On This Day – 17th October
England famously drew 1-1 with Poland on this day in 1973, thereby missing out of qualifying for the 1974 World Cup in West Germany the following year.
100,000 fans packed into Wembley Stadium, fully expecting England to get the win and qualify at the expense of their visitors.
Poland faced an onslaught from England throughout the whole ninety minutes, with England squandering chance after chance. Polish goalkeeper Jan Tomaszewski played the game of his life, making save after save as he frustrated the England front line.
The game was goalless at half time and during the interval, TV studion guest Brian Clough infamously referred to Tomaszewski as a clown. Host Brian Moore was quick to stand up for the Pole, replying that the goalkeeper had made several important saves.
A mistake by England’s Norman Hunter after 57 minutes let Poland a rare counter attack and Jan Domarski shocked Wembley by scoring with a low shot from the edge of the box. Peter Shilton should have stopped the shot, diving over the ball and letting it slip underneath him and into the back of the net.
Allan Clarke netted an equaliser from the penalty spot after 63 minutes but Poland held on to the draw and England’s manager Alf Ramsey was allowed to stay on for a further two matches before being sacked six months after the draw with Poland.
The Poles excelled at the 1974 World Cup Finals, finishing third. England would miss out on qualifying for the 1978 World Cup as well, finally making their first appearance in a World Cup in 1982.
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