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1966
Host: England
Champion: England |
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In the Final, England scored a hard-fought 4-2 overtime victory over West Germany at Wembley Stadium, with Geoff Hurst scoring the first-ever World Cup Final hat trick.
However, the dramatic match was marred by controversy. With the score tied at 2-2 in overtime, Hurst blasted a shot against the underside of the crossbar sending the ball bouncing along the goalline. Germany's defense cleared the ball away for a corner kick. The referee after consulting with the linesman, ruled it a goal, giving England its first and only World Cup Trophy.
Years later, the German weekly Kicker recontructed the sequence with photographs showing that the shot in dispute should not have been ruled a goal.
Portugal and West Germany presented to the world two of the greatest players ever to appear in the Finals. The brilliant
Eusebio scored nine goals as the tournament's leading scorer, helping Portugal to a third place finish. West Germany showed off its young genius, Franz Beckenbauer.
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