Winners England
Teams 16
Host England
Teams in qualifiers 70
Notable absentees None
Surprises North Korea
Golden Boot Eusébio (Portugal) - 9
Stats A total of 89 goals were scored (2.78 per match); Portugal (17) scored the most
Format Four groups of four, with the top two progressing to the quarter-finals
Number of matches 32
Innovations
• Doping controls were introduced
• FIFA banned the naturalisation of players
Controversies
• Sixteen African nations boycotted the tournament in protest at a 1964 ruling that required the champion team from the African zone to enter a play-off round against the winners of either the Asian or the Oceanian zone
Trivia
• The Jules Rimet Trophy was stolen from a public display three months before the tournament and found under a hedge a week later by a mongrel dog called Pickles
• The draw was the first to be televised
• World Cup Willie was the first World Cup mascot
• One match between Uruguay and France was played at London's White City, not a traditional football venue, because there was greyhound racing scheduled for Wembley and the owners refused to cancel it
• The opening match between England and Uruguay was delayed because several of the England players left their ID cards at the team hotel. A police motorcyclist was sent to collect them
• As a security measure, the FA had a replica of the Jules Rimet Trophy made for post-match celebrations. It was bought by FIFA at auction in 1997 for £254,500
Source: FIFA, ESPN, AllSports & Getty