Hurst: If Tuchel leads England to world cup, it doesn't matter if he's from Mongolia

Sir Geoff Hurst, England's only living World Cup winner, has stated that if the Three Lions lift the trophy, head coach Thomas Tuchel will become his favorite German.

The striker, who scored a hat-trick in the 1966 final, said he would prefer the team to be coached by an Englishman, "but if he wins, even if he's from Mongolia, we won't care."

He also revealed that he is still questioned about the controversial second goal – which helped England take a 3-2 lead in their famous 4-2 victory over West Germany at Wembley – most recently in his quiet Cheltenham neighborhood. Two weeks ago, while shopping in Gloucestershire, a passer-by shouted at him: "The ball wasn't over the line!" Was it a German accent? Hurst replied: "Funnily enough, it was Scottish."

It should be noted that Sir Geoff, 84, is in fine spirits and says that the ball, which hit the underside of the crossbar and bounced down, "clearly crossed the line" in the 101st minute. Today, he says England's failure to win the sport's ultimate trophy a second time is "regrettable" and "disappointing." He said: "You'd think, as a major football nation, we should have won at least one more."

When asked if he thought this might be the year, the former West Ham and Stoke City star replied: "We're third or fourth favorites, so I'd be very disappointed if we don't get to the semi-finals – and the whole country would be disappointed. And once you're in the semi-finals, anything can happen." He fancies Spain, believing their tiki-taka style is suited to the heat, but added: "That doesn't mean we can't win. We're very close to them."

Hurst said he has no issue with a foreigner coaching England. "I'd prefer an English coach, but I can accept it. Listen, if Thomas Tuchel wins the World Cup, we'll think he's the greatest German we've ever met. He's a very capable coach. Good luck to him. But someone sent me a statistic this week: no country has ever won the World Cup with a foreign coach. That's an amazing fact."