World Cup

The World Cup was a football tournament in which various nations across Earth participated. The winner of the tournament received the. (PROSE: The Rag & Bone Man's Story)

In the 1962 quarterfinals, England lost to Brazil in Chile. (PROSE: The Rag & Bone Man's Story)

The 1966 World Cup was held in England. (AUDIO: Changing of the Guard) In March of that year, the Jules Rimet trophy was stolen by a goldsmith. He stole the trophy to get gold to repair an alien ship that crashed. The First Doctor, Steven Taylor, and Dodo Chaplet found the trophy and helped the aliens leave Earth. The Doctor left the trophy in a bag in a street and it was discovered a few minutes later. Prior to this event, Steven had never heard of the World Cup. (AUDIO: This Sporting Life)

During the 1966 World Cup's final match between England and West Germany, Joseph Galloway, who possessed the Blessing Star, watched the match, and the jewel started to respond to his fervent wish for England's victory over Germany. As he watched the final, the First Doctor, fresh from his victory over WOTAN, found him. The Time Lord had been tracking down the Star so as to tie up loose ends from his last visit to England. To his dismay, he found the Star too late. By then, the Star had started to overload, taking in not just the rag and bones man's wishes, but those of people all over England. The Star allowed England to make a very close shot into the German goal, but no more. It exploded, overwhelmed by the hopes of an entire nation. England went on to win, but without any further help from the Star. (PROSE: The Rag & Bone Man's Story)

England won 4-2 against West Germany in 1966, after a hat trick scored by Geoff Hurst. The Ninth Doctor recalled being there, and that one of the goals was because of the linesman. As part of his plan to gradually change history so that humanity would never venture out into space, Igrix changed the result to 5-2 by having the Lend-a-Hand girls give the England team a nutritious meal before the World Cup final to build them up for a greater victory. After the Doctor defeated Igrix' plans, he mentioned that he "oughta fix" the extra goal that was scored. (COMIC: The Love Invasion)

On 11 July 1982, Italy beat West Germany in the World Cup final with a score of three to one. Much to Charley Pollard's disdain, the Eighth Doctor enthused over the victory, and briefly joined in the public celebrations in the Italian village of Ferrara. Unbeknownst to the revellers, however, Ferrara (and the world beyond) was being invaded by the Threllips. As part of the subterfuge to end the invasion, the Doctor convinced the Threllip that the jubilation in Ferrara was actually a sign of an illness called "World Cup Fever", to which the Threllips were also susceptible. (AUDIO: Living Legend)

The World Cup final in Wembley Stadium took place in 2030, with the Eleventh Doctor calling it "one of the greatest football matches in history!" He meant to take Amy Pond here, but instead they ended up on a space station. (COMIC: Apotheosis)

In 2050, the New Wembly Space Stadium had what appeared to be the England 2010 World Cup team playing. The Eleventh Doctor saw from the match programme that the England team was borrowed from the past by the Chronos Corporation. With a team of computerised robots playing in opposition the Doctor investigated as the eleven players from the England squad walked onto the pitch. Behind the scenes the Doctor used his psychic paper to pass himself and Amy off as laundry service to gain access to the England changing room. The Doctor soon recognised a perception field generator with a big on / off lever. Without hesitation the Doctor turned it off and the players on the pitch were revealed to be multi-tentacled purple alien players. With an angry crowd outside in the stadium the Doctor and Amy made a sharp exit with the Doctor explaining he knew the England team were imposters when he spotted one of them had a tentacle and revealed the outcome of the World Cup to Amy. (COMIC: Foul Play)

Behind the scenes
The airing date of The Lodger, in which the Doctor played football, was two days into the FIFA World Cup 2010. As the episode finished, the first England/USA match started on ITV.