Scotland beat England 5-1 at Wembley on this day in 1928.

England suffered one of their most traumatic defeats at Wembley on this day 82 years ago. A Scotland team that has been known ever since as ‘The Wembley Wizards’ gave England a real football lesson as they won 5-1 on a very wet surface.

One Glasgow newspaper said: “The success of the Scots was primarily another demonstration that Scottish skill, science and trickery will prevail against the less attractive and simpler methods of the English style”. The Scottish forward line that gave the English defence such a run-around on that dismal afternoon were all heroes: Jackson, Dunn, Gallacher, James and Morton.

None of them was more than 5 feet 7 inches tall!

There were more than 80,000 fans inside the relatively new stadium, opened less than five years earlier, and they saw the slick Scottish visitors take a second-minute lead through Alex Jackson. The Huddersfield Town winger completed a hat-trick, a feat almost matched by Preston North End’s Alex James who scored twice and also hit the bar.

Legendary goalscorer William Ralph ‘Dixie’ Dean was winning his eighth cap for England but he made virtually no impression. England’s only goal, which came in the last minute and was barely a consolation, was a fiercely-struck free-kick from Burnley’s Bob Kelly.

Two years later, when the teams met again at Wembley, England gained a measure of revenge with a 5-2 victory.