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The 1966 FIFA World Cup was the eighth
FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...
, a quadrennial
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in England from 11 July to 30 July 1966. The
England national football team The England national football team has represented England in international Association football, football since the first international match in 1872. It is controlled by The Football Association (FA), the governing body for football in Engl ...
defeated West Germany 4-2 in
the final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
to win the tournament. The final had finished at 2–2 after 90 minutes and went to
extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...
, when
Geoff Hurst Sir Geoffrey Charles Hurst (born 8 December 1941) is an English former professional footballer. A striker, he became the first man to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final when England recorded a 4–2 victory over West Germany at Wembley S ...
scored two goals to complete his
hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...
, the first (and , only) to be scored in a men's World Cup final. England were the fifth nation to win the event, and the third host nation to win after
Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
in 1930 and
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
in 1934.
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
were the defending champions, but they failed to progress from the group stage. Two debut teams performed well at the competition –
North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...
beat Italy 1–0 on the way to reaching the quarter-finals, where they lost to
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
5–3 after leading 3–0. Portugal themselves finished third, losing 2–1 to England in the semi-final. Portuguese striker
Eusébio Eusébio da Silva Ferreira (; 25 January 1942 – 5 January 2014), nicknamed the "Black Panther", the "Black Pearl" or "O Rei" ("The King"), was a Portuguese footballer who played as a striker. He is considered one of the greatest players of ...
was the tournament's top scorer, with nine goals clinching the golden boot with three goals more than second placed
Helmut Haller Helmut Haller (; 21 July 1939 – 11 October 2012) was a German footballer who played as a forward. At international level, he represented West Germany at three World Cups. At club level, he played in both Germany and Italy, and won Italian l ...
. The 1966 World Cup was the first FIFA World Cup held in the
English-speaking world Speakers of English are also known as Anglophones, and the countries where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population are termed the '' Anglosphere''. Over two billion people speak English , making English the largest languag ...
. Matches were played at eight stadiums across England, with the final being held at
Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...
, which had a capacity of 98,600. The 1966 event featured the highest number of teams of any international tournament to date, with 70 nations participating. All 15 African nations who entered the qualifying later
boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organization, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons. The purpose of a boycott is to inflict som ...
ed the tournament in protest after FIFA, citing competitive and logistical issues, ruled that there would be no direct qualification for an African team. Prior to the tournament, the
Jules Rimet trophy The World Cup is a solid gold trophy that is awarded to the winners of the FIFA World Cup association football tournament. Since the advent of the World Cup in 1930, two trophies have been used: the Jules Rimet Trophy from 1930 to 1970, before ...
was
stolen Stolen may refer to: * ''Stolen'' (2009 Australian film), a 2009 Australian film * ''Stolen'' (2009 American film), a 2009 American film * ''Stolen: The Baby Kahu Story'' (2010 film), a film based on the real life kidnapping of baby Kahu Durie ...
, but was recovered by a dog named
Pickles Pickles may refer to: Dogs * Pickles (dog) (died 1967), a dog that found the stolen World Cup trophy in 1966 * Pickles (pickleball), a dog often cited as the name origin for the sport of pickleball * Mr. Pickles, the titular demonic dog in ...
four months before the tournament began. It was the first World Cup to have selected matches broadcast via
satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotope ...
to countries on other continents. The final, which was broadcast locally by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, was the last to be shown entirely in black and white.


Background

England was chosen as host of the 1966 World Cup in Rome, Italy on 22 August 1960, over rival bids from West Germany and Spain. This is the first tournament to be held in a country that was affected directly by World War II, as the four previous tournaments were either held in countries out of war theatres or in neutral countries.


Qualification

Despite the Africans' absence, there was another new record number of entries for the qualifying tournament, with 70 nations taking part. After all the arguments, FIFA finally ruled that ten teams from Europe would qualify, along with four from South America, one from Asia and one from North and Central America. Portugal and North Korea qualified for the first time. Portugal would not qualify again until 1986, while North Korea's next appearance was at the 2010 tournament. This was also Switzerland's last World Cup finals until
1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...
. Notable absentees from this tournament included 1962 runners-up
Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...
and semi-finalists
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
.


