Hungary Football Formation

Lineup (3-5-2)

The formation that Hungary used to beat England 6-3 in 1953, the first time a team outside the British Isles at home had beaten England. The British press dubbed it 'Match of the Century', in a 1954 World Cup qualification match.

England captain Billy Wright said later: 'We completely underestimated the advances that Hungary had made, and not only tactically. When we walked out at Wembley...I looked down and noticed that the Hungarians had on those strange, lightweight boots, cut away like slippers under the ankle bone. I turned to big Stan Mortensen and said: "'We should be alright here, Stan, they haven't got the proper kit."'.

Hungary then thrashed England 7-1 in the return, and got to the final in Switzerland to meet West Germany (who they thrashed 8-3 in the group stage). They led 2-0, but lost 3-2.

They employed four forwards up front for the Hungarian attacks, with two full-backs and two defensive midfielders. Hidegkuti in the deep-lying centre forward role.