1966 World Cup
A memorable tournament for the host nation, obviously, as Sir Alf Ramsey's squad claimed England's first, and still only, World Cup victory. There was plenty of drama throughout the 1966 tournament, culminating in a truly epic final between England and West Germany that featured, amongst other things, six goals, a "Russian linesman", extra-time, the only World Cup final hat-trick and one of the world's classic football commentaries.
THE OFFICIAL 1966 LOGO
Well, it was certainly colourful! Good to see the Jules Rimet on it, but there's a bit too much going on there compared to some of the design classics that would follow in subsequent tournaments.
1966 TOP SCORERS
Eusébio was, without doubt, a genuinely worthy top-scorer at the 1966 World Cup finals. The Portuguese legend failed to score in their opening match against Hungary but then went on a fantastic run, scoring in every game that he played, including the semi-final defeat against England. His finest moment came in Portugal's epic quarter-final against North Korea at Goodison Park, where his four goals over-turned a three-goal deficit that saw Portugal eventually go through 5:3.
| Goals | Player | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 9 | Eusébio | Portugal |
| 6 | Helmut Haller | West Germany |
| 4 | Franz Beckenbauer | West Germany |
| 4 | Ferenc Bene | Hungary |
| 4 | Geoff Hurst | England |
| 4 | Valeriy Porkujan | USSR |
THE OFFICIAL 1966 WORLD CUP TOURNAMENT FOOTBALL
The Slazenger Challenge
The English sports equipment brand Slazenger got the nod for manufacturing the official ball at the 1966 World Cup. Slazenger had been best known for supplying their tennis balls and golf balls all around the globe but produced a fine football for the tournament. They created it in three colours: white, orange and yellow, and whilst the white ball was actually the most commonly used throughout the tournament, it's the iconic orange ball for which the tournament is best remembered, as that was used during the incredible 1966 final between England and West Germany.
1966 PANINI FRONT COVER
1966 SQUAD SONGS
Unfortunately, no World Cup squad songs in 1966 either. Mexico '70 would be the first time that we would hear World Cup footballers belting out a song in an effort to raise the spirits and try to get into the singles charts.
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