Sir Geoff Hurst: ‘It’s been fantastic under Southgate. I’d like him to stay’
Hero of 1966 says England manager has been unfairly criticised and has backed his young team for glory in future
For Sir Geoff Hurst and the rest of England, the wait goes on. The last surviving member of the 1966 World Cup winning team had been convinced that 58 years of hurt were finally coming to an end when Gareth Southgate’s side reached a second successive final of the European Championship.
Spain had different ideas and ensured Hurst’s iconic hat-trick that inspired victory over West Germany at Wembley remains the achievement that every England men’s side is judged on. Despite the criticism that Southgate has received since Mikel Oyarzabal’s late winning goal crushed a nation’s hopes, Hurst doubts whether even Sir Alf Ramsey could have prevented the painful defeat.
