1966 FIFA World Cup Final

Event

1966 FIFA World Cup

England	West Germany

4	2

After extra time

Date

30 July 1966

Venue

Wembley Stadium, London

Referee

Gottfried Dienst (Switzerland)

Attendance

96,924

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1970 →

The 1966 FIFA World Cup Final was the final match in the 1966 FIFA World Cup, the eighth football World Cup and one of the most controversial finals ever. The match was played by England and West Germany on 30 July 1966 at Wembley Stadium in London, and had an attendance of 96,924. The British television audience peaked at 32.30 million viewers, making the final the most watched television event ever in the United Kingdom.

England won 4–2 after extra time to win the Jules Rimet Trophy. The England team became known as the "wingless wonders", on account of their then-unconventional narrow attacking formation, described at the time as a 4–4–2. The match is remembered for England's only World Cup trophy, Geoff Hurst's hat-trick – the first one ever scored in a World Cup Final – and the controversial third goal awarded to England by referee Gottfried Dienst and linesman Tofiq Bahramov.

Both teams were strong throughout the tournament. Each won two and drew one of their three matches in the group stages. England did not concede a goal until their semi-final against Portugal.

England, managed by Alf Ramsey and captained by Bobby Moore, won the toss and elected to kick off. After 12 minutes, Sigfried Held sent a cross into the English penalty area which Ray Wilson misheaded to Helmut Haller, who got his shot on target. Jackie Charlton and goalkeeper Gordon Banks failed to deal with the shot which went in making it 1–0 to West Germany.

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