How England Won The FIFA World Cup

Despite being the country in which association football, or soccer, was founded - at least in its codified form - the England national football team had only ever won one FIFA World Cup.
That crown came at the 1966 World Cup on home soil, with a 4-2 against West Germany, but there is much more to England's only World Cup success than pitch invaders and a Geoff Hurst hat-trick.
So in this short documentary, HITC Sevens takes a look back at the 1966 World Cup, from the goals of Eusebio and to an injury to Pele, and takes a look at how England managed to come out on top.

[@kurdan9848]

Could have mentioned the change of venues to not let Portugal sleep

[@BurnRoddy]

And North Korea. This was the most corrupt World Cup ever.

[@WWB508]

Exactly

[@harveyholmes9533]

There’s a good story about Jack Charlton getting called up to the England team, Leeds had just beaten Man United (I think it was in the FA Cup but might have been the league) and it was only after the game that Don Revie told Jack he’d been called up for the first time. Obviously Bobby was playing for Man United at the time and in his excitement to celebrate Jack ran into the Man United dressing room to tell Bobby, seemingly only remembering how angry the Man United players would be after getting beat midway through his celebrations when Bobby refused to celebrate with him and simply responded with ‘I’m pleased for you.’ Jack said it was only when he looked round the dressing room and saw everyone there staring daggers at him he realised what a cock up he’d made.

[@dod6031]

Harry Gregg would’ve still been at Man United at that point, that’s a hard nut of a player even Jackie had to be afraid of. One look at his vicious stare would’ve made even a tough bastard like Jackie get out of there quickly.

[@dreadful_name2924]

That will have been the 65 FA Cup Semi Final

[@shanewright2772]

Charlton was called up to replace Everton's Brian Labone, who refused to play in the tournament because he had promised to marry his girlfriend and the date they chose was during the tournament. His wife to be Pat tried to talk him out of it, but he said a promise was a promise. Labone was perhaps the last of the Corinthians - 530 games for Everton at Centre half and only 2 bookings ever. He did go to Mexico in 1970, however.

[@harveyholmes9533]

@@dod6031 I know he said Denis Law held it against him for ages afterwards don’t know about the others but they weren’t happy and he knew it

[@harveyholmes9533]

@@shanewright2772 Billy Bremner had a funny story about why Jack got his call up. Jack asks Alf Ramsay why he didn’t call him up when he was younger, why did he wait till he was 30? And Alf responds well I’ve got George Cohen at right back, and he’s always going walk about going up the path, I’ve got Ray Wilson at left-back, and he’s always going walk about, always going forward, and I’ve got God as my other centre back, and Bobby Moore does whatever he likes he goes up and down, but I’ve seen you at Leeds Jackie, you’re a right lazy bugger so I know you’ll always be back in defence. He told it really well on Charlton’s appreciation night on Irish telly but there’s a bit of truth to it, he needed someone to do the dirty work to let Moore flourish.

[@danieltomas2545]

Hey alfie has finally "sort of" done my idea! (He replied on the hitc sevens team of the season video)

[@Anonymouseys]

He took his time didn't he. I think it'll make for some more decent videos too.

[@3pieceandsoda708]

That's crazy Englands group was the exact same as South Africa's group at 2010.😯

[@mickmccarthy8219]

Sir Alf Ramsay is very well celebrated at Ipswich. He has a stand named after him and he has a statue too. Ps: Day 9 (I think) "What on earth is going on at Ipswich Town?"

[@delfincastellino-dominguez1607]

It's a good suggestion and I would watch it but I don't think anyone else will

[@eeeeewewew]

I would!

[@camerondownes5711]

I would just to laugh at Ipswich

[@mickmccarthy8219]

@@camerondownes5711 Norwich fan? Fair enough if u are

[@guilhermefrias9384]

You failed to say that the venue of the semi final against Portugal was changed the night before the game from Goodison Park to Wembley, making the portuguese team travel overnight and not allowing them to prepare properly for the match. Good video though , keep up the series

[@eeeeewewew]

Alot of the shadowy stuff England did in this world cup is over looked.

