The night England's famous five tore Italy apart in Turin

England’s famous five forwards of the early post-war era played together for their country only six times and the day they demolished Italy in Turin, 75 years ago, lives on as the finest.

The Italians had been world champions for 14 years and, while the reign was extended artificially by World War II, Vittorio Pozzo’s team remained the swaggering footballing princes of Europe.

Walter Winterbottom’s England toppled them with a crushing 4-0 win to stun a capacity 58,000 crowd on a sultry evening inside the Stadio Comunale.

Tom Finney always considered it the greatest away win and the best team he played in during an international career that would go on for another decade and stretch to 76 caps.

Finney selected his all-time England XI for Sportsmail in 2009, five years before he died, and picked seven of this team, including the five forwards: himself, Stanley Matthews, Wilf Mannion, Stan Mortensen and Tommy Lawton.

‘The game was billed as the match of the decade with the Italians predicting a resounding win by four goals to nil,’ said Winterbottom, in the biography written by his son-in-law Graham Morse. ‘In the event we won by that score, which thrilled us and surprised everyone.

‘The British ambassador in Rome wrote to the Football Association saying that the English victory had done more for British prestige and trade in Italy than anything else in the last 20 years.’

As players and officials met for the customary post-match banquet, they were handed copies of the local sports paper as they arrived. On the front was a photograph of Italy boss Pozzo surrounded by a heavy black margin, and the headline Mourir de Pozzo, which they knew translated as ‘Death of Pozzo’.

‘We thought the poor fellow had died of a heart attack,’ said Winterbottom. ‘But it was not so, for there he was at the top of the steps waiting to greet us. According to the paper, after this one defeat he had been given the sack.’

In fact, Pozzo stayed on for the Olympic Games in London and was replaced after Italy lost 5-3 to Denmark in the quarter-finals.

He had led the Italians to their World Cup triumphs in 1934 and 1938, and they went unbeaten for 30 games, a record broken by Roberto Mancini’s Azzurri as they won Euro 2020.

There were no survivors of the 1938 final against Hungary in Pozzo’s team to face England, who prepared with extra training sessions on the banks of Lake Maggiore.

Mortensen fired England ahead, a freak goal scored on the break from an improbable angle after three minutes. They had to resist pressure from the Italians with goals disallowed, shots against the woodwork and heroics from goalkeeper Frank Swift and Neil Franklin at the back, before Lawton made it 2-0 before half-time.

Finney added two goals in three minutes in the second half, as Mannion and Matthews slipped into top form and the hosts wilted.

Seven of the Italy team were dead within a year, all members of the Grande Torino side wiped out in the Superga air disaster, including Italy’s captain Valentino Mazzola.

By tragic coincidence, Swift, England’s captain on that day, also lost his life in a plane crash. He became a reporter after retiring and was among those killed when Manchester United’s plane crashed in the 1958 Munich air disaster.

England were unable to kick on at the World Cup in 1950, where they were embarrassed by defeat against the USA in Brazil.

Lawton moved into Division Three with Notts County and became a player-manager of Brentford. Mortensen had injuries and Mannion fell into dispute with his club Middlesbrough over his right to a transfer, went on strike and played little football the following season.

Swift retired and Franklin, arguably England’s finest centre half, rejected a place in the World Cup squad and moved to Colombia, where he joined Independiente in Bogota and was banned from English football.

Turin proved to be a fitting swansong for this golden collection of footballers.