1966 FIFA World Cup

Despite the Africans' absence, there was another new record number of entries for the qualifying tournament, with 70 nations taking part. After all the arguments, FIFA finally ruled that ten teams from Europe would qualify, along with four from South America, one from Asia and one from North and Central America.[4]

Portugal and North Korea qualified for the first time. Portugal would not qualify again until 1986, while North Korea's next appearance was at the 2010 tournament. This was also Switzerland's last World Cup finals until 1994. Notable absentees from this tournament included 1962 runners-up Czechoslovakia and semi-finalists Yugoslavia.[4][5]

Qualified teams

The following 16 teams qualified for the final tournament.[4]

AFC (1)  North Korea (debut) CAF (0) None participated OFC (0) None qualified

CONCACAF (1)  Mexico CONMEBOL (4)  Argentina  Brazil  Chile  Uruguay

UEFA (10)  Bulgaria  England (hosts)  France  Hungary  Italy  Portugal (debut)  Soviet Union  Spain   Switzerland  West Germany

Qualification for 1966 FIFA World Cup   FIFA members qualified for World Cup (including colonies)   FIFA members that failed to qualify   FIFA members that did not enter World Cup   Countries not members of FIFA in 1966

Official match ball for the 1966 FIFA World Cup produced by Slazenger

The mascot for the 1966 competition was "World Cup Willie", a 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.[6][7] The official match ball was produced by Slazenger for the tournament.[8]

Thirty-one African nations boycotted the tournament to protest 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, as they felt winning their zone was enough in itself to merit qualification. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) felt that the representation of African nations in the World Cup was unfair, and so they demanded that FIFA guarantee at least one African nation a spot in the finals of the following tournament. They also protested against the readmission of South Africa to FIFA in 1963, despite its expulsion from the CAF due to the Apartheid regime in 1958.[9][10] 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."[11]

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.[12] Despite this, after FIFA refused to change the qualifying format, the African teams decided anyway to pull out of the World Cup until at least one African team had an automatic place assured in the World Cup, something which was put in place for the 1970 FIFA World Cup and all subsequent World Cup finals.[9] The Portuguese African colonies of Angola and Mozambique participated for Portugal.[9][12]

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.[13][14]

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 only take place in two games: the opener 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.[13][14]

The 1966 World Cup had a rather unusual hero off the field, a dog called Pickles.[15] 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 later discovered wrapped in newspaper as the dog sniffed under some bushes in London.[16] 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.[17]

West Germany encouraged and covered up a culture of doping across many sports for decades.[18] 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.[19]

Wolfgang Weber (left) and Luis Artime during the match between West Germany and Argentina in Birmingham

1966 was a World Cup with few goals as the teams began to play much more tactically and defensively. This was exemplified by Alf Ramsey's England as they finished top of Group 1 with only four goals, but having none scored against them. They also became the first World Cup winning team not to win its first game in the tournament. Uruguay were the other team to qualify from that group at the expense of both Mexico and France. All the group's matches were played at Wembley Stadium apart from the match between Uruguay and France which took place at White City Stadium.

In Group 2, West Germany and Argentina qualified with ease as they both finished the group with 5 points, Spain managed 2, while Switzerland left the competition after losing all three group matches. FIFA cautioned Argentina for its violent style in the group games, particularly in the scoreless draw with West Germany, which saw Argentinean Rafael Albrecht get sent off and suspended for the next match.[24][25]

In the northwest of England, Old Trafford and Goodison Park played host to Group 3 which saw the two-time defending champions Brazil finish in third place behind Portugal and Hungary, and be eliminated along with Bulgaria. Brazil were defeated 3–1 by Hungary in a classic encounter before falling by the same scoreline to Portugal in a controversial game. Portugal appeared in the finals for the first time, and made quite an impact. They won all three of their games in the group stage, with a lot of help from their outstanding striker Eusébio, whose nine goals made him the tournament's top scorer.

Group 4, however, provided the biggest upset when North Korea beat Italy 1–0 at Ayresome Park, Middlesbrough and finished above them, thus earning qualification to the next round along with the Soviet Union. This was the first time that a nation from outside Europe or the Americas had progressed from the first stage of a World Cup: the next would be Morocco in 1986.

