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The 1966 FIFA World Cup Final was a
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 ...
match 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 ...
, London, on 30 July 1966 to determine the winner of the
1966 FIFA World Cup
The 1966 FIFA World Cup was the eighth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in England from 11 July to 30 July 1966. The England national football team defeated West Germany 4-2 in the ...
, 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 ...
. The match was contested by
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 ...
and
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 ...
, with England winning 4–2
after 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 ...
to claim 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 ...
. It was the first – and to date only – occasion that England has hosted or won the World Cup. This remains England's only major men's tournament win and last final at a major men's football tournament for 55 years, until 2021 when the nation reached the
UEFA Euro 2020 Final
The UEFA Euro 2020 Final was a football match between England and Italy that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, England, on 11 July 2021 to determine the winner of UEFA Euro 2020. It was the 16th final of the UEFA European Championship, ...
at the new
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 England drew 1–1 with Italy and lost 3–2 after a penalty shootout) and would be the last triumph for a senior level England national football team (men's or women's) until
England Women
The England women's cricket team represents England and Wales in international women's cricket. Since 1998, they have been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), having been previously governed by the Women's Cricket Association ...
won
UEFA Women's Euro 2022
The 2022 UEFA European Women's Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Women's Euro 2022 or simply Euro 2022, was the 13th edition of the UEFA Women's Championship, the quadrennial international football championship organised by UEF ...
,
beating Germany 2–1 after extra time in the final at the rebuilt Wembley Stadium.
The match is remembered for England's only World Cup and first major international title,
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 St ...
's
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 (as of mid-2022) only one ever scored in a FIFA World Cup final – and the controversial third goal awarded to England by referee
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 ...
and linesman
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 ...
. The England team became known as the "wingless wonders", on account of their then-unconventional narrow attacking formation, described at the time as a 4–4–2.
In addition to an attendance of 96,924 at the stadium, the British television audience peaked at 32.3 million viewers, making it the
United Kingdom's most-watched television event ever.
Road to the final
Both teams were strong throughout the tournament. Each won two and drew one of their three matches in the group stages. England did not concede a goal until their semi-final against Portugal.
Match
Summary
Normal time
England, managed by
Alf Ramsey
Sir Alfred Ernest Ramsey (22 January 1920 – 28 April 1999) was an English football player and manager. As a player, he represented the England national team and captained the side, but he is best known for his time as England manager fr ...
and captained by
Bobby Moore, won the toss and elected to kick off. After 12 minutes,
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 ...
sent a cross into the English penalty area which
Ray Wilson misheaded to
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 le ...
, who got his shot on target.
Jack Charlton
John Charlton (8 May 193510 July 2020) was an English footballer and manager who played as a defender. He was part of the England national team that won the 1966 World Cup and managed the Republic of Ireland national team from 1986 to 199 ...
and goalkeeper
Gordon Banks
Gordon Banks (30 December 1937 – 12 February 2019) was an English professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, he made 679 appearances during a 20-year professional caree ...
failed to deal with the shot which went in, making it 1–0 to West Germany.
In the 18th minute,
Wolfgang Overath
Wolfgang Overath (born 29 September 1943) is a former West German footballer. A true one-club man, Overath spent his entire professional career at 1. FC Köln. He represented his country three times in World Cup finals, culminating in 1974 wit ...
conceded a free kick, which Moore took immediately, floating a cross into the West German area, where
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 St ...
rose unchallenged; his downward glancing header went into the net and levelled the scores at 1-1. The teams were level at half-time, and after 77 minutes England won a corner.
Alan Ball delivered the ball to Geoff Hurst whose deflected shot from the edge of the area found
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 ...
. He produced the final shot, beating the West German keeper from eight yards to make the score 2–1 to England.
Germany pressed for an equaliser in the closing moments, and in the 89th minute
Jack Charlton
John Charlton (8 May 193510 July 2020) was an English footballer and manager who played as a defender. He was part of the England national team that won the 1966 World Cup and managed the Republic of Ireland national team from 1986 to 199 ...
conceded a free kick for climbing on
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 ...
as they both went up for a header.
The kick was taken by
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 ...
, who struck it into
George Cohen
George Reginald Cohen (22 October 1939 – 23 December 2022) was an English professional footballer who played as a right-back. He spent his entire professional career with Fulham, and won the 1966 World Cup with England. He was inducted int ...
in the wall; the rebound fell to Held, who shot across the face of goal and into the body of
Karl-Heinz Schnellinger
Karl-Heinz Schnellinger (born 31 March 1939) is a German former footballer who played as a defender. An athletic and hard-tackling player, with a strong physique, he was nicknamed the "Volkswagen" for his continuity of performance, both in qu ...
. The ball deflected across the England six-yard box, wrong-footing the England defence and allowing
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 ...
to level the score at 2–2 and force the match into extra time. Banks protested that the ball had struck Schnellinger on the arm, and reiterated the claim in his 2002 autobiography, but replays showed that it actually struck Schnellinger on the back.