Qualified teams

The following 16 teams qualified for the final tournament. AFC (1) * CAF (0) *''None participated'' OFC (0) *''None qualified''
CONCACAF The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football,, ; french: Confédération de football d'Amérique du Nord, d'Amérique centrale et des Caraïbes, . Dutch uses the English name. abbreviated as CONCACAF ( ; typese ...
(1) *
CONMEBOL The South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL, , or CSF; es, Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol; pt, Confederação Sul-Americana de Futebol) is the continental governing body of football in South America (apart from Guyana, Suri ...
(4) * * * *
UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...
(10) * *  (hosts) * * * * * * * *


Mascot and match ball

The
mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fi ...
for the 1966 competition was "
World Cup Willie In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...
", a lion wearing a
Union Jack The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...
jersey emblazoned with the words "WORLD CUP". This was the first World Cup mascot, and one of the first mascots to be associated with a major sporting competition. Willie was designed by freelance children's book illustrator Reg Hoye. The official match ball was produced by
Slazenger Slazenger () is a British sports equipment brand owned by the Frasers Group (formerly Sports Direct). The company was established as a sporting goods shop in 1881 by Ralph and Albert Slazenger on London's Cannon Street.J. R. Lowerson, 'Slazen ...
for the tournament.


Controversies


African boycott

Thirty-one African nations boycotted the tournament to protest a 1964 FIFA ruling that required the three second-round winners from the African zone to enter a play-off round against the winners of the Asian zone in order to qualify for the World Cup, as they felt winning their zone was enough in itself to merit qualification. The
Confederation of African Football The Confederation of African Football, or CAF for short (french: link=yes, Confédération Africaine de Football, ar, link=yes, الاتحاد الأفريقي لكرة القدم, al-Ittiḥād al-Afrīqī li-Kurat al-Qadam), is the administ ...
(CAF) felt that the representation of African nations in the World Cup was unfair, and so they demanded that FIFA guarantee at least one African nation a spot in the finals of the following tournament. They also protested against the readmission of
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
to FIFA in 1963, despite its expulsion from the CAF due to the
Apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
regime in 1958. As a result of this boycott, FIFA fined CAF 5,000 Swiss francs. Yidnekatchew Tessema, then president of the CAF, responded to this punishment by saying, "FIFA has adopted a relentless attitude against the African Associations and its decisions resemble methods of intimidation and repression designed to discourage any further impulses of a similar nature. In our opinion, the African National Associations ... really deserved a gesture of respect rather than a fine." South Africa was subsequently assigned to the Asia and Oceania qualifying group before being disqualified after being suspended again due to pressure from other African nations in October 1964. Despite this, after FIFA refused to change the qualifying format, the African teams decided anyway to pull out of the World Cup until at least one African team had a place assured in the World Cup, something which was put in place for the 1970 FIFA World Cup and all subsequent World Cup finals. The Portuguese colonies of
Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...
and
Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...
participated for Portugal.


Trophy incident

The 1966 World Cup had a rather unusual hero off the field, a dog called
Pickles Pickles may refer to: Dogs * Pickles (dog) (died 1967), a dog that found the stolen World Cup trophy in 1966 * Pickles (pickleball), a dog often cited as the name origin for the sport of pickleball * Mr. Pickles, the titular demonic dog in ...
. In the build-up to the tournament, the Jules Rimet trophy was stolen from an exhibition display. A nationwide hunt for the icon ensued. It was later discovered wrapped in newspaper as the dog sniffed under some bushes in London. The FA commissioned a replica cup in case the original cup was not found in time. This replica, as well as Pickles' collar, is held at the
National Football Museum The National Football Museum is England's national museum of football. It is based in the Urbis building in Manchester city centre, and preserves, conserves and displays important collections of football memorabilia. The museum was originally b ...
in Manchester, where it is on display.


Doping

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
encouraged and covered up a culture of doping across many sports for decades. The report, titled "Doping in Germany from 1950 to today", links the West German national team of 1966, which reached the World Cup final, with doping.


Format

The format of the 1966 competition remained the same as 1962: 16 qualified teams were divided into four groups of four. Each group played a round-robin format. Two points were awarded for a win and one point for a draw, with
goal average A goal is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines. A goal is roughly similar to a purpose or ai ...
used to separate teams equal on points. The top two teams in each group advanced to the knockout stage. In the knockout games, if the teams were tied after 90 minutes, 30 minutes of extra time were played. For any match other than the final, if the teams were still tied after extra time, lots would be drawn to determine the winner. The final would have been replayed if tied after extra time; but if still tied after the replay, the champion would have been decided by drawing lots. In the event, no replays or drawing of lots was necessary. The draw for the final tournament, taking place on 6 January 1966 at the Royal Garden Hotel in London was the first ever to be televised, with England, West Germany, Brazil and Italy as seeds.


