player to score on his England debut, a record which lasted until Marcus Rashford broke it in 2016. Four days after Lawton's debut, he scored again for England at Highbury in a 3–0 win over 'The Rest of Europe', a team of players selected from Italy, Germany, France, Belgium, Hungary and Norway. Later in the year he also scored in victories over Norway and Ireland. He played in all four games of 1939, scoring against Scotland and Italy; the goal against Scotland secured a 2–1 win in front of 149,269 spectators at Hampden Park. Newly appointed England manager Walter Winterbottom played Lawton in England's first official match in seven years on 28 September 1946, a 7–2 win over Ireland. He played the remaining three fixtures of 1946, and scored four goals in an 8–2 victory over the Netherlands at Leeds Road on 27 November. On 10 May 1947, he scored two goals playing for the Great Britain XI in a 6–1 victory over a Rest of Europe XI that was billed as the 'Match of the Century'. Five days later he scored four goals in a 10–0 victory over Portugal at Lisbon's Estádio Nacional. On 21 September, he scored after just 12 seconds in a 5–2 win over Belgium at Heysel Stadium. He retained his place in the England team following his club move to Notts County, and in doing so became the first Third Division footballer to represent England when he scored from the penalty spot in a 4–2 win over Sweden on 19 November. However he only won three further caps in 1948, his final appearance coming in a 0–0 draw with Denmark in Copenhagen on 26 September. He had become increasingly disillusioned with the England set-up, and told Winterbottom that "if you think you can teach Stanley Matthews to play on the wing and me how to score goals, you've got another think coming!" Winterbottom was also frustrated by Lawton's smoking habit, and preferred Jackie Milburn ahead of Lawton. Hopes of any future comeback were ended by the emergence of powerful centre-forward Nat Lofthouse, who made his England debut in November 1950. Style of play Lawton was widely regarded as the finest centre-forward of his generation. He boasted a strong physique and good ball control skills, as well as a great passing range and a powerful shot. He was naturally right-footed, though worked to improve his left