1966 FIFA World Cup - wikipedia 1966 FIFA World Cup 1966 FIFA World Cup World Cup 1966 1966 FIFA World Cup official logo Tournament details 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 ← 1962 1970 → 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 first 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. Contents 1 Host selection 2 Qualification 2.1 African boycott 2.2 List of qualified teams 3 Format 4 Summary 4.1 First round 4.2 Quarter - finals, semi-finals, and third - place match 4.3 Final 5 Mascot 6 Venues 7 Match officials 8 Seeding 9 Squads 10 Results 10.1 Group stage 10.1. 1 Group 1 10.1. 2 Group 2 10.1. 3 Group 3 10.1. 4 Group 4 10.2 Knockout stage 10.2. 1 Quarter - finals 10.2. 2 Semi-finals 10.2. 3 Third - place match 10.2. 4 Final 11 Goalscorers 11.1 All - star team 12 FIFA retrospective ranking 13 References 14 External links Host selection Main article : FIFA World Cup hosts 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. Qualification Main article : 1966 FIFA World Cup qualification Despite the Africans ' absence, there was another new record number of 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. African boycott 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. List of qualified teams The following 16 teams qualified for the final tournament. AFC ( 1 ) North Korea CAF ( 0 ) None qualified OFC ( 0 ) None qualified CONCACAF ( 1 ) Mexico CONMEBOL ( 4 ) Argentina Brazil Chile Uruguay UEFA ( 10 ) Bulgaria England ( hosts ) France Hungary Italy Portugal Soviet Union Spain Switzerland West Germany Qualification for 1966 FIFA World Cup FIFA members qualified for World Cup ( including colonies ) FIFA members that failed to qualify FIFA members that did not enter World Cup Countries not members of FIFA in 1966 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. Summary 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 ). First round Wolfgang Weber ( left ) and Luis Artime during the Germany v. Argentina match 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. 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. Quarter - finals, semi-finals, and third - place match Results of 1966 FIFA World Cup Champion Runner - up 3rd place 4th place 1 / 4 - finals Group stage 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. 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. 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. 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. Eusébio finished as the tournament 's top scorer, and also featured in the all - star team 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. Final Main article : 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. 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... ( Hurst scores ) It is now ! ''. 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. England received the recovered Jules Rimet trophy from Elizabeth II and were crowned World Cup winners for the first time. In this World Cup edition, 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 is not recognized by United Kingdom - in the World Cup would cause problems with South Korea. An office memo of the Foreign Office months before the finals stated that the solution would be `` denying the visas to North Korean players ''. 