[@lexkanyima2195]

But it was rushed

[@DerekDerekDerekDerekDerekDerek]

@@eeeeewewew no

[@OblivionGate]

I'm glad you did this video as I'm English and I love football and England!! ❤️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿❤️

[@elonmuskisoverrated350]

But ur nationa suck in football

[@mrsomeone846]

This is f*cking brilliant vid idea!!!

[@rogerhaddad7937]

The semi with Portugal was scheduled for Anfield but was moved the Wembley. For some reason.

[@siyolisesiyo4999]

Day 4: South African football after the 2010 world cup

[@Davetubeproductions]

If Portugal would have beat England in the semi final, would they have had a good chance at beating Germany in the final?

[@Nathan-ke3dn]

Yes definitely. I think Germany would've eged it but it would be a great game

[@lordgemini2376]

@@Nathan-ke3dn Naw, Portugal would've won

[@rohithraman6488]

Hey Alfie, I have a video suggestion Milan Champions League final XI in 2005 - Where are they now?

[@19Vxc76]

Hi. Just 2 things from a Portuguese perspective. Due to the results Portugal had, it should had been England to travel to where Portugal were. But "somehow" Portugal where obliged to travel 300km by train to Liverpool instead. And until today that was the last English victory against Portugal in official games 😎. Cheers.

[@thejungwookim]

Day 88 of Top 7 Best Managers Outside the "Big Five" European Leagues

[@wolfmauler]

Look forward to day 188, cos that is a boring suggestion

[@MrOoYT]

Most of them would manage Portuguese teams

[@thejungwookim]

@@wolfmauler ah yes, and you clearly have a better idea than this or naming 7 random players with less than Ederson's 1 assist

[@someguynamedmike4766]

Rank every World Cup winning side so far? I know it might not get the most views & good luck getting any footage from most of the early finals but if you'd enjoy it make it, I'm curious where this England team would end up

[@mannytuzo]

Close to last if not last along with Italy in 1934, 1938 where everything was fixed or heavily in favor to have the host nations win the tournament.

[@Nathan-ke3dn]

@@mannytuzo everything still favours host countries in the WC, but now FIFA is giving worse countries the WC. Russia in 2018 overperformed, so did 2002 South Korea and even 2010 South Africa.

[@ProudTarjaholic]

@@Nathan-ke3dn In contrary, I see this 'evolution' as an opportunity to not have the hosts being favoured as much as they were in the past. It's easier to favour a big team during one round than a smaller team during several rounds, if you get the picture. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a fan of these somewhat 'odd' hosts, but for very different reasons: Money, corruption, lack of football culture, financial depts, lack of big teams in their domestic leagues to justify stadiums to be built, etc.

[@ColdJfer]

England for me last they pulled of some bullshit before every game and they definitely did not deserve it and number one the Brazilian team of 1966

[@mannytuzo]

@@Nathan-ke3dn I mean naturally being host you have advantages- large home crowds, being used to the environment, etc then there’s the favorable draws in your group alongside refs being more lenient towards home teams due to fans and whatnot. But some countries pull some bs stunts like England did in 1966

[@olayinkaamara385]

Could you make a video on the Basque Country national team which left Spain during the Spanish Civil War to raise funds for the region going on tour around Europe and North America. The team also took part in the first ever Mexican Football League in 1938/39 coming 2nd and included some of the best players in Spain at the time including Isidro Langara, Luis Regueiro, Jose Iraragorri, Guillermo Gorostiza, Leonardo Cilaurren etc.

[@TopG_Joe]

You should do how Greece won the 2004 Euros.

[@gamewithgreg]

"Maradona's hand of god goal 24 years later..." It was 20 years later. 1986 world cup, not 1990

[@soupahotfiyah9752]

HITC sevens is my favorite Channel. For a massive sports fan and a history buff this is like erotica at its peak..

[@BOABModels]

It's a really interesting story and worth watching. I wish that England fans (and the English in general) weren't so bloody nostalgic about 1966. It's an albatross around the neck of any team to be compared to such a successful team, just as much as it is when Argentinians call someone the "next Maradona".

