It all started, of course, with Pickles. The black and white collie that sniffed out the world's most coveted piece of silverware, stolen by a mystery thief, at the bottom of a garden hedge. Three months later Pickles would be slurping out of a bowl at Kensington's plush Royal Garden Hotel, as nearby England's players toasted the country's greatest sporting success – unprecedented and, 50 years on, unmatched. Back then the 16-team tournament was greeted with giddy fanfare but in stark contrast to the modern era, tickets were relatively easy to come by, particularly in the early stages when fans could still grab seats on the day. Alf Ramsey's men also started slowly, grinding out a grim 0-0 draw against Uruguay which left supporters jeering at Wembley and journalists sceptical, with one newspaper headline sneering: 'Ramsey still thinks his side can win'. England picked up, beating both Mexico and France 2-0 to finish top of Group One and set up a mouth-watering quarter-final meeting with Argentina. And it was then that home advantage began to tell. First, Argentina's bus got lost en route to a training session at Lilleshall and then the team were denied a mandatory practice at...
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