Then, as now, a team built on the foundations of a solid defence, emerged strengthened after a difficult opening group stage to prove that great heart, a clear strategy and well-prepared tactics can succeed.
As England battled to their 1-0 victory against Ukraine in Donetsk on Tuesday to set up a quarter-final with Italy, that heart - and much courageous tackling and blocking - was embodied by several men, but no more so than by Scott Parker.
If only he had half his front teeth missing, he would already have been dubbed 'Nobby' after Nobby Stiles, who snapped at anything moving in front of England's 1966 World Cup-winning defence.
But Parker's unsung and gritty work in a defensive midfield role is only one of many examples of the similarities between the team that beat West Germany 4-2 after extra time in the World Cup final at Wembley and now.
Where the belatedly knighted England manager of 1966, Sir Alf Ramsey, had one of the world's greatest goalkeepers in Gordon Banks, his 2012 counterpart Roy Hodgson has the hugely-promising Joe Hart.
Like Ramsey's men, the 2012 players have been subjugated to the needs of the team - a Ramsey doctrine, as enshrined in his approach as much as discipline and tactics.
His 4-4-2 system, without natural width supplied by 'old-fashioned' wingers, was seen as revolutionary, but remains the blueprint on which Hodgson has evolved the tactics of his 2012 quarter-finalists.
In reserve, as before, England have a natural goalscorer from Tottenham Hotspur - Jermain Defoe in a role that was Jimmy Greaves' fate, as the 'wingless wonders' evolved and he was cast aside.
