View source for 1966 FIFA World Cup final

{{Short description|World Cup final, held in England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Infobox football match
|            title = 1966 FIFA World Cup final
|            image =
|        imagesize = 300px
|          caption = 
|            team1 = [[England national football team|England]]
| team1association = {{flagdeco|ENG|size=30px}}
|       team1score = 4
|            team2 = [[Germany national football team|West Germany]]
| team2association = {{flagdeco|FRG|size=30px}}
|       team2score = 2
|          details = After [[Overtime (sports)#Association football|extra time]]
|             date = 30 July 1966
|          stadium = [[Wembley Stadium (1923)|Wembley Stadium]]
|             city = London
|          referee = [[Gottfried Dienst]] ([[Swiss Football Association|Switzerland]])
|       attendance = 96,924
|          weather = {{convert|20|°C|°F}}<ref>{{cite web | last=Binding | first=Lucia | title=Is it an omen? Weather conditions at Wembley predicted to be similar to 1966 World Cup final | website=Sky News | date=9 July 2021 | url=https://news.sky.com/story/is-it-an-omen-weather-conditions-at-wembley-predicted-to-be-similar-to-1966-world-cup-final-12352536#:~:text=Met%20Office%20meteorologist%20Greg%20Dewhurst,were%20a%20few%20showers%20around.%22 | access-date=18 May 2024}}</ref>
|         previous = [[1962 FIFA World Cup final|1962]]
|             next = [[1970 FIFA World Cup final|1970]]
}}
The '''1966 FIFA World Cup final''' was a [[association football|football]] match played at [[Wembley Stadium (1923)|Wembley Stadium]] in London on 30 July 1966 to determine the winner of the [[1966 FIFA World Cup]], the eighth [[FIFA World Cup]].<ref>[https://www.fifa.com/tournaments/mens/worldcup/1966england "Hurst the hero for England in the home of football"]. FIFA. Retrieved 11 November 2014</ref> The match was contested by [[England national football team|England]] and [[Germany national football team|West Germany]], with England winning 4–2 [[Overtime (sports)#Association football|after extra time]] to claim the [[Jules Rimet Trophy]]. It was the first – and to date only – occasion that England has hosted or won the World Cup.

West Germany took the lead in the 11th minute when [[Helmut Haller]] shot the ball into the bottom left corner when an English defender failed to clear the ball, before [[Geoff Hurst]] equalized with a header to make it 1–1, assisting a teammate who took a free kick. The score remained level by halftime until England took the lead with a 78th minute goal from [[Martin Peters]] (who was the only player to be booked during the match). England almost won by full time before West German player, [[Wolfgang Weber]], scored a 2–2 equaliser in the 90th minute. The game went into extra time, in which Geoff Hurst scored a controversial goal in the 101st minute to make the score 3–2 after the first 15 minutes of extra time, until Hurst scored again in the final minute to complete his hat-trick, ending the game 4–2 after the extra 30 minutes. He was the only man to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final until [[Kylian Mbappé]] did so in [[2022 FIFA World Cup final|2022]].

The match is remembered for England's only World Cup and first and only major international title, Hurst's [[hat-trick]] – the first scored in a FIFA World Cup final – and the dubious third goal awarded to England by referee [[Gottfried Dienst]] and linesman [[Tofiq Bahramov]]. 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.fifa.com/news/y=2007/m=4/news=alf-ramsey-england-anonymous-hero-510253.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151009172804/http://www.fifa.com/news/y=2007/m=4/news=alf-ramsey-england-anonymous-hero-510253.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=9 October 2015 |title=Alf Ramsey&nbsp;– England's Anonymous Hero |publisher=FIFA |access-date=28 January 2013}}</ref>

In addition to an attendance of 96,924 at the stadium, the British television audience peaked at 32.3&nbsp;million viewers, making it the [[List of most watched television broadcasts in the United Kingdom#Most watched special events|United Kingdom's most-watched television event ever]].<ref name="record television"/><ref>{{cite news |title=A riot of colour, emotion and memories: the World Cup stands alone in the field of sport|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup/world-cup-russia-2018-preview-lionel-messi-ronaldo-italia-90-98-england-brazil-germany-france-a8392211.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup/world-cup-russia-2018-preview-lionel-messi-ronaldo-italia-90-98-england-brazil-germany-france-a8392211.html |archive-date=1 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=20 August 2018 |work=The Independent}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

== Road to the final ==
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.