Venues

Eight venues were used for this World Cup. The newest and biggest venue used was
Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...
in north London, which was 43 years old in 1966. As was often the case in the World Cup, group matches were played in two venues in close proximity to each other. Group 1 matches (which included the hosts) were all played in London: five at Wembley, which was England's national stadium and was considered to be the most important football venue in the world; and one at
White City Stadium White City Stadium was a stadium located in White City, London, England. Built for the 1908 Summer Olympics, it hosted the finish of the first modern marathon and other sports like swimming, speedway, boxing, show jumping, athletics, stock ...
in west London, which was used as a temporary replacement for nearby Wembley. The group stage match between Uruguay and France played at White City Stadium (originally built for the
1908 Summer Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, United Kingdom, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were ori ...
) was scheduled for a Friday, the same day as regularly scheduled greyhound racing at Wembley. Because Wembley's owner refused to cancel this, the game had to be moved to the alternative venue in London. Group 2's matches were played at
Hillsborough Stadium Hillsborough Stadium is a 39,732-capacity association football stadium located in Owlerton, a north-western suburb of Sheffield, Yorkshire, England. It has been the home of Sheffield Wednesday since its opening in 1899. The ground has been sub ...
in Sheffield and
Villa Park Villa Park is a football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, England, with a seating capacity of 42,682. It has been the home of Premier League side Aston Villa since 1897. The ground is less than a mile from both Witton and Aston railway station ...
in
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
; Group 3's matches were played at
Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...
in
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
and
Goodison Park Goodison Park is a football stadium in the Walton area of Liverpool, England. It has been the home stadium of Premier League club Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892. Located in a residential area 2 miles (3 km) north of Liverpool ...
in
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
; and Group 4's matches were played at Ayresome Park in Middlesbrough and
Roker Park Roker Park was a football ground in Roker, Sunderland, England, which was the home of Sunderland A.F.C. from 1898 to 1997, before the club moved to the Stadium of Light. Its final capacity was around 22,500, with only a small part being seated ...
in Sunderland. The stadium construction cost are estimated to be today's equivalent of 19.2 million GBP, additional to 36.22 million GBP for tournament organisation. The most used venue was Wembley, which was used for nine matches, including all six featuring England, the final and the third-place match. Goodison Park was used for five matches, Roker Park and Hillsborough both hosted four, while Old Trafford, Villa Park and Ayresome Park each hosted three matches and did not host any knockout round matches.


Tournament summary

The opening match took place on Monday 11 July. With the exception of the first tournament, which commenced on 13 July 1930, every other tournament (up to 2018) has commenced in May or June. Before the tournament began, eventual winners England were 9/2 second favourites with bookmakers behind Brazil (9/4), while beaten finalists West Germany were 25/1 outsiders. The final took place on 30 July 1966, the 36th anniversary of the first final. Until 2022, this was the latest date that any tournament had concluded. The reason for the unusually late scheduling of the tournament appears to lie with the outside broadcast commitments of the BBC, which also had commitments to cover Wimbledon (which ran between 20 June and 2 July) and the Open Golf Championship (6 to 9 July).


Group stage

1966 was a World Cup with few goals as the teams began to play much more tactically and defensively. This was exemplified by Alf Ramsey's
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
as they finished top of Group 1 with only four goals, but having none scored against them. They also became the first World Cup winning team not to win its first game in the tournament.
Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
were the other team to qualify from that group at the expense of both
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
and
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. All the group's matches were played at
Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...
apart from the match between Uruguay and France which took place at
White City Stadium White City Stadium was a stadium located in White City, London, England. Built for the 1908 Summer Olympics, it hosted the finish of the first modern marathon and other sports like swimming, speedway, boxing, show jumping, athletics, stock ...
. In Group 2,
West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
and
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
qualified with ease as they both finished the group with 5 points,
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
managed 2, while
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
left the competition after losing all three group matches. FIFA cautioned Argentina for its violent style in the group games, particularly in the scoreless draw with West Germany, which saw Argentinean
Rafael Albrecht José Rafael Albrecht (23 August 1941 – 3 May 2021) was an Argentine professional footballer who played as a defender. He represented Argentina at the 1962 and 1966 World Cups. Career Albrecht was born in Tucumán. He started his career w ...
get sent off and suspended for the next match. In the northwest of England,
Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...
and
Goodison Park Goodison Park is a football stadium in the Walton area of Liverpool, England. It has been the home stadium of Premier League club Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892. Located in a residential area 2 miles (3 km) north of Liverpool ...
played host to Group 3 which saw the two-time defending champions
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
finish in third place behind
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
and
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
, and be eliminated along with
Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
. Brazil were defeated 3–1 by Hungary in a classic encounter before falling by the same scoreline to Portugal in a controversial game. Portugal appeared in the finals for the first time, and made quite an impact. They won all three of their games in the group stage, with a lot of help from their outstanding striker
Eusébio Eusébio da Silva Ferreira (; 25 January 1942 – 5 January 2014), nicknamed the "Black Panther", the "Black Pearl" or "O Rei" ("The King"), was a Portuguese footballer who played as a striker. He is considered one of the greatest players of ...
, whose nine goals made him the tournament's top scorer. Group 4, however, provided the biggest upset when
North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...
beat
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
1–0 at Ayresome Park,
Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...
and finished above them, thus earning qualification to the next round along with the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
. This was the first time that a nation from outside Europe or the Americas had progressed from the first stage of a World Cup: the next would be Morocco in 1986.


