sport news MATCH OF THEIR DAY: The save, the embrace and a game for all time

As the years passed and recollections slowed, two images remained sharp, in fact they grew in prominence as others faded: the 90 minutes became all about a split-second of action and a post-match embrace.

Brazil 1 England 0 at the Mexico World Cup in 1970 became all about Gordon Banks and Pele, about a header and a dive. The Save.

Then, on the final whistle, there was a shirtless greeting between Pele and Bobby Moore that left no one doubting the mutual respect. 

Understandably, in the week since Banks’s death at 81, there has been a torrent of reminiscence about the save.

Yet as Banks often acknowledged, there was more to that hot afternoon in Guadalajara than his moment of acrobatic brilliance to halt Pele.

Pele agreed, saying, for example, that ‘not long after, he (Banks) made another great save, this time from a free-kick’.

That the game should produce such vivid drama was unsurprising. As the teams lined up for a Sunday noon kick-off in the Mexican sun, here were the reigning world champions — England — against the players who would succeed them — Brazil.

Brazil had won the World Cup in 1958 and 1962 and in 1970, with Pele called out of international retirement at 29, were at a peak.

But England were peaking too. If 1966 is considered England’s pinnacle, in terms of talent some thought otherwise. ‘The squad tasked with retaining the World Cup for England was, to my mind, stronger than the one that had won it in 1966,’ said Banks. ‘We had greater quality in depth.’

To many, retaining the trophy in Mexico would have been a greater achievement than winning it at home in ’66, when an injured Pele departed early.

Four years later England were in a

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