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 ''. Venues 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 northern England. The most used venue was Wembley, which was used for nine matches, including all of England 's six matches, the final and the third place match. Goodison Park was used for five matches ; Roker Park and Hillsborough both hosted four matches. Old Trafford, Villa Park and Ayresome Park each hosted 3 matches and did not host any knockout round matches. London Birmingham Wembley Stadium White City Stadium Villa Park 51 ° 33 ′ 20 '' N 0 ° 16 ′ 47 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 51.55556 ° N 0.27972 ° W ﻿ / 51.55556 ; - 0.27972 ﻿ ( Wembley Stadium ) 51 ° 30 ′ 49 '' N 0 ° 13 ′ 39 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 51.51361 ° N 0.22750 ° W ﻿ / 51.51361 ; - 0.22750 ﻿ ( White City Stadium ) 52 ° 30 ′ 33 '' N 1 ° 53 ′ 5 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 52.50917 ° N 1.88472 ° W ﻿ / 52.50917 ; - 1.88472 ﻿ ( Villa Park ) 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 ﻿ / ﻿ 53.43889 ° N 2.96639 ° W ﻿ / 53.43889 ; - 2.96639 ﻿ ( Goodison Park ) Capacity : 50,151 Manchester Old Trafford 53 ° 27 ′ 47 '' N 2 ° 17 ′ 29 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 53.46306 ° N 2.29139 ° W ﻿ / 53.46306 ; - 2.29139 ﻿ ( Old Trafford ) Capacity : 58,000 Sheffield Sunderland Middlesbrough Hillsborough Stadium Roker Park Ayresome Park 53 ° 24 ′ 41 '' N 1 ° 30 ′ 2 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 53.41139 ° N 1.50056 ° W ﻿ / 53.41139 ; - 1.50056 ﻿ ( Hillsborough ) 54 ° 55 ′ 17 '' N 1 ° 22 ′ 32 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 54.92139 ° N 1.37556 ° W ﻿ / 54.92139 ; - 1.37556 ﻿ ( Roker Park ) 54 ° 33 ′ 51 '' N 1 ° 14 ′ 49 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 54.56417 ° N 1.24694 ° W ﻿ / 54.56417 ; - 1.24694 ﻿ ( Ayresome Park ) Capacity : 42,730 Capacity : 40,310 Capacity : 40,000 Match officials Africa Ali Kandil Asia Menachem Ashkenazi North America Arturo Yamasaki South America José María Codesal Roberto Goicoechea Armando Marques Europe John Adair Tofiq Bahramov Leo Callaghan Joaquim Campos Ken Dagnall Gottfried Dienst Jim Finney Karol Galba Juan Gardeazábal Garay Rudolf Kreitlein Concetto Lo Bello Bertil Lööw George McCabe Hugh Phillips Dimitar Rumentchev Pierre Schwinte Kurt Tschenscher Konstantin Zečević István Zsolt Seeding Pot 1 : South American Pot 2 : European Pot 3 : Latin European Pot 4 : Rest of the World Brazil ( defending champions ) Argentina Chile Uruguay England ( hosts ) Hungary Soviet Union West Germany France Portugal Spain Italy Bulgaria North Korea Mexico Switzerland Squads For a list of all squads that appeared in the final tournament, see 1966 FIFA World Cup squads. Results Group stage Group 1 Main article : 1966 FIFA World Cup Group 1 Team Pld GF GA GAv Pts England 0 0 -- 5 Uruguay 0 2.00 Mexico 0 0.33 France 0 5 0.40 England v Uruguay 11 July 1966 19 : 30 BST England 0 -- 0 Uruguay Report Wembley Stadium, London Attendance : 87,148 Referee : Istvan Zsolt ( Hungary ) France v Mexico 13 July 1966 19 : 30 BST France 1 -- 1 Mexico Hausser 62 ' Report Borja 48 ' Wembley Stadium, London Attendance : 69,237 Referee : Menachem Ashkenazi ( Israel ) Uruguay v France 15 July 1966 19 : 30 BST Uruguay 2 -- 1 France Rocha 26 ' Cortés 31 ' Report De Bourgoing 15 ' ( pen. ) White City Stadium, London Attendance : 45,662 Referee : Karol Galba ( Czechoslovakia ) England v Mexico 16 July 1966 19 : 30 BST England 2 -- 0 Mexico B. Charlton 37 ' Hunt 75 ' Report Wembley Stadium, London Attendance : 92,570 Referee : Concetto Lo Bello ( Italy ) Mexico v Uruguay 19 July 1966 16 : 30 BST Mexico 0 -- 0 Uruguay Report Wembley Stadium, London Attendance : 61,112 Referee : Bertil Lööw ( Sweden ) England v France 20 July 1966 19 : 30 BST England 2 -- 0 France Hunt 38 ', 75 ' Report Wembley Stadium, London Attendance : 98,270 Referee : Arturo Yamasaki ( Peru ) Group 2 Main article : 1966 FIFA World Cup Group 2 Team Pld GF GA GAv Pts West