10 Best English Footballers of all Time

#5 Geoff Hurst (1966-72)

Appearances: 49

Goals: 24

Geoff Hurst - Hat-trick won the World Cup for England in 1966

Geoff Hurst may have only played International Football for six years but few England players have ever had the impact he had wearing the Three Lions.

Hurst is of course most famous for his World Cup Final hat trick in 1966, which gave England their sole major Championship win.

What is less remembered, however is that Hurst was not first choice for England during that tournament. Indeed, Hurst was new to the International set up, having only debuted for his country in February of that year, ironically against 1966 finalists, West Germany.

However, an injury to Jimmy Greaves in the final group stage match cleared the way for Hurst to break into the starting line-up and he made an immediate impact. Hurst scored the winning goal versus Argentina to propel England into the Semi-Finals. Hurst subsequently set up Bobby Charlton's winning goal in the 2-1 victory over Portugal.

That led to Hurst's finest hour as he became the first (and still only) man to score a hat-trick in a World Cup Final.

Hurst scored in the inaugural European Championships in 1968 as England defeated the Soviet Union in the Third Place Play Offs.

Hurst retained his starting berth at the 1970 World Cup and again was amongst the goals in England's opening group game versus Romania. However, there was to be no repeat of 1966, as England were disappointingly eliminated in the Quarter-Finals by West Germany, despite Hurst having a goal disallowed with the score at 2-2.

Hurst played in the qualifiers for the 1972 European Championships, but injuries ensured he would not represent his country again.

However, despite the brevity of his England career, no one has since replicated the iconic moments he delivered in that 1966 final, making Hurst one of the most famous players to ever wear the Three Lions of England.