Sometimes a football match is remembered for its outstanding goals, sometimes for a great save or other individual contribution. This match against the volatile Argentinians will always be remembered for the terrible scenes of mayhem after Antonio Rattín was sent off for continually breaking the rules.

Indeed, the loser in this match was the game of football.

From the first attack, when Martin Peters was felled by a blatant body-check, it was obvious that Argentina were out to stop England at all costs. Pushing, jostling, chopping, holding and tripping was the order of the day as the West German referee struggled to keep a grip of the proceedings. England were not blameless and in the first half probably conceded more free-kicks.

Goal attempts were few and far between. The undoubted skill of the South Americans was to the fore when a lovely pass by Onega found Más and his shot flew just past Gordon Banks's post. At the other end, Geoff Hurst, in for Jimmy Greaves, watched in disbelief as Roma made a magnificent save from him. As tempers rose, the referee's pencil worked overtime. Rattín, Artime and Solari were all booked and with ten minutes of the half remaining, all hell broke loose.

With the ball well away from Rattín everyone was amazed to see the referee point to the dressing room, having sent the Argentine captain off. For the next seven minutes there was bedlam. Players and officials jostled on the pitch and at one point it seemed that the whole Argentinian team would go off. Eventually, with the crowd keeping their good humour remarkably well, order was restored and the game, such as it was, moved on.

In the second half, the ten-man Argentine side battled on. Ferreiro and Perfumo were added to the referee's list of bookings and the Charlton brothers joined them later on. Through this shambles it was clear that England's defence was in superb form with Bobby Moore in his usual immaculate mood. But in midfield and up-front England struggled.

Argentina has such obvious football talent that it seems a crying shame that their energies have to be channelled in the wrong direction like this.

The game desperately needed a goal. Roger Hunt was easily held and Alan Ball and Bobby Charlton had poor games in midfield. But with just 13 minutes to go the vital breakthrough was achieved. Ray Wilson fed a pass to Peters down the left and the star of the England side put over the most telling and tantalising of centres.

For a split-second it seemed to hang in the air, and on the end of it was Hurst, who flicked the ball wide of the crestfallen Roma with the most perfect of glancing headers. The goal was majestic and more than justified Hurst's selection. His team-mates were jubilant.

England held on to see that justice was done and they new met the challenge of the Portuguese team in the semi-final. Despite the joy at reaching the next round, the occasion was spoilt for many by the bitter taste of all that went on before in this notorious match. Alf Ramsey, afterwards, was most scathing in his criticism of the Argentinian tactics.
  

Argentina shelved their superior skills and instead concentrated on what seemed a premeditated policy of disrupting England with a spate of petty fouls. Their captain Antonio Rattín arrogantly challenged just about every decision that the referee made and was waving his arms around like a traffic policeman. Finally the referee, a little West German called Rudolf Kreitlein, could take no more of Rattín's disruptive tactics and ordered him off. It was almost comical to see the tiny figure of the referee staring up at the tall, stately-looking Rattín and demanding that he leave the field. It was also very sad. It took ten minutes of argument and touchline interpretations before Rattín finally walked. Geoff Hurst, making his debut in place of the injured Greaves, headed the winning goal from a Martin Peters cross to the near post. It was a classical creation that had 'made in West Ham' written all over it. For Gordon Banks, it was a record seventh successive England appearance without conceding a goal. This was the first match in which England played without a recognised winger. Ramsey's 'wingless wonders' were off the launching  pad. Alan Ball, desperately disheartened to miss the previous two matches to the point where he considered walking out, gave a perpetual motion performance that confirmed that he was in the side to stay. Alf Ramsey described the Argentineans as "animals", a heat-of-the-moment description that had diplomatic repercussions and led to official protests being made to the British ambassador in Buenos Aires. The sad fact is that Argentina were the most skilful side in the tournament, but they allowed their tempers to over-rule their talent.
  

Argentina had finished as Group Two runners-up to West Germany, the eventual finalists, on goal average. Like England, they were unbeaten in the competition and were appearing in the quarter-finals for the first time since reaching the final in 1930. They had lost on their previous visit to Wembley in 1951. England had beaten them 3-1 in the 1962 World Cup in Chile but Argentina had achieved their first win against England in the Brazilian Jubilee Tournament two years later. England were attempting to reach the semi-finals for the first time.
The match was marred by the 36th-minute dismissal of the Argentinian captain, Rattín for dissent. This was followed by a delay of eight minutes as his team mates threatened to walk off. Eventually, order was restored, and England won when Peters' cross was met by a glancing header from Geoff Hurst with just 12 minutes left.
Argentina failed to qualify for the 1970 World Cup but appeared again at Wembley in 1974.
     

England's Quarter-Final tie against Argentina was played in blazing sunshine with the temperature hovering around the eighties. Two changes were made in the attack of the team which had met France. Ball returned on the right wing in place of Callaghan, and Hurst appeared for the first time for Greaves who was injured. The game boiled over ten minutes before half-time when the Argentinian captain, Rattín was sent off the field by referee Kreitlein. Rattín refused to leave, the Argentina players protested en bloc, FIFA officials were called onto the pitch, and the game was held up for nearly ten minutes. At one time, it appeared the Argentina team would refuse to continue. From the kick-off, the South Americans' tactics were defensive, designed to stop England at all costs. Several players were cautioned by the referee and the game developed into a series of stoppages for fouls. England maintained their composure under this onslaught and the players are to be congratulated for not retaliating when grossly provoked.

The sending-off of Rattín, however, appeared to have had a salutory effect upon his colleagues and the remainder of the game was played in comparatively peaceful conditions. In spite of their obvious advantage, England could not outwit a magnificent Argentinian defensive system. The feature of the second half was the 'cat and mouse' tactics being adopted by the two teams. The retreating Argentinians were continually enticing England forward, but always seeking the opportunity to break away suddenly and catch the home defence out of position. It almost succeeded just before England scored the all-important goal. Mas slipped clear on the left wing, caught Cohen on the wrong foot and Banks was glad to see his shot hit the side-netting. The goal which won the match for England was scored 12 minutes from the end. Hurst met a centre from Peters with his head and glanced it superbly past the goalkeeper into the far corner of the net.
     

Source Notes

TheFA.com
Original newspaper reports
Rothman's Yearbooks
Mike Payne's England: The Complete Post-War Record (Breedon Books Publishing Company, Derby, U.K., 1993)
Norman Giller, Football Author
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CG