Five facts about the only time England won the World Cup

There's not long to wait until the Fifa World Cup gets underway.

The 2026 tournament begins on 11 June and will see a record number of teams from across the globe battling it out to be crowned world champions.

England and Scotland have both qualified for next month's tournament - and for Scotland it's the first time doing so since 1998.

Scotland are looking to make it out of their group, and get to the knockout stages for the first time in their history.

England will be hoping to win the tournament for the first time in 60 years.

Keep reading to find out five winning facts about the 1966 World Cup.

Are you looking forward to the World Cup? Which team will you be supporting? Let us know in the comments below.

Did you know that the original World Cup trophy, named the Jules Rimet, was stolen from an exhibition in London just four months before the tournament was due to begin?

However, it was finally found a week later - by a dog named Pickles.

The clever dog found it wrapped in newspaper under a hedge in South London, while out on a walk with his owner!

Love it or hate it, VAR - or video assistant referee - has become a big part of top league football and major finals across the globe.

But when England won the World Cup in 1966, referees had to make every decision without the help of video replays.

In fact there were no pitch-side screens and no slow-motion reviews either - only the eyes and judgement of the referee and linesmen.

It's hard to imagine a major tournament without a mascot, but did you know that for many years they simply didn't exist?

That changed in 1966, when World Cup Willie - a cartoon lion wearing a Union Jack football shirt - became the first official World Cup mascot.

He became a massive hit, and every men's World Cup since then has featured its own unique mascot.

The 2026 World Cup is set to be the biggest ever - and is being expanded to include 48 teams for the first time in its history.

The new format will feature 12 four-team groups and an extra knockout round.

But back in 1966 things looked rather different.

There were only 16 teams, with nations divided into four groups of four, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the knockout stage.

Do you enjoy kicking a football around with your brother or sister? Now imagine doing that in a World Cup final.

That's exactly what happened in 1966, when England had two footballing brothers on the pitch - Bobby and Jack Charlton.

Bobby is considered by many fans as one of the best England players of all time, and played as an attacking midfielder.

Whereas his older brother Jack, played in defence.