England and Scotland drew a thriller at Wembley on this day.

England played their 70th match against Scotland on this day in 1953. It finished 2-2, meaning that the Scots hadn’t lost at Wembley for 19 years. England had more clear-cut chances but the visitors deserved a draw for their courage and spirit.

There were 97,000 fans inside the stadium and they saw skipper Billy Wright introduce his England team to Lord Alexander of Tunis before they lined up like this: Gil Merrick (Birmingham), Alf Ramsey (Tottenham), Lionel Smith (Arsenal), Billy Wright (Wolves), Malcolm Barrass (Bolton), Jimmy Dickinson (Portsmouth), Tom Finney (Preston), Ivor Broadis (Newcastle), Nat Lofthouse (Bolton), Redfern Froggatt (Sheffield Wednesday) and Jack Froggatt (Portsmouth).

Scotland started well and it came as a surprise when England took the lead on 19 minutes, Broadis sending a left-footer wide of ‘keeper Farm after Finney had provided an inch-perfect pass. Then Smith and Barrass rescued the home side with last-ditch clearances before Johnstone hit the bar and Reilly netted from the rebound ten minutes into the second half.

England went ahead again as a mesmerising run from Finney ended with his pulling the ball back for Broadis to fire it past Farm for 2-1. Scottish left-back Cox had injured himself trying to stop Finney and took no further part in the contest. Down to ten men, their prospects looked bleak but their pride and passion kept them going and they got their reward when Hibs’ Reilly shot fiercely home with only 30 seconds to go.