Extra time
England pressed forward and created several chances. In particular, with five minutes gone, Bobby Charlton struck the post and sent another shot just wide. With 11 minutes of extra time gone, Alan Ball put in a cross and Geoff Hurst swivelled and shot from close range. The ball hit the underside of the crossbar, bounced down and was cleared. The referee Gottfried Dienst was uncertain if it had been a goal and consulted his linesman,
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 ...
from
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...
in the USSR, who indicated that it was, and the Swiss referee awarded the goal to the home team. The crowd and the audience of 400 million television viewers were left arguing whether the goal should have been given or not. The crossbar is now on display in the Wembley Stadium.
England's
third goal has remained controversial ever since the match. According to the
Laws of the Game the definition of a
goal
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 ...
is when "the whole of the ball passes over the goal line". English supporters cited the good position of the linesman and the statement of Roger Hunt, the nearest England player to the ball, who claimed it was a goal and that was why he wheeled away in celebration rather than attempting to tap the rebounding ball in. Modern studies using film analysis and computer simulation have shown that the whole ball never crossed the line – only 50% did. Both Duncan Gillies of the Visual Information Processing Group at
Imperial College London
Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...
and Ian Reid and Andrew Zisserman of the Department of Engineering Science at
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
have stated that the ball would have needed to travel a further 18±4 cm to fully cross the line. Some Germans cited possible bias of the Soviet linesman, especially as the USSR had just been defeated in the semi-finals by West Germany.
One minute before the end of play, the West Germans sent their defenders forward in a desperate attempt to score a last-minute equaliser. Winning the ball, Bobby Moore picked out the unmarked Geoff Hurst with a long pass, which Hurst carried forward while some spectators began streaming onto the field and Hurst, as he later revealed, tried to shoot the ball as far into the Wembley stands as he could, to waste time. He mishit that attempt, but the mishit went straight to the top corner of
Hans Tilkowski
Hans Tilkowski (12 July 1935 – 5 January 2020) was a German footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He played for West Germany, and was a member of the team that lost the 1966 World Cup final to England.
Career
Born 1935 in Husen, Dortmund, ...
's net, sealing a historic hattrick and winning the World Cup for England. The goal gave rise to one of the most famous calls in English football history, when
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 ...
described the situation as follows:
One of the balls from the final is on display in 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
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 ...
.
Details
, style="width:50%;vertical-align:top",
Match rules
* 90 minutes
* 30 minutes of
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 ...
if necessary
* Replay if scores still level:
** 19:30 BST, Tuesday, 2 August 1966
** Wembley Stadium, London
* No
substitutions permitted
Aftermath
Champions photograph and statue
One of the enduring images of the celebrations in Wembley immediately after the game was the picture of the captain
Bobby Moore holding the Jules Rimet Trophy aloft, on the shoulders of Geoff Hurst and Ray Wilson, together with Martin Peters. In recognition of Moore and other
West Ham United
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
players' contribution to the win, the club and Newham Borough Council jointly commissioned a statue of this scene. On 28 April 2003
Prince Andrew
Prince Andrew, Duke of York, (Andrew Albert Christian Edward; born 19 February 1960) is a member of the British royal family. He is the younger brother of King Charles III and the third child and second son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince ...
as president of
The Football Association
The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the ...
, duly unveiled the ''
World Cup Sculpture
''The World Cup Sculpture'', or simply ''The Champions'', is a bronze statue of the 1966 World Cup Final located near the site of West Ham United Football Club's former Boleyn Ground (Upton Park) stadium in the London Borough of Newham, Engla ...
'' (also called ''The Champions'') in a prominent place near West Ham's ground, at the time, the
Boleyn Ground
The Boleyn Ground, often referred to as Upton Park, was a football stadium located in Upton Park, east London. It was the home of West Ham United from 1904 to 2016, and was briefly used by Charlton Athletic in the early 1990s during their years ...
, at the junction of
Barking Road
List of A roads in zone 1 in Great Britain beginning north of the River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longe ...
and
Green Street. The -high bronze piece was sculpted by
Philip Jackson and weighed 4 tonnes.
Cultural impact
Broadcasting and viewership
The final is the
most watched event ever on British television, as of July 2021, attracting 32.30 million viewers.
["Tracking 30 years of TV's most watched programmes"](_blank)
BBC. Retrieved 16 July 2021
Influence
In Germany, a goal resulting from a shot bouncing off the crossbar and hitting the line is called a ''Wembley-Tor'' (Wembley Goal) due to the controversial nature of Hurst's second goal.