The quarter-finals provided a controversial victory for West Germany as they cruised past Uruguay 4–0; the South Americans claimed that this occurred only after the referee (who was Jim Finney, from England) had not recognised a handball by Schnellinger on the goal line and then had sent off two players from Uruguay: Horacio Troche and Héctor Silva.[26] It appeared as though the surprise package North Korea would claim another major upset in their match against Portugal at Goodison Park, when after 22 minutes they led 3–0. It fell to one of the greatest stars of the tournament, Eusébio, to change that. He scored four goals in the game and José Augusto added a fifth in the 78th minute to earn Portugal a 5–3 win.

Meanwhile, in the other two games, Ferenc Bene's late goal for Hungary against the Soviet Union, who were led by Lev Yashin's stellar goalkeeping, proved little more than a consolation as they crashed out 2–1, and the only goal between Argentina and England came courtesy of England's Geoff Hurst. During that controversial game (for more details see Argentina and England football rivalry), Argentina's Antonio Rattín became the first player to be sent off in a senior international football match at Wembley.[27] Rattín at first refused to leave the field and eventually had to be escorted by several policemen. Scoreless when Rattin was dismissed, the game was decided by Hurst's headed goal twelve minutes from the end of normal time. This game is called el robo del siglo (the robbery of the century) in Argentina.[28]

All semi-finalists were from Europe. The venue of the first semi-final between England and Portugal was changed from Goodison Park in Liverpool to Wembley, due to Wembley's larger capacity. This larger capacity was particularly significant during a time when ticket revenue was of crucial importance.[29] Bobby Charlton scored both goals in England's win, with Portugal's goal coming from a penalty in the 82nd minute after a handball by Jack Charlton on the goal line.[30][31] The other semi-final also finished 2–1: Franz Beckenbauer scoring the winning goal with a left foot shot from the edge of the area for West Germany as they beat the Soviet Union.[32]

Portugal went on to beat the Soviet Union 2–1 to take third place. Portugal's third place was the best finish by a team making its World Cup debut since 1934. It was equalled by Croatia in 1998.

London's Wembley Stadium was the venue for the final, and 98,000 people attended. After 12 minutes 32 seconds Helmut Haller put West Germany ahead, but the score was levelled by Geoff Hurst four minutes later. Martin Peters put England in the lead in the 78th minute; England looked set to claim the title when the referee awarded a free kick to West Germany with one minute left. The ball was launched goalward and Wolfgang Weber scored, with England appealing in vain for handball as the ball came through the crowded penalty area.[33]

Elizabeth II presents the Jules Rimet Trophy to England's team captain Bobby Moore.

With the score level at 2–2 at the end of 90 minutes, the game went to extra time. In the 98th minute, Hurst found himself on the scoresheet again; his shot hit the crossbar, bounced down onto the goal line, and was awarded as a goal. Debate has long raged over whether the ball crossed the line, with the goal becoming part of World Cup history.[34] England's final goal was scored by Hurst again, as a celebratory pitch invasion began. This made Geoff Hurst the first player to have scored three times in a single World Cup final.[33] BBC commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme's description of the match's closing moments has gone down in history: "Some people are on the pitch. They think it's all over ... [Hurst scores] It is now!"[35]

England's total of eleven goals scored in six games set a new record low for average goals per game scored by a World Cup winning team. The record stood until 1982, when it was surpassed by Italy's 12 goals in seven games; in 2010 this record was lowered again by Spain, winning the Cup with eight goals in seven games. England's total of three goals conceded also constituted a record low for average goals per game conceded by a World Cup winning team. That record stood until 1994, when it was surpassed by Brazil's three goals in seven games. France again lowered the record to two goals in seven during the 1998 tournament, a record that has since been equalled by Italy at the 2006 tournament and by Spain's two goals conceded during the 2010 tournament.

England received the recovered Jules Rimet trophy from Queen Elizabeth II and were crowned World Cup winners for the first time.[33]

In this World Cup, the national anthems were played only in the final. They were not played in the earlier matches because the organisers (FIFA and the FA) feared that North Korea's presence – a socialist country that was not recognised by the United Kingdom – in the World Cup would cause problems with South Korea. A memo from the Foreign Office months before the finals began stated that the solution would be "denying the visas to North Korean players".[36] The final, held at Wembley Stadium, was the last to be broadcast in black and white.[37]