Today, the 30th of July 1966, could go down in history. Alf Ramsey’s England team come here in fine form and in search of their first ever world cup trophy. West Germany are here to spoil the party and collect the second star for their badge, but Bobby Moore & Co. will be fighting blood, sweat and tears to bring joy to this packed out home crowd. The sold out Wembley Stadium is going to be getting behind the team and hopefully providing a massive boost with the 96,924 fans filling the stands.
England have already beaten France, Mexico, Argentina and Portugal, and aim to add West Germany to that list, however it won’t be an easy task. With Helmut Haller already on a goal tally of 5, looking to secure the silver boot as Eusebio is clear with 9 goals, and Franz Beckenbauer, the 20 year old German is the favourite for the young player of the tournament having shown both his attacking and defensive capabilities from Midfield with 4 goals and 3 clean sheets.
Players such as Geoff Hurst will be hoping to get out of their purple patch, he scored his only goal of the tournament so far in the 1-0 win over Argentina to send to them to the semi’s. The likelihood of Ramsey sticking with his trust in him is high so expect to see him on the field today for England helping to lead the fight.
With an hour to kick off, I bring you the long awaited team news
ENGLAND:
1.GORDON BANKS
2. GEORGE COHEN
3. RAY WILSON
4. NOBBY STILES
5. JACK CHARLTON
6. BOBBY MOORE (C)
7. ALAN BALL JR.
9. BOBBY CHARLTON
10. GEOFF HURST
16. MARTIN STANFORD PETERS
21. ROGER HUNT
WEST GERMANY:
1. HANS TILKOWSKI
2. HORST-DIETER HOTTGES
3. KARL-HEINZ SCHNELLINGER
4. FRANZ BECKENBAUER
5. WILLI SCHULZ
6. WOLFGANG WEBER
8. HELMUT HALLER
9. UWE SEELER (C)
10. SIGFRIED HELD
11. LOTHAR EMMERICH
12. WOLFGANG OVERATH
So from the team sheets, we can see the men spoken about already inhabit the starting 11, the danger man of Helmut Haller will be on the hunt for more goals tonight up against the back 4 of Wilson, Cohen, Moore and Charlton and this where the man from West Ham, Bobby Moore will be vital to his country, the heroic captain has already showcased his world class ability and this game is the one that could solidify his hero status.
As Wembley begins to fill up with nervous fans, the teams are out and ready to warm up.
19:16- 14 minutes until the much awaited kick off, with the teams back inside for their final preparations, I am going to give my prediction and encourage you to leave yours in the comment section. I am going to say it will be a game with little chances and I reckon it could go to extra time, so I am going to go for a 2-1 England win in extra time. My prediction will be Helmut Haller to score first, Hurst to grab himself a goal to level it up and Bobby Charlton to be the extra time saviour.
19:25- Moore and Uwe Seeler have their teams lined up in the tunnel, waiting to come out and face over 96,000 anxious fans hoping to witness history, one of whom being Her Majesty the queen
19:27- Goosebumps at Wembley as the national anthems are screamed out by tens of thousands of patriot fans in unison with their footballing heroes and an army of trumpeters vacating the centre circle
19:29- The pitch is now cleared off everyone bar the two starting XI’s and we are moments away from the World Cup final being underway
KICK OFF
1′- The Germans try to start quickly with Wolfgang Overath looking for an early diagonal to the right back Horst- Dieter Hottges but his extended leg was unable to keep it in play and gives England a chance to keep possession following the throw in
2′- Nobby Stiles with the first attempt today, after a some great build up play including Bobby Moore, Ray Wilson and Martin Peters, Stiles is slipped in by Bobby Charlton and he lines up the effort from 25 yards but Willi Schulz gets his body in the way
4′- Sigfried Held with a glorious chance early on, Schulz with the long ball up to the Germans target man and Moore heads clear only to Lothar Emmerich who’s delightful out swinging ball finds Held who brings it down beautifully but drags his shot past the right post
6′- Emmerich with another pinpoint cross, looking for the late run of Haller, but Wilson does exceptionally well to slide in ahead of the German
7′- The top-scorer in German football from last season, Lothar Emmerich wasn’t as convincing with his wayward shot on his less favoured right foot as he had been for Borussia Dortmund all season. His attempt from 20 yards caused no sign of danger for Gordon Banks in the England goal
8′- A poor header from Jack Charlton, finds the feet of Seeler who drives at the defence but his strike cannons of Moore’s calf and Banks is unable to stop it going out for a corner. The subsequent corner however was dealt well by England caused no real threat despite the big men of Beckenbauer, Schulz and Wolfgang Weber coming up.
