England won 8-0 on a sunny May afternoon at Wembley.

England couldn’t stop scoring in the 1960-61 season and they rattled eight goals past Mexico on this day in ’61.

In their previous five internationals England had won 5-2 v Northern Ireland, 9-0 v Luxembourg, 4-2 v Spain, 5-1 v Wales and 9-3 v Scotland. A Wembley crowd of 76,000 on a gloriously sunny afternoon had every right to expect more of the same against the hapless Central Americans – and they weren’t disappointed.

Aston Villa centre-forward Gerry Hitchens (above, 2nd left) scored England’s opener in the first minute of his debut and then set up Bobby Charlton for a volley that flew past ‘keeper Mota.

Goals by Bobby Robson and Bryan Douglas made it 4-0 at the break and Mexico, who had actually beaten England two years earlier in Mexico City, had no answer to some superb football from the home side.

The second half turned out to be equally as one-sided. Ron Flowers blasted home a penalty after a foul on Hitchens; Charlton netted his second with a 30-yarder and his third at the end of a great move that involved eight players; Douglas completed the rout at 8-0 after good work by Charlton down the left.

The Mexicans were outclassed from start to finish and were probably thankful that Jimmy Greaves hadn’t been playing.