1966 FIFA World Cup 1966 FIFA World Cup The 1966 FIFA World Cup was the eighth FIFA World Cup and was held in England from 11 to 30 July 1966. England beat West Germany 4–2 in the final, winning the Jules Rimet Trophy. It is England's only FIFA World Cup title. They were the fifth nation to win and the third host nation to win after Uruguay in 1930 and Italy in 1934. Notable performances were made by the two debutants Portugal, ending third, and North Korea, getting to the quarter finals after a 1–0 win against Italy. Also notable was the elimination of
South American nations at the FIFA World Cup to a David Beckham free kick. During the second round, Brazil defeated Ghana 3–0, in a game which included Ronaldo's record 15th World Cup goal. Quarter-final Germany and Argentina ended 1–1 after extra time; the hosts edged out the Argentines 4–2 on penalties to go through to the semifinals (this was the first time Argentina had lost a World Cup penalty shootout: up until this match, both Argentina and Germany had participated in three penalty shootouts, winning all of them). Argentina scored first to grab a 0–1 lead. However, Michael Ballack's cross, flicked on by Tim Borowski, allowed Klose to