The 1966 FIFA World Cup was the eighth FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial football tournament for 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 and only World Cup title. The final was level at 2–2 after 90 minutes and went into extra time, during which Geoff Hurst scored two goals to complete his hat-trick, the first to be scored in a World Cup final. Portuguese striker Eusébio was the tournament's top scorer with nine goals, earning him the golden boot award with three goals more than second placed Helmut Haller. It was the first World Cup held in the English-speaking world.
England were the fifth nation to win the event, and the third host nation to win after Uruguay in 1930 and Italy in 1934. Reigning world champions Brazil failed to get past the group stages as they were defeated by Hungary and Portugal. It was the second time that defending champions were eliminated in the group stages after Italy in 1950. This would not occur again until 36 years later. The 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, beating the Soviet Union 2–1 in the bronze-match.
During the qualifying games, FIFA, citing logistic and competitive reasons, announced that there would be no direct qualifying place for an African team: all 15 African nations who had entered immediately boycotted the competition in protest.
Matches were played at eight stadiums across England, foremost Wembley Stadium, which had a capacity of 98,600. It was at Wembley that England played all its matches; that the tournament was opened by Queen Elizabeth II; and where the final was played.
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. The final, which was broadcast locally by the BBC, was the last to be shown entirely in black and white. This was also the only World Cup in history that did not have matches on Sundays, owing to religious laws at the time, which were repealed ten years later in 1976.
Background
In Rome, Italy on 22 August 1960, England was chosen as host nation for the 1966 World Cup over rival bids from West Germany and Spain. It was the first tournament to be held in a country that was affected directly by World War II, as the four previous tournaments were held either in countries out of war theatres or in neutral countries.
Qualification
Despite the Africans' absence, there was another new record number of entries for the qualifying tournament, with 70 nations taking part. FIFA determined 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.
Qualified teams The following 16 teams qualified for the final tournament.
AFC (1) (debut) CAF (0) None participated OFC (0) None qualified
CONCACAF (1)
CONMEBOL (4)
(holders)
UEFA (10)
(hosts)
(debut)
Mascot and match ball
The mascot for the 1966 competition was "World Cup Willie", a cartoon lion wearing a Union Jack jersey emblazoned with the words "WORLD CUP". This was the first World Cup mascot, and one of the first mascots to be associated with a major sporting competition. Willie was designed by freelance children's book illustrator Reg Hoye. The official match ball was produced by Slazenger for the tournament.
Controversies African boycott All fifteen entered African nations boycotted the tournament to protest against 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: they considered winning their zone was enough in itself to merit qualification.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) considered that the lack of direct representation of African nations in the World Cup was unfair, and demanded that FIFA guarantee at least one African nation a place in the finals of the following tournament. They also protested against the readmission of South Africa to FIFA in 1963, despite their expulsion from CAF because of the country's apartheid regime in 1958.
As a result of this boycott, FIFA fined CAF 5,000 Swiss francs. Yidnekatchew Tessema, then president of the CAF, responded to this punishment by saying, "FIFA has adopted a relentless attitude against the African Associations and its decisions resemble methods of intimidation and repression designed to discourage any further impulses of a similar nature. In our opinion, the African National Associations ... really deserved a gesture of respect rather than a fine."
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, FIFA refused to change the qualifying format, citing competitive and logistical issues, and the African teams withdrew in protest.
CAF subsequently informed FIFA that they would refuse to participate in World Cup qualifying for the 1970 tournament unless at least one African team had an automatic place assured in the World Cup: this was put in place for the 1970 FIFA World Cup, and all subsequent World Cup finals. Players from the Portuguese African colonies of Angola and Mozambique participated for Portugal.
North Korea–United Kingdom relations The United Kingdom, which had fought for South Korea in the Korean War, was concerned over the entry of North Korea in the tournament. The UK did not recognise North Korea and feared that its presence would strain relations with South Korea and the United States. FIFA told England's Football Association that the tournament would be moved if any qualified team were to be refused entry.
On the suggestion of the British Foreign Office, the playing of national anthems, and meetings between players and state figures such as Queen Elizabeth II, would take place in only two games: the opening game and the final. North Korea was not scheduled for the former, and was considered unlikely to reach the latter. A Foreign Office suggestion for flags outside stadiums to be removed after each team's elimination, in the expectation of an early North Korean exit, was vetoed by the Department of Education and Science.
Trophy incident 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 discovered wrapped in newspaper as the dog sniffed under bushes in a London garden.The Sunday Times Illustrated History of Football Reed International Books Limited. 1996. p.133 The FA commissioned a replica cup in case the original cup was not found in time. This replica, as well as Pickles' collar, is held at the National Football Museum in Manchester, where it is on display.
Doping West Germany encouraged and covered up a culture of doping across many sports for decades. A 2013 report by researchers at Berlin's Humboldt University on behalf of the German Olympic Sports Confederation, titled "Doping in Germany from 1950 to today", linked the West Germany national team of 1966, which reached the World Cup final, with doping.
Officiating issues and subsequent reforms While refereeing controversies are common in World Cup history, the 1966 tournament stands out because of the structural reforms it provoked. A series of violent matches and contentious dismissals led FIFA to introduce major changes to the Laws of the Game in the following tournament.
The tournament was marked by persistently rough play and inconsistent officiating. In their opening match, Brazilian star Pelé was repeatedly fouled and left the pitch injured after a strong tackle to the knee, forcing him to miss the subsequent match against Hungary. Upon returning for the final group stage clash with Portugal, Pelé suffered two heavy challenges from Portuguese defenders, most notably João Morais, that ended his tournament. Pelé departed on a stretcher, and Brazil exited the competition 3–1. Morais was allowed to remain on the pitch. No players were sent off in any of those games.
Further tension unfolded in the quarter-final between England and Argentina, when captain Antonio Rattín was controversially sent off by referee Rudolf Kreitlein for alleged "violence of the tongue." Rattín's refusal to immediately exit the field prompted a delay and police intervention, fuelling accusations of arbitrary officiating. In another quarter-final between West Germany and Uruguay, shortly after halftime, Uruguayan players Horacio Troche and Héctor Silva were both dismissed by English referee Jim Finney. Uruguay conceded 3 goals when reduced to nine men and South American media decried a pattern of European referee bias.
In light of these high-profile incidents, FIFA recognised the need for clearer disciplinary procedures and greater consistency in officiating. Ahead of the 1970 World Cup, the yellow and red card system was introduced, alongside the allowance of two substitutions per team and new efforts to standardise referee training and interpretations of the Laws of the Game.
Later accusations of matchfixing In 2008, Brazilian FIFA president from 1974 until 1998, João Havelange, accused this competition, along with the 1974 FIFA World Cup in West Germany for being fixed to benefit the host country. According to him Brazil deserved to win in both cases.
Format The format of the 1966 competition remained the same as in 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 and eventually drawing lots 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; but if still tied after the replay, the champion would have been decided by drawing lots. In the event, no replays or drawing of lots were necessary.
The draw for the final tournament took place on 6 January 1966 at the Royal Garden Hotel in London, and was the first to be televised. The seeded teams for the draw were England, West Germany, Brazil, and Italy.
Venues