1: Football’s Coming Home: How England Won The 1966 World Cup | Part One | It Was What It Was

2026-06-15

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This week on The Overlap, Rob Draper and Jonathan Wilson begin a four-part series revisiting England’s 1966 World Cup win. Part one focuses on Sir Alf Ramsey’s background - and the conservative England setup he inherited, including the FA selection committee and a poor early World Cup record. We'll look at how a trip to Brazil in 1964 helped to change things for Ramsey - and we'll see the emergence of his core players - who would go on to become England legends.If you want more, subscribe to It Was What It Was. Plus - if you want ear...

This week on The Overlap, Rob Draper and Jonathan Wilson begin a four-part series revisiting England’s 1966 World Cup win.

Part one focuses on Sir Alf Ramsey’s background - and the conservative England setup he inherited, including the FA selection committee and a poor early World Cup record. We'll look at how a trip to Brazil in 1964 helped to change things for Ramsey - and we'll see the emergence of his core players - who would go on to become England legends.

If you want more, subscribe to It Was What It Was. Plus - if you want early access to the entire series - join our Patreon now. There's loads there - and a great community too!

00:00 Meet Alf Ramsey

01:49 Ipswich Miracle Title

03:28 Ending Selection Committees

05:20 England World Cup Woes

06:50 Dour Yet Radical

09:23 Xenophobia And Origins

14:14 Was 1966 A Curse

17:28 Ramsey Playing Roots

20:36 Ipswich Tactical Experiments

24:38 Brutalism And Football

27:27 Brutalism Meets Football

31:21 Ramsey Blueprint Emerges