Germany 0 7 7.00 5 Argentina 0 4.00 5 Spain 0 5 0.80 Switzerland 0 0 9 0.11 0 West Germany were placed first due to superior goal average. West Germany v Switzerland 12 July 1966 19 : 30 BST West Germany 5 -- 0 Switzerland Held 16 ' Haller 21 ', 77 ' ( pen. ) Beckenbauer 40 ', 52 ' Report Hillsborough Stadium, Sheffield Attendance : 36,127 Referee : Hugh Phillips ( Scotland ) Argentina v Spain 13 July 1966 19 : 30 BST Argentina 2 -- 1 Spain Artime 65 ', 77 ' Report Pirri 67 ' Villa Park, Birmingham Attendance : 42,738 Referee : Dimiter Rumentchev ( Bulgaria ) Spain v Switzerland 15 July 1966 19 : 30 BST Spain 2 -- 1 Switzerland Sanchís 57 ' Amancio 75 ' Report Quentin 31 ' Hillsborough Stadium, Sheffield Attendance : 32,028 Referee : Tofiq Bahramov ( Soviet Union ) Argentina v West Germany 16 July 1966 15 : 00 BST Argentina 0 -- 0 West Germany Report Villa Park, Birmingham Attendance : 46,587 Referee : Konstantin Zečević ( Yugoslavia ) Argentina v Switzerland 19 July 1966 19 : 30 BST Argentina 2 -- 0 Switzerland Artime 52 ' Onega 79 ' Report Hillsborough Stadium, Sheffield Attendance : 32,127 Referee : Joaquim Campos ( Portugal ) West Germany v Spain 20 July 1966 19 : 30 BST West Germany 2 -- 1 Spain Emmerich 39 ' Seeler 84 ' Report Fusté 23 ' Villa Park, Birmingham Attendance : 42,187 Referee : Armando Marques ( Brazil ) Group 3 Main article : 1966 FIFA World Cup Group 3 Team Pld GF GA GAv Pts Portugal 0 0 9 4.50 6 Hungary 0 7 5 1.40 Brazil 0 6 0.67 Bulgaria 0 0 8 0.13 0 Brazil v Bulgaria 12 July 1966 19 : 30 BST Brazil 2 -- 0 Bulgaria Pelé 15 ' Garrincha 63 ' Report Goodison Park, Liverpool Attendance : 47,308 Referee : Kurt Tschenscher ( West Germany ) Portugal v Hungary 13 July 1966 19 : 30 BST Portugal 3 -- 1 Hungary José Augusto 1 ', 67 ' Torres 90 ' Report Bene 60 ' Old Trafford, Manchester Attendance : 29,886 Referee : Leo Callaghan ( Wales ) Hungary v Brazil 15 July 1966 19 : 30 BST Hungary 3 -- 1 Brazil Bene 2 ' Farkas 64 ' Mészöly 73 ' ( pen. ) Report Tostão 14 ' Goodison Park, Liverpool Attendance : 51,387 Referee : Ken Dagnall ( England ) Portugal v Bulgaria 16 July 1966 15 : 00 BST Portugal 3 -- 0 Bulgaria Vutsov 17 ' ( o.g. ) Eusébio 38 ' Torres 81 ' Report Old Trafford, Manchester Attendance : 25,438 Referee : José María Codesal ( Uruguay ) Portugal v Brazil 19 July 1966 19 : 30 BST Portugal 3 -- 1 Brazil Simões 15 ' Eusébio 27 ', 85 ' Report Rildo 73 ' Goodison Park, Liverpool Attendance : 58,479 Referee : George McCabe ( England ) Hungary v Bulgaria 20 July 1966 19 : 30 BST Hungary 3 -- 1 Bulgaria Davidov 43 ' ( o.g. ) Mészöly 45 ' Bene 54 ' Report Asparuhov 15 ' Old Trafford, Manchester Attendance : 24,129 Referee : Roberto Goicoechea ( Argentina ) Group 4 Main article : 1966 FIFA World Cup Group 4 Team Pld GF GA GAv Pts Soviet Union 0 0 6 6.00 6 North Korea 0.50 Italy 0 1.00 Chile 0 5 0.40 Soviet Union v North Korea 12 July 1966 19 : 30 BST Soviet Union 3 -- 0 North Korea Malofeyev 31 ', 88 ' Banishevskiy 33 ' Report Ayresome Park, Middlesbrough Attendance : 23,006 Referee : Juan Gardeazábal Garay ( Spain ) Italy v Chile 13 July 1966 19 : 30 BST Italy 2 -- 0 Chile Mazzola 8 ' Barison 88 ' Report Roker Park, Sunderland Attendance : 27,199 Referee : Gottfried Dienst ( Switzerland ) Chile v North Korea 15 July 1966 19 : 30 BST Chile 1 -- 1 North Korea Marcos 26 ' ( pen. ) Report Pak Seung - zin 88 ' Ayresome Park, Middlesbrough Attendance : 13,792 Referee : Ali Kandil ( United Arab Republic ) Soviet Union v Italy 16 July 1966 15 : 00 BST Soviet Union 1 -- 0 Italy Chislenko 57 ' Report Roker Park, Sunderland Attendance : 27,793 Referee : Rudolf Kreitlein ( West Germany ) North Korea v