World Cup 1966 England - Review & History
The 1966 World Cup was won by the host nation for the first time in 32 years. North Korea were responsible for one of the greatest shocks of all time when they beat Italy 1-0 and qualified for the quarter-finals. Portugal then came from three goals down to beat them 5-3, with striker Eusebio scoring four times.
England were held to a 0-0 draw by Uruguay in their first match and then beat both Mexico and France to secure a play-off place.
West Germany topped their group, beating Spain and Switzerland and drawing with Argentina. The Soviet Union were beaten 2-1 by the Germans in the first semi-final, while England faced Portugal. Bobby Charlton upstaged Eusebio to score twice in a 2-1 win.
In the final, West Germany took the lead through Helmut Haller's strike. Geoff Hurst equalised and Martin Peters then fired England ahead. Still leading in injury-time, Wolfgang Weber broke English hearts with an equaliser. In extra-time England scored one of the most disputed goals in history. Alan Ball crossed for Hurst to thump a shot against the underside of the crossbar, with the ball bouncing down on the goalline. The referee was unsure whether to award a goal, but Soviet linesman Tofik Bakhramov did not hesitate and their lead was restored. And, as Kenneth Wolstenholme was uttering those now immortal words "there's some people on the pitch, they think it's all over - it is NOW!" - Hurst blasted home a fourth to complete his hat-trick.
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World Cup 1966 results (Held in England)
Semi-finals
West Germany 2-1 USSR
England 2-1 Portugal
FINAL - Wembley, London
England 4-2 West Germany (aet)
TOP SCORER World Cup 1966
Eusebio (Portugal) 9
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