{| style="width:100%;text-align:center"
|- style="vertical-align:top;background:#9cf"
!colspan=2 style="width:1*"|{{fb|ENG}}
!Round
!colspan=2 style="width:1*"|{{fb|FRG}}
|- style="vertical-align:top;background:#c1e0ff"
|Opponent
|Result
|Group stage
|Opponent
|Result
|-
|{{fb|URU}}
|[[1966 FIFA World Cup Group 1#England vs Uruguay|0–0]]
|style="background:#c1e0ff"|Match 1
|{{fb|SUI}}
|[[1966 FIFA World Cup Group 2#West Germany vs Switzerland|5–0]]
|-
|{{fb|MEX|1934}}
|[[1966 FIFA World Cup Group 1#England vs Mexico|2–0]]
|style="background:#c1e0ff"|Match 2
|{{fb|ARG}}
|[[1966 FIFA World Cup Group 2#Argentina vs West Germany|0–0]]
|-
|{{fb|FRA}}
|[[1966 FIFA World Cup Group 1#England vs France|2–0]]
|style="background:#c1e0ff"|Match 3
|{{fb|ESP|1945}}
|[[1966 FIFA World Cup Group 2#West Germany vs Spain|2–1]]
|-
|colspan="2" style="text-align:center"|'''[[1966 FIFA World Cup Group 1|Group 1]] winner'''
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
!width="190"|Team
!width="20"|{{Tooltip|Pld|Played}}
!width="20"|{{Tooltip|W|Won}}
!width="20"|{{Tooltip|D|Drawn}}
!width="20"|{{Tooltip|L|Lost}}
!width="20"|{{Tooltip|GF|Goals for}}
!width="20"|{{Tooltip|GA|Goals against}}
!width="20"|{{Tooltip|GD|Goal difference}}
!width="20"|{{Tooltip|Pts|Points}}
|- style="background:#cfc"
|align=left|'''{{fb|ENG}}'''
|3||2||1||0||4||0||+4||'''5'''
|- style="background:#cfc"
|align=left|{{fb|URU}}
|3||1||2||0||2||1||+1||'''4'''
|-
|align=left|{{fb|MEX|1934}}
|3||0||2||1||1||3||−2||'''2'''
|-
|align=left|{{fb|FRA}}
|3||0||1||2||2||5||−3||'''1'''
|}
|style="background:#c1e0ff"|Final group standings
|colspan="2" style="text-align:center"|'''[[1966 FIFA World Cup Group 2|Group 2]] winner'''
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
!width="190"|Team
!width="20"|{{Tooltip|Pld|Played}}
!width="20"|{{Tooltip|W|Won}}
!width="20"|{{Tooltip|D|Drawn}}
!width="20"|{{Tooltip|L|Lost}}
!width="20"|{{Tooltip|GF|Goals for}}
!width="20"|{{Tooltip|GA|Goals against}}
!width="20"|{{Tooltip|GD|Goal difference}}
!width="20"|{{Tooltip|Pts|Points}}
|- style="background:#cfc"
|align=left|'''{{fb|FRG}}'''
|3||2||1||0||7||1||+6||'''5'''
|- style="background:#cfc"
|align=left|{{fb|ARG}}
|3||2||1||0||4||1||+3||'''5'''
|-
|align=left|{{fb|ESP|1945}}
|3||1||0||2||4||5||-1||'''2'''
|-
|align=left|{{fb|SUI}}
|3||0||0||3||1||9||−8||'''0'''
|}
|- style="vertical-align:top;background:#c1e0ff"
|Opponent
|Result
||[[1966 FIFA World Cup knockout stage|Knockout stage]]
|Opponent
|Result
|-
|{{fb|ARG}}
|[[1966 FIFA World Cup knockout stage#England v Argentina|1–0]]
|style="background:#c1e0ff"|Quarter-finals
|{{fb|URU}}
|[[1966 FIFA World Cup knockout stage#West Germany v Uruguay|4–0]]
|-
|{{fb|POR}}
|[[1966 FIFA World Cup knockout stage#England v Portugal|2–1]]
|style="background:#c1e0ff"|Semi-finals
|{{fb|URS}}
|[[1966 FIFA World Cup knockout stage#West Germany v Soviet Union|2–1]]
|}

