Don’t let anyone tell you England’s first match was in 1954 when they beat Belgium 4-4 after extra time. That’s a classic blunder. Yes, that match is more famous because it was a bonkers 4-4 draw that featured four different players scoring for England. But that was their eighth World Cup game. By 1954, England had already played seven matches across the 1950 and 1954 tournaments. The 1954 Belgium game was just a wild Tuesday, not a debut.
If you want to be that annoying person at the bar, you can also point out that England played a “B” team in a 1950 warm-up match against a Canadian side. But that doesn’t count. The FIFA record books say: June 25, 1950, vs. Chile. End of story. But let’s be honest, “England first match vs. Chile” doesn’t have the same ring as “England first match vs. Argentina,” does it?
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Here’s the kicker: that first ever World Cup goal for England, scored by Stan Mortensen, is now a trivia legend because nobody actually remembers Stan Mortensen. That’s right—the man who scored England’s first World Cup goal also scored a hat-trick in the 1953 FA Cup Final and is still largely unknown outside of football history books. Meanwhile, every child knows Geoff Hurst’s hat-trick in 1966. The first goal is always the quietest, like the opening act at a concert who gets ignored.
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Also, the 1950 match against Chile was played in a pouring rainstorm. The pitch was so muddy that players were slipping like penguins on ice. The Chilean goalie wore a flat cap—actual history. And the referee? He was from Belgium and apparently just let the game descend into a slapstick comedy of errors. England’s second goal came from a deflection off a Chilean defender’s backside. Literally. A bum goal. That’s your national team’s first World Cup match contribution.