Knock-out stages

The quarter-finals provided a controversial victory for West Germany as they cruised past Uruguay 4–0; the South Americans claimed that this occurred only after the referee (who was
Jim Finney James Finney (17 August 1924 – 1 April 2008"Cup Final ref ...
, from England) had not recognised a handball by Schnellinger on the goal line and then had sent off two players from Uruguay:
Horacio Troche Florencio Horacio Troche Herrera (4 February 1935 – 14 July 2014) was a Uruguayan professional footballer who played as a defender. Career Born in Nueva Helvecia, Troche began playing football with local side Nacional de Nueva Helvecia as a ...
and Héctor Silva. It appeared as though the surprise package North Korea would claim another major upset in their match against Portugal at Goodison Park, when after 22 minutes they led 3–0. It fell to one of the greatest stars of the tournament,
Eusébio Eusébio da Silva Ferreira (; 25 January 1942 – 5 January 2014), nicknamed the "Black Panther", the "Black Pearl" or "O Rei" ("The King"), was a Portuguese footballer who played as a striker. He is considered one of the greatest players of ...
, to change that. He scored four goals in the game and José Augusto added a fifth in the 78th minute to earn Portugal a 5–3 win. Meanwhile, in the other two games,
Ferenc Bene Ferenc Bene (17 December 1944 – 27 February 2006) was a Hungarian Association football, football player of Újpest FC, Újpesti Dózsa, who was a member of the team that won the gold medal at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. A Forwar ...
's late goal for Hungary against the Soviet Union, who were led by
Lev Yashin Lev Ivanovich Yashin (russian: Лев Иванович Яшин; 22 October 1929 – 20 March 1990), nicknamed the "Black Spider" or the "Black Panther", was a Soviet professional footballer regarded by many as the greatest goalkeeper in the h ...
's stellar goalkeeping, proved little more than a consolation as they crashed out 2–1, and the only goal between Argentina and England came courtesy of England's
Geoff Hurst Sir Geoffrey Charles Hurst (born 8 December 1941) is an English former professional footballer. A striker, he became the first man to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final when England recorded a 4–2 victory over West Germany at Wembley S ...
. During that controversial game (for more details see Argentina and England football rivalry), Argentina's Antonio Rattín became the first player to be sent off in a senior international football match at Wembley. Rattín at first refused to leave the field and eventually had to be escorted by several policemen. Scoreless when Rattin was dismissed, the game was decided by Hurst’s headed goal twelve minutes from the end of normal time. This game is called ''el robo del siglo'' (the robbery of the century) in Argentina. All semi-finalists were from Europe. The venue of the first semi-final between England and Portugal was changed from Goodison Park in Liverpool to Wembley, due to Wembley's larger capacity. This larger capacity was particularly significant during a time when ticket revenue was of crucial importance.
Bobby Charlton Sir Robert Charlton (born 11 October 1937) is an English former footballer who played either as a midfielder or a forward. Considered one of the greatest players of all time, he was a member of the England team that won the 1966 FIFA World ...
scored both goals in England's win, with Portugal's goal coming from a penalty in the 82nd minute after a handball by Jack Charlton on the goal line. The other semi-final also finished 2–1: Franz Beckenbauer scoring the winning goal with a left foot shot from the edge of the area for West Germany as they beat the Soviet Union. Portugal went on to beat the Soviet Union 2–1 to take third place. Portugal's third place was the best finish by a team making its World Cup debut since 1934. It was equalled by Croatia in 1998.


