The twelve days of World Cup: 1 day to go...

Two firsts today, neither of which have been emulated just yet: England host the World Cup; England win the World Cup.

In 1966, England began their World Cup campaign in what would now be seen as typical fashion, with a 0-0 draw with then-lowly Uruguay at Wembley. However, things picked up as England brushed aside Mexico and France, both 2-0, both at Wembley (hardly fair...), with Liverpool's Roger Hunt, a man whose autograph I once had before it took a spin in the washer, bagging three of the four goals, and Bobby Charlton the other, which was the undoubted goal of the tournament (see below). In the other groups, Portugal had been the most impressive, beating Hungary and Brazil 3-1 and Bulgaria 3-0, inspired by the great Eusebio, who would outshine Pele in this tournament. Remarkably, North Korea also made it through to the quarters, after a draw with Chile and a stunning victory over Italy, whom they eliminated. Their quarter against Portugal would turn out to be one of the great World Cup games, as they raced into a 3-0 lead inside 25 minutes, only to fall victims to their own inexperience, gifting Portugal two penalties en route to a 5-3 victory. England were assisted by a first half sending of against Argentina, going through 1-0 thanks to Hurst's goal, his first of the tournament.



The semis pitted West Germany, inspired by Beckenbauer and Seeler, against a resolute and effective USSR side, and England against the increasingly effective Portugal, who had scored 14 in their 4 games so far. Germany overcame the USSR 2-1, assisted by a red card just after half time, and England matched that scoreline in a classic encounter, Bobby Charlton bagging both goals before Eusebio hit back from the spot.

And so it was. England's first and only World Cup final was to be played at Wembley, against West Germany. The media was no doubt full of war references, although almost certainly not to the jingoistic, xenophobic extent to which today's tabloids would be. England lined up in red, in something resembling a 4-1-3-2 formation, as follows: Banks, Cohen, J Charlton, Moore (c), Wilson, Stiles, Ball, Charlton, Peters, Hurst, Hunt. Inside 15 minutes, Germany had the lead through Haller, but Hurst hit back after 18 minutes. Martin Peters made it 2-1 with 12 minutes to go, and in the last minute of normal time Weber pounced on a loose ball in the six yard box after a controversial freekick (typical Germans, etc etc etc). Another World Cup first; extra time in a final. It was the third goal which courted the most controversy; Hurst's shot appearing to not fully cross the line, only to be award by the Soviet linesman.It is heavily rumoured that on his deathbed, linesman Tofik Bakhramov was asked how he was certain that Hurst's second had cross the line. His reply? "Stalingrad". The rest is history however, Hurst breaking away down the left channel as Kenneth Wolstenholme proclaims a pitch invasion, before shanking the ball into the top corner as he attempted to find row Z to eat up the clock. Surely the most historic mis-hit of all time?



And so it was, England were World Champions, before being beaten by the greatest of all time four years later. A little glimmer of hope for 2010. Sure, England aren't going to play all six games at Wembley, plus its unlikely Brazil will simply fail to turn up, but who knows?

Enjoy the World Cup. If you expect England to win, you will not enjoy it. If you enjoy football and would like England to win but are realistic about it, you will enjoy it. Look out for Chile, they'll surprise a few.

TOMORROW: Kick off!