Match No. 407 - Saturday, 23rd July 1966, 3:00pm

  • Assist: Martin Peters. "The break came just 13 minutes from the end Peters, again having a good match, received a ball from Wilson, and swung it over for his club colleague Hurst, to flick it with his head past Roma." Geoff Hurst2nd of 24 goals. Header from yards., 77' 76:54
    • 1
    • Gordon BanksLeicester, 31st of 73 caps
      28 years, 6 months, 24 days
      Goalkeeper
    • 2
    • George CohenFulham, 28th of 37 caps
      26 years, 9 months, 1 day
      Right Back
    • 3
    • Ray WilsonEverton, 49th of 63 caps
      31 years, 7 months, 6 days
      Left Back
    • 4
    • Nobby StilesMan Utd, 18th of 28 caps
      24 years, 2 months, 5 days
      Defensive Midfield
    • 5
    • Jack CharltonLeeds, 20th of 35 caps
      31 years, 2 months, 15 days
      Centre Back
    • 6
    • Bobby MooreWest Ham, 45th of 108 caps
      25 years, 3 months, 11 day
      Centre Back
      (c)28th captaincy
    • 7
    • Alan BallBlackpool, 12th of 72 caps
      21 years, 2 months, 11 day
      Midfield
    • 21
    • Roger HuntLiverpool, 17th of 34 caps
      28 years, 0 months, 3 days
      Centre Forward
    • 9
    • Bobby CharltonMan Utd, 72nd of 106 caps
      28 years, 9 months, 12 days
      Centre Half
    • 10
    • Geoff HurstWest Ham, 6th of 49 caps
      24 years, 7 months, 15 days
      Centre Forward
    • 16
    • Martin PetersWest Ham, 6th of 67 caps
      22 years, 8 months, 15 days
      Midfield
  •  
    • 1
    • Antonio RomaAntonio Roma.
      Born 13th Jul 1932, Buenos Aires.
    • 4
    • Roberto PerfumoRoberto Alfredo Perfumo.
      Born 3rd Oct 1942, Sarandi.
    • 7
    • Silvio MarzoliniSilvio Marzolini.
      Born 4th Oct 1940, Buenos Aires.
    • 8
    • Roberto FerreiroRoberto Oscar Ferreiro.
      Born 25th Apr 1935, Avellanceda.
    • 10
    • Antonio RattínAntonio Ubaldo Rattín.
      Born 16th May 1937, Tigre.
      (c) 29:25 Tripping Bobby Charlton. & 32:24 Constant badgering of the referee.
    • Off '3332:24
    • 12
    • Rafael AlbrechtJosé Rafael Albrecht.
      Born 23rd Aug 1941, Tucuman.
    • 20
    • Ermindo OnegaErmindo Ángel Onega.
      Born 30th Apr 1940, Las Parejas.
    • 15
    • Jorge SolariJorge Raúl Solari.
      Born 11th Nov 1941, Buenos Aires.
      22:55 Kicking the ball away at an England free kick.
    • 19
    • Luis ArtimeLuis Artime.
      Born 2nd Dec 1938, Parque Civit.
      32:10 Not retreating ten yards for a England free kick.
    • 16
    • Alberto GonzálezAlberto Mario González.
      Born 21st Aug 1941.
    • 21
    • Oscar MásOscar Más.
      Born 29th Oct 1946, Villa Ballester.
      88:47 Tripping Bobby Charlton from behind.

Notes

  • Rattin: Red CardThe Argentine captain was dismissed for two cautionable offences. The first for trying to trip Bobby Charlton (29:25) as he went forward, the second for constantly arguing with the referee after first Perfumo had tripped Hunt on the edge of the area and then Artime had been booked for not retreating back ten yards for the subsequent free kick (32:10). Krietlein had had enough of the Argentine captain and dismissed him from the field (32:24). Kenneth Wolstenholme and Jimmy Hill on BBC commentry suggested he had been dismissed for "violence of the tongue". Rattin refused to leave and the game was stopped for nealy eight minutes (see below).
  • Match ReportThis match is known in Argentina as El Robo Del Siglo (The Robbery of the Century). Some viewed the whole tournament as a European conspiracy biased against all South American teams.
    The Argentine tactics were simple: slow, walking football and short passing, clearly designed to disrupt England's play. The game spiralled into a kicking contest which overwhelmed the German referee Krietlein. When Rattin was dismissed on 33 minutes (see above) the game stopped for almost eight minutes as the Argentine captain refused to leave the pitch and a committee meeting was arranged on the touchline by the coaching area. Juan Carlos Lorenzo, the Argentine coach was prominent in the 'discussions' - Ken Aston, the FIFA referee liaison also. Eventually the game was restarted after nearly eight minutes with Rattin and the Argentine coaching staff still deliberating with officials on the touchline.
    The England players are far from blameless having committed 30 fouls to Argentina's 18 during the game. For example, twenty seconds after the restart Hurst goes in heavily on Ferreiro and the Argentine tumbles and writhes on the floor like he has had his leg kicked off. The crowd boos the theatrics, and the Argentines are antagonised further. Hurst is not booked. "It was clear that the referee played with an England shirt on", Rattín later said.
    At the end of the match, the Argentine players surrounded the referee and Krietlein had his shirt ripped by Ferreiro which would earn him a three-match ban while Onega got the same for spitting at FIFA vice-president Harry Cavan. Alf Ramsey ran onto the pitch to try and stop George Cohen swapping shirts with the Argentines. He would later, in a press conference, described them as "animals". Krietlein would be escorted from the field surrounded by police.
    The game was settled by a Geoff Hurst header from a Martin Peters cross. Bobby Charlton describing it "...the best England goal I ever saw in my time with the squad". A fine goal to end a terrible match.

    As a direct consequence of this match, Ken Aston would later develop yellow and red cards - they were first used during the 1970 World Cup.
  • Charlton bookings?According to the Guardian both Charltons received yellow cards during the game, "Cautions given to Artime, Solari, and Jack and Bobby Charlton were confirmed." However, reviewing the TV footage there is no evidence of when this was. Coupled with the lack of cards on FIFA's match report and the Guardian's omission of Mas's yellow card we are not convinced this is accurate.

Sources

  • Wembley - The Complete Record 1923 - 2000 by Glen Isherwood (Sports Books 2006)
  • England - The Quest for the World Cup - A Complete Record by Clive Leatherdale (Two Heads Publishing 1994)
  • Official FIFA report
  • England: The Complete Post-War Record by Mike Payne (Breedon Books Publishing Company 1993)
  • The Anatomy of England by Jonathan Wilson (Orion 2010)
  • The Guardian "Argentina are threatened with expulsion", Monday, 25th July 1966, page 10
  • The Guardian "England's victory soured by vicious play", Monday, 25th July 1966, page 10
  • englandstats.com Digital Archive
  • The Guardian "Why not everyone remembers the 1966 World Cup as fondly as England"

Managers

  • England Alf Ramsey
  • Argentina Juan Carlos Lorenzo

Referee

  • West Germany Rudolf Krietlein

Attendance

  • 90,584

Half Time Score

ELO Ratings

  • Down 1 place, gaining 21 ranking points to 2025 points England - 3rd - 1
  • Argentina - 5th