Final

London's Wembley Stadium was the venue for the final, and 98,000 people attended. After 12 minutes 32 seconds
Helmut Haller Helmut Haller (; 21 July 1939 – 11 October 2012) was a German footballer who played as a forward. At international level, he represented West Germany at three World Cups. At club level, he played in both Germany and Italy, and won Italian l ...
put West Germany ahead, but the score was levelled by
Geoff Hurst Sir Geoffrey Charles Hurst (born 8 December 1941) is an English former professional footballer. A striker, he became the first man to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final when England recorded a 4–2 victory over West Germany at Wembley S ...
four minutes later.
Martin Peters Martin Stanford Peters (8 November 1943 – 21 December 2019) was an English footballer and manager. As a member of the England team which won the 1966 FIFA World Cup, he scored the second of England's four goals in the final against West Germa ...
put England in the lead in the 78th minute; England looked set to claim the title when the referee awarded a free kick to West Germany with one minute left. The ball was launched goalward and
Wolfgang Weber Wolfgang Weber (born 26 June 1944) is a German former footballer best remembered for scoring the last-minute equaliser for West Germany in the 1966 World Cup final. Playing career Weber, a central defender with 1. FC Köln in 356 Bundesli ...
scored, with England appealing in vain for handball as the ball came through the crowded penalty area. With the score level at 2–2 at the end of 90 minutes, the game went to
extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...
. In the 98th minute, Hurst found himself on the scoresheet again; his shot hit the crossbar, bounced down onto the goal line, and was awarded as a goal. Debate has long raged over whether the ball crossed the line, with the goal becoming part of World Cup history. England's final goal was scored by Hurst again, as a celebratory pitch invasion began. This made Geoff Hurst the only player ever to have scored three times in a single World Cup final.
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
commentator
Kenneth Wolstenholme Kenneth Wolstenholme, DFC & Bar (17 July 1920 – 25 March 2002) was an English football commentator for BBC television in the 1950s and 1960s. He is best remembered for his commentary during the 1966 FIFA World Cup Final; in the closing minu ...
's description of the match's closing moments has gone down in history: "Some people are on the pitch.
They think it's all over "They think it's all over" is a quote from Kenneth Wolstenholme's BBC TV commentary in the closing moments of the 1966 FIFA World Cup Final, when England beat West Germany 4–2 after extra time to win the FIFA World Cup. In the final few seco ...
... '' urst scores' It is now!" England's total of eleven goals scored in six games set a new record low for average goals per game scored by a World Cup winning team. The record stood until 1982, when it was surpassed by Italy's 12 goals in seven games; in 2010 this record was lowered again by Spain, winning the Cup with eight goals in seven games. England's total of three goals conceded also constituted a record low for average goals per game conceded by a World Cup winning team. That record stood until 1994, when it was surpassed by Brazil's three goals in seven games. France again lowered the record to two goals in seven during the 1998 tournament, a record that has since been equalled by Italy at the 2006 tournament and by Spain's two goals conceded during the 2010 tournament. England received the recovered Jules Rimet trophy from
Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
and were crowned World Cup winners for the first time. In this World Cup, the national anthems were played only in the final. They were not played in the earlier matches because the organisers (FIFA and the FA) feared that North Korea's presence – a socialist country that was not recognised by the United Kingdom – in the World Cup would cause problems with South Korea. A memo from the Foreign Office months before the finals began stated that the solution would be "denying the visas to North Korean players". The final, held at
Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...
, was the last to be broadcast in black and white.


