1966 replayed – England v West Germany, 1985

July 28, 2025 0 By Paul W

Elland Road was the venue for a unique fixture at the end of July 1985, which saw the 1966 World Cup Final ‘replayed’. Organised to raise funds for the Bradford Fire Disaster Fund in the wake of the recent tragedy at Valley Parade, nearly 20,000 attended to see a small slice of football history on a rainy July day in West Yorkshire. 

England v West Germany at Elland Road, 1985 - programme

All 11 of England’s 1966 team kicked off for the first time in 19 years. Alf Ramsey had retained his World Cup-winning line-up after the final for the three remaining fixtures that year, the victorious side appearing together for the last time on 16 November 1966 against Wales at Wembley. Captain Bobby Moore, by 1985 manager of Southend United, confirmed the willingness of the whole team to take part: “no one has second thoughts about doing something to help those affected by the disaster.” 

The West German FA readily accepted the invitation to participate at short notice but regretted that it was impossible to re-unite the full side from 1966 – as secretary Dr Wilfried Gerhardt explained, “Some have holidays arranged, many have businesses to run”. In the end, this reunion also included seven West Germans from the famous day. The players not appearing were Horst-Dieter Höttges, Wolfgang Weber, Karl-Heinz Schnellinger and Helmut Haller – which meant both their Wembley goalscorers were missing. The replacements were Friedel Lutz and Max Lorenz (both members of the 1966 squad), Klaus Fichtel (1970) and 1974 World Cup winner Bernd Hölzenbein.   

England v West Germany at Elland Road, 1985 - Yorkshire Evening Post preview
England v West Germany at Elland Road, 1985 - Yorkshire Evening Post preview

The match had been eagerly awaited and proved to be entertaining and enthusiastically received despite the weather. Several big names in the game were at Elland Road to lend their support, which was a bonus for the crowd of children waiting in the rain outside the main entrance for autographs. I can still make out the signatures of John Charles, Peter Lorimer, Harold Shepherdson (Ramsey’s assistant and team trainer) and Frank Worthington as well as many of the legendary names from 1966: Alan Ball, Gordon Banks, Roger Hunt, Martin Peters, Nobby Stiles and Franz Beckenbauer. My autograph book also includes the referee on the day, Jack Taylor, who was given the honour of officiating the 1974 World Cup Final when Beckenbauer lifted the trophy. By 1985, ‘Der Kaiser’ was manager of the West German national team.  

Match details for England – West Germany; Elland Road, Sunday 28 July 1985 

England: 1. Gordon Banks, 2. George Cohen, 3. Ray Wilson, 4. Nobby Stiles, 5. Jack Charlton, 6. Bobby Moore, 7. Alan Ball, 21. Roger Hunt, 9. Bobby Charlton, 10. Geoff Hurst, 16. Martin Peters. Goalscorers: Hurst (3), Ball (2), Peters. 

Selected subs: Cyril Knowles, Jimmy Armfield, Alan Mullery, Norman Hunter, Trevor Cherry, Mervyn Day 

West Germany: 1. Hans Tilkowski, 2. Friedel Lutz, 3. Max Lorenz, 4. Franz Beckenbauer, 5. Willi Schulz, 6. Klaus Fichtel, 7. Bernd Hölzenbein, 8. Siggi Held, 9. Uwe Seeler, 10. Wolfgang Overath, 11. Lothar Emmerich. Goalscorers: Hölzenbein, Seeler (2), Overath. 

Attendance: 19,496 

England v West Germany at Elland Road, 1985 - captains & teams

Captains Bobby Moore and Uwe Seeler – scorer of two spectacular goals – were all smiles as they shook hands before kick-off, with England again in their red shirts. Match reports focussed on the quality of play from the veterans and the competitive spirit on display for a tragic cause. Geoff Hurst looked to have barely aged and after repeating his 1966 hat-trick commented, “Today has brought back a lot of happy memories.” Close to £47,000 was raised for the Bradford Fire Disaster Fund. Alan Ball described it as “a marvellous occasion” but noted, “What a pity it has taken a tragedy of that kind to bring us all together again”. 

Left-back Ray Wilson, then working as an undertaker, was not expected to be able to play due to severe knee problems but appeared in the opening stages. The oldest member of the England side and with a replacement knee, Wilson only managed a few minutes on the pitch before being replaced by Cyril Knowles. Several more substitutions were made during the game and at half-time, including an appearance for Alan Mullery who was left out of the final 22 in 1966.  

England v West Germany at Elland Road, 1985 - Match magazine

Players with Leeds United connections came on, former manager Jimmy Armfield and Trevor Cherry, himself player-manager at Bradford City and so recently involved in the disaster at Valley Parade. Norman Hunter received a warm welcome, soon putting in some crunching tackles. Leeds’ then goalkeeper, Mervyn Day, replaced the great Gordon Banks – I believe Day may have been the only player who wasn’t a full international. Both Armfield and Hunter were in the 1966 squad, without making an appearance. West Germany brought their 1962 World Cup goalkeeper Wolfgang Fahrian on at the interval.  

Of England’s 1966 team, George Cohen had been the first to retire from the national team, in November 1967. Cohen played for two more years at Fulham, his only club. Alan Ball, the youngest member of the side, remained an international the longest, winning his last cap in 1975. His league career also outlasted all 1966 Wembley team-mates, ending his playing days in May 1983 (with Bristol Rovers). When the two nations met at Wembley in March 1975, Ball was England’s captain and only World Cup-winning survivor – this was the last of his eight caps against West Germany, pipping Bobby Moore’s seven. His opposite number Franz Beckenbauer was still in the West German team, playing in the last of his seven games against England, including the dramatic 1970 World Cup quarter-final in which he scored.  

1966 World Cup Final programme - teams

1966 World Cup Final programme – teams

Beckenbauer and Wolfgang Overath were the only players from the 1966 XI to appear in the 1974 World Cup-winning side – Horst-Dieter Höttges was an unused substitute on that occasion (and didn’t make this ‘replay’). Siggi Held had the longest top-level career of the West Germans from 1966, playing in the Bundesliga aged 38 for Bayer Uerdingen in 1981. Klaus Fichtel, one of the replacements brought into the team, was still an active player for Schalke 04 and incredibly continued to feature up to May 1988. Having made his club debut in 1965, Fichtel played five times at the 1970 World Cup and remains the oldest player to appear in the Bundesliga to date, at the age of 43. 

Many thanks to the Bradford Timeline Flickr account for additional images. 

England v West Germany at Elland Road, 1985 - autographs & ticket

Autographs (from top, left to right): Jack Taylor, Nobby Stiles, John Charles, Franz Beckenbauer, Martin Peters, Cyril Knowles, Peter Lorimer, Alan Ball, Gordon Banks, Roger Hunt, Ray Wilson