[@gustavostacchiotti68]

Argentinians are not more nostalgic from 1986 now. Messi and his boys won the World Cup Qatar 2022

[@mosmit8648]

Digging into this world cup and watching the matches, England's victory leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. Apart from the obvious fixed world cups in 1934 and 1978 this one had the most controversial decisions in favour of the home team. Weird refereeing in their matches against France, Argentina and Germany. The venue change for the game against Portugal. Playing all games in one stadium while all other teams had to travel. With all that i can't say winning the world cup was deserved.

[@lemigod4475]

The 1966 Win for England was controversial ,the game against Argentina was the first,then gamesmanship against Portugal in semi finals,then dubious goal in the final.Some even claim that the Queen might have had a say in it,but there was never any solid evidence to prove it.But as they say,where ever there is smoke there is fire,and life is always a pendulum,it will always swing back the other way.So England got jobbed against Argentina in 1986,exactly 20 years later,England lost to Germany in 70 and 90 in devastating fashion.So the pendulum swung back at them,now its a new day so hopefully they can start to do well against in Major tournaments.

[@colinlatham5566]

I glad you mentioned that Pele was olso kicked out of the 1962 world cup in chile and stiles did not do to Eusebio what Portugals own defenders had done to Pele

[@ili4707]

Cool Video! Maybe you could do a video on the World Cup Champions curse going on since at least 1998? The Champions always seem to drop in form after winning a world cup, even with a "stronger" team.

[@ItachiUchiha-pe1pu]

Which team were stronger, in your opinion? For me 98 France is better than 02 Brazil 02 is better than 06 Italy 06 is better than 10 Spain 10 is better than 14 Germany 14 is better than 18

[@ili4707]

@@ItachiUchiha-pe1pu All corect imo

[@ItachiUchiha-pe1pu]

@@ili4707 so, your first comment does not make sense, it is wrong

[@danhibbard9666]

You should do a series looking at some of the best and worst seasons for individual teams: Leicester 15/16 when they won the league, Villa 15/16 and Derby 07/08 when they both went down in flames etc.

[@mrmeeseeks2534]

Do a video on the AC Milan teams 1987-1994 2001-2009 1960-1969 Man Utd teams 1962-1968 1998-2001 2006-2009 Barcelona teams 1990-1994 2008-2012 Spurs teams 1960-1963 Liverpool teams 75-78 81-84 The Newcastle teams 95-97 Arsenal teams 1996-2006 Real Madrid teams 1953-1966

[@sampallas27]

Great video! Very interesting, I have known of our famous World Cup win but not the controversy that surrounds it.

[@djalland1]

Amazing stuff. More of these would be great. 14.41 Maradona's goal was 20 years later, by the way, not 24.

[@prometheustv6558]

Got his revenge on England

[@TalentDanceTV14]

Mbabe has now scored hat trick in the final

[@WAKA34BUG56]

Day 129: 7 Asian or African teams that could compete in a big 5 league or squad of best players who have only played at asian or african teams

[@wolfmauler]

My Grandad showed me the final against Germany on an old reel to reel projector when I was about 5 or 6. That image of the game stuck with me

[@feixas6961]

Dude, you didn't even mention the bullshit England pulled off before the game against Portugal. Great video still 👍

[@johnny5805]

You wouldn't be Portuguese would you, sir ? :-)

[@feixas6961]

@@johnny5805 Does that change anything, really? The fact is, England played dirty and should've been punished.

[@Ben-po8kf]

It was 1966 get over it

[@feixas6961]

@@Ben-po8kf I wasn't even born back then. That doesn't change the fact that England played dirty and probably would've lost, and they knew that, hence why they did it. And my point is that he should've at least mentioned it. The video is supposed to be accurate, so presenting all the facts is a must.

[@mickmccarthy8219]

@@feixas6961 all football was fucking dirty back then

[@MartimCorreia10]

Simple they changed the venues at last minutes before going into the matches to fatigue teams. That's how they beat Portugal, even Eusebio confirmed it

[@OblivionGate]

Just because Eusebio said something doesn't make it true.

[@MartimCorreia10]

@@OblivionGate its because it is because if wasn't for that Portugal wouldve won the world cup

[@OblivionGate]

@@MartimCorreia10 sore loser!

