Frank Swift - International Career

International Career

Swift's first international call-ups came in the Second World War; he made 14 wartime appearances for England. The first official England international after the war took place on 28 September 1946 against Ireland, and Swift retained his place to make his full debut in a 7–2 victory. Swift became a fixture in the England side of the late 1940s, playing 17 consecutive matches. This run included the famous 1948 victory against Italy in Turin, where he became the first goalkeeper since Alexander Morten in 1873 to captain the side, leading him to describe the match as the greatest day of his career. Later that year he lost his place to Ted Ditchburn, despite keeping a clean sheet in his previous appearance. He was restored to the line-up the following match, a British Home Championship decider against Scotland. After announcing his retirement from football, he made a farewell appearance against Norway in May 1949 to take his number of caps to 19, after which the goalkeeper's jersey was taken by Bert Williams. Swift also represented Great Britain in a 1947 match against a "Rest of Europe" team, played to celebrate the return of the Home Nations to FIFA.