Italy 19 July 1966 19 : 30 BST North Korea 1 -- 0 Italy Pak Doo - ik 42 ' Report Ayresome Park, Middlesbrough Attendance : 17,829 Referee : Pierre Schwinte ( France ) Soviet Union v Chile 20 July 1966 19 : 30 BST Soviet Union 2 -- 1 Chile Porkujan 28 ', 85 ' Report Marcos 32 ' Roker Park, Sunderland Attendance : 16,027 Referee : John Adair ( Northern Ireland ) Knockout stage Quarter - finals Semi-finals Final 23 July -- London ( Wembley ) England 26 July -- London ( Wembley ) Argentina 0 England 23 July -- Liverpool ( Goodison Park ) Portugal 1 Portugal 5 30 July -- London ( Wembley ) North Korea 3 England ( aet ) 23 July -- Sheffield ( Hillsborough Stadium ) West Germany 2 West Germany 25 July -- Liverpool ( Goodison Park ) Uruguay 0 West Germany Third place 23 July -- Sunderland ( Roker Park ) Soviet Union 1 28 July -- London ( Wembley ) Soviet Union Portugal Hungary 1 Soviet Union 1 Quarter - finals Portugal v North Korea 23 July 1966 15 : 00 BST Portugal 5 -- 3 North Korea Eusébio 27 ', 43 ' ( pen. ), 56 ', 59 ' ( pen. ) José Augusto 80 ' Report Pak Seung - zin 1 ' Li Dong - woon 22 ' Yang Seung - Kook 25 ' Goodison Park, Liverpool Attendance : 40,248 Referee : Menachem Ashkenazi ( Israel ) West Germany v Uruguay 23 July 1966 15 : 00 BST West Germany 4 -- 0 Uruguay Haller 11 ', 83 ' Beckenbauer 70 ' Seeler 75 ' Report Hillsborough Stadium, Sheffield Attendance : 40,007 Referee : Jim Finney ( England ) Soviet Union v Hungary 23 July 1966 15 : 00 BST Soviet Union 2 -- 1 Hungary Chislenko 5 ' Porkujan 46 ' Report Bene 57 ' Roker Park, Sunderland Attendance : 26,844 Referee : Juan Gardeazábal Garay ( Spain ) England v Argentina 23 July 1966 15 : 00 BST England 1 -- 0 Argentina Hurst 78 ' Report Wembley Stadium, London Attendance : 90,584 Referee : Rudolf Kreitlein ( West Germany ) Semi-finals West Germany v Soviet Union 25 July 1966 19 : 30 BST West Germany 2 -- 1 Soviet Union Haller 42 ' Beckenbauer 67 ' Report Porkujan 88 ' Goodison Park, Liverpool Attendance : 38,273 Referee : Concetto Lo Bello ( Italy ) England v Portugal 26 July 1966 19 : 30 BST England 2 -- 1 Portugal B. Charlton 30 ', 80 ' Report Eusébio 82 ' ( pen. ) Wembley Stadium, London Attendance : 94,493 Referee : Pierre Schwinte ( France ) Third - place match Portugal v Soviet Union 28 July 1966 19 : 30 BST Portugal 2 -- 1 Soviet Union Eusébio 12 ' ( pen. ) Torres 89 ' Report Malofeyev 43 ' Wembley Stadium, London Attendance : 87,696 Referee : Ken Dagnall ( England ) Final Main article : 1966 FIFA World Cup Final England v West Germany 30 July 1966 15 : 00 BST England 4 -- 2 ( a.e.t. ) West Germany Hurst 18 ', 101 ', 120 ' Peters 78 ' Report Haller 12 ' Weber 89 ' Wembley Stadium, London Attendance : 96,924 Referee : Gottfried Dienst ( Switzerland ) Goalscorers With nine goals, Eusébio was the top scorer in the tournament. In total, 89 goals were scored by 47 different players, with two of them credited as own goals. 9 goals Eusébio 6 goals Helmut Haller 4 goals Geoff Hurst Ferenc Bene Valeriy Porkujan Franz Beckenbauer 3 goals Luis Artime Bobby Charlton Roger Hunt José Augusto José Torres Eduard Malofeyev 2 goals Rubén Marcos Kálmán Mészöly Pak Seung - zin Igor Chislenko Uwe Seeler 1 goal Ermindo Onega Garrincha Pelé Rildo Tostão Georgi Asparuhov Martin Peters Héctor De Bourgoing Gérard Hausser János Farkas Paolo Barison Sandro Mazzola Enrique Borja Li Dong - woon Pak Doo - ik Yang Seung - kook António Simões Anatoliy Banishevskiy Amancio Josep Maria Fusté Pirri Manuel Sanchís René - Pierre Quentin Julio César Cortés Pedro Rocha Lothar Emmerich Sigfried Held Wolfgang Weber Own goals Ivan Davidov ( against Hungary ) Ivan Vutsov ( against