Match officials

A total of 26 match referees and other officials featured at the event. Despite the event being a worldwide tournament, the majority of the officials were from Europe.
Gottfried Dienst Gottfried Dienst (Basel, 9 September 1919 – Bern, 1 June 1998) was a Swiss association football referee. He was mostly known as the referee of the 1966 FIFA World Cup Final. Dienst is one of only four men to have twice refereed a European Cup ...
refereed the final between England and West Germany. Africa *
Ali Kandil Ali Hussein Kandil ( ''ʿAlī Qandīl'') is an Egyptian former football referee. He directed the match between Korea DPR and Chile in the 1966 FIFA World Cup which ended in a 1-all draw. He was also the referee for the controversial Mexico ...
Asia *
Menachem Ashkenazi Menachem Ashkenazi ( he, מנחם אשכנזי) (6 August 1934 – 13 November 2000) was an Israeli international football referee, born in Bulgaria, active during the 1960s and 1970s. He was the first Asian referee who officiated in a World C ...
South America * José María Codesal * Roberto Goicoechea * Armando Marques *
Arturo Yamasaki Arturo Maximo Yamasaki Maldonado also known as ''Arturo Yamasaki'' (11 May 1929 Lima, Peru - 23 July 2013 Mexico City, Mexico) was a Peruvian-Mexican international football referee. He represented the Peruvian Football Association from 1960 to 1 ...
Europe *
John Adair John Adair (January 9, 1757 – May 19, 1840) was an American pioneer, slave trader, soldier, and politician. He was the eighth Governor of Kentucky and represented the state in both the U.S. House and Senate. A native of South Carolina, Ada ...
*
Tofiq Bahramov Tofiq Bahramov ( az, Tofiq Bəhramov; ; russian: Тофик Бахрамов; 29 January 1925 – 26 March 1993) was a Soviet footballer and football referee from Azerbaijan. He was notable for being the linesman who helped to award a cont ...
*
Leo Callaghan Leo Callaghan (5 February 1924 – 8 January 1987) was an association football referee in the English Football League. He was also a Welsh FIFA referee. Career Callaghan was born in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales. He made the Football League re ...
*
Joaquim Campos Joaquim is the Portuguese and Catalan version of Joachim and may refer to: * Alberto Joaquim Chipande, politician * Eduardo Joaquim Mulémbwè, politician * Joaquim Agostinho (1943–1984), Portuguese professional bicycle racer * Joaquim Amat- ...
*
Ken Dagnall Kenneth Dagnall (30 January 1921 – March 1995
and latter place of residence: article at the ''ChorleyCi ...
*
Gottfried Dienst Gottfried Dienst (Basel, 9 September 1919 – Bern, 1 June 1998) was a Swiss association football referee. He was mostly known as the referee of the 1966 FIFA World Cup Final. Dienst is one of only four men to have twice refereed a European Cup ...
*
Jim Finney James Finney (17 August 1924 – 1 April 2008"Cup Final ref ...
*
Karol Galba Dr Karol Galba (2 February 1921 – 15 November 2009) was association football, football referee (association football), official, probably best known for being a Assistant referee (association football), linesman during the 1966 FIFA World Cu ...
* Juan Gardeazábal Garay *
Rudolf Kreitlein Rudolf Kreitlein (14 November 1919, in Fürth – 31 July 2012, in Stuttgart) was a German international football referee, active in the 1960s. England v Argentina, 1966 World Cup Kreitlein is perhaps best known for having refereed the 1966 ...
*
Concetto Lo Bello Concetto Lo Bello (13 May 1924 – 9 September 1991) was an Italian association football international referee. He holds the record for refereeing the most games in Serie A (328). His career spanned the years 1944 to 1974, refereeing his first ...
* Bertil Lööw *
George McCabe George McCabe (born 13 March 1922, Sheffield, Yorkshire; died January 2001
* Hugh Phillips *
Dimitar Rumentchev Dimitar ( bg, Димитър; Macedonian: Димитар) is a South Slavic masculine given name. It is widely found in Bulgaria and North Macedonia. Dimitar is derived from Saint Demetrius (280–306), alternate form of Demetrius. Containing the ...
*
Pierre Schwinte Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...
*
Kurt Tschenscher Kurt Waldemar Tschenscher (5 October 1928 – 13 August 2014) was a German football referee. Born in Schimischow, Weimar Germany (today Szymiszów, Poland), Tschenscher took up refereeing in 1948 and by 1953 he was part of the German Football A ...
* Konstantin Zečević *
István Zsolt István Zsolt (28 June 1921, Budapest – 7 May 1991) was a Hungarian international football referee. He officiated at the 1954, 1958 and 1966 World Cup tournaments and the Olympic Games of 1952, 1960, 1964 and 1968 The year was h ...


