George Cohen is an English former professional footballer and the right back in the victorious England World Cup 1966 team. Cohen was born on 22nd October 1939 in Kensington, London, and spent his whole career playing for nearby team Fulham.

Cohen signed his first professional contract with Fulham in 1956 as a 16 year old and proved himself to be a strong and reliable right full back, with a natural ability to support attackers with quick overlapping runs. Cohen remained at Fulham for 13 years until 1969, when injury forced him to retire from the game before he had reached his 30th birthday, after which he remained at Fulham for a period as their youth team coach. He had played 459 games for Fulham in those 13 years, scoring 6 goals, and still sits 5th in the all time appearances list for the club.

George Cohen was initially unable to break into the full England squad due to the presence of Blackpool right back Jimmy Armfield, and instead played several times for the England Under 23 team. In April 1964 Armfield was part of the England team that lost 2-1 in a poor performance against Hampden Park and was subsequently dropped by Alf Ramsey, who was desperate to find the right players to win the World Cup for the nation. Cohen was given his debut in a friendly against Uruguay in May 1964 and put in a good shift, before Armfield suffered a serious injury. Cohen played in 21 of the 23 Internationals that followed his debut whilst Armfield did not regain full fitness until a few weeks before the tournament, playing just 2 more Internationals before the squad was to be named. Whilst both players were named in Ramsey's final 22-man England World Cup 1966 Squad, Cohen had gone into the tournament as the first choice right back.

Cohen did not put a foot wrong as he featured in all games on route to the final, and the victory against the West Germans. Cohen showed that he was the perfect fit into Ramsey's 'Wingless Wonders' system, with Cohen being able to fill the flanks whilst Peters and Ball were infield; before dropping back again when Peters and Ball were drifting wide. Cohen played a part in Bobby Charlton's second goal in the 2-0 win over Portugal in the semi-final stage of the competition, and he played his 30th International game as vice captain against the Germans. Cohen had become a World Cup winner at the age of 26, and is often cited as an unsung hero of that success. Following the World Cup, Ramsey used Cohen in 7 of the next 8 Internationals before deciding to use younger full back; George Cohen's final England cap was won against Northern Ireland at Wembley in November 1967.

George Cohen is not one to seek the limelight, although he has always spoken about the World Cup and his career when requested. Following his retirement George Best was quoted as saying that George Cohen was "the best full back I ever played against" and Alf Ramsey was later to concede that Cohen was "England's greatest right back". He remains the only Fulham player to have won the World Cup whilst being being registered with the club. George Cohen had a well documented fight against stomach cancer during the 1980s, a fight which he finally won after 14 years. Cohen later experienced financial difficulties and he was forced to sell his winners medal, with his old club Fulham purchasing the medal for £80,000. The medal remains on display at Craven Cottage so that Cohen and his family can still enjoy it. Cohen was awarded the MBE in 2000 alongside four other 1966 team mates, after a campaign by national media. The other players to be honoured were Alan Ball, Nobby Stiles, Ray Wilson, and Roger Hunt. George Cohen released his autobiography in 2003.