1966 World Cup England Review
Football Inventors England Finally Have World Cup Champion
Jun 29, 2009
The inventors of football England finally had a World Cup champion to celebrate as Geoff Hurst scored a hat-trick in a 4-2 victory over West Germany.
Stolen Trophy Found, First World Cup Mascot
The English World Cup organizers had a very embarrassing build-up to the spectacle as the Jules Rimet Cup was stolen from an exhibition before being found by a dog named Pickles under a hedge of a suburban garden in southeast London. The 1966 World Cup was also the first one with a mascot, a lion named World Cup Willie. The tournament ran from July 11-30, 1966.
North Korea Qualify After Protest
North Korea advanced to the World Cup by beating Australia. North Korea's road to England was made easier after the other Asian and African teams withdrew to protest the decision to allow only one qualifier from their continents.
1950 Vet Ramsey, Two Bobbys
The hosts were led by coach Alf Ramsey, who was a member of the 1950 English World Cup side which was embarrassed 1-0 by the United States. He came on board in 1963 and broke away from the 4-2-4 system and instituted a 4-4-2 which gave the English the nickname "wingless wonders". The leaders were the two Bobbys - central defender Moore and goal scoring midfielder Charlton.
Emergence Of Beckenbauer, Eusebio In First Round
Roger Hunt scored three goals as England reached the quarter-finals along with Uruguay from Group 1. Group 2 saw the emergence of 20-year-old Franz Beckenbauer, who struck twice to help West Germany get through along with Argentina. Debutants Portugal won all three first round games including Eusebio's two strikes in a 3-1 winner over defending champions Brazil. Despite having Pele and Garrincha, who became the first players to score in three consecutive world cups with their goals against Bulgaria, the South American giants failed to make the quarters as Hungary beat them 3-1. The Soviet Union also were perfect in the first round and were joined in the quarters by North Korea, who drew with Chile and then stunned Italy.
Hurst Saves England, Eusebio Strikes Four Against Koreans
England edged Argentina 1-0 on Geoff Hurst's goal in the 78th minute to reach the semi-finals. West Germany got two goals from Helmut Haller in a 4-0 win over nine-man Uruguay while the Soviets held on for a 2-1 victory against Hungary. North Korea meanwhile jumped ahead of Portugal 3-0 after 25 minutes. But Eusebio scored four goals by the hour mark and Augusto's goal with 10 minutes to play finished off an extraordinary 5-3 Portugal win.
Charlton Brings England To Final, Germans Too Much
Eusebio scored again against England in the semi-final but the goal came late and after Bobby Charlton struck twice in England's 2-1 victory. Helmut Haller and Beckenbauer beat legendary Soviet keeper Lev Yashin for a 2-1 win for West Germany.
Eusebio Golden Shoe Winner
In the game for third place, Eusebio scored his ninth goal of the tournament to take Golden Shoe honors as Portugal beat the Soviet Union 2-1 on Torres' late goal.
Hat-Trick Scorer Hurst Hero Again, Two Extra-Time Goals
The England-West Germany final proved to one of the most exciting in World Cup history. Haller opened the scoring after just 12 minutes but Hurst equalized just six minutes later. Martin Peters gave England a 2-1 lead in the 78th minute only to see Wolfgang Weber knot the game at 2-2 a minute from time. Hurst made it 3-2 in the 101st minute as his shot struck off the underside of the crossbar and behind the goalline - at least that's how assistant referee Tofik Bakhramov saw it. And Hurst finished off the Germans 4-2 with his counter-attack goal in the final seconds.
"Wembley Goal" Leads To Discussions About Sensors
Hurst's goal for 3-2 remains one of the most controversial goals in football history. Germans - who call the score the "Wembley Goal" - to this day claim the ball never crossed the line. The goal also is one of the leading reasons for many to say there should be an electronic system in place to determine if a ball actually crossed the line.
