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Sir Geoff Hurst had been the only man to score a hat-trick in a men's World Cup final for decades before Kylian Mbappe reached the same landmark.

Only three players in history have scored a hat-trick in a World Cup final.

For 49 years, Sir Geoff Hurst was the sole holder of that achievement, having produced it in 1966.

USA star Carli Lloyd equalled the feat in the 2015 Women's World Cup final, and Kylian Mbappe then became only the second man to do it when he scored all three of France's goals in a 3-3 draw with Argentina in the 2022 final, before France were beaten on penalties.

Sir Geoff told FourFourTwo that he was not troubled about no longer holding that distinction on his own, saying: "Watching Mbappe decades later, I can honestly say I didn’t care. One, because two of his were penalties, which makes it different from mine.

"But, more importantly, because he ended up on the losing side. I’m sure if you’d ask Mbappe he'd have swapped his hat-trick for a winner’s medal."

Even if Mbappe had added another winner's medal to the one he won four years earlier, it still would not have diminished Sir Geoff's own memories of the occasion.

He said: "That final in '66 was so utterly life changing.

"I still bump into people who tell me they were there that day, or who can remember where they watched the match or who they were with when my final goal went in.

"It was the biggest game in the world and I did something special - so it means a huge amount to me, obviously."

Hurst also laughed off the idea that he has not had to buy himself a drink over the last 60 years.

He said: "I wouldn’t say they queue up, but people do offer to buy a drink for me from time to time!

"Not on a regular basis, or as often as people may think. It’s very flattering and very nice that people want to do that, but I always refuse.

"It's weird in a way, a complete stranger coming up to me, offering to buy me a pint, so I never accept."