This goal has been parodied many times. Some of the most notable include:
* England's third goal was referenced in a 2006
Adidas
Adidas AG (; stylized as adidas since 1949) is a German multinational corporation, founded and headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing and accessories. It is the largest sportswear manufactur ...
advertisement, where English midfielder
Frank Lampard
Frank James Lampard (born 20 June 1978) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the manager of club Everton. He is widely regarded as one of Chelsea’s greatest ever players, and one of the greatest midfielder ...
takes a shot at German keeper
Oliver Kahn
Oliver Rolf Kahn (; born 15 June 1969) is a German football executive and former professional player who played as a goalkeeper. He started his career in the Karlsruher SC Junior team in 1975. Twelve years later, Kahn made his debut match in t ...
, and a similar event happens.
On 27 June 2010 at
that year's World Cup a similar goal by Lampard was wrongly disallowed (TV replays showed the ball landing past the goal line before bouncing away) which would have levelled the second-round game against Germany 2–2 (Germany won 4–1).
*
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 commentary on the third goal that bounced on the line, "It's a goal!" was used (along with the sound of breaking glass) in the tape-looped coda of an early version of
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
song "
Glass Onion
A glass onion is a shape of bottle developed in the 17th century.
The term may also refer to:
* "Glass Onion" (song), a 1968 song by the Beatles.
* '' Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery'', a 2022 film by Rian Johnson
** ''Glass Onion: A Knives ...
", available on the album ''
Anthology 3
''Anthology 3'' is a compilation album by the Beatles, released on 29 October 1996 by Apple Records as part of ''The Beatles Anthology'' series. The album includes rarities and alternative tracks from the final three years of the band's c ...
''.
In August 1966 a
special 4d stamp marked
ENGLAND WINNERS was issued by the
Royal Mail
, kw, Postya Riel, ga, An Post Ríoga
, logo = Royal Mail.svg
, logo_size = 250px
, type = Public limited company
, traded_as =
, foundation =
, founder = Henry VIII
, location = London, England, UK
, key_people = * Keith Williams ...
to celebrate the victory. It soared in value to up to 15 shillings each on the back of public enthusiasm for the victory before falling back in value when the public realised it was not rare.
Marking the 50th anniversary of England's World Cup victory in July 2016,
ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
broadcast ''1966 – A Nation Remembers'', which was narrated by the actor
Terence Stamp
Terence Henry Stamp (born 22 July 1938) is an English actor. Stamp is known for his sophisticated villain roles. He was named by ''Empire Magazine'' as one of the 100 Sexiest Film Stars of All Time in 1995. He has received various accolades inc ...
who attended every England game at the tournament.
The World Cup win features in the song "
Three Lions
"Three Lions" is a song by the English comedians David Baddiel and Frank Skinner and the rock band the Lightning Seeds. It was released on 20 May 1996 to mark the England football team's participation in that year's UEFA European Championshi ...
" (known by its chorus "Football's Coming Home"), the unofficial anthem of the England football team. England's win in the final also helped fans to create the "
Two World Wars and One World Cup" chant.
The match features in the fifth episode, (“
Signal 30
''Signal 30'' is a 1959 social guidance film made by the Highway Safety Foundation in the vicinity of Mansfield, Ohio. The film, shown widely to high school students across the United States during the 1960s through the 1980s, was produced by R ...
”) of
season 5
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...
of American
period drama
A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romance film, romances, adventure f ...
''
Mad Men
''Mad Men'' is an American period drama television series created by Matthew Weiner and produced by Lionsgate Television. It ran on the cable network AMC from July 19, 2007, to May 17, 2015, lasting for seven seasons and 92 episodes. Its fict ...
'', with one of the characters, Englishman
Lane Pryce
Lane Pryce is a fictional character in the television series ''Mad Men'', portrayed by Jared Harris.
An English newcomer to the United States as of 1963, he initially acts as financial officer at Sterling Cooper, but eventually leaves, along with ...
, watching and celebrating the game in a pub.
2009 receipt of winners medals
The players and staff of England's winning squad who did not get medals in 1966 received them on 10 June 2009 after a ceremony at 10 Downing Street in London. Initially, only the 11 players on the pitch at the end of the match received medals, but
FIFA
FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
later awarded medals to every non-playing squad and staff member from every
World Cup
A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...
-winning country from
1930
Events
January
* January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be ...
to
1974
Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...
.
See also
*
England–Germany football rivalry
The English and German national football teams have played each other since the end of the 19th century, and officially since 1930. The teams met for the first time in November 1899, when England beat Germany in four straight matches. Notable ...
*
Ghost goal
In association football, a ghost goal (or phantom goal) is either a goal wrongly awarded despite the ball not having crossed the goal line, or a goal wrongly not given despite the ball having crossed the line. In an attempt to combat ghost goals, ...
*
''Sixty Six'' (film), a 2006 film about the match
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:1966 Fifa World Cup Final
FIFA World Cup finals
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 ...
Fifa World Cup Final, 1966
England national football team matches
Germany national football team matches
Events at Wembley Stadium
Germany at the 1966 FIFA World Cup
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 ...
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 ...
FIFA World Cup Final
England–Germany football rivalry
International association football competitions hosted by London
Association football matches in England
FIFA World Cup Final