Editing 1966 FIFA World Cup (section)

==Tournament summary==
The opening match took place on Monday, 11 July, which made it the second World Cup after [[1930 FIFA World Cup|1930]] to not begin on May or June. Before the tournament began, eventual winners England were 9/2 second favourites with bookmakers behind Brazil (9/4), while beaten finalists West Germany were 25/1 outsiders.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.instagram.com/p/CIVPY1iqD4f/  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/instagram/gamblingdotcom/2455936849255349791 |archive-date=2021-12-23 |url-access=subscription|title= WORLD CUP 1966 Odds |publisher=Instagram |date=3 December 2020 |access-date=3 December 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The final took place on Saturday, 30 July 1966, the 36th anniversary of the first final. Until 2022, this was the latest date that any tournament had concluded. The reason for the unusually late scheduling of the tournament appears to{{cn|date=May 2023}} 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).

===Group stage===
[[File:Weber x artime.JPG|thumb|right|[[Wolfgang Weber]] (left) and [[Luis Artime]] during the match between West Germany and Argentina in [[Villa Park|Birmingham]]]]
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 national football team|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 national football team|Uruguay]] were the other team to qualify from that group at the expense of both [[Mexico national football team|Mexico]] and [[France national football team|France]]. All the group's matches were played at [[Wembley Stadium (1923)|Wembley Stadium]] apart from the match between Uruguay and France which took place at [[White City Stadium]].

In Group 2, [[Germany national football team|West Germany]] and [[Argentina national football team|Argentina]] qualified with ease as they both finished the group with 5 points, [[Spain men's national football team|Spain]] managed 2, while [[Switzerland national football team|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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fifaworldcup.webspace.virginmedia.com/1966_fifaworldcup.htm |title=History of the World Cup |publisher=fifaworldcup.webspace.virginmedia.com |access-date=15 June 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140224214340/http://www.fifaworldcup.webspace.virginmedia.com/1966_fifaworldcup.htm |archive-date=24 February 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=Jan |last=Alsos |url=http://www.planetworldcup.com/CUPS/1966/wc66story.html |title=1966 – Story of England '66 |publisher=Planet World Cup |access-date=3 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100612080333/http://www.planetworldcup.com/CUPS/1966/wc66story.html |archive-date=12 June 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In the northwest of England, [[Old Trafford]] and [[Goodison Park]] played host to Group 3 which saw the two-time defending champions [[Brazil national football team|Brazil]] finish in third place behind [[Portugal national football team|Portugal]] and [[Hungary national football team|Hungary]], and be eliminated along with [[Bulgaria national football team|Bulgaria]]. Brazil were defeated 3–1 by Hungary in a classic encounter before falling by the same scoreline to Portugal in a controversial game. 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 national football team|North Korea]] beat [[Italy national football team|Italy]] 1–0 at [[Ayresome Park]], [[Middlesbrough]] and finished above them, thus earning qualification to the next round along with the [[Soviet Union national football team|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.

===Knock-out stages===
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 (Uruguayan footballer)|Héctor Silva]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.todoslosmundiales.com.ar/index.php/copas-del-mundo-mundial-de-futbol/mundiales-de-futbol-copa-del-mundo/mundial-de-futbol-de-inglaterra-1966-copa-del-mundo-inglaterra66-england66/425-siguen-los-choreos-a-sudamerica |title=Mundial de Inglaterra 1966 – Siguen Los Choreos a Sudamérica|website=Todoslosmundiales.com.ar |access-date=3 June 2010|language=es|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140703191218/http://www.todoslosmundiales.com.ar/index.php/copas-del-mundo-mundial-de-futbol/mundiales-de-futbol-copa-del-mundo/mundial-de-futbol-de-inglaterra-1966-copa-del-mundo-inglaterra66-england66/425-siguen-los-choreos-a-sudamerica |archive-date=3 July 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> It appeared as although the surprise package North Korea would claim another major upset in their match against Portugal at Goodison Park, they led 3–0 after 22 minutes. 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 de Almeida|José Augusto]] added a fifth goal in the 78th minute to earn Portugal a 5–3 victory.