[@MartimCorreia10]

@@OblivionGate im the loser, yet ur that had to cheat to win one trophy while we have 2 fair and square one and BTW it wasn't only eusebio that confirmed but plenty more teams too

[@OblivionGate]

@@MartimCorreia10 Boo Hoo!!! Ain't life a bitch...

[@theonlyjoe_]

Day 7: Lionel messi’s teammates from his final barça b game: where are they now?

[@DomenBremecXCVI]

Looking into it, 2 first division regulars other than Messi in one B team isn't that bad... Yes, one was a regular a few seasons ago, but a regular nonetheless. But Osasuna B did provide the 2nd best player of the game... With Raul Garcia of Athletic Bilbao

[@CaptDeadpool32]

6:27, liverpool won the 2nd and 1st division back to back in 1905 and 1906

[@louisbinns1144]

Exceptional video Alfie. Hoping this series is still running in December 2022 ready for you to come back full circle 🤞

[@bcfcfantv5339]

You should do one about England in euro 96

[@OblivionGate]

There's actually a 50 min video of Euro 96 here on KZbin

[@bcfcfantv5339]

@@OblivionGate ik

[@andreawhite7375]

This was great, really enjoyed this video. Would be cool if you carry this on for other teams 👍

[@iluhyu8919]

Awesome vid, I would have loved to see what football was like back then, considering it wasn't so commercial etc.

[@ephraimlokuagabana5450]

Day 16: Rank pele's 125 greatest living players of all time list

[@teem4800]

That's a good one

[@azza0911]

Bar the slight mistake of the year of the hand of God goal, great video!!

[@aydenkelleher5750]

Just a boost for the algorithm. You deserve it mate.

[@TeamOfThe80s]

That Prince Andrew reference 😂😂😂😂😂

[@michaelwilliams2231]

This is the content I love on this channel

[@ItachiUchiha-pe1pu]

I will tell you how: absolutely everything was fixed for England to win

[@Rabauke84]

Wasn't there a documentary about that topic?

[@ashton3960]

Cry

[@Nathan-ke3dn]

This isn't 1934 Italy big man.

[@wolfmauler]

Yeah lol, the Italians are above reproach with it comes to corruption in Football eh? 😂😅

[@inlizwetrusst7904]

Ok buddy

[@philpatch]

Loving the football history lessons, Alfie keep it up!

[@TheFrankiemonkey]

Day 1: What on earth is going on at Bolton Wanderers?

[@mickmccarthy8219]

Nah Ipswich take priority there mate

[@Not_Sal]

Can you do one of these on the Brazil national team at the 1970 World Cup?

[@niksv4165]

Day 33 Ways to fix var with your suggestion

[@gustavostacchiotti68]

Like an Argentine man,I think that England had a magnific chance to win the WC in Italia 1990 They could have beat Germany.They were better than Germany in mid-final and if they would have win,they had to play with an Argentine team very weak, because many Argentine players were suspended and injured for the Final,and Maradona's ankle was like a tomatoe

[@orlandothompson5861]

Sky once used goal line technology on Hurst’s second. They reckon it did go in

[@johnny5805]

It's better to think it DIDN'T go in. Because you know how badly that goal eats the Germans inside ! :-)

[@man4437]

@@johnny5805 So you'd rather have a World Cup you didn't win?

[@ac14cmpunk25]

simple GHOST GOAL and totally undeserved

[@matthewholmes8445]

"Totally undeserved" they'd have still won mate, regardless.

[@reeceh8048]

The Busby babes would be a amazing video

[@kieronparr3403]

Yeah

[@folarinalabi3250]

Day 14: England XI that lost to the United States in 1950 FYI: Tottenham weren't the first team to winning second and first division titles back to back. Liverpool had done it in 1904/05 and 1905/06 and Everton did it in 1930/31 and 1931/32 Good video though

[@javiermoreno5898]

Great video, although I don't know about what you mentioned early about the group stage, Mexico had won only one WC game to that point, Uruguay was strong (More on that at the end of the comment) but not the best team either, and France was a mess which failed to qualify to 62 or 70 for that matter, the Brasil group was disgusting with the Five lion Portugal team, Florian Albert's Hungary which was a team with continuous good results and Bulgaria which was ok, but the Germany group with returners Switzerland, Argentina and a Spain team with a backbone of that year's European cup champions make in my opinion for stronger groups on paper. Also, I would love if you made a Video about the 1960s, concretely the 1966 Peñarol team which was along with Santos the best team in the world during that time, boasting several Uruguayan legends, the backbone of the 1970 team, and the brilliant and criminally underrated Alberto Spencer, along with maybe the greatest American goalkeeper of all time in Mazurkiewicz. I think it would make an interesting video. Anyways, great job and love your videos as always.

