Last update October 31, 2026 by Alberto Llopis
The 30 July 1966 It was played at the stadium Wembley a match that stayed with everyone who witnessed it, featuring most famous ghost goal history.
they faced England and Germany in the final of the World Cup with old wounds still to heal after the end of World War II 21 years earlier.
That day all the lights were on two players: Bobby Charlton and a very young Franz Beckenbauer. But nevertheless, The German coach Helmut Schoen entrusted the 'Kaiser' with individual marking on the star of the English team and both players canceled each other out..
Extra time and Geoff Hurst's ghost goal
It was a final that had absolutely everything. goals, emotion and above all controversy. The match ended 2-2 after normal time. The Germans had gone ahead with a goal from Helmut Haller to the 12 minutes, but England turned the game around with goals from Geoff Hurst (who would become the central figure of the final) and Martin Peters. When it seemed that the cup would stay home, Weber equalised for West Germany to force extra time.
It was in extra time that Geoff Hurst made history by scoring twice more, becoming the first player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final. But nevertheless, both goals proved controversial, especially the first, when his shot struck the crossbar and bounced down onto the line. The Soviet assistant of Azerbaijani origin Tofik Bakhramov indicated that it had been a goal and the Swiss referee Gottfried Dienst awarded it. The English Football Association’s historical account recalls the consultation between the two officials. The second, which marked the final 4-2, came with three spectators having entered the pitch.
England won 4-2 at Wembley
that Saturday 30 July 1966, England won the World Cup after a final that ended 4-2 after extra time. The result and date appear on the FIFA finals record. Hurst's hat trick went down in history; the discussion about his second goal, as well.
The Oxford study on the ghost goal
The controversy even reached academic research. Ian Reid and Andrew Zisserman, from Oxford University, published in 1996 Goal-Directed Video Metrology. The work analyzed the position of the ball through video sequences taken from different points of view, also considering the margins of error. It was not technology available to the referees that afternoon, but a later reconstruction of the play.
To understand the context of that tournament, You can also read our history of Pelé's Brazil in the World Cup 1966.
Wembley is also part of our tour six historical controversies prior to VAR, along with Maradona's hand and Tassotti's elbow to Luis Enrique.
