The smallest crowd ever to attend a full international at Wembley were dotted about the stadium in between the cranes and builder's materials being used to put the new roof on in time for the folloiwng spring. England produced a performance more than good enough to beat Wales but it still left a few question marks over certain players. They were forced into two late changes with Graham Shaw replacing Ray Wilson and Bobby Tambling coming in for Mike O'Grady. Both of these new players made satisfactory appearances and neither weakened the structure of the side.

After a night of sleet it was cold but fine by the time the match started and from the moment England took the lead after only ten minutes, there was only ever going to be one result. The two stars of the game immediately stood head and shoulders above their colleagues, Jimmy Greaves for England and Allchurch for Wales.

It was Greaves who created the first goal. A tremendous piece of acceleration through a gap in the Welsh defence ended with a rasping shot which cracked against Millington's crossbar. John Connelly was first to react to the rebound and quickly shot home with the help of a deflection.

Allchurch then did his best to inspire his team, giving a talented midfield display. Unfortunately, all too frequently, he found little support forthcoming and the solid defensive play of Bobby Moore, Ron Flowers and Brian Labone snuffed out any danger. Wales did create two chances on the half-hour but both Vernon and Medwin failed to take them.

They were to rue these misses as in the 35th minute their goalkeeper Millington made the first of two mistakes which probably cost Wales the game. Alan Peacock, who failed to really impress, fired in an angled swinging shot which the goalkeeper, in trying to save, succeeded only in palming the ball into his own net. Peacock's goal but with a large 'assist' from Millington.

Soon after half-time, Allchurch missed the best Welsh chance from point-blank range. On the hour Millington made a terrible hash of a short goal-kick to Williams, giving Peacock the chance to pounce eagerly for his free gift and England's third goal. Connelly and Tambling showed some nice touches as England dominated the latter stages but Freddie Hill, after a bright opening, faded into anonymity.

With darkness setting in it was left to Greaves to produce the game's outstanding moment. Near the end he picked the ball up and cut inside from the right. He skipped past three desperate Welsh challenges before hitting a magnificent shot into the far top corner.

It was a fitting end, not only to this match, but also to the distinguished career of Walter Winterbottom, whose reign as England's coach had now come to an end. In the dressing-room afterwards there was a presentation to him, subscribed to by the 131 players who had played under him in his 16 years in charge. In response to this gesture he said, "It underlines the bond of friendship between the international players and myself. Today showed that England have the material for a good side. With the support they merit, and playing in England, we must have a great chance of winning the World Cup in 1966.".
  

Walter Winterbottom's final match. Alf Ramsey watched from the stand in readiness to take over. There was a crowd of only 27,500 - the lowest to date for a Wembley international - to see England romp to a comfortable victory. Chelsea striker Bobby Tambling made his debut in the No. 11 jersey. Alan Peacock scored two goals, John Connelly one and Greaves netted the last goal of Winterbottom's reign. In the dressing-room after the match skipper Jimmy Armfield presented Walter with a set of crystal cut-glass goblets on behalf of the players. The toast was 'Walter Winterbottom, master manager.' He might have done even better had the amateur selectors left him alone to manage without interference. 

During his sixteen years in charge, Winterbottom's record was: P139 W78 D33 L28 F383 A196. 
The fifteen most-capped players during his reign were Billy Wright (105), Tom Finney (70), Johnny Haynes (56), Jimmy Dickinson (48), Bobby Charlton and Ron Flowers (39 each), Stanley Matthews (36), Ronnie Clayton (35), Roger Byrne, Bryan Douglas and Nat Lofthouse (33 each), Alf Ramsey and Jimmy Armfield (32 each), Ron Springett (28), Neil Franklin (27). Franklin would have doubled his caps collection but for dropping out in 1950 to play in the outlawed Colombian league. He was desperately missed by Winterbottom during the disastrous 1950 World Cup campaign.  What might England have achieved in the 1958 finals but for the Munich air disaster that robbed the team of Roger Byrne, Tommy Taylor and the irreplaceable Duncan Edwards?  Winterbottom was not the luckiest of managers.
  

Wales had finished runners-up in each of the past two British Championships but this time had already lost 3-2 to the reigning champions Scotland at Ninian Park. They had lost on each of their four previous British Championship visits to Wembley and needed to win to stay in contention. Both teams had entered the European Championship for the first time but suffered disappointing starts.
In the first round first legs England had been held to a 1-1 draw by France at Hillsborough, and Wales had been beaten 3-1 by Hungary in Budapest. England had begun the British Championship. however, with a 3-1 win over Northern Ireland at Windsor Park.
England started smartly; Greaves hit the bar and John Connelly netted the rebound to put England in front. Ten Minutes before the interval, from Hill's pass, Alan Peacock caught Millington by surprise with his shot and the goalkeeper pushed it into his own net. Peacock clinched the points just past the hour when he robbed Williams as the Welsh captain received a goal kick from Millington, running on to score his second. Jimmy Greaves put the icing on the cake, in Walter Winterbottom's last match as England manager, when he beat three men and sent a rising shot into the corner with two minutes left.
England and Wales were both knocked out of the European Championship in the second legs while England and Scotland were left to decide the British Championship.
Making his Wembley debut was Bobby Moore, who captained England to their 1966 World Cup triumph. In 1964 he was Footballer of the Year and he went on to win 108 England caps.
Walter Winterbottom was knighted in 1978 and died in 2002 at the age of 88.
     

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