== Match ==

===Summary===

====Normal time====
[[File:England germany entering pitch (better quality).jpg|thumb|right|200px|Both teams entering the pitch in front of 96,924 fans]]
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 (English footballer)|Ray Wilson]] misheaded to [[Helmut Haller]], who got his shot on target. [[Jack Charlton]] and goalkeeper [[Gordon Banks]] failed to deal with the shot which went in, making it 1–0 to West Germany.

[[File:Wembley_Stadium_Twin_Towers.jpg|thumb|left|The original Wembley Stadium with its famous twin towers]]
In the 18th minute, [[Wolfgang Overath]] conceded a free kick, which Moore took immediately, floating a cross into the West German area, where [[Geoff Hurst]] rose unchallenged; his downward glancing header went into the net and levelled the scores at 1-1. The teams were level at half-time, and after 77&nbsp;minutes England won a corner. [[Alan Ball Jr.|Alan Ball]] delivered the ball to Geoff Hurst whose deflected shot from the edge of the area found [[Martin Peters]]. He produced the final shot, beating the West German keeper from eight yards to make the score 2–1 to England.<ref name="guardian_live">{{cite web |first1=Rob |last1=Smyth |first2=Scott |last2=Murray |title=World Cup final 1966: England v West Germany – live! |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/may/30/world-cup-final-1966-england-west-germany-live |work=The Guardian|publisher=Guardian News and Media|date=30 May 2014}}</ref>

Germany pressed for an equaliser in the closing moments, and in the 89th minute [[Jack Charlton]] conceded a free kick for climbing on [[Uwe Seeler]] as they both went up for a header.<ref name="guardian_live"/> The kick was taken by [[Lothar Emmerich]], who struck it into [[George Cohen]] in the wall; the rebound fell to Held, who shot across the face of goal and into the body of [[Karl-Heinz Schnellinger]]. The ball deflected across the England six-yard box, wrong-footing the England defence and allowing [[Wolfgang Weber]] to level the score at 2–2 and force the match into extra time. Banks protested that the ball had struck Schnellinger on the arm, and reiterated the claim in his 2002 autobiography,<ref>{{cite book |last=Banks |first=Gordon |title=Banksy |publisher=Penguin Books |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-7181-4582-8 |page=136 }}</ref> but replays showed that it actually struck Schnellinger on the back.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Glanville |first1=Brian |title=The Story of the World Cup |publisher=Faber and Faber |location=London |year=2010 |orig-year=1973 |isbn=978-0-571-23605-3 |page=154 }}</ref>

