England 1966 World Cup Finals

Travel Notes Directory

England Football Stadium
Football in England by Tim Bechervaise on Unsplash.

England - Hosted the eighth World Cup, in 1966.

The Ball is Round Football Index: World Cup Finals: England 1966.

England - Hosted the eighth World Cup, in 1966.

The star of the 1966 World Cup was undoubtedly Pickles; the dog who found the stolen Jules Rimet Trophy under a bush in South London.

Pelé was again the target of some physical attention in the opening games, as Brazil set out to make it three World Cup Final wins in a row.

World Cup History - England 1966

After beating Bulgaria (2:0), the Brazilians failed to get past the first-round group stage, losing to Hungary and newcomers Portugal.

Portugal, with Eusebio in the team, scored three goals in each of their first round games and came back from three goals down to beat the other surprise of the tournament, North Korea (5:3); thanks to four goals from Eusebio.

England, playing all their games at Wembley, didn't concede a goal until the semi-finals; against the sharp-shooting Portugal.

Geoff Hurst scored a hat-trick, in the final against West Germany, as England triumphed in a thrilling game watched by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II; (4:2) after extra-time.

The home side received the lost and found trophy from The Queen, and if Her Majesty wasn't a football fan before..... she is now.

16 Countries Competed at England 1966

Argentina Argentina
Group 2 (2:1) (0:0) (2:0); Quarter-finals (0:1).

Brazil Brazil
Group 3 (2:0) (1:3) (1:3).

Bulgaria Bulgaria
Group 3 (0:2) (0:3) (1:3).

Chile Chile
Group 4 (0:2) (1:1) (1:2).

England England
Group 1 (0:0) (2:0) (2:0); Quarter-finals (1:0); Semi-finals (2:1); Winner (4:2 aet).

France France
Group 1 (1:1) (1:2) (0:2).

Hungary Hungary
Group 3 (1:3) (3:1) (3:1); Quarter-finals (1:2).

Italy Italy
Group 4 (2:0) (0:1) (0:1).

Mexico Mexico
Group 1 (1:1) (0:2) (0:0).

North Korea North Korea
Group 4 (0:3) (1:1) (1:0); Quarter-finals (3:5).

Portugal Portugal
Group 3 (3:1) (3:0) (3:1); Quarter-finals (5:3); Semi-finals (1:2); Third place (2:1).

Spain Spain
Group 2 (1:2) (2:1) (1:2).

Switzerland Switzerland
Group 2 (0:5) (1:2) (0:2).

Uruguay Uruguay
Group 1 (0:0) (2:1) (0:0); Quarter-finals (0:4).

Russia USSR
Group 4 (3:0) (1:0) (2:1); Quarter-finals (2:1); Semi-finals (1:2); Third place (1:2).

Germany West Germany
Group 2 (5:0) (0:0) (2:1); Quarter-finals (4:0); Semi-finals (2:1); Finalist (2:4 aet).

First Round - Group Stage

Group 1

Played in London.

11th July
England vs Uruguay (0:0)

13th July
France vs Mexico (1:1)

15th July
Uruguay vs France (2:1)

16th July
England vs Mexico (2:0)

19th July
Uruguay vs Mexico (0:0)

20th July
England vs France (2:0)

England and Uruguay qualify for the quarter-finals.

Group 2

Played in Sheffield and Birmingham.

12th July
West Germany vs Switzerland (5:0)

13th July
Argentina vs Spain (2:1)

15th July
Spain vs Switzerland (2:1)

16th July
West Germany vs Argentina (0:0)

19th July
Argentina vs Switzerland (2:0)

20th July
West Germany vs Spain (2:1)

West Germany and Argentina qualify for the quarter-finals.

Group 3

Played in Liverpool and Manchester.

12th July
Brazil vs Bulgaria (2:0)

13th July
Portugal vs Hungary (3:1)

15th July
Hungary vs Brazil (3:1)

16th July
Portugal vs Bulgaria (3:0)

19th July
Portugal vs Brazil (3:1)

20th July
Hungary vs Bulgaria (3:1)

Portugal and Hungary qualify for the quarter-finals.

Group 4

Played in Middlesbrough and Sunderland.

12th July
USSR vs North Korea (3:0)

13th July
Italy vs Chile (2:0)

15th July
North Korea vs Chile (1:1)

16th July
USSR vs Italy (1:0)

19th July
North Korea vs Italy (1:0)

20th July
USSR vs Chile (2:1)

USSR and North Korea qualify for the quarter-finals.

Quarter-Finals - 23rd July, 1966

Liverpool: Portugal vs North Korea (5:3)

London: England vs Argentina (1:0)

Sheffield: West Germany vs Uruguay (4:0)

Sunderland: USSR vs Hungary (2:1)

Semi-Finals - 25/26 July, 1966

25th July
Liverpool: West Germany vs USSR (2:1)

26th July
London: England vs Portugal (2:1)

Third Place - 28th July, 1966

London: Portugal vs USSR (2:1)

1966 World Cup Final
30th July:
England vs West Germany (4:2 aet)
Wembley Stadium, London.

Appearances:
How many appearances each country has made in the World Cup Finals.

