Where Was The 1966 FIFA World Cup Held?
The 1966 FIFA World Cup was held in England. The matches were played in eight different venues across the country. The most number of matches were played at Wembley Stadium which was England’s national stadium and was considered the most important football venue in the World. It was played from 11th July 1966 to 30th July 1966. 16 teams qualified for the final tournament.
The final was held at Wembley Stadium, which had a capacity of 98,600. With 70 participating nations, the tournament in 1966 had the most teams of any international competition to date. Because of their displeasure with the number of final spots that were guaranteed, 31 African countries abstained from the World Cup.
| London | London |
| Wembley Stadium | White City Stadium |
| Capacity: 98,600 | Capacity: 76,567 |
  |  |
| Manchester | Birmingham |
| Old Trafford | Villa Park |
| Capacity: 58,000 | Capacity: 52,000 |
 |  |
| Liverpool | Sheffield |
| Goodison Park | Hillsborough Stadium |
| Capacity: 50,151 | Capacity: 42,730 |
 |  |
| Sunderland | Middlesbrough |
| Roker Park | Ayresome Park |
| Capacity: 40,310 | Capacity: 40,000 |
 |  |
Who Was The 1966 England World Cup Winner?
England won the FIFA World Cup in 1966. They had a dominant display throughout the World Cup. They topped their group with wins against France and Mexico and a draw against Uruguay. England went on to beat Argentina and Portugal in the quarter-final and semi-final stages respectively before facing West Germany in the 1966 FIFA World Cup final.
England went on to win the final with the scoreline of 4-2 after extra time. West Germany were 2-1 down till late in normal time before Wolfgang Weber scored in the 89’ to make the scores level. This sent the match into extra time. In the extra time periodof the game, Geoff Hurst achieved a feat which has never been matched till date. He followed up his goal in normal time with 2 more in extra time, becoming the first and only player till date to have scored a hattrick in a FIFA World Cup final.
This feat helped England win their one and only FIFA World Cup trophy.
Which Teams Were In The 1966 World Cup?
16 teams partipitated in the final tournament for the 1966 FIFA World Cup. Below is a table including all those teams.
AFC (1)
North Korea
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 |
| Soviet Union |
| Spain |
| Switzerland |
| West Germany |
Who Was The Top Scorer In The 1966 World Cup?
Portuguese legend Eusebio was the top scorer in the 1966 FIFA World Cup. He managed to score 9 times in a single World Cup campaign. The only players to have scored more goals in a single campaign are Just Fontaine in 1958, Sandor Kocsis 1954, and Gerd Muller in1970 with 13, 11, and 10, respectively.
Out of his 9 goals, only 3 came in the group stages. 5 of the other 6 goals came in the knockout stages and 1 in the third-place playoff against Soviet Union. Eusebio even managed to score against England in the Semi Finals but it was not enough to carry them to victory. Irrespective of that, this was one of the best goal scoring performances in history and will be remembered for years to come.
What Was The 1966 World Cup Trophy?
In 1966, the winner of the FIFA World Cup was awarded the Jules Rimet Trophy. There is actually quite a story behind the Jules Rimet Trophy in 1966. The trophy was stolen from an exhibition display before the 1966 FIFA World Cup. A nationwide hunt was commisioned in order to find the trophy.
It was finally found by a dog names Pickles. It was found wrapped in a newspaper under some bushes in London. FA had requested a replica to be made in cae the original trophy was not found in time. The replica as well as Pickle’s collar is now held on display at the National Football Museum in Manchester.
What Was The Official 1966 World Cup Ball?
The official ball of the 1966 FIFA World Cup was called the “Challenge 4-star”. It was made by Slazenger. It was an 18 panel ball made in orange or yellow and was selected in a blind test at the FA headquarters in Soho Square.