====Extra time====
[[File:Ghost Goal World Cup 1966.jpg|thumb|Geoff Hurst's "[[Ghost goal|Wembley Goal]]"]]
England pressed forward and created several chances. In particular, with five minutes gone, Bobby Charlton struck the post and sent another shot just wide. With 11 minutes of extra time gone, Alan Ball put in a cross and Geoff Hurst swivelled and shot from close range. The ball hit the underside of the crossbar, bounced down and was cleared. The referee Gottfried Dienst was uncertain if it had been a goal and consulted his linesman, [[Tofiq Bahramov]] from [[Azerbaijan]] in the USSR, who indicated that it was, and the Swiss referee awarded the goal to the home team. The crowd and the audience of 400&nbsp;million television viewers were left arguing whether the goal should have been given or not. The crossbar is now on display as part of the Wembley Stadium tour.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-36766487 |title=Sir Geoff Hurst's 1966 England World Cup final shirt goes unsold |publisher=BBC |date=12 July 2016 |access-date=16 January 2025}}</ref> England's [[Ghost goal#1966 World Cup Final|third goal has remained controversial]] ever since the match. According to the [[Laws of the Game (association football)|Laws of the Game]] the definition of a [[Scoring in association football|goal]] is when "the whole of the ball passes over the goal line".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.fifa.com/en/laws/Laws10_01.htm |archive-date=23 May 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070523172940/http://www.fifa.com/en/laws/Laws10_01.htm |title=Law 10 – The Method of Scoring |publisher=FIFA |url-status=dead |access-date=31 January 2019}}</ref> English supporters cited the good position of the linesman and the statement of Roger Hunt, the nearest England player to the ball, who claimed it was a goal and that was why he wheeled away in celebration rather than attempting to tap the rebounding ball in. Modern studies using film analysis and computer simulation have shown that the whole ball never crossed the line – only 50% did. Both Duncan Gillies of the Visual Information Processing Group at [[Imperial College London]] and Ian Reid and Andrew Zisserman of the Department of Engineering Science at [[University of Oxford]] have stated that the ball would have needed to travel a further {{convert|18|±|4|cm|in|abbr=on}} to fully cross the line.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Reid |first1=Ian |last2=Zisserman |first2=Andrew |year=1996 |title=Goal-directed Video Metrology |journal=[[European Conference on Computer Vision|Proceedings of the 4th European Conference on Computer Vision]] |volume=II |pages=647–658 |location=New York City |publisher=[[Springer Nature|Springer]] |editor1-last=Cipolla |editor1-first=R. |editor2-last=Buxton |editor2-first=B. |id=[[LNCS]] 1065 |access-date=19 May 2012 |url=http://www.robots.ox.ac.uk/~vgg/publications/papers/reid96.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120302225512/http://www.robots.ox.ac.uk/~vgg/publications/papers/reid96.pdf |archive-date=2 March 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Some Germans cited possible bias of the Soviet linesman,<ref>{{cite web |author=Ken Jones |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football-it-is-possible-to-forget-that-englands-overall-world-cup-record-is-nothing-much-to-shout-about-1286782.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football-it-is-possible-to-forget-that-englands-overall-world-cup-record-is-nothing-much-to-shout-about-1286782.html |archive-date=1 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Football: It is possible to forget that England's overall World Cup record is nothing much to shout about |work=[[The Independent]] |date=4 December 1997 |access-date=21 June 2012}}{{cbignore}}</ref> especially as the USSR had just been defeated in the semi-finals by West Germany.<ref name="chant">{{cite web |url=http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/67/world-cup/2010/06/26/1996411/two-world-wars-one-world-cup-and-the-achtung-chaos-the |title=Two World Wars, One World Cup And The 'Achtung!' Chaos&nbsp;– The Complex And Violent History of England Vs Germany |publisher=Goal.com |first=Graham |last=Lister |date=26 June 2010 |access-date=21 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100628041313/http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/67/world-cup/2010/06/26/1996411/two-world-wars-one-world-cup-and-the-achtung-chaos-the |archive-date=28 June 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

One minute before the end of play, the West Germans sent their defenders forward in a desperate attempt to score a last-minute equaliser. Winning the ball, Bobby Moore picked out the unmarked Geoff Hurst with a long pass, which Hurst carried forward while some spectators began streaming onto the field and Hurst, as he later revealed, decided that, if he was not going to score, he needed to boot the ball as far as possible, to prevent Germany getting back up.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Michael |first1=Cox |title=Geoff Hurst in 1966 World Cup final: this performance was about much more than just goals |url=https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/3755982/2022/12/11/geoff-hurst-1966-world-cup-final/ |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=27 May 2024 |date=11 December 2022}}</ref> The ball instead went straight to the top corner of [[Hans Tilkowski]]'s net, sealing a historic hat-trick and winning the World Cup for England.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/p/cg/eng_frg_1966.html |title=1966: England&nbsp;– Federal Republic of Germany |access-date=7 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070208113916/http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/p/cg/eng_frg_1966.html |archive-date=8 February 2007}}</ref> The goal gave rise to one of the most famous calls in English football history, when [[BBC]] commentator [[Kenneth Wolstenholme]] described the situation as follows:

{{cquote|"And here comes Hurst. He's got... some people are on the pitch, [[they think it's all over]]. It is now! It's four!"<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/3020805/Class-of-66-pay-tribute-to-voice-of-football.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/3020805/Class-of-66-pay-tribute-to-voice-of-football.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Class of '66 pay tribute to voice of football |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |date=26 March 2002}}{{cbignore}}</ref>}}

One of the balls from the final is on display in the [[National Football Museum]] in [[Manchester]].

