Although England ended with an emphatic win over Wales, this scoreline in no way reflects the way this dual-purpose international went. With both the Home Championship and qualification for the European Championship at stake, there was a lot of added spice to this annual fixture.

On a bitterly cold night when the wind was so biting, some 76,000 brave souls enjoyed a very entertaining game. For a while, England carried on where they left off against Czechoslovakia two weeks earlier. Geoff Hurst was the chief culprit missing three good chances in the opening 20 minutes.

Wales had come, European-style, to contain rather than attack and they left only two forwards up. Rees and Jones, did work hard down the flanks and the two Davieses always carried a threat. Having said that, the England defence maintained the tight discipline that we have now come to expect of them and they coped fairly easily with the Welsh attacks.

Bobby Moore and Jack Charlton were again very prominent and after half an hour, England were celebrating a goal. Martin Peters put a good pass to Hurst, who quickly fired in a shot which was diverted, unluckily for the Welsh, by Hennessey. The ball flew past Millington and the goal was credited to Hurst.

That settled England down and three minutes later they scored again with a 'peach' of a goal. Hole's hurried clearance was picked up by Nobby Stiles and he put over a perfect centre which Hurst met with a 'scorching' header. There was no disputing that goalscorer.

It was looking good for England, but Wales quickly came back into the match and moments later it was 2-1. A cross by Ron Davies was flicked home by Wyn Davies to reduce the arrears. That was the first goal-attempt the Welsh had put in but it counted with deadly effect.

England, undaunted, kept to their now-familiar pattern meticulously, and before half-time they regained their two-goal advantage. Peters this time, fed a square pass to Bobby Charlton, who fired in a fierce shot from 20 yards. Millington could perhaps have done better but another deflection meant that the goalkeeper allowed the ball to slip through his grasp, much to his obvious annoyance. Charlton, however, was delighted and had now scored 41 goals for his country.

England had looked very effective in the first half and they now seem to have 'telepathic powers', so good was the understanding that Alf Ramsey had cultivated. Despite this dominance, Wales still battled bravely on. A lovely move, one of the best of the match, ended with Ron Davies hitting a stinging shot which thudded against the post before being cleared.

That certainly was a let-off for England but they then pressed home their obvious superiority with two more goals in the last ten minutes. On 80 minutes, Hennessey was in the wrong place at the wrong time to turn a Hunt chip wide of his own goalkeeper for number four; five minutes later, Jack Charlton completed the scoring when he headed in Hurst's centre from the right.

It was an entertaining match, played in a good spirit, with the valiant Welshmen never giving up despite the scoreline.
  

The Charlton brothers were both on the score-sheet and Geoff Hurst netted twice against a Welsh team that telegraphed their tactics by continually trying to play long balls to their twin strikers Wyn Davies and Ron Davies. Apart from a consolation headed goal by Wyn Davies, the England defence comfortably controlled the Welsh attack by shutting out their supply line from the wings. With both the Home Championship and qualification for the European championships at stake, the game had a hard competitive edge  and the final scoreline flattered the world champions who were helped by an own goal from one of the hardest workers on the pitch, Terry Hennessey. Bobby Moore, playing in his fiftieth international, was exceptional in an England defence that was at its dominant best. This was to prove the last match in which the famous World Cup winning XI played together.
  

For two years the British Championship was to double as European Championship Group Eight. England had already beaten Northern Ireland 2-0 at Windsor Park in their bid to secure their third successive outright British Championship. Wales had drawn 1-1 with Scotland at Ninian Park and needed to avoid defeat for the first time in the British Championship at Wembley to retain their interest in it.
The world champions took the lead on the half-hour. From Peters's pass Geoff Hurst beat Millington from just outside the area. Four minutes later Hurst headed his second from a Stiles cross. Wales were quick to strike back. Ron Davies supplied the cross for his namesake Wyn to head past Banks but two minutes before half-time Peters set up Bobby Charlton to restore England's two-goal advantage, with a drive which went through Millington's hands. Ten minutes remained when Terry Hennessey converted Hunt's chip into an own goal for England's fourth and then Hurst crossed for Jack Charlton to score the final goal with six minutes left.
Wales still had a chance in the European Championship but the British Championship was to be decided, once again, by England and Scotland.
     

In spite of a cold, swirling wind, both teams showed good ball-control and accuracy and a crowd of 76,000 witnessed a bright and entertaining game. Although Wales were finally well and truly defeated, they were fra from disgraced and had a fair share of the exchanges. Unfortunately, their attacking moves followed a similar pattern throughout, with long crosses to the far post. From one such cross, Wyn Davies headed their only goal. At this stage, England led by two goals, scored by Hurst. The first was from a good shot from outside the penalty-area wich struck a Welsh defender, and the second a beautifully-judged  header following a centre by Stiles.

Before half-time, Bobby Charlton increased the lead with a drive from 20 yards which Millington was only able to help into the net. England played purposeful football in the second half and added further goals through an own goal by Hennessey and one by Jack Charlton.

The match marked the 50th appearance by Moore in international football.
     

Source Notes

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