I was there when England defeated West Germany 4-2 in extra time at Wembley and while that glorious afternoon remains indelibly etched in the memory, I do not recall quite as much wild delight as that which has enveloped the nation up to tonight.

On Saturday July 30 1966, when Wembley and the 20-odd million watching on BBC TV erupted with pent-up euphoria hearing legendary commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme historically - but not hysterically - bellow: "Some people are on the pitch - they think it’s all over - it is now!"on seeing Sir Geoff Hurst’s last-second lob soar into the German goal.

Yes, it was a wonderful, magical moment, never to be forgotten. Surely England’s greatest-ever achievement on sport’s global stage.

But the atmosphere here these past couple of weeks, no doubt because of prevailing circumstances, may even have outstripped that of 55 years of hurt ago when Sir Alf Ramsey's skilfully-assembled squad became legends overnight. Yet I do not remember so much mass dancing in the streets of numerous cities and towns across the land; nor the same raucous scenes in hostelries that have greeted every attack by the current England team.

The comparisons are fascinating. Back in 1966, the World Cup tournament seemed relatively low key compared to these explosive Euros. It followed the 1948 Olympics as the biggest sporting celebration on British shores since the Second World War but the coverage lacked the intensity that is afforded to major sport these days. Social media was but a twinkle in the eyes of potential keyboard warriors; there was only a handful of national newspapers, no plethora of TV channels with those available not bouncing off satellites but with transmitters - planted firmly on the ground. The BBC’s coverage was seen only in black and white. Just as well as the Germans kept their traditional white shirts while England resorted to red.

Moreover, the England fan base was of a somewhat more mature vintage, who treated success literally more soberly.

Most importantly however, the word pandemic had to be locked up in the dictionary. This time it has dominated our very being.

As the current England manager Southgate has said, England’s achievement in reaching the semi-finals was a timely tonic, cheerily uplifting the nation from the gloom and all too frequently doom of these past 18 months. The quarter-final victory over Ukraine - the first time they had scored four goals in a knockout competition since 1966 - was received with almost as much acclaim as if they had actually won the tournament.

What must be emphasised is that in 1966 England conquered the whole world of football (albeit overcoming only half a nation in the final as Germany was then still split in two, though East Germany was not much of a force in the game) while what England have been doing now is to prove themselves the best in only one of five continents.

Memories of 1966 and all that continue to flood the mind of this observer, including gathering outside the Royal Garden hotel in London’s Kensington after the final where the England team were dining as a crowd assembled outside, deliriously happy but behaving with aplomb. It was typical of the times. Remember how captain Bobby Moore wiped the sweat and grime from his hands before accepting the Jules Rimet Trophy from the Queen.

It is interesting to note that 46-year-old Sir Alf, a former Southampton and Tottenham full-back, and Southgate, now 50, ex-Crystal Palace, Aston Villa and Middlesbrough defender developed a similar approach to international management after themselves winning England caps, encouraging players to bond with each other in an all for one, one for all musketeer type of camaraderie.

Both sets of players are - and were - fiercely loyal to their boss, whose public personas were vastly different. Southgate is lucid, approachable and media friendly; Ramsey was taciturn, tightlipped and disliked the media almost as much as he did foreigners, which included the Scots. "Welcome to Glasgow" said the Mayor as he greeted the England team on their arrival to play against Scotland. "Welcome?" Sir Alf is reported to have muttered. “You must be bleeding joking!”

I also like the tale Sir Geoff Hurst tells about saying farewell to Ramsey when the squad broke up the day following the final. "See you next season, Alf", said England’s hat-trick hero to the manager as they shook hands. "If selected, Geoffrey. If selected." Came the reply.

There is the fact that there was not a single black player among Ramsey's 22-man squad - it was decade later when Viv Anderson made his debut for England under Ron Greenwood, yet almost half - 11 out of 26 - of Southgate's squaddies are from ethnic minorities, which indicates just how much the landscape of the game has changed for the better.

True, it may take another actual World Cup conquest to make a current England team as indelibly familiar as the Class of 66, who remain household names and not just to their own generation. Will Harry Kane, Harry Maguire or Raheem Sterling ever join the national treasure trove and be as popularly remembered as Moore, Bobby Charlton and Nobby Stiles? Only time will tell.

What I do know is that as England approached their semi-final with Denmark the atmosphere was akin to those in the heady summer of 1966.

It was as if Southgate's mix-and-match Englanders were giving us as effective an antidote to COVID-19 as a double jab of the vaccine.