===Details===
<section begin=Final />{{Football box
|date={{Start date|1966|7|30|df=y}}
|time=15:00 [[British Summer Time|BST]]
|team1={{fb-rt|ENG}}
|score={{score link|1966 FIFA World Cup knockout stage#Final|4–2|1966 FIFA World Cup final}}
|aet=yes
|team2={{fb|FRG}}
|goals1=
*[[Geoff Hurst|Hurst]] {{goal|18||101||120}}
*[[Martin Peters|Peters]] {{goal|78}}
|goals2=
*[[Helmut Haller|Haller]] {{goal|12}}
*[[Wolfgang Weber|Weber]] {{goal|89}}
|stadium=[[Wembley Stadium (1923)|Wembley Stadium]], [[London]]
|attendance=96,924
|referee=[[Gottfried Dienst]] ([[Swiss Football Association|Switzerland]])
|report=<ref group="Report">{{multiref | {{cite web |url=https://www.fifa.com/en/match-centre/match/17/26/3478/1633 |title=England vs Germany FR {{!}} Final {{!}} 1966 FIFA World Cup England |publisher=[[FIFA]] |access-date=1 May 2026}} | {{cite web |url=http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/matches/round=3478/match=1633/index.html |title=1966 FIFA World Cup England – Matches – England v Germany FR |publisher=[[FIFA]] |access-date=1 May 2026 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171210010013/http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/matches/round=3478/match=1633/index.html |archive-date=10 December 2017}} }}</ref>
}}<section end="Final" />

<section begin=Lineups />
{| style="width:92%"
|-
|{{Football kit
| pattern_la =
| pattern_b  =
| pattern_ra =
| leftarm    = DD0000
| body       = DD0000
| rightarm   = DD0000
| shorts     = FFFFFF
| socks      = DD0000
| title      = England
}}
|{{Football kit
| pattern_la = _blackborder
| pattern_b  = _vneckblack
| pattern_ra = _blackborder
| leftarm    = FFFFFF
| body       = FFFFFF
| rightarm   = FFFFFF
| shorts     = 000000
| socks      = FFFFFF
| title      = West Germany
}}
|}

{| style="width:100%"
|-
|style="vertical-align:top;width:50%"|
{| style="font-size:90%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"
|-
!width="25"| !!width="25"|
|-
|GK ||'''1''' ||[[Gordon Banks]]
|-
|RB ||'''2''' ||[[George Cohen]]
|-
|CB ||'''5''' ||[[Jack Charlton]]
|-
|CB ||'''6''' ||[[Bobby Moore]] ([[Captain (association football)|c]])
|-
|LB ||'''3''' ||[[Ray Wilson (English footballer)|Ray Wilson]]
|-
|DM ||'''4''' ||[[Nobby Stiles]]
|-
|RM ||'''7''' ||[[Alan Ball Jr.|Alan Ball]]
|-
|AM ||'''9''' ||[[Bobby Charlton]]
|-
|LM ||'''16'''||[[Martin Peters]] || {{yel|20}}
|-
|CF ||'''10'''||[[Geoff Hurst]]
|-
|CF ||'''21'''||[[Roger Hunt]]
|-
|colspan=4|'''Manager:'''
|-
|colspan="4"|[[Alf Ramsey]]
|}
|valign="top"|[[File:ENG-FRG 1966-07-30.svg|300px]]
|style="vertical-align:top;width:50%"|
{| cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="font-size:90%;margin:auto"
|-
!width="25"| !!width="25"|
|-
|GK ||'''1''' ||[[Hans Tilkowski]]
|-
|RB ||'''2''' ||[[Horst-Dieter Höttges]]
|-
|CB ||'''5''' ||[[Willi Schulz]]
|-
|CB ||'''6''' ||[[Wolfgang Weber]]
|-
|LB ||'''3''' ||[[Karl-Heinz Schnellinger]]
|-
|CM ||'''4''' ||[[Franz Beckenbauer]]
|-
|CM ||'''12'''||[[Wolfgang Overath]]
|-
|RF ||'''8''' ||[[Helmut Haller]]
|-
|CF ||'''9''' ||[[Uwe Seeler]] ([[Captain (association football)|c]])
|-
|CF ||'''10'''||[[Sigfried Held]]
|-
|LF ||'''11'''||[[Lothar Emmerich]]
|-
|colspan=4|'''Manager:'''
|-
|colspan="4"|[[Helmut Schön]]
|}
|}

