The 1966 World Cup final was undoubtedly the greatest achievement in England's soccering history and one of the most dramatic games to grace the world stage. A hugely talented and supremely organised England team, managed by Alf Ramsey, boasted some of the greatest players of the time including Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst, Martin Peters, Alan Ball and Gordon Banks. Having finished top of their group in the first phase, England went on to beat Argentina and Portugal on the way to facing West Germany in the Wembley final.
On Saturday, July 30, the two teams walked out onto the pitch in front of nearly 100,000 fans and more than 32 million watching at home. The game started badly for the hosts with Germany scoring after just 12 minutes through Helmut Haller, but Geoff Hurst pulled a goal back almost immediately. Martin Peters fired home after Hurst's deflected shot fell to him in the 78th minute and England looked poised to land their first World Cup trophy.
However, with a minute left the ball was launched into the England box and Wolfgang Weber poked it across the line to set up one of the most dramatic periods of extra time in the history of the game. Midway through the first period Hurst unleashed a rasping shot which cannoned off the German crossbar and bounced onto the goal line before being cleared. The Germans claimed it had not crossed the line, but the Swiss referee consulted his Azerbaijani linesman and the goal was awarded. The debate rages to this day and has never been conclusively proven one way or the other.
Then, with seconds remaining Hurst found himself on the end of a huge clearance by Bobby Moore and sent a rasping shot into the corner of the net to complete a unique hat-trick in a World Cup final. Just before Hurst shot some supporters had run onto the pitch, thinking the game was over, and the moment is best remembered for the commentary of Kenneth Wolstenholme: "Some people are on the pitch. They think it's all over. It is now."