9′- B. Charlton’s ball into the box is punched away by Hans Tilkowski, who came together with Roger Hunt in the challenge and the ref blows up for a foul, but Moore strikes the ball into the net and is met by cheers from the England faithful in the stands
10′- J. Charlton this time at the heart of things, he dispossessed the Germans and drove the ball into the midfield area, found Martin Stanford Peters and his long range shot was palmed away by Tilkowski
12′- GOALLLL!!!! Germany open the scoring, after such a great start from England, J. Charlton struggled to deal with Held’s ball into the box and he headed it straight to the feet of the German’s main man Haller and his right foot strike evades the outstretched hand of Banks and ripples the side netting. West Germany lead 1-0.
16′- After a cagey reopening to the game, Overath hacks down Stiles and to every England player’s surprise he isn’t put into the ref’s book, they take a quick free kick but it amounts to nothing
19′- GOALLLLLLL!!!! THE PERFECT RESPONSE FROM ENGLAND! Bobby Moore takes the free kick from a deep area and it floats directly onto his West Ham teammates head and Hurst effortlessly redirects it into the bottom left corner. The score is now 1-1.
Embed from Getty Images22′- Bobby Moore is dominating England’s defensive half, winning endless headers, challenges and driving out with the ball retaining possession and trying to create chances for his country.
23′- YELLOW CARD! Peters has his name taken by the referee and is the first player to be sanctioned this afternoon.
23′- From the free kick that Peter’s conceded, Karl-Heinz Schnellinger dinks a delightful ball into the box and Uwe Seeler rises highest in the box but his header is comfortably caught by Banks
25′- Seeler again with a header, this time the ball from Emmerich meets him back post and his header strays just wide of the right post.
26′- Bobby Charlton picks up the ball on the edge of the box and drives infield and unleashes a shot destined for the bottom right corner but the German number 1 gets down well and holds onto it
27′- Seeler spins Moore and slips a ball in behind Wilson but luckily for the Englishmen Banks rushed to the ball and fell onto it before Haller could have a chance to grab his second of the match
28′- Peters dinks a ball into the back post for Hunt but Beckenbauer clears it behind for a corner
31′- Beautiful play by England who go from defence to attack smoothly and just the final ball from Stiles wasn’t accurate enough and was cleared by Weber, otherwise we might’ve been talking about one of the goals of the tournament
33′- SOOO CLOSE! England come incredibly close to going in front after an amazing ball from deep by Cohen and Hurst rose high above Schulz and his glancing header is destine for the bottom left corner but Tilkowski gets down to palm it away and Ball’s cross back in was dealt with by Overath
35′- Hottges was trapped by B. Charlton and Peters and Peters is able to get a long shot off but a deflection off the shin of Weber see’s Tilkowski catch it with ease
37′- A poor corner by Held see’s it fizzle towards Overath who forces a save out of Banks and Emmerich is unable to convert the rebound as Banks gathers it and throws it out for England
38′- A poor pass from Ball allows Emmerich to bear down on Banks’ goal but the England captain sprints across and puts in a perfectly timed challenge to save Blackpool mans blushes
39′- Wilson’s header into the box isn’t dealt with by Weber and Hunt at a slight angle misses a great opportunity to put his country ahead and extended his goal tally for 4 this tournament
40′- Weber with an incredible tackle, he saw Moore’s challenge and tried to raise him, B. Charlton slipped Peters through on goal and a perfect recovery from the German centre half saw the ball escape their box
42′- Banks in action again! Seeler picks the ball up and runs at Moore, he shifts it onto his right foot and hits a dipping shot that was destined for the top corner if it wasn’t for the outstretched glove of Gordon Banks
HALF TIME: ENGLAND 1-1 WEST GERMANY
An exciting first 45′ see’s the teams go in with no goals to separate them, taking only 7 minutes for Hurst to find a response to Haller’s opener in the 12th minute. It has been end to end and a lot more open of a game than anticipated, however the 2-1 prediction along with the goalscorer’s looks like it could be bang on.
