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 to 30 July 1966. England defeated West Germany 4–2 in the final to win their first ever World Cup title. The final was level at 2–2 after 90 minutes and went to extra time, when Geoff Hurst scored two goals to complete his hat-trick, the first to be scored in a men's World Cup final. England were the fifth nation to win the event, and the third host nation to win after Uruguay in 1930 and Italy in 1934. Two time reigning champions Brazil failed to get past the group stages as they were defeated by Hungary and Portugal. It was the first time that defending champions were eliminated in the group stages after Italy in 1950. This would not occur again until 36 years later. It was opened by Queen Elizabeth II during the opening ceremony.[1]
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.
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.
All 15 African nations who entered the qualifying later boycotted the tournament in protest after FIFA, citing competitive and logistical issues, ruled that there would be no direct qualification for any African team. 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.[2] The final, which was broadcast locally by the BBC, was the last to be shown entirely in black and white.
^"Football mourns the loss of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II". FIFA. 8 September 2022.
^"World Cup 1966". ITV Football 1955-1968. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
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Global Information
England (1st title)
West Germany
Portugal
Soviet Union