46 years on we look back at the day England won The World Cup at Wembley.
|
England
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4-2
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West Germany
|
|
Hurst 18, 101, 120; Peters 78
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aet
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Haller 12; Weber 90
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FIFA World Cup Final
3pm, Saturday 30 July 1966
Wembley Stadium
Relying on the team which had seen them through the previous two rounds, Alf Ramsey's England won a great match 4-2 after extra-time against West Germany.
The Germans had looked the more dangerous in the opening minutes, Haller and Held leading menacing sorties and Seeler, their captain, using his head to good advantage.
It came as no surprise when Haller shot West Germany into a 12th-minute lead following Wilson's misdirected header. He thought scoring the opening goal entitled him to keep the match ball - that was the custom in German football.
England, behind for the first time in the tournament, equalised six minutes later. Hurst positioned himself perfectly to head home Moore's quickly-taken free-kick.
The German defence gave little away in the second period and only 12 minutes remained when Peters scored after Hurst's centre had struck a defender and looped invitingly into the air. From that range Peters could hardly miss.
As England hung on for the final whistle, Jack Charlton was adjudged, harshly, to have fouled on the edge of the box. The free-kick, blasted at the wall by Emmerich, appeared to strike Schnellinger's hand before rolling on for Weber to shoot, almost in slow motion, past Banks' desperate lunge.
England looked fitter and fresher in extra time, continuing to play with confidence and composure. Hurst scored with a drive on the turn which hit the underside of the bar and bounced over the line with Tilkowski beaten. The goal was disputed by the Germans - and still is.
The Swiss referee asked the nearer linesman, Mr. Bakhramov from the USSR (he actually came from what is now Azerbaijan), and between them they agreed that it was a goal.
With the last kick of the match Hurst completed a personal triumph by scoring with a firm left-footer. There were some people on the pitch.
Geoff, now Sir Geoff, remains the only player to have notched a hat-trick in a World Cup Final.
A day to remember - especially today.
| England |
West Germany |
| 1 |
Gordon Banks |
1 |
Hans Tilkowski |
| 2 |
George Cohen |
2 |
Horst Hoettges |
| 3 |
Ray Wilson |
3 |
Karl-Heinz Schnellinger |
| 4 |
Nobby Stiles |
4 |
Franz Beckenbauer |
| 5 |
Jack Charlton |
5 |
Willi Schulz |
| 6 |
Bobby Moore |
6 |
Wolfgang Weber |
| 7 |
Alan Ball |
8 |
Helmut Haller |
| 9 |
Bobby Charlton |
9 |
Uwe Seeler |
<>
| 10 |
Geoff Hurst |
10 |
Siegfried Held |
| 16 |
Martin Peters |
11 |
Lothar Emmerich |
| 21 |
Roger Hunt |
12 |
Wolfgang Overath |
|
Substitutes
|
Substitutes
|
| 8 |
Jimmy Greaves |
7 |
Albert Bruells |
| 11 |
John Connelly |
13 |
Heinz Hornig |
| 12 |
Ronald Springett |
14 |
Friedel Lutz |
| 13 |
Peter Bonetti |
15 |
Bernd Patze |
| 14 |
Jimmy Armfield |
16 |
Max Lorenz |
| 15 |
Gary Byrne |
17 |
Wolfgang Paul |
| 17 |
Ronald Flowers |
18 |
Klaus Sieloff |
| 18 |
Norman Hunter |
19 |
Werner Kraemer |
| 19 |
Terence Paine |
20 |
Juergen Grabowski |
| 20 |
Ian Callaghan |
21 |
Gunter Bernard |
| 22 |
George Eastham |
22 |
Sepp Maier |
Referee Gottfried Dienst
Assistant Referees Tofik Bakhramov and Karol Galba
Attendance 96924