Draw


Squads


Group stage


Group 1

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Group 2

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Group 3

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Group 4

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Knockout stage


Bracket


Quarter-finals

---- ---- ----


Semi-finals

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Third place play-off


Final


Goalscorers

With nine goals, Eusébio was the top scorer in the tournament. In total, 89 goals were scored by 47 players, with two of them credited as own goals. 9 goals *
Eusébio Eusébio da Silva Ferreira (; 25 January 1942 – 5 January 2014), nicknamed the "Black Panther", the "Black Pearl" or "O Rei" ("The King"), was a Portuguese footballer who played as a striker. He is considered one of the greatest players of ...
6 goals *
Helmut Haller Helmut Haller (; 21 July 1939 – 11 October 2012) was a German footballer who played as a forward. At international level, he represented West Germany at three World Cups. At club level, he played in both Germany and Italy, and won Italian l ...
4 goals *
Geoff Hurst Sir Geoffrey Charles Hurst (born 8 December 1941) is an English former professional footballer. A striker, he became the first man to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final when England recorded a 4–2 victory over West Germany at Wembley S ...
*
Ferenc Bene Ferenc Bene (17 December 1944 – 27 February 2006) was a Hungarian Association football, football player of Újpest FC, Újpesti Dózsa, who was a member of the team that won the gold medal at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. A Forwar ...
*
Valeriy Porkujan Valeriy Semenovych Porkuyan ( uk, Валерій Семенович Поркуян, born 4 October 1944 in Kirovohrad, Ukrainian SSR, now Ukraine) is a former Ukraine, Ukrainian football (soccer), footballer of Armenian descent who played for Dy ...
* Franz Beckenbauer 3 goals *
Luis Artime Luis Artime (born 2 December 1938) is an Argentine former footballer, who played as a striker, and scored more than 1,000 goals during his career. His son Luis Fabián Artime is also a retired Argentine footballer who played in the 1990s. Club ...
*
Bobby Charlton Sir Robert Charlton (born 11 October 1937) is an English former footballer who played either as a midfielder or a forward. Considered one of the greatest players of all time, he was a member of the England team that won the 1966 FIFA World ...
*
Roger Hunt Roger Hunt (20 July 1938 – 27 September 2021) was an English professional footballer who played as a forward. Eleven years with Liverpool, he was the club's record goalscorer with 286 goals until being overtaken by Ian Rush. Nonetheless, ...
* José Augusto *
José Torres José ("Chegüi") Torres (May 3, 1936 – January 19, 2009) was a Puerto Rican-born American professional boxer. As an amateur boxer, he won a silver medal in the junior middleweight division at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne. In 1965, he d ...
*
Eduard Malofeyev Eduard Vassilievich Malofeyev ( rus, Эдуа́рд Васи́льевич Малофе́ев, p=məlɐˈfʲeɪf, be, Эдуард Васілевіч Малафееў ''Eduard Malafyeyew''; born 2 June 1942 in Kolomna) is a Soviet and Belarusi ...
2 goals * Rubén Marcos *
Kálmán Mészöly Kálmán Mészöly (16 July 1941 – 21 November 2022) was a Hungarian professional football player and coach. He played his entire career at Vasas SC, where he operated as a centre-back. His nickname was "The Blond Rock". Mészöly played ...
*
Pak Seung-zin Pak Seung-zin (a.k.a. Pak Sung Jin; 11 January 19415 August 2011) was a North Korean footballer. He represented North Korea at the 1966 FIFA World Cup in England, scoring two goals, against Chile and Portugal Portugal, officially the Por ...
*
Igor Chislenko Igor Leonidovich Chislenko (russian: Игорь Леонидович Численко, 4 January 1939 — 22 September 1994) was a Soviet association football player. He played over 200 league games for FC Dinamo Moscow, winning two Soviet leag ...
*
Uwe Seeler Uwe Seeler (; 5 November 1936 – 21 July 2022) was a German footballer and football official. As a striker, he was a prolific scorer for Hamburger SV and also made 72 appearances for the West Germany national team. Widely regarded as one of ...
1 goal *
Ermindo Onega Ermindo Ángel Onega (30 April 1940 – 21 December 1979) was an Argentine footballer, attacking midfielder and forward from River Plate. He played for River Plate from 1957 to 1968, scoring 98 goals in 222 matches. In 1972, he played for C ...
*
Garrincha Manuel Francisco dos Santos (28 October 1933 – 20 January 1983), nicknamed Mané Garrincha, best known as simply Garrincha (, "little bird"), was a Brazilian professional footballer who played as a right winger. He is widely regarded as one o ...
* Pelé * Rildo *
Tostão Eduardo Gonçalves de Andrade (born 25 January 1947), generally known as Tostão, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward or attacking midfielder. Tostão was an intelligent, hardworking and prolific left-footed f ...
*
Georgi Asparuhov Georgi Asparuhov Rangelov ( bg, Георги Аспарухов Рангелов; 4 May 1943 – 30 June 1971), nicknamed Gundi, was a Bulgarian footballer who played as a striker. A prolific forward of his generation, Asparuhov was renowned ...
*
Martin Peters Martin Stanford Peters (8 November 1943 – 21 December 2019) was an English footballer and manager. As a member of the England team which won the 1966 FIFA World Cup, he scored the second of England's four goals in the final against West Germa ...
*
