It is two-thirds of the only World Cup-winning formula England ever found. Some 56 years after, West Ham famously conquered the footballing planet, Gareth Southgate emulated Alf Ramsey by looking to London’s East End.
A first loss to Hungary in six decades during which the Mighty Magyars have rarely looked mighty suggests that West Ham alone is not a recipe for success. Ramsey, beaten 6-3 by a rather more celebrated Hungary side in his playing days, never played for England again after that historic humbling in 1953, though he acquired a greater fame in 1966. He chose a trio of Hammers at Wembley then, Southgate plumped for a pair in Budapest and if mentions of Geoff Hurst, Martin Peters and Bobby Moore burden Jarrod Bowen with expectation, the mere fact he was representing his country signified the sort of commitment to improvement that the England manager appreciates.
