England can go all the way, 1966 hero says

Gareth Southgate’s young team can match the achievement of Alf Ramsey’s men and go all the way in Russia, England’s 1966 World Cup hat-trick hero Geoff Hurst says.

The 76-year-old – who scored a hat-trick in the final at Wembley against West Germany – told The Sun newspaper that Southgate had fostered an impressive spirit of togetherness in the squad.

England play Croatia in the semifinal in Moscow on Wednesday for the right to meet France or Belgium in Sunday’s final.

“Just like Sir Alf, he has also stuck by his players and has a very clear way of playing,” Hurst said.

“Probably one big difference is that we had four genuine world-class players in Gordon Banks, Bobby Moore, Bobby Charlton and Jimmy Greaves [who did not play in that final].

“This squad doesn’t have those type of players, they are all of a similar level. Maybe that’s because they are quite young and have their careers still in front of them.”

Hurst said Ramsey rightly gets most of the credit for creating a “tremendous team spirit”.

“Our camaraderie was excellent,” he said.

“Gareth is doing exactly the same.”

The former West Ham player said one big difference was that while his generation knew little about the fervour in the country during the tournament, today’s players keep in touch through social media.

“We weren’t aware of everything going on as we were kept in a bubble,” he said.

Hurst said none of the three teams still in Russia should frighten England.

“The only team I would have feared playing against is Brazil,” he said.

“I believe we can go all the way, without question.” –