Portugal ) All - star team Goalkeeper Defenders Midfielders Forwards Gordon Banks George Cohen Bobby Moore Vicente Silvio Marzolini Franz Beckenbauer Mário Coluna Bobby Charlton Flórián Albert Uwe Seeler Eusébio Source : FIFA retrospective ranking In 1986, FIFA published a report that ranked all teams in each World Cup up to and including 1986, based on progress in the competition, overall results and quality of the opposition. The rankings for the 1966 tournament were as follows : R Team GF GA GD Pts. England 6 5 0 11 + 8 11 West Germany 6 15 6 + 9 9 Portugal 6 5 0 17 8 + 9 10 Soviet Union 6 0 10 6 + 4 8 Eliminated in the quarter - finals 5 Argentina + 2 5 6 Hungary 0 8 7 + 1 7 Uruguay 5 − 3 8 North Korea 5 9 − 4 Eliminated in the group stage 9 Italy 0 0 10 Spain 0 5 − 1 11 Brazil 0 6 − 2 12 Mexico 0 − 2 13 Chile 0 5 − 3 France 0 5 − 3 15 Bulgaria 0 0 8 − 7 0 16 Switzerland 0 0 9 − 8 0 References Jump up ^ `` Hurst the hero for England in the home of football ''. FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 2013 - 12 - 20. Jump up ^ `` 1966 FIFA TM World Cup England -- Final ''. FIFA.com. Jump up ^ Why Africa boycotted the 1966 World Cup, BBC News, 12th July 2016 Jump up ^ Atherton, Martin ( 2008 ) The Theft of the Jules Rimet Trophy : The Hidden History of the 1966 World Cup. Meyer & Meyer Verlag. p. 93, Retrieved 15 September 2010 from ' The Theft of the Jules Rimet Trophy ', via Google Books Jump up ^ `` History of the World Cup Final Draw '' ( PDF ). Archived ( PDF ) from the original on 14 June 2010. Retrieved 3 June 2010. Jump up ^ `` History of the World Cup ''. fifaworldcup.webspace.virginmedia.com. Archived from the original on 24 February 2014. Retrieved 15 June 2014. Jump up ^ Alsos, Jan. `` 1966 -- Story of England ' 66 ''. Planet World Cup. Archived from the original on 12 June 2010. Retrieved 3 June 2010. Jump up ^ `` Mundial de Inglaterra 1966 -- SIGUEN LOS CHOREOS A SUDAMÉRICA ''. Todoslosmundiales.com.ar. Retrieved 3 June 2010. Jump up ^ Hackett, Robin ( 7 April 2011 ). `` Blue is the colour ''. ESPNFC. Archived from the original on 4 February 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2013. Jump up ^ `` Mundial de Inglaterra 1966 -- EL ROBO DEL SIGLO ''. Todoslosmundiales.com.ar. Archived from the original on 5 June 2010. Retrieved 3 June 2010. Jump up ^ Vickery, Tim. `` Argentina 's class of ' 78 deserve respect ''. BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 February 2012. ( Tim Vickery 's comment ( no. 29 ) : ) The semi final switch -- I believe this is more down to the FIFA Exec Com than to Rous -- in this pre-mass TV age the box office was still important, so it was obviously tempting from a financial point of view to have the ho ( m ) e side play in the stadium with the biggest capacity Jump up ^ `` England 's 2 -- 1 win brings first final ''. Montreal Gazette. 27 July 1966. Retrieved 11 October 2013. Jump up ^ `` ENGLAND PORTUGAL 1 / 2 FINAL WORLD CUP 1966 ''. YouTube. 27 December 2007. Retrieved 15 June 2014. Jump up ^ `` West Germany Nips 10 Russians 2 -- 1 ''. Montreal Gazette. 26 July 1966. Retrieved 11 October 2013. ^ Jump up to : McIlvanney, Hugh ( 30 July 2008 ). `` From the Vault : Hurst 's hat - trick wins the World Cup ''. guardian.co.uk. Guardian Media Group. Archived from the original on 6 June 2010. Retrieved 22 June 2010. Jump up ^ Reid, Ian ; Zisserman, Andrew. `` Goal - directed Video Metrology '' ( PDF ). University of Oxford. Retrieved 10 February 2012. Jump up ^ `` Kenneth Wolstenholme ''. The Daily Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. 27 March 2002. Retrieved 22 June 2010. 