Every FIFA World Cup Winner Ranked From Worst To Best

“They think it’s all over… It is now!” proclaimed Kenneth Wolstenholme. Referring to England’s fourth and final goal in the 4-2 victory over West Germany, he could have easily been referring to England’s chances of winning further World Cups, with 1966 remaining England’s sole World Cup triumph.

England, managed by Alf Ramsey, had topped a difficult group of France, Uruguay and Mexico, before beating Argentina and Eusebio’s Portugal to line up a final with West Germany.

Geoff Hurst, standing in for the injured first choice centre forward Jimmy Greaves, stole the show by scoring a hat-trick in the final, with the West Germans succumbing to a dramatic 4-2 defeat.

Whilst the game remains subject to disputes over the validity of Hurst’s third goal, which has since been deemed by many to have not crossed the line, the England side captained by the iconic Bobby Moore was a talented and hard-working unit.

It has since been argued that the victory in 1966 masked the need for England to develop and progress, leading to years of mediocre and archaic football.

Football has not come home since.