[@badabing8884]

A major reason was playing all of their games at Wembley.

[@cartmenez7]

Wow...saying the ball could have been in is outrageous

[@abbaszaidi8371]

I was watching. Lovely stuff as per usual

[@callumpolaa.k.adjvinylrise2543]

I got a world cup trophy replica 😄

[@saltmerchant749]

West Ham. West Ham is how they won.

[@robertbradshaw5281]

Yes

[@prometheustv6558]

Man United tho

[@tsprime3114]

Day 17: Ranking every World Cup winning captain by their playing ability.

[@wolfmauler]

Well trodden and too subjective

[@user-fy6vx8gw2u]

Good idea

[@erdnasiul87]

THE SECRET INGREDIENT WAS CRIME

[@alijahdali9365]

Day 1: 2005 club world cup teams, where are they now.

[@KartingRules]

i like this idea! The winner was a club from my country!

[@alijahdali9365]

@@KartingRules nice, my club got 4th place

[@KartingRules]

@@alijahdali9365 My club in 2005 almost got into the CWC but we lost in Libertadores final :')

[@leeturton9254]

Those players and the manger and that day became immortal...but it's time we equaled that accomplishment... this year we have a great chance...we certainly have the player's we are battled hardened in big world cup and euro's we just need to go out and enjoy it and express ourselves

[@stevenwebb3634]

How they won it was by scoring more goals than West Germany in the finals.

[@easher6283]

A Scandinavian XI

[@andrealmeida852]

Day 18: 7 best international tournaments ever in your opinion (world cup ,euro,etc.)

[@MartimCorreia10]

Acho que também o fizeram contra outras equipas mas ya foi uma merda

[@noatukia3507]

It’s coming home 2022

[@ralstonbodhi8985]

To France or Brazil

[@tomwright3599]

Or 2020! We have a great squad for the euros. Pope, Trent, Maguire, Stones, Shaw, Rice, Foden, Grealish, Sterling, Kane, Sancho, Bench: Henderson, AWB, Gomez, Mount, Henderson, Rashford, Calvert-Lewin, Squad Players: Pickford, Chilwell, Maddison, Saka, Greenwood.

[@claivy9579]

@@tomwright3599 u seriously put maguire in there? I wouldnt even say u are top 5 rn

[@powerllesss2672]

@@tomwright3599 Michael Keane instead of maguire and maguire replaces Gomez

[@thomasarcher9178]

West Hams finest hour

[@bcfcfantv5339]

IT'S COMING HOME - said all England fans

[@shanewright2772]

It's the what if's that make 1966 fascinating - had Duncan Edwards lived he would most probably would have captained the side. Tony Kay another certainty (although he did play in Edwards' position), had been cruelly and unfairly banned, as was Peter Swan (Bobby Moore effectively replaced him) - both banned and a sure pick. Jack Charlton was by no means a certain choice - he was capped to try and find a back up for the great Brian "One Evertonian is worth 20 Liverpudlians" Labone, but Labone had promised his fiance Pat a June wedding and, despite Pat trying to talk him out of it, to Brian Labone a promise was a promise. He did go to Mexico in 1970, however. Labone was perhaps the last of the Corinthians - 530 games for Everton at Centre half and only 2 bookings ever. As an aside I consider him Everton's greatest post-war player. Just through those tiny quirks of fate, we could have seen a very different team and a very different result!

[@badabing8884]

There is no way Duncan Edwards would have played football again from the injuries he suffered in Munich even if by some miracle he had managed to survive.

[@shanewright2772]

@@badabing8884 I'm afraid you're proably right.

[@AdamMiligan]

Amazing video Alfie, I love this documentaries and is easy to see how much passion you put in it. Day 20 of asking for Democracia Corinthiana.

