World Cup England 1966
| Group 1 Results | ||||
| England | - | Uruguay | 0-0 | (July 11, Empire Stadium, Wembley) |
| France | - | Mexico | 1-1 | (July 13, Empire Stadium, Wembley) |
| Uruguay | - | France | 2-1 | (July 15, White City) |
| England | - | Mexico | 2-0 | (July 16, Empire Stadium, Wembley) |
| Uruguay | - | Mexico | 0-0 | (July 19, Empire Stadium, Wembley) |
| England | - | France | 2-0 | (July 20, Empire Stadium, Wembley) |
| Group 1 Standing | |||||||
| Team | GP | W | D | L | GS | GC | P |
| England | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 |
| Uruguay | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| Mexico | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| France | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
| Group 2 Results | ||||
| Fed. Rep. of Ger. | - | Switzerland | 5-0 | (July 12, Hillsborough) |
| Argentina | - | Spain | 2-1 | (July 13, Villa Park) |
| Spain | - | Switzerland | 2-1 | (July 15, Hillsborough) |
| Fed. Rep. of Ger. | - | Argentina | 0-0 | (July 16, Villa Park) |
| Argentina | - | Switzerland | 2-0 | (July 19, Hillsborough) |
| Fed. Rep. of Ger. | - | Spain | 2-1 | (July 20, Villa Park) |
| Group 2 Standing | |||||||
| Team | GP | W | D | L | GS | GC | P |
| Fed. Rep. of Ger. | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 5 |
| Argentina | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| Spain | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 2 |
| Switzerland | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 0 |
| Group 3 Results | ||||
| Brazil | - | Bulgaria | 2-0 | (July 12, Goodison Park) |
| Portugal | - | Hungary | 3-1 | (July 13, Old Trafford) |
| Hungary | - | Brazil | 3-1 | (July 15, Goodison Park) |
| Portugal | - | Bulgaria | 3-0 | (July 16, Old Trafford) |
| Portugal | - | Brazil | 3-1 | (July 19, Goodison Park) |
| Hungary | - | Bulgaria | 3-1 | (July 20, Old Trafford) |
| Group 3 Standing | |||||||
| Team | GP | W | D | L | GS | GC | P |
| Portugal | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 6 |
| Hungary | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 4 |
| Brazil | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 2 |
| Bulgaria | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 0 |
| Group 4 Results | ||||
| Soviet Union | - | Korea Dpr | 3-0 | (July 12, Ayresome Park) |
| Italy | - | Chile | 2-0 | (July 13, Roker Park Ground) |
| Korea Dpr | - | Chile | 1-1 | (July 15, Ayresome Park) |
| Soviet Union | - | Italy | 1-0 | (July 16, Roker Park Ground) |
| Korea Dpr | - | Italy | 1-0 | (July 19, Ayresome Park) |
| Soviet Union | - | Chile | 2-1 | (July 20, Roker Park Ground) |
| Group 4 Standing | |||||||
| Team | GP | W | D | L | GS | GC | P |
| Soviet Union | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 6 |
| Korea Dpr | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 |
| Italy | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Chile | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
| Quarter-Final | ||||
| Soviet Union | - | Hungary | 2-1 | (July 23, Roker Park Ground) |
| Fed. Rep. of Ger. | - | Uruguay | 4-0 | (July 23, Hillsborough) |
| Portugal | - | Korea Dpr | 5-3 | (July 23, Goodison Park) |
| England | - | Argentina | 1-0 | (July 23, Empire Stadium, Wembley) |
| Semi-Final | ||||
| Fed. Rep. of Ger. | - | Soviet Union | 2-1 | (July 25, Goodison Park) |
| England | - | Portugal | 2-1 | (July 26, Empire Stadium, Wembley) |
| 3rd. / 4th. Placing | ||||
| Portugal |
- |
Soviet Union |
2-1 |
(July 28, Empire Stadium, Wembley) |
| Final | ||||
| England |
- |
Fed. Rep. of Ger. |
4-2 A.E.T |
(July 30, Empire Stadium, Wembley) |
The host of the World Cup 1966 was England . FIFA made a controversial decision to grant only one place in the finals to three confederations, which caused the withdrawal of all African teams and the Syrian eleven from the qualifiers. Czechoslovakia, the silver medalist from Chile and Yugoslavia didn't qualify.
Before the finals there was a lot of talk about Brasil, Uruguay and Italy's chances of getting to keep the Golden Nike (as the regulations of the tournament said, if a team is a three-time world champion). But the course of events during the qualifiers disillusioned both the "canarinhos" and the "squadra azzurra" - the favourites unexpectedly said goodbye to the cup after the first round (one of the causes of this surprise was North Korea). Non-European teams (North Korea, Argentina, Uruguay) didn't make it past the quarterfinals and only elevens from the Old World played for the rest of the competition. The semi-final game between England and Portugal was called an early final, as the home team beat their technically better opponent 2:1. The other semi between West Germany and USSR ended with the same score. The final match England - West Germany ended in a tie 2:2 (the Germans shot the equalizer in the last minute of the game), but in overtime England was better by two goals. Even today you can't be sure if their third goal should have been accepted by the referees. Portugal got 3. place after a 2:1 victory over USSR.
Top players of the tournament: Banks, R. Charlton, Moore, Ball (England), Albert (Hungary), Augusto, Coluña, Eusebio (Portugal), Beckenbauer, Haller, Seeler (West Germany).
| Statistics : | |
| World Cup Champions: | England |
| Runners Up: | Fed. Rep. of Ger. |
| Highest Scoring Game: | Portugal vs. Korea Dpr 5 - 3 (Quarter Final) |
| Total Goals Scored: | 89 |
| Av. Goals Per Match: | 2.78 |
| Top Scorer: | Eusebio, Portugal - 9 Goals |
| Best Scorers in 1 game: | Eusebio, Portugal - 4 Goals |
| Highest Attendance: | 98.000 (England - France, Group 1) |
| Total Attendance: | 1,638,924 |
| Average Attendance: | 51,216 |
| Debut Appearance: | Portugal, Korea Dpr |
| Stadiums Used: | Empire Stadium, Wembley, Hillsborough, Goodison Park, Ayresome Park, White City, Villa Park, Old Trafford, Roker Park Ground |