World Cup Finals

Uruguay 1930:
Uruguay trailed Argentina at half-time (1:2) but replied with three goals in the second half; to win the first ever World Cup Final (4-2) on July 30th, 1930.

Italy 1934:
Italy were one of the countries who missed out on the vote to host the first World Cup but managed to win the prestigious golden trophy for the home fans.

France 1938:
The third World Cup was held in Europe for a second time, although Germany had annexed Austria, and Spain was in civil turmoil.

Brazil 1950:
Although no cup-final as such, Uruguay and Brazil went into their final game with the winner guaranteed to be champions; a draw would be enough for Brazil.

Switzerland 1954:
The fifth World Cup tournament produced a record number of goals, including a 7:5 encounter between Austria and Switzerland in Lausanne.

Sweden 1958:
Brazil presented a 17 year-old Pele to the world; who went on to claim a hat-trick in Brazil's 5:2 semi-final win over France and bag another two in the final.

Chile 1962:
Czechoslovakia overcame Hungary in the quarter-finals and Yugoslavia in the semis, while Brazil took care of England and the host nation, Chile.

England 1966:
Geoff Hurst scored a hat-trick, in the final against West Germany, as England triumphed in a thrilling game watched by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II.

Mexico 1970:
1970 belonged to Pelé, who earned his third World Cup winners' medal when Brazil got their hands on the Jules Rimet Cup.... for keeps.

W. Germany 1974:
Johan Cruyff was the player of the tournament as total football became the buzzword of the day, even though Holland lost to West Germany in the 1974 final.

Argentina 1978:
Holland contested the 1978 World Cup Final, in Argentina, for the second time in a row. As in West Germany, they again finished runners-up; to the hosts.

Spain 1982:
The Spain 82 World Cup finals increased to 24 teams and the format was changed to have two group stages, with four second-round groups of three.

Mexico 1986:
In 1986, Mexico became the first nation to stage the World Cup Finals for a second time; having only staged the competition sixteen years previously.

Italy 1990:
In 1990, Italy became the World Cup of stalemates. Both semi-finals were drawn out through penalty kicks. In the final itself, the only goal came from the spot.

USA 1994:
Once Team US had played a few games most of the nation began to understand they were hosting the greatest show on earth and how the game was played.

France 1998:
France became the sixth nation to win the World Cup on home soil. Thirty-two teams competed in the 16th World Cup; better known as France 98.

Korea-Japan 2002:
The 17th World Cup, held in Korea and Japan, was the first World Cup finals to be shared by two hosts and the first to be held in Asia.

Germany 2006:
The 2006 World Cup Finals ran from 9th June to 9th July; the opening match in Munich and the final in Berlin. Munich and Dortmund hosted the semi-finals.

South Africa 2010:
Eighty years after the First World Cup Finals in Uruguay, the world's most prestigious football competition was finally hosted on the African continent.

Brazil 2014:
Five times World Cup Champions, Brazil, get a second chance to hold the prestigious World Cup Finals; 64 years after they last hosted the tournament.

Russia 2018:
VAR made its World Cup debut and set out to change the course of a game with some crucial rule infringement watching and vital on the spot decisions.

Qatar 2022:
When FIFA executives met in Zurich to decide on who would host the 2018 and 2022 World Cup Finals, Qatar was probably the biggest surprise to many.

United 2026:
The 2026 FIFA World Cup Finals will be jointly hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States. The United Bid won the hosting rights ahead of Morocco.

Travel Map More From Travel Notes

Travel Notes Online Guide to Travel

The Travel Notes Online Guide to Travel helps visitors plan their trip with country and city travel guides, local tourist information, reviewed web sites, and regular travel articles.

Become a Travel Guide on Meta-Travel Join Michel on Meta-Travel.

NextAirlines and Airports.


Add a Business Listing - Add a Destination - Add a Place to Stay - Add URL.

Cookies Travel Notes > Meta-Travel Tourism Association

About

Travel and Tourism promotion and online Destination Marketing.

Travel writers and photographers seeking to expand their local contacts and travel networks can easily connect with others interested in travel or living abroad.

Verified Members can even create and manage their own Social Group.

Listings

Owners with Business Listings on Meta-Travel can add events, embed videos, send out news to their registered fans, and encourage discussion in their own dedicated forum.

Lodging

All Accommodation Entries have their own integrated forum where owners can interact with fans. Potential guests can also make an inquiry direct from the lodging listing page.

Tourist Info

Add value to your destination by sharing cool travel tips about hot tourist attractions, places to visit and how to travel around your Favourite Places.

Travel Sites

Connecting some of the best Travel and Tourism websites and Travel Blogs with travel fans through social media channels on Facebook and Twitter.

If you find Travel Notes useful, please take a moment to like us on Facebook and share with your friends on social media.