A few stand out players for each time have been both sets of captains, Moore and Seeler. Moore has been defensively superb, no issues or concerns, has stayed level headed and steadied the ship after the first goal went in. Then Seeler has been a nuisance for the England team all day, he drops in between the defence and midfield and causes confusion for J. Charlton and Stiles allowing him to occasionally be unmarked.
The two danger men are clearly Hurst and Emmerich, Emmerich’s left foot is incredible, the deliveries he has produced today have been impeccable and if Hurst was on the end of them instead, he might have a few more assists. Hurst has been at the centre off all good attacks for England, wether it’s pressuring the German backline or getting on the end of crosses, he has been a Thorne in their side and he can easily grab a few more goals this evening.
Final mentions are to both goalkeepers, having pulled of exceptional saves at both ends and with constant flurries of attacks at their goals, they both have played big parts in the scoreline being so low.
SECOND HALF KICK OFF:
46” Bobby Charlton drives into the box looking to unleash a strike but he dribbles of the pitch under pressure by Weber and his sppeals for a penalty were brushed aside by the ref
50′- Held plays Haller in, he ro unds Banks but the linesman flag was up and wouldn’t have counted if he had converted the chance
54′- Beckenbauer picks the ball up on the edge of the box from a corner and his left footed shot wasn’t as he hoped and it trickled past the post. A lot slower intensity compared to the first half here and Germany seem a lot more composed on the ball
59′- Cohen with a great ball in but unlike the chance in the first half, Hurst’s leap wasn’t enough for him to be able to direct it towards Tilkowski
62′- Held leaves Cohen on the floor and wins his country a corner, the corner finds Beckenbauer on the edge of the box again but his volley is straight into the chest of J. Charlton
67′- Jack Charlton comes agonisingly close to scoring. A great ball into the back post he comes and gets the run on Schulz but his header sails past the right post.
69′- Hottges trying to impersonate his right back counter part with a deep cross into the box but Cohen is the one who heads it clear
73′- Hurst heads the ball across goal and B. Charlton is running onto it but Tilkowski somehow got their first and caught it but got clattered in the process and is currently down on the floor.
76′- Hunt slips Ball in down the right flank and his low driven cross goes out for a corner.
77′- GOALLLLLLLLL!!!!!!! ENGLAND LEAD NOW!!! Ball’s corner met Hurst and his shot was blocked by Hottges but Peters was there to smash it in from 6 yards out and put England on the Path to World Cup glory!! England lead 2-1 with little over 10 minutes left!
Embed from Getty Images80′- Ball dribbles past 2 German players and gets clattered by Hottges after his teammate Overath was left embarrassed. The free kick was swung into a great position but no Englishman was able to meet it.
82′- Moore again with another piece of defensive excellence, marks his man perfectly but steps out twice to clear the danger for England as the German’s search for an equaliser
85′- Ball listens to the fans chants of ‘we want three’ and drives the ball forward and finds the goalscorer, Peters, and his left footed rifle goes way over the crossbar
86′- Germany copying England with the quick free kicks, but nobody was able to get on the end of Seeler’s cross
88′- Weber has a free header from a German free kick but he converts it past the post and Banks is warned about time wasting with his excessively long goal kick.
89′- England should’ve put the game to bed!! Hunt’s poor ball to B. Charlton saw the 2 on 1 opportunity go to waste as Charlton faced 3 backtracking German defenders and his shot flew wide of the goal
90′- GOALLLLLL!!!! THE GERMANS HAVE SCORED AT THE DEATH!!! EXTRA TIME HERE WE COME!!! A deep free kick smashed in by Emmerich saw a goalmouth scramble begin and the centre back up to flood the box, Wolfgang Weber, has just handed his country a lifeline and another 30 minutes to try and win the World Cup. 2-2 is the score with literal seconds left on the clock
Embed from Getty ImagesFULL TIME: ENGLAND 2-2 WEST GERMANY
What incredible scenes we have witnessed. England were 20 seconds away from lifting the trophy but now after an entire of month of football, they have 30 more minutes to win the trophy. Weber the hero for the Germans and everyone is still all over the Koln defender as they prepare for extra time.
