What Was England’s Starting XI for the 1966 World Cup Final?

The Premier League may be the best, most exciting and certainly the richest league in the world. England may be able to lay claim to having invented football and boast many of the oldest sides in the world. In recent times the Young Lions, the various age-group sides, have won various major trophies.

But the full men’s team has been sadly lacking in the glory department. The iconic Three Lions song sang of “30 years of hurt” and seemingly in the blink of an eye that has stretched out to almost 60 years! England have won just a single major trophy and that is why the year 1966 is etched into the brains of all supporters of the Three Lions, young and old.

Those at the more “experienced” end of the spectrum may well be able to recite the starting XI from that famous summer day at Wembley as if they were naming their children. But younger fans, or those newer to football, probably don’t know which 11 players delivered the goods for England in ‘66, let alone know anything about them. That’s why we are here to help.

Gordon Banks

One name that many fans will be able to recall is that of Banks, England’s incredible goalkeeper. It was not until 1970 that he produced the save, from a Pele header, that is often regarded as the greatest of all time but he was remarkable during the 1966 World Cup too.

He played 73 times for England and spent most of his club career with Leicester and then Stoke. He played every game at the World Cup and was named FIFA Goalkeeper of the Year six years running from 1966 onwards.

Bobby Moore

Moore was England’s captain for the 1966 win and indeed for a joint-world record 90 games in total, making 108 appearances for the Three Lions between 1962 and 1973. An elegant, graceful player who read the game supremely well, he died far too young, at the age of 51.

Moore played most of his career at West Ham and is a Hammers legend. He played 647 times for the club, also turning out almost 150 times for Fulham.

Bobby Charlton

Charlton has a decent claim to being England’s greatest footballer ever and scored three goals in the 1966 World Cup. Two of those came in the semi-final win over Portugal and Charlton was one of five English players named in the All-star team, along with Banks, Moore, Geoff Hurst and George Cohen. Charlton was England’s top goalscorer for many years, some feat considering he was not a striker, and was also Man United’s top scorer until Wayne Rooney surpassed him there too. He played 106 times for his country, netting 49 times.

Geoff Hurst

Hirst will always be remembered for his incredible World Cup-final hat-trick and with four goals he was England’s top scorer in a tournament where they shared the scoring quite equally. Hurst was another of the ‘66 contingent who made his name with West Ham, appearing 500 times for the east Londoners. Famously Hurst may not have featured at all at the World Cup were it not for an injury to Jimmy Greaves in the group clash against France but once in, from the quarters onwards, he never looked back. As of March 2024, Hurst is the only member of the great side still alive.

Jack Charlton

Bobby’s brother Jack was a very different type of player, a no-nonsense defender who was the perfect partner for the graceful Moore. Jack spent his entire career with Leeds United and whilst he only played 35 games for England, he netted a very handy six goals. He famously went on to manage Ireland to relative success and died in 2020 at the age of 85.

George Cohen

Cohen was England’s brilliant right back and is another of the great team that passed away recently, in 2022. Like Charlton, he was a one-club man and appeared more than 500 times for Fulham. Cohen was an attacking full-back before that was really a thing and suited England’s “wingless wonders” formation perfectly. Capped 37 times by England he was often kept out of the side by Jimmy Armfield.

Roger Hunt was set to partner Greaves at the World Cup but fate played its part and the Hurst-Hunt partnership proved crucial to England’s success. Hunt made his name with Liverpool and netted 18 goals in 34 games for England, including three at the World Cup, all in the group phase.

Alan Ball

Alan Ball played in midfield alongside Charlton and Martin Peters, in front of Nobby Styles and was a hard-working terrier who also possessed an eye for goal and was a fine passer of the ball. He played 72 times for his country and most famously played for Everton, though moved to Arsenal for a then-English record fee of £220,000, having been signed by the Toffees for a record £112,000.

Martin Peters

Peters scored the second goal in the World Cup final, one of 20 he bagged for his country (from 67 caps). Peters played over 200 times for each of West Ham, Spurs and Norwich and was an exceptional all-round midfielder. Two-footed, a fine passer off the ball and more than capable of getting on the scoresheet, he played for the Three Lions between 1966 and 1974.

Ray Wilson

One of two Everton players in the World Cup starting XI, Wilson represented his country 63 times but did not score. He also played 150 times for the Toffees without getting on the scoresheet but as a defender, there were few better. Wilson won both the FA Cup (with Everton) and the World Cup in 1966, so not a bad summer all in all.

Nobby Styles

Styles was essentially England’s holding midfielder and was a real workhorse, putting in the hard yards so those ahead of him good support the front two. He spent much of his career with Man United but also played for Middlesbrough and Preston. In common with many of the 1966 side, he didn’t accrue a huge number of England caps, just 28, but he peaked when it mattered and was outstanding when marking the great Eusebio in the semi final.