Some 93,000 spectators converged on Wembley for this attractive international and at the end of a bitterly-cold night they went home more than happy with a game of high entertainment. The teams were greeted with a light fall of snow which gave Wembley an unusual but appropriate look as the green carpet suddenly turned white.

Both sides played good football, despite the tricky surface and it was obvious from the early stages that one of the men of the match would be the Soviet goalkeeper, Pshenichnikov. Brought in especially for his extra strength in the air, he fully justified his selection with a succession of saves and catches from all angles. After 25 minutes, though, England did find a way past him.

Good work by Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters ended with a low, hard shot by Peters. Pshenichnikov got down well but could not hold the shot and, 'quick as a flash', Alan Ball was there to tap home the rebound.

This Soviet side then showed exactly what rapid strides they had made in international terms. Added to the expected discipline and regimentation of their game comes a new-found awareness of flair. Voronin, Sabo and Streltsov gave a fine display in midfield, and close to half-time, the elusive right-winger Chislenko, appropriately also an expert ice-hockey player, crashed in a 20-yarder past the startled Gordon Banks.

The goal followed some lovely play by Anichkin and Voronin. England were stunned and seconds later it was even worse for them as new cap Cyril Knowles was caught out by Banishevskiy, who quickly fed a delightful pass through for Chislenko to score a second well-taken goal. So, from a position of looking to build on their one-goal lead England trudged off at half-time 2-1 down.

The second half continued to delight. Open, attractive football played in a marvellous spirit brought a welcome change from all the recent knocks that the game has endured. The referee, Rudolf Kreitlein, had a vastly-different task than when he had been here for the infamous Argentinian World Cup match.

England kept plugging away with Alan Mullery, Bobby Charlton, David Sadler and Ball all giving everything. Each time it looked as though an equalizer would come Pshenichnikov with his agility and sure handling foiled them. The goalkeeper was very reminiscent of his great predecessor, Lev Yashin. Knowles, after his earlier error, settled in well and really you could find little fault with any of the England players.

With a quarter of an hour to go, England were finally rewarded with a deserved goal. A late tackle on Roger Hunt by Khurtsilava gave them a free-kick and from that Bobby Moore found Ray Wilson. The full-back then centred from the left and there was Peters with a superb flashing header which 'brought the house down' as it nestled in the Soviet net.

In the last 15 minutes, only Pshenichnikov's brilliance kept England at bay and in the last five he was particularly effective. Somehow he kept out tremendous shots from Charlton, Peters and Hunt. However, it was probably right that England did not get a winner as the Soviet display deserved a share of what was a magnificent game.
  

Ray Wilson was given a rare chasing on a snow-carpeted pitch by flying Russian winger Chislenko, who appropriately was also an outstanding ice-hockey player. Alan Ball gave England an early lead, but two goals from 'Red Rocket' Chislenko put the Soviets in command. Bobby Moore and Ray Wilson combined to make an opening for Martin Peters, who headed an equaliser. Tottenham defender Cyril Knowles made an assured debut out of position at right-back. Pshenichnikov proved himself a worthy successor to Lev Yashin in goal with a series of stunning saves as England pressed for victory in the last twenty minutes of a skilled and entertaining match that was a credit to both sides.
  

England were about to win their European Championship quarter-final place while the USSR had already done so, and quite comfortably. The Soviets had lost on both their previous visits to Wembley, to England in 1958 and to Portugal, in the World Cup Third and Fourth Place the previous year.
As Pshenichnikov saved from Peters, Alan Ball reacted quickest to give England the lead from the rebound. Yet they were behind by half-time.
Anichkin and Voronin combined with Igor Chislenko finishing the move with a shot from outside the box. Chislenko then stunned Wembley by scoring again, this time from a pass by Banishevskiy, just moments later.
England, at last, drew level when a cross from Wilson was nodded home by Martin Peters.
The teams were to meet again six months later in the European Championship Third and Fourth Place in Rome, England winning 2-0. The USSR had been desperately unfortunate to lose their semi-final on the toss of a coin after holding the hosts, and eventual winners, Italy, to a goalless draw after extra-time. It was another 17 years before they returned to Wembley.
     

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