England followed up their draw in the World Cup match in Lisbon against Portugal with this confidence-boosting win in Rome. It was a thrilling game, full of incident and excitement with England putting up a splendid performance.

It was a glorious day in a glorious setting as the teams took to the field to a roar from the 82,000 crowd. Both sides quickly went on to the attack and both goals had narrow escapes early on. There were many outstanding individuals in the game but it was soon clear that Sivori for Italy and Johnny Haynes for England were going to be the chief playmakers. Ron Springett and Buffon also had superb games in their respective goals though both had luck on their side at times.

Lojacono hit England's crossbar from a free-kick and Brighenti was desperately unlucky to head against a post from the rebound. Springett then brought off a brilliant save from Mora at full stretch. But it was not all Italy. England, with their more open passing style, created some fine openings. Defence splitting through passes by Haynes and Bryan Douglas twice sent Jimmy Greaves clear but on each occasion the agile Buffon made super saves.

The game had to see some goals with all this attacking football on show and with six minutes to go before half-time England took the lead. A long cross by the outstanding Jimmy Armfield was met by the powerful head of Gerry Hitchens and the ball flashed into the top corner with Buffon, for once, well beaten.

The goal was greeted by a deafening silence but within four minutes the silence turned to rejoicing as Italy equalized. Sivori, producing some breathtaking skills, conjured up a stunning goal. Taking a square pass from Castelletti he swivelled, slid past a tackle and then thumped home a left-foot shot to the top corner of Springett's net.

After the break, the game twisted and turned at regular intervals. On 55 minutes there was a dramatic moment as Buffon was injured, diving at the feet of Haynes following a brilliant interchange with Hitchens. The goalkeeper was carried off with a bloodied faceand he was replaced by Vavassori.

But around this time Sivori began to take over. Playing magnificently he inspired his colleagues into some fine play. His passing brought the wingers into play more and more giving Brighenti a superb service. England were saved at this point by Springett. He saved wonderfully well from Sivori and Brighenti and then turned another Brighenti shot on to the bar and over. The centre-forward missed one sitter but immediately made up for it by giving the Italians the lead. Again Sivori was the architect and again, of course, the crowd went wild with delight.

During this 20-minute spell of Italian pressure, Springett, Peter Swan, Armfield and Mick McNeil were all magnificent and kept England in the match, a match that turned on its head in the last ten minutes.

England stunned the crowd once again by immediately equalizing Brighenti's goal. Sivori, for once, was hustled into a mistake. From the resultant throw-in, Greaves broke to the left, put Hitchens clear and the centre-forward hit a firm left-foot shot through Vavassori's legs and into the Italian net.

The final twist in this magnificent match came with five minutes to go. Haynes intercepted a pass by Trapattoni and put through a reverse angled pass that once again sent Greaves away in full cry. This time the Chelsea player made no mistake and the finish was as lethal as any of his League goals in the season just ended, a perfect left-foot shot inside the far post.
     

The Italians, parading the gifted Argentinean-born Omar Sivori as the ace in their pack, took control after the shock of going behind to an early goal by Gerry Hitchens. Sivori equalized with a flashing shot after side-stepping a challenge, and Italy's domination was rewarded with a second goal that convinced Sivori victory was complete and he started playing to the crowd. But his exhibitionism proved premature. Jimmy Greaves raced 40 yards to lay on an equalizer for Hitchens, whose performance persuaded Inter Milan that they should buy him. Greaves, due to join AC Milan, capped a magnificent performance when five minutes from the end he raced on to a Haynes pass and steered the ball wide of Italy's substitute goalkeeper. He had come on for Button, who was carried off after a brave dive at the feet of Haynes had left him with a broken nose. Haynes led the England players on a lap of honour at the end as the 100,000 crowd whistled and hooted both them and their own players. It was a famous victory to rank alongside the 1948 triumph in Turin.
     

Source Notes

TheFA.com
Original newspaper reports
Rothman's Yearbooks
Mike Payne's England: The Complete Post-War Record (Breedon Books Publishing Company, Derby, U.K., 1993)
Norman Giller, Football Author
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CG