1966 FIFA World Cup

The 1966 FIFA World Cup, the eighth staging of the World Cup, was held in  England from 11 July to 30 July. England was chosen as hosts by FIFA in August 1960 to celebrate the centenary of the standardisation of football in England. London's Wembley Stadium provided the venue for the final, and 98,000 people crammed inside to watch. After 12 minutes 32 seconds Helmut Haller had put West Germany ahead, but the score was levelled by Geoff Hurst four minutes later. Martin Peters put England in the lead in the 78th minute; England looked set to claim the title when the referee awarded a free kick to West Germany with one minute left.

The ball was launched goalward and Wolfgang Weber managed to poke it across the line, with England appealing in vain for handball as the ball came through the crowded penalty area. With the score level at 2–2 at the end of 90 minutes, the game went to extra time. In the 98th minute Hurst found himself on the score sheet again; his shot hit the crossbar, and bounced down and hit the ground either onto or just over the goal line. Whether the ball actually crossed the goal line or not has been a matter of discussion for decades. England's final goal was scored by Hurst again, during a pitch invasion and the goal should therefore not have stood. This made Geoff Hurst the only player ever to have scored three times in a World Cup final. However, the fact of the illegality of the goal is illustrated by BBC commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme, whose description of the match's closing moments has gone down in history: "Some people are on the pitch. They think it's all over ... [Hurst scores] It is now!".