This was a disappointing goalless draw, played out in the same setting that had seen so much joy only three months ago. It was a very negative performance from both sides with the solid Czech defenders winning the few honours that were going.

England began like steam trains, throwing everything at the visitors in the first ten minutes. Geoff Hurst, Roger Hunt, Alan Ball and Martin Peters all might have scored the early goal, that the game probably needed but when they did hit the target they found goalkeeper Viktor in inspired form, hurling himself about his goal with great athleticism.

The home side played well, up to a point. They used Wembley's vast open spaces with Bobby Moore, Bobby Charlton, Nobby Stiles and Peters all putting probing passes around the pitch. But each time a promising opening was made, the finishing let the team down. On the night, Hunt and Hurst just could not find their shooting boots.

Just before the interval, with the crowd doing their best to lift England, Viktor produced an outstanding punching save after a double-barrelled header by first Hurst and then Jack Charlton. Then, moments later, Bobby Charlton made one of his famous flowing runs, only to shoot a fraction wide of the target with Viktor this time beaten. The Czechs made a substitution just before half-time when Kuna came on for Schmidt.

The first 20 minutes of the second half brought another barrage of pressure by England, who laid siege on the Czechoslovakian goal. Always, though, the attack petered out in the vital area. Bobby Charlton saw another thunderous shot brilliantly saved again by Viktor whilst other chances came and went.

The best opportunity of all fell to Hunt with only five minutes to go. He was in a fine position as a cross came over to him, but he missed his volley completely, despite the fact that he had 'all the time in the world'.

However, the chance was lost and it, sort of, summed up the game. England were never in top form and the crowd left in a disappointed mood. For the record, this was only the second goalless draw in 58 full internationals at Wembley since the war. The other was the World Cup match against Uruguay.
  

This was the sixteenth match since the summer of 1965 in which England had not conceded a goal. The Czechs came only to defend, and their nine-man blanket defence smothered the England attack. England were now unbeaten in their last eighteen matches, and losing only once in their last twenty-nine, but this was a below-par performance that disappointed the 75,000 crowd. For the record, this was only the second goalless draw in fifty-eight post-war full internationals at Wembley. The only other one was the World Cup curtain-raiser against Uruguay.
  

After reaching the World Cup Final for the second time, in 1962, Czechoslovakia had failed to qualify for the 1966 tournament in England from a group won by Portugal. They had beaten England once, by 2-1 in their first meeting, in Prague in 1934. England had beaten them twice since then.
England were appearing at Wembley for the first time since their World Cup win just over three months earlier. They were fielding the same eleven that had lifted the trophy.
Despite having 80 per-cent of the ball, England could not break down the Czech defence and the match ended goalless.
Czechoslovakia failed to qualify from their European Championship group but beat Olympic champions Hungary in a play-off to qualify for the 1970 World Cup where England were one of three teams to defeat them. They were back at Wembley for a European Championship match in 1974.
     

On their first appearance at Wembley since winning the World Cup, England were held to a goalless draw by the Czechs, who were visiting this country for a full international for the first time in 29 years. The score bore no relation to the play, for England held the upper hand almost throughout but failed to take their chances. It would have been no surprise if England had won by a margin of five goals, but a combination of bad shooting and good defensive play kept their score at 'nil'. The Czechs, on the other hand, made only feeble attempts to beat the England defence. Much of their play was midfield in character and undistinguished. England played with full-hearted enthusiasm and moved the ball forward swiftly and precisely with an abundance of good passing during the opening half when Hunt, Bobby Charlton and Hurst all went close to scoring. An early score would probably have heralded a glut of goals. Some of their composure and rhythm faded in the second half and in their endeavour to clinch a victory, the forwards became over-anxious and muffed easy chances.
     

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