1966 FIFA World Cup

Lore & Background

England were the fifth nation to win the event, and the third host nation to win after Uruguay in 1930 and Italy in 1934. Reigning world champions Brazil failed to get past the group stages. The two debut teams performed well – North Korea beat Italy 1–0 on the way to reaching the quarter-finals, where they lost to Portugal 5–3. Portugal finished third, beating the Soviet Union 2–1 in the bronze-match. During qualifying, all 15 African nations boycotted in protest over the lack of a direct qualifying place. Prior to the tournament, the Jules Rimet trophy was stolen but was recovered by a dog named Pickles. It was the only World Cup in history that did not have matches on Sundays.

In Their Own Story

The floodlights at Wembley hummed with a particular frequency that night, a low electric buzz that the crowd of nearly a hundred thousand barely noticed because they were all singing. Geoff Hurst stood at the penalty spot for the second time, the Wembley Goal still echoing in every throat. Around him, the stadium was a sea of white shirts and the occasional red scarf, the air thick with July heat and the smell of cut grass. Bobby Moore, his captain, had already sent him off with a quiet nod — *you've earned it, take it*. Hurst placed the ball, stepped back, and the world narrowed to the leather sphere and the net. He struck it low, hard, into the corner. The net rippled. The roar that followed was not a sound but a pressure wave, a physical force that pressed against the ribs of everyone in the stands. In the tunnel, Martin Peters was already weeping. In the terraces, a man in a flat cap embraced a stranger. Somewhere in the crowd, a radio commentator's voice cracked on the word 'champion.' And in the dressing room, Bobby Moore simply removed his boots, one by one, and sat down on the bench, smiling the small, private smile of a man who had carried a nation's expectation and set it down, gently, on the floor.

Reader's Guide

Matches were played at eight stadiums across England, foremost Wembley Stadium, which had a capacity of 98,600. England played all its matches at Wembley. The tournament was opened by Queen Elizabeth II. The final was level at 2–2 after 90 minutes and went into extra time, during which Geoff Hurst scored two goals to complete his hat-trick, the first to be scored in a World Cup final. The official match ball was produced by Slazenger. The mascot was 'World Cup Willie', a cartoon lion.

Did You Know?

• The final was the last to be shown entirely in black and white.
• This was the first World Cup to have selected matches broadcast via satellite to countries on other continents.
• The Jules Rimet trophy was stolen before the tournament and recovered by a dog named Pickles.
• All 15 African nations boycotted the tournament in protest over FIFA's qualifying rules.