The 1966 FIFA World Cup, held in England, saw the host nation emerge victorious, defeating West Germany 4-2 in the final at Wembley Stadium, marking England's first and only World Cup title. The tournament included 16 teams and was notable for its record low average goals per game for a champion, as well as the controversial event of the Jules Rimet trophy being stolen and later recovered. Additionally, the event was the last World Cup final broadcast in black and white and featured new teams like Portugal and North Korea in the competition.

1. 1966 FIFA WORLD
CUP

3. WORLD CUP 1966
 The 1966 FIFA World Cup, the eighth staging of
the World Cup, was held in England from 11 to 30
July. England beat West Germany 4–2 in the final,
winning the Jules Rimet Trophy.
 With this victory, England won their only FIFA
World Cup title and became the third World Cup
host to win the tournament after Uruguay in 1930
and Italy in 1934.
 The 1966 Final, held at Wembley Stadium, was
the last to be broadcast in black and white.
 The tournament held a FIFA record for the largest
average attendance, for 28 years, until it was
surpassed by the United States in 1994.

4. Host country England
Dates 11–30 July (20 days)
Teams 16 (from 4 confederations)
Venue(s) 8 (in 7 host cities)
Final positions
Champions England (1st title)
Runners-up West Germany
Third place Portugal
Fourth place Soviet Union
Tournament statistics
Matches played 32
Goals scored 89 (2.78 per match)
Attendance 1,563,135 (48,848 per match)
Top scorer(s) Eusébio (9 goals)
Best young player Franz Beckenbauer

5. 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.
Host Selection

7. Despite the Africans' absence, there was another new record
numbeof 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. Notable absentees from this tournament
included 1962 semi-finalists Yugoslavia and 1962 finalists
Czechoslovakia.

8. 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. They also protested against the readmission of South Africa to FIFA
in 1963, despite its expulsion from CAF due to the apartheid regime in 1958.
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.
African boycott

9. List of qualified teams
The following 16 teams qualified for the final tournament
AFC (1)
• North
Korea
CAF (0)
•None
qualified
OFC (0)
•None qualifie
UEFA (10)
• Bulgaria
• England (hosts)
• France
• Hungary
• Italy
• Portugal
• Soviet Union
• Spain
• Switzerland
• West Germany
CONCACAF (1)
• Mexico
CONMEBOL (4)
• Argentina
• Brazil
• Chile
• Uruguay

10. Qualification for 1966 FIFA World Cup
FIFA members qualified (including colonies)
FIFA members that not qualified
FIFA members that did not enter World Cup
Countries not members of FIFA in 1966

11. 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 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.
In the event, no replays or drawing of lots was necessary.

12. 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 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 were the other team to qualify from
that group at the expense of both Mexico and France.
All the group's matches were played at Wembley Stadium apart from
the match between Uruguay and France which took place at White City
Stadium. In Group 2, West Germany and Argentina qualified with ease
as they both finished the group with 5 points, Spain managed 2,
while Switzerland 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 get sent off and suspended for the next
match
FIRST ROUND

13. The 1966 World Cup had a rather unusual hero off the field, a dog called Pickles. 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 is held at the English National
Football Museum in Manchester, where it is on display.
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.
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 and
including 2018) has commenced in May or June. The final took place on 30 July 1966,
the 36th anniversary of the first final. This remains the latest date that any tournament
has 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).
SUMMERY

14. First round
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 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 were the other team to qualify from that group at the expense of
both Mexico and France. All the group's matches were played at Wembley Stadium apart from the
match between Uruguay and France which took place at White City Stadium.
In Group 2, West Germany and Argentina qualified with ease as they both finished the group
with 5 points, Spain managed 2, while Switzerland 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 get sent off and suspended for
the next match.

15. In the northwest of England, Old Trafford and Goodison Park played
host to Group 3 which saw the two-time defending champions Brazil
finish in third place behind Portugal and Hungary, and be eliminated
along with Bulgaria. Brazil were defeated 3–1 by Hungary in a classic
encounter before falling by the same scoreline to Portugal in a
controversial game; this was Brazil's worst performance in any World
Cup until the Mineirazo. 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, whose nine goals made him the tournament's top scorer.
Group 4, however, provided the biggest upset when North Korea
beat Italy 1–0 at Ayresome Park, Middlesbrough and finished above
them, thus earning qualification to the next round along with the Soviet
Union. 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.