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 ! '' Jump up ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10305374 Jump up ^ `` All Star Team ''. football.sporting99.com. Archived from the original on 30 June 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2017. Jump up ^ `` Permanent Table '' ( PDF ). p. 230. Retrieved 2014 - 06 - 28. Jump up ^ `` FIFA World Cup : Milestones, facts & figures. Statistical Kit 7 '' ( PDF ). FIFA. 26 March 2013. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 21 May 2013. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to FIFA World Cup 1966. 1966 FIFA World Cup England TM, FIFA.com Details at RSSSF FIFA Technical Report English football portal 1960s portal 1966 FIFA World Cup Stages Group stage Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 Knockout stage Final General information Qualification Squads 1966 FIFA World Cup finalists Champions England Runners - up West Germany Third place Portugal Fourth place Soviet Union Quarter - final Argentina Hungary North Korea Uruguay Group stage Brazil Bulgaria Chile France Italy Mexico Spain Switzerland 1930 1934 1938 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2014 FIFA World Cup Tournaments Uruguay 1930 Italy 1934 France 1938 Brazil 1950 Switzerland 1954 Sweden 1958 Chile 1962 England 1966 Mexico 1970 West Germany 1974 Argentina 1978 Spain 1982 Mexico 1986 Italy 1990 United States 1994 France 1998 South Korea / Japan 2002 Germany 2006 South Africa 2010 Brazil 2014 Russia 2018 Qatar 2022 2026 2030 2034 Qualification 1930 1934 1938 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2014 2018 2022 2026 Finals 1930 1934 1938 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2014 2018 Squads 1930 1934 1938 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2014 2018 Seedings 1998 2002 2006 2014 2018 Broadcasters 1998 2002 2006 2014 2018 Bids 2014 2018 and 2022 2026 2030 Records and statistics All - time table Goalscorers top goalscorers finals goalscorers hat - tricks own goals Penalty shoot - outs Player appearances Red cards Referees Team appearances Teams with no appearances Miscellaneous Awards Balls Economics Final draw History Hosts Mascots Official films Official songs Organisers Trophy Video games Notes : There was no qualification for the 1930 World Cup as places were given by invitation only. In 1950, there was no final ; the article is about the decisive match of the final group stage. VIAF : 150743816 LCCN : no2013079959 GND : 2010941 - 6 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1966_FIFA_World_Cup&oldid=817810062 '' Categories : 1966 FIFA World Cup 1966 -- 67 in English football FIFA World Cup tournaments International association football competitions hosted by England International sports boycotts July 1966 sports events Hidden categories : Use dmy dates from March 2012 Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Afrikaans አማርኛ Avañe'ẽ Azərbaycanca Беларуская Български Bosanski Brezhoneg Català Čeština Cymraeg Dansk Deutsch Eesti Ελληνικά Español Esperanto Euskara فارسی Français Galego 한국어 Հայերեն Hrvatski Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית ქართული Қазақша Latina Latviešu Lietuvių Magyar Македонски मराठी Bahasa Melayu Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Norsk nynorsk Polski Português Română Runa Simi Русский Shqip Simple English Slovenčina Slovenščina کوردی Српски / srpski Suomi Svenska Татарча / tatarça ไทย Türkçe Українська اردو Tiếng Việt 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 30 December 2017, at 18 : 46. 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Question: when did england win their first football world cup
Answer: 1966