England’s Golden Moment: The Golden Anniversary

Chris Farlowe was Out Of Time at #1 in the charts, BBC still broadcast in black and white, and the royalty at the top was… well, Queen Elizabeth II!

July 30th, 1966. A very different time to now, but England‘s biggest chance to shine was upon them: The World Cup final, in England, and they’re in it against West Germany.

The tournament had begun in a rather bemusing way, as a dog became a hero when Pickles found a stolen Jules Rimet Trophy (the cup given to the World Cup winning team at the time), which had been nicked from an exhibition display. A replica was commissioned to be made in case the original couldn’t be found in time for the tournament, but thanks to Pickles, that replica instead lives in the English National Football Museum in Manchester.

A tactical performance would see England get through their group stages having scored only four goals – but crucially, they didn’t concede one. Portugal‘s star attraction, Eusebio, would help the team reach new heights, West Germany would qualify with ease as would Argentina. There were some major surprises however: North Korea went through the group stages at the expense of Italy – in the process becoming the first nation outside of Europe or the Americas to get to the knockout stages of the World Cup in history, and the always-fancied Brazil were thrashed 3-1 in two of their group stage matches, leaving them out at the first hurdle – their worst performance ever.

For West Germany, the quarter final started with a 4-0 cruise against Uruguay (not without controversy), and North Korea almost went on another giant killing spree, being 3-0 up on Portugal after just 22 minutes. Thing is, Portugal had Eusebio – four goals by the wonder striker (and a fifth from Jose Augusto) put things right for them.

Top goalscorer and Portuguese sensation Eusebio.

Then came El Robo Del Siglo (The Robbery of the Century), where England would beat Argentina 1-0. Argentinians were aggrieved at the result, not only for what they deemed an unfair sending off for their captain Antonio Rattin (who refused to go off until he was escorted off by police!), but also for Geoff Hurst‘s goal which they believed was offside. It would set up a rivalry in which Argentina felt they gained revenge 20 years later with Maradona‘s “Hand of God” goal in the 1986 World Cup.

In the Semi-Finals, England put a stop to the impressive World Cup debut of Portugal, beating them 2-1 (Portugal would then go on to win the 3rd place match, which set a record for best performance from a debut nation in a World Cup. It’s only been equaled since by Croatia in 1998). Meanwhile, West Germany would win their Semi-Final in the same manner – a 2-1 victory against the Soviet Union.

So it was set. Wembley Stadium. July 30th, 1966. England vs. West Germany. Helmut Haller took the lead after 12 minutes for West Germany, but Geoff Hurst would equalise for England just four minutes later. On the 78th minute, Martin Peters would put the hosts 2-1 up, and surely with one hand on the title England just needed to see the game out. It’s never that easy for the Three Lions, however.

With one minute left, the referee awarded a free kick to West Germany, which was converted by Wolfgang Weber. Despite England’s cries for a handball, the goal was given. 2-2. Extra time needed.

In, or not? Debates still rumble to this day…

Eight minutes in to extra time, and one of World Cup’s most controversial and historic moments occurred: Geoff Hurst’s second goal hit the crossbar, bouncing straight down on to the goal line. To this day debates continue to rumble on about whether it was or wasn’t a goal, but the referee gave it: England 3-2 West Germany.

“Some people are on the pitch. They think it’s all over… it is now!”
– Kenneth Wolstenholme, BBC Commentator

The third goal was followed up by these immortal words, as Hurst would score a fourth for England – his hat-trick – and put the game beyond reach. A celebratory pitch invasion began, and England won the game 4-2. England were World Champions, and they did it at home.

Ashley Redman
23 years too late for the England celebrations