off the bar. Three minutes after the break, from a Bentley cross, Lofthouse challenged Boogaerts and Elliott slotted in his second. The fourth came after an hour with Redfern Froggatt heading in a Finney free kick. Lofthouse scored the fifth with a header from Bentley's cross.
  

On Friday, 15 November 1952, The New Musical Express published the first ever singles chart in the UK. It comprised fifteen records occupying twelve positions. Al Martino's Here in My Heart was therefore the best selling single when England beat Belgium. The second week of the published chart on Friday, 21 November looked like this...

Source Notes

TheFA.com
Belgianfootball.be
Original newspaper reports
Rothman's Yearbooks
Mike Payne's England: The Complete Post-War Record (Breedon Books Publishing Company, Derby, U.K., 1993)
Glen Isherwood's Wembley: The Complete Record (SportsBooks Limited, Cheltenham, U.K., 2006)
Norman Giller, Football Author
Neil Warwick, John Kutner & Tony Brown's The Complete Book of the British Charts (Omnibus Press, 2004)
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CG