1966 FIFA World Cup world champions Brazil after the preliminary round. Notably, all four semi-finalists were European, a situation occurring in only four other world cups (1934, 1982, 2006 and 2018). Portugal's Eusébio was top scorer with nine goals. The final is remembered for being the only one with a hat-trick and for its controversial third goal awarded to England. An incident before the tournament was the theft and refinding of the trophy. The final, held at Wembley Stadium, was the last to be broadcast in black and white. The tournament held a FIFA record for the largest average attendance until it was surpassed
Argentina at the FIFA World Cup playmaker position was instead filled by Mario Kempes, who ended up becoming the first Argentinian to win the Golden Ball in addition to being the tournament's top scorer with 6 goals. The Dutch side was missing a superstar of their own: Johann Cruyff did not join the 1978 World Cup squads due to the aftermath of a kidnapping attempt which occurred in 1977. He only disclosed this information 30 years later. The closely contested match was influenced by a hostile atmosphere and ended with the Dutch players refusing to attend the award ceremony after Argentina grabbed the title in extra