WITH the World Cup fast approaching, England were looking for a good performance to give them the encouragement they need for the coming weeks. Unfortunately, Portugal came to Wembley determined  to prove that they were unlucky not to qualify from their group ad on this display they had every reason to feel disappointed  at not making it to Sweden.

England lacked consistency, struggling in the first half but picking up after the interval. With Johnny Haynes failing to control the game in his usual manner, the midfield never came to grips with the job at hand. The strong point of Haynes' play was his passing, but the accuracy just was not there on this day.

But even though Haynes was off his game England still had Bobby Charlton. He proved that his auspicious debut at Hampden Park was no fluke and his shooting was the highlight of the game. Every time he received possession a buzz went around the ground, just as it had the previous Saturday in the FA Cup Final for Manchester United against Bolton.

In the 25th minute, Charlton brought the crowd to its feet with a tremendous goal. Latching on to a Haynes pass, he hit a fierce, low shot past Gomes from 20 yards. It was made all the better by the fact that he was falling off balance as he shot after a strong challenge by Torres.

The goal was a bit unfair on Portugal, as with a little luck they could have been ahead themselves. Right at the start, Augusto missed an open goal when Rocha's clever flick set the centre-forward up. Also, only a last-ditch tackle by Jim Langley saved the situation as Torres burst through. Towards the end of the half, Don Howe made a goal-line clearance after a mistake by Eddie Hopkinson and then, right on the half-time whistle, Rocha saw a shot skim across the crossbar before being cleared. Also round this time, Augusto left the field, apparently injured, and so we saw another of those strange continental substitutions as the veteran Travaços came on.

After all this Portuguese pressure it was only justice when they deservedly equalized just after the restart. Da Silva made the goal with some super play, splitting Howe and Ronnie Clayton with his burst of speed before setting up Duarte. Strangely, the goal seemed to signal an end to Portugal's attacking play and they rarely threatened the England goal again.

England spent the rest of the game peppering shots at the visitor's goal. They regained the lead midway through the half with another memorable effort by Charlton. Again he received a pass from Haynes before moving swiftly forward, He brought Bryan Douglas into play on the right and then moved into position anticipating a cross. When the centre duly arrived, Charlton met the ball brilliantly to hit a left-footed half volley from 20 yards which flew past Gomes. It brought the house down and the Manchester United star was already building a huge reputation for himself with his power shooting.

The rest of the story belonged to England. Haynes hit the crossbar, and then Haynes and Charlton combined to set Tom Finney up. The winger was unceremoniously floored by a defender to give England a penalty. The kick was entrusted to Langley but his shot struck the post before being scrambled clear. It was the fourth [ed:-fifth] penalty miss in a row at Wembley in an international.

In the last quarter of an hour, Derek Kevan missed three fine chances and his display added fuel to the argument from his many critics that he was not international class.
 

Two goals from Bobby Charlton  - the second, a scorching shot similar to that which rocked the Scots -  rescued England from the brink of defeat. Portugal created enough chances to have won the game, but their finishing was feeble. Jim Langley failed to score from the penalty spot, one of only two misses throughout his career. It was the fourth penalty miss in a row in an international match at Wembley.
  

Portugal had failed to qualify for the World Cup after finishing bottom of Northern Ireland's group. They had beaten England, though, in the last of their four previous meetings, 3-1 in 1955 in Oporto. England had won the first three, scoring 20 goals in the process. Although they had shared the British Championship England had lost three important and influential players at Munich and were struggling to find good replacements for the approaching World Cup.
England were not impressive but went ahead when, from Haynes' pass, Bobby Charlton beat Torres and shot past Gomes from outside the penalty area.
Portugal deservedly drew level when Da Silva showed neat skills and then passed to Carlos Duarte who ran in to equalise. On the hour mark, however, from a centre by Douglas, Charlton hit a beauty to restore England's lead with his second. They could have increased their lead when Finney was fouled by Martins in the area but Langley hit the post from the penalty. Unbelievably, it was England's fifth consecutive penalty miss at Wembley.
Four days later England were thrashed 5-0 by Yugoslavia in Belgrade. This was the worst possible preparation for the World Cup and England were eliminated in a first round play-off by the USSR in Gothenburg.
Portugal reached the quarter-finals of the first European Championship in 1960, where they lost to Yugoslavia, the eventual finalists. They were back at Wembley in 1961 for a World Cup qualifying match.
  

In England's last home game before the World Cup some of the hopes raised following the defeat of Scotland were somewhat deflated. The England defence seemed decidedly shaky at times, especially against the speedy Portuguese wingers, while the attack never really combined well. England had, however, a territorial advantage, and it was no more than they deserved when Charlton slid home a long shot to put them in front after half-an-hour's play. There had, however, been several desperate moments in front of England's goal and it was no surprise when soon after half-time Portugal equalised through Duarte. The goal which won the match was gloriously scored by Charlton, when, with thirty minutes left, he rocketed home a left-foot shot from some twenty yards. England should have increased their lead during the final period, when Haynes hit the bar and Kevan failed twice fro good positions.