The 1966 FIFA World Cup was the eighth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in England from 11 July to 30 July 1966. England defeated West Germany 42 in the final to win their first and so far only ever title; the match had finished at 22 after 90 minutes and went to extra time, when Geoff Hurst scored two goals to complete his hat-trick, the first (and as of 2022, only) to be scored in a World Cup final, with a handful of spectators wandering on to the pitch during the fourth goal. England were the fifth nation to win the event, and the third host nation to win after Uruguay in 1930 and Italy in 1934. Brazil were the defending champions, but they failed to progress from the group stage.

Two debut teams performed well at the competition North Korea beat Italy 10 on the way to reaching the quarter-finals, where they lost to Portugal 53 after leading 30. Portugal themselves finished third, losing 21 to England in the semi-final. Portuguese striker Eusbio was the tournament's top scorer, with nine goals clinching the golden boot with three goals more than second placed Helmut Haller.

The 1966 World Cup was the first FIFA World Cup held in the English-speaking world. Matches were played at eight stadiums across England, with the final being held at Wembley Stadium, which had a capacity of 98,600. The 1966 event featured the highest number of teams of any international tournament to date, with 70 nations participating. 31 African nations boycotted the World Cup, having objected to the number of guaranteed placings at the finals.

Prior to the tournament, the Jules Rimet trophy was stolen, but was recovered by a dog named Pickles four months before the tournament began. It was the first World Cup to have selected matches broadcast via satellite to countries on other continents. The final, which was broadcast locally by the BBC, was the last to be shown entirely in black and white.

The England national football team has represented England in international football since the first international match in 1872. It is controlled by The Football Association (FA), the governing body for football in England, which is affiliated with UEFA and comes under the global jurisdiction of world football's governing body FIFA. England competes in the three major international tournaments contested by European nations: the FIFA World Cup, the UEFA European Championship, and the UEFA Nations League.

England is the joint oldest national team in football. It played in the world's first international football match in 1872, against Scotland. England's home ground is Wembley Stadium, London, and its training headquarters is St George's Park, Burton upon Trent. The team's manager is Gareth Southgate.

England is one of eight nations to have won the World Cup. England has qualified for the World Cup 15 times. It won the 1966 World Cup Final, a tournament it also hosted, and finished fourth in both 1990 and 2018. England has never won the European Championship, with its best performance to date being runners-up in 2020. As a constituent country of the United Kingdom, England is not a member of the International Olympic Committee and so does not compete at the Olympic Games. England is currently the only team to have won the World Cup but not won any major continental title at senior level, and the only non-sovereign entity to have won the World Cup.