16. Quarter-finals, semi-finals, and third-place match
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, from England) had not recognised a handball by
Schnellinger on the goal line and then had sent off two players
from Uruguay: Horacio Troche and Héctor Silva.[8] 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, 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.

17. In the other two games, Ferenc Bene's late goal for Hungary
against the Soviet Union, who were led by Lev Yashin'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.
 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. After 30 minutes England
scored the only goal of the match. This game is called el robo
del siglo (the robbery of the century) in Argentina

18. 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 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 remains the
best finish by a team making its World Cup debut
since 1934. It was subsequently equalled by
Croatia in the 1998 tournament.

19. Final
London's Wembley Stadium was the venue for the final,
and 98,000 people attended. After 12 minutes 32 seconds
Helmut Haller put West Germany ahead, but the score was
levelled by Geoff Hurst four minutes later. Martin Peters 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 scored, with England
appealing in vain for handball as the ball came through the
crowded penalty area.

20. With the score level at 2–2 at the end of 90
minutes, the game went to extra time. 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; Ian
Reid and Andrew Zisserman claim to prove
that the ball did not cross the line. 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 World Cup final. BBC
commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme'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 ..
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 twelve 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. Spain again lowered
the record to two goals by conceding them
during the group stage and then shutting out
its four knockout stage opponents by 1–0
scores.

21. England received the recovered Jules Rimet trophy
from Elizabeth II and were crowned World Cup winners
for the first time

22. Mascot
World Cup Willie, the mascot for the 1966
competition, was the first World Cup
mascot, and one of the first mascots to be
associated with a major sporting
competition. World Cup Willie is a lion, a
typical symbol of the United Kingdom,
wearing a Union Flag jersey emblazoned
with the words "WORLD CUP".

23. Eight venues were used for this World Cup. The youngest and biggest venue
used was Wembley Stadium in west London, which was 43 years old in 1966.
As was often the case in the World Cup, groups played in two venues in close
proximity to each other. Group 1's 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 in west London, which was used as a temporary
replacement for nearby Wembley. The Uruguay-France group stage game
played at White City Stadium (originally built for the 1908 Summer Olympics)
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 Sheffield Wednesday F.C.'s Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield
and Aston Villa's Villa Park in Birmingham, Group 3's matches were played
at Manchester United's Old Trafford stadium in Manchester and Everton
F.C.'s Goodison Park in Liverpool; and Group 4's matches were played
at Middlesbrough F.C.'s Ayresome Park in Middlesbrough and Sunderland
A.F.C.'s Roker Park in Sunderland; both located in north-east England.
VENUES

24. London Birmingham
Wembley Stadium White City Stadium Villa Park
51°33′20″N 0°16′47″W 51°30′49″N 0°13′39″W 52°30′33″N 1°53′5″W
Capacity:98,600 Capacity:76,567 Capacity:52,000
Liverpool
London
Manchester
Liverpool
Sunderland
Middlesbrough
Birmingham
Sheffield
Goodison Park
53°26′20″N 2°57′59″W
Capacity:50,151
Manchester
Old Trafford
53°27′47″N 2°17′29″W
Capacity:58,000
Sheffield Sunderland Middlesbrough
Hillsborough Stadium Roker Park Ayresome Park
53°24′41″N 1°30′2″W 54°55′17″N 1°22′32″W 54°33′51″N 1°14′49″W
Capacity:42,730 Capacity:40,310 Capacity:40,000
VENUES

25. Champion Runner-up 3rd place 4th place 1/4-finals Group stage
Results of 1966 FIFA World Cup

26. Goalkeeper Defenders Midfielders Forwards
Gordon Banks George Cohen
Bobby Moore
Vicente
Silvio Marzolini
Franz Beckenbauer
Mário Coluna
Bobby Charlton
Flórián Albert
Uwe Seeler
Eusébio
ALL- STARS FINALALL STAR TEAM