{| style="width:100%;font-size:90%"
|-
|style="width:50%;vertical-align:top"|
'''Officials'''
* Linesman: [[Tofiq Bahramov]] ([[Football Federation of the Soviet Union|Soviet Union]])
* Linesman: [[Karol Galba]] ([[Czechoslovak Football Association|Czechoslovakia]])
<includeonly>|}</includeonly><section end=Lineups />
|style="width:50%;vertical-align:top"|
'''Match rules'''
* 90&nbsp;minutes
* 30&nbsp;minutes of [[extra time]] if necessary
* Replay if scores still level:
** 19:30 BST, Tuesday, 2 August 1966
** Wembley Stadium, London
* No [[Substitute (football)|substitutions]] permitted
|}

==Aftermath==
===Champions photograph and statue===
[[File:Bobby Charlton holding the Jules Rimet trophy after winning the 1966 FIFA World Cup with England.png|thumb|The iconic image which became the basis for the sculpture below.]]
One of the enduring images of the celebrations in Wembley immediately after the game was the picture of the captain [[Bobby Moore]] holding the Jules Rimet Trophy aloft, on the shoulders of Geoff Hurst and Ray Wilson, together with Martin Peters. In recognition of Moore and other [[West Ham United F.C.|West Ham United]] players' contribution to the win, the club and Newham Borough Council jointly commissioned a statue of this scene.

[[File:Champions statue.jpg|thumb|The ''[[World Cup Sculpture]]'' featuring Moore with the World Cup trophy, on the shoulders of [[Geoff Hurst]] and [[Ray Wilson (English footballer)|Ray Wilson]], together with [[Martin Peters]]]]
On 28 April 2003, the then [[Prince Andrew]], as president of [[The Football Association]], duly unveiled the ''[[World Cup Sculpture]]'' (also called ''The Champions'') in a prominent place near West Ham's ground, at the time, the [[Boleyn Ground]], at the junction of [[A124|Barking Road]] and [[Green Street, London|Green Street]]. The {{convert|4|metre|feet|adj=on|order=flip}}-high bronze piece was sculpted by [[Philip Jackson (sculptor)|Philip Jackson]] and weighed 4 tonnes.<ref name=BBC28Apr2003>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/2982419.stm |title=World Cup tribute unveiled |work=BBC News |date=28 April 2003 |access-date=5 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060203095221/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/2982419.stm |archive-date=3 February 2006}}</ref><ref name="4metre">{{cite news | url=http://www.newham.com/live/attractions/champions_sculpture/33,10,0,0.html | title=Champions Sculpture | work=newham.com | access-date=15 August 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150610214546/http://www.newham.com/live/attractions/champions_sculpture/33,10,0,0.html | archive-date=10 June 2015 | url-status=dead | df=dmy-all }}</ref>