[@ConyBhoy]

Day 42 of asking for the rise and fall of Zurich a team that was in a UCL semi semi is now a mid table club

[@kshitijchauhan6539]

Video 3: A video on the differences in the landscape of football in India, China, The USA ( you could add 4 more countries similar to these to make it 7) and also make a prediction on the nation that could be a force of nature in the future!

[@rejectivity]

Please keep this series

[@J.Sosa07]

Amazing video!

[@daleheat8455]

Alan Ball farnworth born and bred 🏆

[@thomasmuller6301]

Wait, is the intro a reference to my old comments about all time 7s?

[@jackdacey9218]

Make this a series

[@MinJR1]

Lovely video!

[@slhchb2136]

Don't stop making vidéos about 20 century football❤❤

[@palmiragnarsson3795]

Please make more of these

[@kimbirch1202]

Jimmy Greaves was one of the best English players ever

[@qasimdin7438]

video suggestion what would've been England squad if they had qualified for usa 94

[@jamesbradley5401]

Some really interesting and worrying comments in this comments section, but can we please try and put everything into context 1) Host nations have ALWAYS played dirty when hosting World Cups, Italy 1934 and South Korea 2002 are just two examples of this 2) War and football are completely different things and need to be separated from one another, yes they can be things you build rivalries on, but comparing the deaths of millions of people to a game is ridiculous and disgusting Hopefully someone actually agrees with this and we can actually begin to live in a more tolerant society

[@djsilversun]

Quick Summary: How the English won the World Cup? They didn’t. They were gifted the title by an incapable referee

[@bakulshah4367]

Butt hurt much, huh. You forget even without that controversial goal, England would have won the final 3-2 regardless if that goal stood or not.

[@prometheustv6558]

@@bakulshah4367 But Geoff Hurst wouldn’t have done that if they weren’t already leading.

[@YashMezzala]

@@bakulshah4367 the ghost goal was the 3rd goal. How can u say that germany would've conceded another. Game could've been different.

[@CaptDeadpool32]

Dry your tears

[@prometheustv6558]

And the FA moved the venue for the semi final at the last minute and the referee sent off Argentina’s captain for asking for an interpreter.

[@matthewholmes8445]

1. Home advantage 2. Pele got kicked throughout the whole tournament 3. "Russian" linesman 4. They were still the best team!! You could go through every world cup in history and pick out similar factors to why teams won. It changes nothing.

[@lexkanyima2195]

Why does Pele had to do with it ?

[@georgehuck6182]

Nottingham Forest?

[@yusufkassim8236]

Day 9: A premier league styled table of the 20 biggest cities and their football teams in the UK

[@andreichiriac7823]

I hope you will be able to make videos of similar vein, in the future

[@adampark4238]

Motherwell 91 cup winning team and the tragic demise of some of the players

[@man4437]

I've never seen that goal be anywhere near over the line. It's mostly over the line but nowhere near fully at any point unless it took a bobble mid-air

[@tomhowlett5924]

Top quality Alfie

[@Smithy-qj5ib]

can you do a video about the columbian teams of 50' and 60' and the shady deals

[@Nathan-ke3dn]

This might not answer your questions completely but he wrote a book on Neil Franklin, who came to Colombia in the 50s so he definitely knows about it and he probably goes into it in his book.

[@Smithy-qj5ib]

@@Nathan-ke3dn i mean most of us haven t read the book and it would be an interesting topic

[@paulmartin3676]

Do a vid on penalty shootouts!

[@R1ccard0_03]

Please do this as a series you would beat the Irish guy in my opinion if you did

[@depekthegreat359]

In this and other world,I am the 56th liker of this video and England deserved the 1966 FIFA World Cup title due to them fighting their ways against some odds to win it,good friends!!!:-D

[@eisenlee4414]

Players who are good in the premier league but not in the championship, like an anti-Dwight Gayle The players should be genuinely unable to adapt to the championship and not unable to play through injuries or external factors

[@gazamidori2866]

There is only so much content you can do. Even if you don't get to our suggestions now, odds are, if they are any good you'll get around to it

[@prometheustv6558]

2:23 this should be a meme

[@KrispigKarp]

So true!