“PEOPLE will tell their grandchildren of this great day," said The Northern Echo's back page on August 1, 1966. "A day when two teams gave everything they had for the top prize in soccer. A day when the tension was electric, the thrills too numerous to count, and the finale as sensational as it was almost unbelievable. It was a World Cup final with chapters of fiction. It had everything. Drama, thrills, great goals, soft goals, courage – and a storybook ending.”
It was the day that England beat West Germany 4-2 in a thrilling final that went to extra time and featured one of the most analysed goals of all time.
Here is the story of that historic match told in pictures from The Northern Echo's archive.
Now 55 years on, almost exactly to the day, England's male footballers have reached a second final of a major competition. Just like in 1966 it is at Wembley, and there may well, like 1966, be 90,000 spectators in the ground.
Let's hope that, also like 1966, Sunday is a day that people will tell their grandchildren about with a storybook ending.
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