Héctor De Bourgoing Héctor Adolfo de Bourgoing (23 July 1934 – 24 January 1993) was a footballer who operated as a right winger. He played international football for Argentina and France. Club career De Bourgoing started his career at Club Atlético Tigre in ...
* Gérard Hausser *
János Farkas János Farkas (27 March 1942 in Budapest – 29 September 1989 in Budapest) was a Hungarian footballer. During his club career he played for Vasas SC. He earned 33 caps and scored 20 goals for the Hungary national football team from 1961 ...
*
Paolo Barison Paolo Barison (, ; 23 June 1936 in – 17 April 1979) was an Italian association footballer who played as a striker. Club career During his club career, Barison played for S.S.C. Venezia, Genoa C.F.C., A.C. Milan, U.C. Sampdoria, A.S. Roma, a ...
*
Sandro Mazzola Alessandro "Sandro" Mazzola (; born 8 November 1942) is an Italian former professional footballer, who played as a forward or attacking midfielder for Internazionale and the Italy national team. He currently works as a football analyst and co ...
*
Enrique Borja Enrique David Borja García (born 30 December 1945) is a Mexican former professional footballer who played as a forward. Borja is the sixth all-time leading scorer of the Mexico national team. Career He played club football for UNAM until hi ...
*
Li Dong-woon Li Dong-Woon (born 4 July 1945) is a North Korean association football, football Forward (association football), forward who played for North Korea national football team, North Korea in the 1966 FIFA World Cup. There he scored against Portugal ...
*
Pak Doo-ik Pak Doo-ik ( Chosungul: 박두익; Hanja: 朴斗翼; born 17 December 1943) is a North Korean former football player. He is well known for being the footballer who scored the goal which knocked out Italy from the group stage of the 1966 World C ...
*
Yang Seung-kook Yang Song-guk (Hangul: 양성국; born 19 August 1944) is a North Korean football forward who played for North Korea in the 1966 FIFA World Cup. he also scored in a game where his nation, North Korea lost 5-3 to PortugaCopa do Mundo da FIFA ...
*
António Simões António Simões da Costa (; born 14 December 1943), known as Simões, is a Portuguese former footballer who played as a left winger. He spent 14 professional seasons with Benfica, playing 449 official games and scoring 72 goals. In the lat ...
*
Anatoliy Banishevskiy Anatoliy Andreyevich Banishevskiy ( az, Anatoli Andreyeviç Banişevski; russian: Анатолий Андреевич Банишевский; 23 February 1946, in Baku – 10 December 1997, in Baku) was an Azerbaijani footballer. Throughout most o ...
* Amancio *
Josep Maria Fusté Josep Maria Fusté Blanch (born April 15, 1941) is a retired Spanish footballer who played as a midfielder and who was captain of FC Barcelona during the 1960s and early 1970s. In 1964, together with Luis Suárez, Amancio Amaro, José Ángel Ir ...
*
Pirri José Martínez Sánchez (born 11 March 1945), nicknamed Pirri, is a Spanish former footballer. A central midfielder in the early part of his career, he finished up as a sweeper. He spent the vast majority of his career with Real Madrid, appear ...
*
Manuel Sanchís Manuel Sanchís Martínez (26 March 1938 – 28 October 2017) was a Spanish footballer who played as a defender. Like his son, Manolo Sanchís, he represented Real Madrid and Spain. They were one of only four father/son pairs to have won the ...
* René-Pierre Quentin *
Julio César Cortés Julio César "''El Pocho''" Cortés Lagos (born 29 March 1941) is an Uruguayan football coach and former midfielder who participated in three World Cups with the Uruguay national team. At the club level, Cortés was most successful during t ...
* Pedro Rocha *
Lothar Emmerich Lothar "Emma" Emmerich (29 November 1941 – 13 August 2003) was a German football player and manager who played as a forward. He was born in Dortmund-Dorstfeld and died in Hemer. He won five caps for West Germany in 1966. Emmerich scored 115 ...
*
Sigfried Held Sigfried "Siggi" Held (born 7 August 1942) is a German former football player and coach. He played as an attacking midfielder or forward. Born in Freudenthal, Sudetenland (now Czech Republic), Held's first football club was Kickers Offenbach. In ...
*
Wolfgang Weber Wolfgang Weber (born 26 June 1944) is a German former footballer best remembered for scoring the last-minute equaliser for West Germany in the 1966 World Cup final. Playing career Weber, a central defender with 1. FC Köln in 356 Bundesli ...
1 own goal *
Ivan Davidov Ivan Aleksandrov Davidov ( bg, Иван Александров Давидов; 5 October 1943 – 19 February 2015) was a Bulgarian football midfielder who played for Bulgaria in the 1966 and 1970 FIFA World Cups. He also played for PFC Slavia ...
(playing against
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
) *
Ivan Vutsov Ivan Kolev Vutsov ( bg, Иван Кoлeв Вуцов; 14 December 1939 – 18 January 2019) was a Bulgarian football player and coach. His career included periods playing for and later managing the Bulgarian national team. He played in three mat ...
(playing against
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
)


All-star team


Final standings

In 1986, FIFA published a report that ranked all teams in each World Cup up to and including 1986, based on progress in the competition, overall results and quality of the opposition. The rankings for the 1966 tournament were as follows:


References


External links


1966 FIFA World Cup England
FIFA.com
FIFA Technical Report
{{DEFAULTSORT:1966 Fifa World Cup 1966–67 in English football FIFA World Cup tournaments International association football competitions hosted by England International sports boycotts July 1966 sports events in the United Kingdom