Miracle in Guadalajara

With ten minutes gone in Guadalajara, England were performing in a manner befitting their status as world champions. In sweltering heat and against a hostile crowd jeering their every touch, Alf Ramsey's team produced some immaculate passing as they probed gently a suspect Brazilian rearguard.

It was a sloppy start by the pretenders to the crown. Brazil's play was littered with nerves, this invitation to sit at the King's table duly accepted, but once there not sure how to react. With eyes seemingly half-closed the Brazilians appeared in slumber. Then they awoke!

Carlos Alberto's scything pass sent his winger Jairzinho sprinting at incredulous pace into England's penalty area. As defender Terry Cooper moved to intercept, Jairzinho accelerated even faster to the bye-line, leaving Cooper flailing before cutting back an inch perfect cross to the far post.

Leaping high above white shirts towered the awesome Pele. From eight yards out he slammed a savage downward header towards the net. As the hugely pro-Brazilian crowd in the Jalisco stadium rose to acclaim an enthralling opening goal for their adopted team over the boorish English, cheers literally stuck in Mexican throats.

Somehow Gordon Banks threw himself across his goal-line and miraculously clawed Pele's effort around the post into legend. For a second there was utter disbelief amongst all in the Jalisco. No more than Pele, who was so convinced he had scored after meeting Jairzinho's scorching cross with such power screamed out:

'Goal'!

His remarkable efforts earned Gordon Banks a genial pat on the head off Captain Bobby Moore and a wry comment by teammate Alan Mullery of: 'You should have caught it'! For the English there remained a world cup to be retained but it appeared certain that with still thirty years to the Millennium, the save of the century had just occurred.