The weather was so cold, the frozen pitch so hard, that Viv Anderson doubts the match would be played today.

Indeed, the stubborn frost – as firm as concrete in some corners of the pitch – prompted England’s players to wear rubber-soled cleats, rather than metal studs, for parts of the game. Yet despite the atrocious conditions, the fixture went ahead as planned, and after 90 minutes of less-than-inspiring football, England had beaten Czechoslovakia 1-0 at Wembley Stadium.

More importantly, however, was the fact that Anderson had made history as the first Black player to represent the England national team. This was more than 40 years ago, but even today, it is an accolade that the former Nottingham Forest, Manchester United and Arsenal defender carries with pride.

“It was a massive thing at the time,” Anderson tells CNN Sport. “I’m very privileged and pleased to be first; to be first at anything is a great achievement, I think.”

Days before he stepped onto the pitch at Wembley, journalists had already begun interviewing Anderson’s parents, teachers and childhood coaches, eagerly anticipating the then-22-year-old’s landmark England appearance.

Black players had previously represented England at youth level, but Anderson, whose parents left Jamaica as part of the Windrush generation, was the first to make an appearance for the senior team. He even received telegrams from Queen Elizabeth II and Elton John to mark the occasion.

But for a young player winning the first of 30 England caps, it was important to shut out the fanfare around his historic debut. “You go into football mode – what you used to do every Saturday afternoon,” Anderson recalls. “I went at the first header, the first tackle, first pass and made sure I got it right and didn’t miss out on any of those things.”