April 28th marks the 100th birthday of Wembley Stadium. To mark the occasion we take a look back at the top 10 greatest games to be played at either the old Wembley and its famous twin towers or at the new Wembley under the arch.
100 Years of Wembley: Its Greatest Ever Games
1953 FA Cup Final
The game known as the “Matthews Final” featured Blackpool against Bolton Wanderers. At the time the two clubs were giants of the game and when they met at Wembley they put on a show for the 100,000 in attendance. Bolton looked odds on to lift the cup early in the second half as they led 3-1; however, Blackpool and football legend Stanley Matthews had other ideas.
Matthews began to torment the Wanderers’ defence from the right wing inspiring his team to a sensational comeback. A hat-trick from striker Stan Mortensen, two assists from Matthews and a 92nd-minute winner gave Blackpool a 4-3 victory to lift the famous cup.
1966 World Cup Final
To many, this is the most famous game to have been played at the original Wembley. It was the first and last time England hosted and won the World Cup. Close to 100,000 fans were inside Wembley with another 32 million watching in the United Kingdom as Alf Ramsey’s wingless wonders took on West Germany.
The game ended 2-2 after 90 minutes and in extra time England began to take control. Bobby Charlton hit the post before Geoff Hurst scored his second of the game and one of the most controversial goals in the history of the game. The ball hit the underside of the crossbar, bounced down and Germany cleared; however, the linesman indicated that the ball had crossed the line. To this day, it is still discussed as to whether the ball actually crossed the line.
With a minute of extra time remaining, Germany piled forward looking for an equaliser but England broke on the counter-attack with the immortal words of commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme: “And here comes Hurst. He’s got…some people are on the pitch, they think it’s all over…it is now!” Final score: England 4-2 West Germany.
1979 FA Cup Final
Arsenal faced Manchester United in what is often described as the “five-minute final”. The Gunners were cruising to an easy victory when they led 2-0 with just five minutes to play. However, what happened next is regarded as one of the greatest finishes ever to a Cup final.
On 86 minutes United pulled a goal back and just two minutes later they scored a dramatic equaliser. With extra time looking certain, United fans celebrating a great comeback and Gunners fans in shock, Arsenal’s Alan Sunderland scored the winner with just a minute to go.
1981 FA Cup Final Replay
A 1-1 draw in the 100th FA Cup Final meant that Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City returned to Wembley five days later for the replay. If the 1953 final was the “Matthews Final”, this was the “Villa Final replay”. Argentine Ricky Villa was the main man and the main reason that Spurs walked away with the cup.
Villa gave Spurs an early lead but City equalised soon after and took the lead early in the second half. Garth Crooks equalised and six minutes later Villa produced a magical moment. Picking the ball up 30 yards from goal, he evaded the challenges of City defenders before slotting the ball past the City keeper from around eight yards from goal.
Villa’s goal was named Wembley Goal of the Century in 2001.
1987 FA Cup Final
Tottenham were expected to add another FA Cup to their collection when they met Coventry City in the 1987 final. After two minutes Spurs took the lead through Clive Allen’s 49th goal of the season, but the Sky Blues had not read the script. An equaliser came on nine minutes with an end-to-end game following. Gary Mabbutt restored Tottenham’s lead just before half time but City were far from beaten.
A famous diving header from Keith Houchen made the game 2-2 and it stayed this way until full-time despite both teams creating chances to score. Coventry were appearing in their first domestic cup final and six minutes into extra time they scored the fifth goal of the final when a cross was deflected off Spurs defender Mabbutt and looped over the keeper. It was enough to win the game and cause yet another FA Cup upset.
1988 League Cup Final
In the blazing sun, few gave Luton Town a chance against Arsenal despite the two being in the same division. Brian Stein gave the Hatters an early first-half lead but two goals in three second-half minutes put the Gunners in charge.
At this stage it looked likely that Arsenal would win with ease; however, they came up against goalkeeper Andy Dibble who denied them on several occasions and also saved a penalty to prevent the game being 3-1. At the other end, Luton grew in confidence thanks to Dibble and young winger Kinglsey Black causing the Gunners’ defence problems.
With eight minutes remaining, Luton equalised. A mistake in the box by Arsenal defender Gus Ceaser resulted in a scramble with Danny Wilson getting the final touch, heading in from close range. A dramatic 90th-minute winner followed when a cross was met by Stein to secure an unlikely victory.
1993 Playoff Final
A seven-goal thriller between Swindon Town and Leicester City entertained the neutral but gave fans of each team a rollercoaster ride of emotions. Swindon took a one-goal lead into halftime thanks to a goal from player-manager Glenn Hoddle and within seven minutes of the restart they were winning by three goals and the game looked to be over.
Leicester, however, burst into life and four minutes later began their comeback. On 68 and 69 minutes Swindon had blown their lead completely and with 20 minutes still to play, the momentum appeared to be with the Foxes.
However, with six minutes to play, Swindon were awarded a penalty which was scored to give them a 4-3 lead. This time they held on and were promoted to the Premier League.
1998 Playoff Final
The greatest playoff final ever. The stakes were high, 78,000 watched inside Wembley, mistakes were made, eight goals were scored and the game ended in a nerve-racking sudden-death penalty shootout.
Sunderland and Charlton Athletic had finished third and fourth in Divison One and now met in the playoff final to decide who would take the final promotion place to the Premier League.
Charlton were the better team in the first half and deservedly led 1-0 at halftime thanks to a goal from Sunderland-born Clive Mendonca. The Black Cats looked like a different team after the break and raced into the lead thanks to goals from Niall Quinn and Kevin Phillips. Charlton equalised but within two minutes Sunderland were back in front.
With five minutes remaining, keeper Lionel Perez came for a corner but missed allowing Charlton to equalise once again. The drama continued in extra time, Nicky Summerbee fired Sunderland back into the lead with the Black Cats missing chances to finish the game off. Clive Mendonca completed his hat trick to make it 4-4 and the game went to penalties.
The penalties to no one’s surprise went to sudden death following the success of the first 10 spot kicks. Three more penalties were scored to give Charlton a 7-6 advantage. Sunderland’s Michael Gray then saw his weak penalty saved to send Charlton to the Premier League.
2011 Champions League Final
Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona faced Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United in an epic Champions League Final. Inspired by Lionel Messi, Barcelona produced a masterclass to brush aside the Red Devils.
The Spanish giants controlled much of the first half but United found a way through to equalise following Pedro’s opener. Barca were even more determined in the second half with United struggling to control Messi and co. The Argentine maestro had an attempt cleared off the goal line before restoring his side’s lead on 54 minutes.
The Catalan club began to dominate and extended their lead through David Villa. United had no answer and Barca held on comfortably to secure their fourth title and their third in six years.
2022 Women’s Euro Final
An attendance of 87,192, a record for a women’s international fixture in Europe saw old enemies England and Germany battle it out to be crowned European champions. In a tense, dramatic and physical game, it took until the 62nd minute for the sides to be finally separated.
England’s Ella Toone raised the Wembley roof when she superbly chipped the German keeper to give the Lionesses the lead. Germany, however, are made of stern stuff and came back at England eventually equalising to take the game into extra time.
With 10 minutes left, the game was decided. An England corner caused havoc in the German penalty area and Chloe Kelly got the final touch to send the ball into the net to score her first England goal and the most important and famous in England women’s history. The Lionesses had brought football home.
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