Meanwhile, 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://espnfc.com/columns/story/_/id/903450/first-xi:-blue-is-the-colour?src=mobile&cc=3436 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204022833/http://espnfc.com/columns/story/_/id/903450/first-xi%3A-blue-is-the-colour?src=mobile&cc=3436 |archive-date=4 February 2012|first=Robin|last=Hackett|title=Blue is the colour|website=ESPN FC|publisher=ESPN|date=7 April 2011 |access-date=20 November 2013|url-status=dead }}</ref> Rattín at first refused to leave the field and eventually had to be escorted by several policemen. Scoreless when Rattin was dismissed, the game was decided by Hurst's headed goal twelve minutes from the end of normal time. This game is called ''el robo del siglo'' ({{Lit|the robbery of the century}}) in Argentina.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.todoslosmundiales.com.ar/mundiales/1966inglaterra/historias/0022robo_siglo.htm |title=Mundial de Inglaterra 1966 – El Robo de Siglo|website=Todoslosmundiales.com.ar |access-date=3 June 2010|language=es|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100605084526/http://www.todoslosmundiales.com.ar/mundiales/1966inglaterra/historias/0022robo_siglo.htm |archive-date=5 June 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

All semi-finalists were from Europe. [[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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=EZ8tAAAAIBAJ&pg=6611,4612088&dq=bobby+charlton&hl=en|title=England's 2–1 win brings first final|date=27 July 1966|work=Montreal Gazette |access-date=11 October 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpjN9FvT_I8 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130313203913/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpjN9FvT_I8&gl=US&hl=en| archive-date=2013-03-13 | url-status=dead|title=England Portugal 1/2 Final World Cup 1966|website=YouTube|publisher=Google, Inc.|date=27 December 2007 |access-date=15 June 2014}}</ref>{{User-generated source|date=April 2025}} 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=Fr8DH2VBP9sC&dat=19660726&printsec=frontpage&hl=en|title=West Germany Nips 10 Russians 2–1|date=26 July 1966|work=Montreal Gazette |access-date=11 October 2013}}</ref>

Portugal went on to beat the Soviet Union 2–1 to take third place. Portugal's third place was the best finish by a team making its World Cup debut since 1934. It was equalled by Croatia in 1998.

===Final===
{{Main|1966 FIFA World Cup 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.<ref name=mcilvanney/>


With the score level at 2–2 at the end of 90 minutes, the game went to [[Overtime (association football)|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.<ref>{{cite web |first1=Ian |last1=Reid |first2=Andrew |last2=Zisserman |url=http://www.robots.ox.ac.uk/~vgg/publications/papers/reid96.pdf |title=Goal-directed Video Metrology |publisher=University of Oxford |access-date=10 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120302225512/http://www.robots.ox.ac.uk/~vgg/publications/papers/reid96.pdf |archive-date=2 March 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> England's final goal was scored by Hurst again, as a celebratory pitch invasion began. This made Geoff Hurst the first player to have scored three times in a single World Cup final.<ref name=mcilvanney/> [[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]] ... ''[Hurst scores]'' It is now!"<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1388921/Kenneth-Wolstenholme.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1388921/Kenneth-Wolstenholme.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Kenneth Wolstenholme |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=27 March 2002 |access-date=22 June 2010 |quote=Kenneth Wolstenholme, who has died aged 81, was the voice of football on the BBC for almost a quarter of a century and the author of arguably the most celebrated words in British sports broadcasting, his commentary on England's last goal in the World Cup Final of 1966: "Some people are on the pitch. They think it's all over – it is now!"}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

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 12 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. France again lowered the record to two goals in seven during the [[1998 FIFA World Cup|1998 tournament]], a record that has since been equalled by Italy at the 2006 tournament and by Spain's two goals conceded during the [[2010 FIFA World Cup|2010 tournament]].

England received the recovered Jules Rimet trophy from [[Queen Elizabeth II]] and were crowned World Cup winners for the first time.<ref name=mcilvanney>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2008/jul/30/englandfootballteam |title=From the Vault: Hurst's hat-trick wins the World Cup |last=McIlvanney |first=Hugh |work=The Guardian|date=30 July 2008 |access-date=22 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100606002132/http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/jul/30/englandfootballteam |archive-date=6 June 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In this World Cup, the national anthems were played only in the final. They were not played in the earlier matches because the organisers (FIFA and the FA) feared that North Korea's presence – a socialist country that was not recognised by the United Kingdom – in the World Cup would cause problems with South Korea. A memo from the Foreign Office months before the finals began stated that the solution would be "denying the visas to North Korean players".<ref name=nk1/> The final, held at [[Wembley Stadium (1923)|Wembley Stadium]], was the last to be broadcast in black and white.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20150905071210/http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/matches/round=3478/match=1633/classic-match/index.html "1966 FIFA World Cup England – Final"]. FIFA.com.</ref>