1966 World Cup Final England v West Germany

Lore & Background

The match is remembered for England's only World Cup and first and only major international title, Geoff Hurst's hat-trick – the first scored in a FIFA World Cup final – and the dubious third goal awarded to England by referee Gottfried Dienst and linesman Tofiq Bahramov. 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.

Reader's Guide

West Germany took the lead in the 11th minute when Helmut Haller shot the ball into the bottom left corner. Geoff Hurst equalised with a header to make it 1–1. Martin Peters scored in the 78th minute to make it 2–1. Wolfgang Weber equalised in the 90th minute to make it 2–2. In extra time, Geoff Hurst scored a controversial goal in the 101st minute and then scored again in the final minute to complete his hat-trick, ending the game 4–2. The match had an attendance of 96,924 at the stadium, and the British television audience peaked at 32.3 million viewers.

Did You Know?

• Geoff Hurst was the only man to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final until Kylian Mbappé did so in 2022.
• The crossbar from Hurst's controversial third goal is now on display as part of the Wembley Stadium tour.
• One of the balls from the final is on display in the National Football Museum in Manchester.