Jack Charlton, England World Cup winner and Irish hero, dies at 85

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Funeral of Gordon Banks - Stoke Minster, Stoke-upon-Trent, Britain - March 4, 2019 Jack Charlton arrives for the funeral of former England World Cup winning goalkeeper Gordon Banks REUTERS/Phil Noble

(Reuters) - Jack Charlton, a soccer World Cup winner with England who became the darling of Ireland after leading their national team to unprecedented success as manager, has died aged 85.

A family statement said that the former Leeds United defender, who helped England beat West Germany to become world champions in 1966, died peacefully on Friday at his home in Northumberland, northern England following a long-term illness.