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The England 1966 FIFA World Cup squad comprises the 22 players represented the England national football team at the 1966 FIFA World Cup, hosted for the first and only time in England. The tournament marked the first and only time the team has won the world championship, and as a result, the players involved have attained iconic status in the country.
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Squad
Going into the tournament, Jimmy Greaves, Bobby Charlton and Bobby Moore were seen as the biggest names, with Bobby Charlton arguably being the most famous.
Manager Alf Ramsey was confident England could win it; the country was less convinced, with few visible signs of confidence such as flags flying. Based on their record going into the tournament, some of the players were confident of a win. The Daily Mail journalist Brian James was threatened with the sack if he committed his view they could win to print, lest he make a fool out of the paper.
Manager: Alf Ramsey
Tournament
The 1966 World Cup was the last time that teams were not allowed to name substitutes, so the 11 man team for each game would be named from the 22 man squad.
In honour of their win, a banquet was held at the Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington, attended by both Queen Elizabeth II and the Prime Minister, although due to the social conventions of the time, the players' wives, who attended the event, were not allowed to dine with their husbands.
Celebrity status
In contrast to the modern day, although relatively famous, footballers in 1960s England were less famous than the film or music stars of the day, and indeed, their wages were similar to that of the common man. Their wages were £20 per week, while they received a £1,000 tax free bonus for winning the competition.
After the first group game, manager Alf Ramsey arranged a trip to Pinewood Studios, where it was said that the players were in awe of the film stars they met there, including Sean Connery, who was at the time filming James Bond film You Only Live Twice. Even on the morning of the final, Bobby Charlton and Ray Wilson were able to go shopping in Golders Green without being mobbed.
Today, the squad are variously described as heroes, although they themselves are judged as modest and humble.
Even after their win, in order to survive financially many of the players had to find another career once they retired from football. Ray Wilson became an undertaker, while Martin Peters worked for an insurance company.
Statues
The World Cup Sculpture was unveiled in 2003 near the Boleyn Ground (Upton Park), home stadium of West Ham United. It depicts a famous victory scene photographed after the final, featuring Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst, Martin Peters and Ray Wilson; Moore is pictured held shoulder high, holding the Jules Rimet Trophy aloft.
A statue of Bobby Moore was unveiled outside the rebuilt Wembley Stadium on its reopening in 2007.
Medals
As was the practice at the time (and which continued until 1974), only the 11 players in the final received a winners medal. Eight of them subsequently auctioned them to provide for their families, beginning with George Cohen, in 1998, up to Nobby Stiles in 2010, leaving only Roger Hunt and the Charlton brothers with their medals. The 11 players who never received a medal were awarded one in 2009, when FIFA retroactively awarded medals for all pre-1974 squad members.
Honours
West Ham members
Much is made of the influence of West Ham players in the win, due to Moore being the captain and their other players having a part in several of the team's goals at the tournament.
Media
The story of the tournament had been covered extensively, to the point where some have argued it has been "over-told". The Telegraph observed in 2001 (the 35th anniversary) that the interest "rather than fading in the mists of times, simply grows and grows".
For the 50th anniversary of the tournament, Sky Sports aired the Boys of 66 documentary, profiling the squad and their at the tournament.
Survivors
Fifty years after the tournament, the majority of the squad are still alive, although manager Alf Ramsey died in 1999. Of the players, Bobby Moore died in 1993, followed by Alan Ball in 2007, John Connelly in 2012, and then Ron Springett and Gerry Byrne in 2015.
Anniversaries
On the 35th anniversary, members of the squad reunited at the Royal Garden Hotel, where they were photographed with the Jules Rimet Trophy, on its way to the National Football Museum in Preston.