===Cultural impact===
====Broadcasting and viewership====
[[File:Eng1966 football shirt.jpeg|thumb|Replica of the England shirt worn for the final. In a 2019 poll it was voted England's greatest ever shirt.<ref>{{cite news |title=England 1966 World Cup kit voted the greatest of all time by fans |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/best-worst-football-kits-shirts-england-1966-world-cup-bobby-charlton-a8936411.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/best-worst-football-kits-shirts-england-1966-world-cup-bobby-charlton-a8936411.html |archive-date=1 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=7 October 2021 |work=The Independent}}{{cbignore}}</ref>]]
[[File:Close-up of the ball from the 1966 World Cup Final (3302542219).jpg|thumb|The [[Slazenger]] ball used in the final, [[National Football Museum]], Manchester]]
The final is the [[List of most watched television broadcasts in the United Kingdom#Most watched special events|most watched event ever on British television]], as of July 2021, attracting 32.30&nbsp;million viewers.<ref name="record television">[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16671101 "Tracking 30 years of TV's most watched programmes"]. BBC. Retrieved 16 July 2021</ref>

====Influence====
In Germany, a goal resulting from a shot bouncing off the crossbar and hitting the line is called a ''Wembley-Tor'' (Wembley Goal) due to the controversial nature of Hurst's second goal.<ref name="Williams">{{cite book |last1=Williams |first1=Tom |title=Do You Speak Football?: A Glossary of Football Words and Phrases from Around the World |date=2018 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |page=114}}</ref> This goal has been parodied many times. Some of the most notable include:

* England's third goal was referenced in a 2006 [[Adidas]] advertisement, where English midfielder [[Frank Lampard]] takes a shot at German keeper [[Manuel Neuer]], and a similar event happens.<ref name="Williams"/> On 27 June 2010 at [[2010 World Cup|that year's World Cup]] a similar goal by Lampard was wrongly disallowed (TV replays showed the ball landing past the goal line before bouncing away) which would have levelled the second-round game against Germany 2–2 (Germany won 4–1).<ref>{{cite news |title=World Cup 2014: GLT, vanishing spray, Caxirola & Brazucas |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/27769533 |access-date=3 November 2020 |agency=BBC}}</ref>
* [[Kenneth Wolstenholme]]'s commentary on the third goal that bounced on the line, "It's a goal!" was used (along with the sound of breaking glass) in the tape-looped coda of an early version of [[The Beatles]]' song "[[Glass Onion (song)|Glass Onion]]", available on the album ''[[Anthology 3]]''.<ref>[http://www.jpgr.co.uk/pcsp729.html Anthology 3 – The Beatles] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021029020252/http://www.jpgr.co.uk/pcsp729.html |date=29 October 2002 }}</ref>

In August 1966 a [[England Winners stamp|special 4d stamp]] marked <small>ENGLAND WINNERS</small> was issued by the [[Royal Mail]] to celebrate the victory. It soared in value to up to 15 shillings each on the back of public enthusiasm for the victory before falling back in value when the public realised it was not rare.<ref>''Stanley Gibbons Great Britain Concise Stamp Catalogue''. 23rd edition. [[Stanley Gibbons]], London & Ringwood, 2008, p.60. {{ISBN|0-85259-677-4}}</ref><ref>[http://www.bfdc.co.uk/products/1966_england_winners.html "1966 England Winners"]. BFDC.co.uk. Retrieved 3 November 2020.</ref>

The World Cup win features in the song "[[Three Lions (song)|Three Lions]]" (known by its chorus "Football's Coming Home"), the unofficial anthem of the England football team.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/jul/05/its-coming-home-england-meme-world-cup|title='It's coming home': England are winning the meme World Cup|newspaper=The Guardian|date=5 July 2018|access-date=7 July 2018}}</ref> England's win in the final also helped fans to create the "[[Two World Wars and One World Cup]]" chant.<ref name="chant"/>

