The 1966 FIFA World Cup was the eighth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in England from 11 July to 30 July 1966. England defeated West Germany 4–2 in the final to win their first and so far only ever title; the match had finished at 2–2 after 90 minutes and went to extra time, when Geoff Hurst scored two goals to complete his hat-trick, the first (and as of 2021, only) to be scored in a World Cup final, with a handful of spectators wandering on to the pitch during the fourth goal. England were the fifth nation to win the event, and the third host nation to win after Uruguay in 1930 and Italy in 1934. Brazil were the defending champions, but they failed to progress from the group stage.
Two debut teams performed well at the competition – North Korea beat Italy 1–0 on the way to reaching the quarter-finals, where they lost to Portugal 5–3 after leading 3–0. Portugal themselves finished third, losing 2–1 to England in the semi-final. Portuguese striker Eusébio was the tournament's top scorer, with nine goals clinching the golden boot with three goals more than second placed Helmut Haller.
WORLD CUP 1966: GERMANY X ARGENTINA
The 1966 World Cup was the first FIFA World Cup held in the English-speaking world. Matches were played at eight stadiums across England, with the final being held at Wembley Stadium, which had a capacity of 98,600. The 1966 event featured the highest number of teams of any international tournament to date, with 70 nations participating. 31 African nations boycotted the World Cup, having objected to the number of guaranteed placings at the finals.
Prior to the tournament, the Jules Rimet trophy was stolen, but was recovered by a dog named Pickles four months before the tournament began. It was the first World Cup to have selected matches broadcast via satellite to countries on other continents. The final, which was broadcast locally by the BBC, was the last to be shown entirely in black and white.
GROUP A Jul 11 London England v Uruguay 0-0 Jul 13 London France v Mexico 1-1 Jul 15 London Uruguay v France 2-1 Jul 16 London England v Mexico 2-0 Jul 19 London Mexico v Uruguay 0-0 Jul 20 London France v England 0-2 P W D L Gls Pts ENGLAND 3 2 1 0 4-0 5 URUGUAY 3 1 2 0 2-1 4 Mexico 3 0 2 1 1-3 2 France 3 0 1 2 2-5 1 GROUP B Jul 12 Sheffield West Germany v Switzerland 5-0 Jul 13 Birmingham Argentina v Spain 2-1 Jul 15 Sheffield Spain v Switzerland 2-1 Jul 16 Birmingham Argentina v West Germany 0-0 Jul 19 Sheffield Switzerland v Argentina 0-2 Jul 20 Birmingham West Germany v Spain 2-1 P W D L Gls Pts WEST GERMANY 3 2 1 0 7-1 5 ARGENTINA 3 2 1 0 4-1 5 Spain 3 1 0 2 4-5 2 Switzerland 3 0 0 3 1-9 0 GROUP C Jul 12 Liverpool Brazil v Bulgaria 2-0 Jul 13 Manchester Portugal v Hungary 3-1 Jul 15 Liverpool Hungary v Brazil 3-1 Jul 16 Manchester Portugal v Bulgaria 3-0 Jul 19 Liverpool Brazil v Portugal 1-3 Jul 20 Manchester Bulgaria v Hungary 1-3 P W D L Gls Pts PORTUGAL 3 3 0 0 9-2 6 HUNGARY 3 2 0 1 7-5 4 Brazil 3 1 0 2 4-6 2 Bulgaria 3 0 0 3 1-8 0 GROUP D Jul 12 Middlesbrough Soviet Union v North Korea 3-0 Jul 13 Sunderland Italy v Chile 2-0 Jul 15 Middlesbrough Chile v North Korea 1-1 Jul 16 Sunderland Soviet Union v Italy 1-0 Jul 19 Middlesbrough North Korea v Italy 1-0 Jul 20 Sunderland Chile v Soviet Union 1-2 P W D L Gls Pts SOVIET UNION 3 3 0 0 6-1 6 NORTH KOREA 3 1 1 1 2-4 3 Italy 3 1 0 2 2-2 2 Chile 3 0 1 2 2-5 1 QUARTERFINALS Jul 23 Sheffield West Germany v Uruguay 4-0 Jul 23 Liverpool Portugal v North Korea 5-3 Jul 23 Sunderland Soviet Union v Hungary 2-1 Jul 23 London England v Argentina 1-0 SEMIFINALS Jul 25 Liverpool West Germany v Soviet Union 2-1 Jul 26 London England v Portugal 2-1 3rd/4th PLACE PLAY-OFF Jul 28 London Portugal v Soviet Union 2-1 WORLD CUP FINAL Jul 30 London England v West Germany 4-2