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When it comes to single-game performances, one man stands head and shoulders above all others who have pulled on an England shirt.
Sir Geoff Hurst’s legendary hat-trick against West Germany in the 1966 final helped deliver a 4-2 win and, with it, England men’s only major tournament victory.
Hurst has watched 14 World Cups come and go without seeing another Three Lions tournament triumph, with some of the greatest strikers in the history of the game – from Harry Kane and Wayne Rooney, to Gary Lineker and Kevin Keegan – unable to match his feats.
‘The closest in terms of in the air and striking the ball is Shearer’ Hurst on the elements of Toon legend Shearer’s game that resembled his own
For those not old enough to have seen Hurst play, the man himself has selected an England great that most resembled his own game.
“Who's a similar player to me? I would probably pick out Alan Shearer,” Hurst tells FFT on the morning of the 2026 World Cup opening match.
“I think we're all different, the No.9s who have played for England down the years. It's easy to determine who's different when you watch players on the field, this player or that player, but the closest player in terms of the actual play and style of play, and so on, in the air and striking the ball is Shearer.
“But we're all different. We're all the great thing about life and football, we're all, we're all completely,
Hurst also reveals that he gets offers of free pints from strangers far lsss often than you’d imagine, given his services to his country.
“I wouldn’t say they queue up, but people do offer to buy a drink for me from time to time, which I always – and it's very nice – but I always refuse,” the 84 year old says. “It's weird in a way, a complete stranger coming up to me, offering to buy me a pint, so I never accept.
“I get it from time to time, not on a regular basis, or as often as people may think, but from time to time in certain situations, which is very flattering and very nice that people want to do that.”
Hurst was speaking to FourFourTwo as part of Sky Bet’s new campaign ahead of the FIFA World Cup, which sees a £5 million jackpot available to qualifying customers if England win the tournament, alongside an immersive public installation designed to capture national sentiment on England’s chances.
“Sky better giving away £5m if England win the World Cup, and also importantly, which is interesting, another £100,000 pound additionally for every goal that England score, so that is absolutely fantastic. I think, in the last World Cup, England scored about 13 to 14 goals, so that's going to add an awful lot of money to that giveaway jackpot – fantastic. So that's quite a remarkable piece of interest for for the for the nation."
Sir Geoff Hurst was speaking on behalf of Sky Bet after the bookmaker pledged an incredible £5 million jackpot for customers if England win the World Cup
