On 15 April 1939, he returned to a muddy Hampden Park with England to claim a 2–1 victory in front of 142,000 rain-soaked supporters; he set up Tommy Lawton for the winner with seconds to spare. That summer was the last time England would tour Europe before Hitler's Nazis were defeated. The first game was against Italy, who gave the English a warm reception despite Benito Mussolini's breast-beating and the bad blood of five years previous. Again the World Champions, the Italians managed to salvage a 2–2 draw at the San Siro after scoring with a clear handball; this time Matthews left the field with a chipped hip bone for his efforts. The next game was a 2–1 loss to Yugoslavia, with Matthews and captain Eddie Hapgood passengers in the game after picking up early injuries; this injury forced him to sit out the following encounter with Romania.
On 15 April 1939 he returned to a muddy Hampden Park with England to claim a 2–1 victory in front of 142000 rain-soaked supporters; he set up Tommy Lawton for the winner with seconds to spare That summer was the last time England would tour Europe before Hitler's Nazis were defeated The first game was against Italy who gave the English a warm reception despite Benito Mussolini's breast-beating and the bad blood of five years previous Again the World Champions the Italians managed to salvage a 2–2 draw at the San Siro after scoring with a clear handball; this time Matthews left the field with a chipped hip bone for his efforts The next game was a 2–1 loss to Yugoslavia with Matthews and captain Eddie Hapgood passengers in the game after picking up early injuries; this injury forced him to sit out the following encounter with Romania