It was a Wednesday evening and pouring down in ‘The Big Smoke’. That did not, however, prevent the masses flocking to Wembley Stadium for a group-stage game. The crowd of 98,270 remains the biggest for a FIFA World Cup™ contest outside the Americas.
France needed to win by two goals to advance at their opponents’ expense. England needed a result to go through top and avoid facing the Group 2 victors, which they correctly guessed would be West Germany, in the quarter-finals.
The majority headed home happy. Les Bleus essentially played at a numerical disadvantage from early on,
when Robert Herbin suffered a leg injury, and the Three Lions capitalised, with a Roger Hunt brace bagging a 2-0 success.
Another injury also proved crucial. The great Jimmy Greaves suffered a gashed leg and consequently missed the quarter-final against Argentina. Geoff Hurst deputised and, though Greaves was fit for the final, and a racket erupted for his reinstatement to the starting XI, Alf Ramsey refused to alter a winning team. You all know what Hurst went on to do to the West Germans…