===Belated presentations===
Haller collected the match ball after the final whistle, conforming to a German tradition that the losing team keeps the ball.<ref name="Simpson2013"/> In the build-up to [[Euro 96]] in England, English [[tabloid newspaper]]s suggested that a British tradition ought to apply, of giving the match ball to the scorer of a hat trick. A consortium of ''[[Daily Mirror]]'', [[Virgin Group]], and [[Eurostar]] paid Haller £80,000 for the ball and arranged a photo shoot at which he symbolically presented it to Hurst.<ref name="Simpson2013">{{cite book |last1=Simpson |first1=Paul |last2=Hesse |first2=Uli |title=Who Invented the Stepover?: and other crucial football conundrums |date=7 November 2013 |publisher=Profile Books |isbn=978-1-84765-842-5 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sQecAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA117 |language=en |chapter=Why didn't hat-trick Hurst get the 1966 World Cup final matchball?}}</ref><ref name="Lines20210426">{{cite news |last1=Lines |first1=Andy |title=How the Daily Mirror saved the 1966 World Cup final ball from a German cellar |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/how-daily-mirror-saved-1966-23986311 |access-date=10 April 2024 |work=The Mirror |date=26 April 2021 |language=en}}</ref> The ball was then displayed in [[Waterloo International railway station|Waterloo Eurostar terminal]], where Hurst and Haller's signatures faded in the sunlight.<ref name="Simpson2013"/> It was subsequently lent to the [[National Football Museum]] in Manchester.<ref name="Simpson2013"/><ref name="Lines20210426"/><ref>{{cite web |title=World Cup Final Football, 1966 |url=https://www.nationalfootballmuseum.com/collections_detail/world-cup-final-football-1966/ |website=National Football Museum |access-date=10 April 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Moore |first1=Kevin |title=Museums and Popular Culture |date=1 April 2000 |publisher=A&C Black |isbn=978-0-7185-0227-0 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pCLUAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA106 |language=en |chapter=It's coming home, it's coming home, ''this'' footballs coming home |pages=106–134}}</ref>

From [[1930 FIFA World Cup|1930]] to [[1974 FIFA World Cup|1974]], only those who played in the Final received World Cup winners' medals.<ref name="bbc8093891">{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/8093891.stm |title=World Cup 1966 winners honoured |date=10 June 2009 |work=BBC News |access-date=10 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090612032102/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/8093891.stm |archive-date=12 June 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref> In the 2000s [[FIFA]] retrospectively awarded medals to the other players and staff of each winning squad.<ref name="bbc8093891"/> Medals were presented at a ceremony at [[10 Downing Street]] in London on 10 June 2009 to the relevant members of [[England 1966 FIFA World Cup squad|England's 1966 squad]], or representatives in the case of those, such as manager Ramsey, who had died.<ref name="bbc8093891"/>

==See also==
* [[England–Germany football rivalry]]
* [[Ghost goal]]
* [[Sixty Six (film)|''Sixty Six'' (film)]], a 2006 film about the match
*[[England at the FIFA World Cup]]
*[[Germany at the FIFA World Cup]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Reports===
{{reflist|group=Report}}

==Bibliography==
{{commons category}} 
* {{cite book |last1=Hamilton |first1=Duncan |title=Answered Prayers: England and the 1966 World Cup |year=2023 |publisher=Quercus Publishing |location=United Kingdom| isbn=9781529419986}}

{{1966 FIFA World Cup}}
{{FIFA World Cup}}
{{England national football team matches}}
{{Germany national football team matches}}
{{London history}}<!--Please don't classify by broadcaster as it is shown by many broadcasters around the world. Which channel it happens to be broadcast on is not one of its defining characteristics. Classifying under all of them would be category clutter, and categorizing it under an American channel only is U.S.-centric.-->

{{DEFAULTSORT:1966 Fifa World Cup Final}}
[[Category:FIFA World Cup finals]]
[[Category:Men's international association football finals in Europe]]
[[Category:1966 FIFA World Cup|Final]]
[[Category:1966 in sport in London|Fifa World Cup Final, 1966]]
[[Category:England national football team matches]]
[[Category:Germany national football team matches]]
[[Category:Sports events at Wembley Stadium]]
[[Category:West Germany at the 1966 FIFA World Cup|Germany at the 1966 FIFA World Cup]]
[[Category:England at the 1966 FIFA World Cup|Final]]
[[Category:FIFA World Cup controversies|Final]]
[[Category:1966 controversies|FIFA World Cup Final]]
[[Category:England–Germany football rivalry]]
[[Category:Football matches in London|1966]]
[[Category:Men's football finals in England|1966]]
[[Category:July 1966 sports events in the United Kingdom|FIFA World Cup Final]]
[[Category:United Kingdom–West Germany relations]]