h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I think you probably need a whole subsection on England's defence of the Jules Rimet trophy.

Firstly their preparation was undone by captain Bobby Moore being falsely arrested for the theft of a necklace in a hotel jewellry store in Bogota, Columbia. While the rest of the team flew onto Mecixo, Moore stayed under house arrest of the local police chief (or similar). On one occasion he got up early, went for an early morning run, and came back to the surprise of his host. No-one knows whether Moore was guilty, although he probably was innocent, and there was some suggest that a younger member of the squad had done something, while others just believe it was a South American plot to stopping England.

Then there is the classic match between Brazil and England. The night before the match, Brazilian fans surrounded the England hotel and chanted and sung thereby keeping the team awake. The match itself kicked off at midday in the Guadalajara sun. It is probably best remembered for Gordon Banks miraculous save of Pele's header, and the photo of Moore and Pele exchanging shirts after the match. The match was won 1-0 by Brazil, but everybody expected the two teams to meet again in the final.

Although England were believed to have a better team than in '66, the wheels came off in Leon at the quarterfinal stage. West Germany gained revenge as England squandered a 2-0 lead with twenty minutes to go, and then the tournament's leading scorer Gerd Muller popped up to win it in extra-time. The game turned on a number of incidents. Firstly goalkeeper Gordon Banks caught food poisoning the night before the game, and Peter Bonetti had to take over. Two of the goals were attributed to mistakes by him. The other mistakes was that when England were leading Alf Ramsey substituted off Bobby Charlton and ???. This opened up the game for Franz Beckenbauer and led to them scoring two goals before the end of normal time.