It’s hard to predict the winner now as the Germans have the momentum and adrenaline after that last minute equaliser, however prior to the goal they were looking a lot more fatigued than England so if the men in red can continue working that hard they will give themselves a great chance of winning.
EXTRA TIME KICK OFF:
91′- Haller with an early shot on the edge of the box but it goes very far wide, it signals the Germans intent to go and win this match and be the first team in the history of the World Cup to win the trophy in extra time
93′- Alan Ball with an extraordinary shot, it dips and swerves and Tilkowski does well to palm it behind for a corner to England
95′- Hurst unable to head home Wilson’s incredible cross in and the attack was recycled and fell for Bobby Charlton who hit a low and hard shot straight onto the right post as England begin to dominate the opening proceedings
99′- Haller and Hottges link up down the right but the cross is poor and Moore heads clear, the Germans look tired in comparison to an energetic England team
101′- GOALLLLLLLLLL!!!! JUST ABOUT!!!! ENGLAND LEAD 3-2!!! Ball finds Hurst in acres of space, an incredible bit of control from the forward and he blasts it over the keeper, off the cross bar and it bounces down, OVER THE LINE, and after consideration from the officials, they give it as a goal!!!! ENGLAND LEAD 3-2! German’s are going mental at the linesman, which is ironic as he can only speak Russian and Turkish so can’t even process their complaints
Embed from Getty Images103′- Beckenbauer’s header is easily caught by Banks, who throws the ball out trying to counter attack as they can’t settle on a one goal lead like before
104′- Stiles nearly converts it into his own goal, his sliding challenge blocked the ball getting to the path of Seeler and Banks was able to pounce onto it and avoid an calamity
HALF TIME OF EXTRA TIME: ENGLAND 3-2 WEST GERMANY
With a short break, Ramsey will hopefully be able to get the England boys to calm down, remain cool and see out the final 15 minutes. Great work from Hurst who scores his 3rd of the tournament and 2nd of the game to put England ahead and if he can grab a hat-trick, surely England go on to win as the Germans look tired and Beckenbauer is the only one sticking to the graft they was putting in throughout the first 90 minutes.
As long as England avoid any shocks like they did in the 90th minute, there seems to be only one outcome.
SECOND HALF OF EXTRA TIME KICK OFF:
107′- Held and Emmerick are trying to find inroads through the defence but Cohen steals the ball and gets it out of the danger zone
109- Overath presses the English players passing the ball around with confidence and composure and in order to beat the press, Hurst hits a long shot straight at the German keeper
112- The runs of the English players are slowly drying up as Moore drives forward from defence but is unable to find a teammate supplying him with options
114′- Held tries his hardest to fashion a breakthrough but the 8 English players behind the ball make it impossible for him to do so, resulting in a hopeless long shot
115′- Held sticks it in the back of net but to the fortune of the English fans, it had hit his hand in the build up and the ref had a great view to disallow the goal
119′- GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!! HURST SCORES HIS HAT TRICK AND KILLS THE GAME!!! Fans came running onto the pitch thinking it was over, IT IS NOW!!! 4-2 England as Geoff Hurst slams the ball into the top left corner and puts in England out of reach for the Germans!
Embed from Getty ImagesFULL TIME OF EXTRA TIME
ENGLAND HAVE WON THE WORLD CUP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Embed from Getty ImagesIn front of over 90,000 fans at Wembley, the newly crowned winners of the most sought after trophy in the whole of football are ENGLAND
Geoff Hurst has solidified his place in the history books with his hat trick tonight and the West Ham contingency surrounding him of fellow goalscorer, Peters, and captain, Moore, were integral to the success of the country.
The royal box were celebrating, the bench were celebrating, the stands were celebrating and the whole country were celebrating and now they get to witness the heroic captain lift the infamous trophy
That’s all from me, thanks for tuning in to potentially the best World Cup final ever and following every minute of the action.
