LONDON: Peter Brabrook, former England, Chelsea and West Ham outside right, has died aged 79 after a short illness.

The 1964 FA Cup winner was born in Greenwich on November 8, 1937, and helped Chelsea win the Football League title as an 18-year-old in 1955. He made his debut with the Hammers in 1962, and went on to make 215 appearances with the club, scoring 43 goals across six seasons.

In his most successful season with the club in 1963/64, he scored a career-high of 12 goals – including two against Charlton Athletic and Leyton Orient helping West Ham to the FA Cup Final.

After leaving the club in 1968 and finishing his playing career with Romford and Leyton Orient, he returned to West Ham’s Academy of Football where he scouted and coached players including Joe Cole, Michael Carrick and Frank Lampard Jr.

Brabrook played three times for England, making a dramatic but luckless debut at the 1958 World Cup finals in Sweden.

Brabrook and Wolves inside-forward Peter Broadbent were brought in for the group playoff against the Soviet Union after they had finished level on points behind Brazil.

Brabrook almost became an instant hero with a shot that struck the Soviet posts and then bounced into the hands of keeper Lev Yashin. In the second-half he had a goal disallowed before England were beaten 1-0 and eliminated.

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