1954 FIFA World Cup
| 1954 FIFA World Cup | |
| FIFA Fußball-Weltmeisterschaft 1954 Schweiz(German) Championnat du Monde de Football 1954(French) |
|
| Tournament details | |
| Host country |  Switzerland |
| Teams | 16 (from 4 confederations) |
| Venue(s) | 6 (in 6 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
Champions  |
 West Germany (1st title) |
Runners-up  |
 Hungary |
Third place  |
 Austria |
| Fourth place |  Uruguay |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 26 |
| Goals scored | 140 (5.38 per match) |
| Attendance | 889,500 (34,212 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Sándor Kocsis (11 goals) |
The 1954 FIFA World Cup, the fifth staging of the World Cup, was held in Switzerland from 16 June to 4 July. As the year saw the 50th anniversary of FIFA, it was appropriate for football's premier competition to be played in the home of its governing body, and Switzerland was chosen as hosts in July 1946. The tournament was won by West Germany, who defeated Hungary 3-2 in the final, giving them their first title.
Contents |
Qualification
Summary
For the first time there was television coverage, and special coins were issued to mark the event. 16 teams qualified for the tournament and an unusual system was used in the first stage. The 16 teams were divided into four groups: each group was comprised of two of the eight seeded teams based on world rankings (Austria, Brazil, England, France, Hungary, Italy, Turkey and Uruguay), plus two unseeded teams. With seeding determined before the teams had even qualified for the final tournament, the organizers had to replace Spain with Turkey, the team that unexpectedly knocked the Spaniards out. [1] The draw took place in Zürich, on 30 November 1953.
Instead of a conventional round-robin where each team would play three matches, the seeded teams as well as the unseeded teams were spared from playing each other as the unseeded teams were squared up only against the seeded ones in a chance to qualify, so each team played only 2 group matches, unless tied for the second qualifying position by points, which required a play-off. Extra time was played for any games that was tied after 90 minutes, with the result being a draw if the scores were still level after 120 minutes. The two teams finishing at the top of their group went through to the quarter-finals. Uruguay and Austria both won their games, thus finished the group level on points in the qualifying positions, and drew lots to determine who they would play in the next round, as did Brazil and Yugoslavia.
Consequently Switzerland and Italy played each other twice with Switzerland winning the play-off 4-1. The Germans, who had been reinstated as full FIFA members only in 1950 and were unseeded, won the first of two encounters with the seeded Turkish convincingly in Berne at Wankdorf stadium. The Koreans, as the other unseeded team, lost 0-7 and 0-9, with Germany being denied the chance to play such an easy opponent. Sepp Herberger gambled against the seeded team of Hungary by sending in a reserve side to take an expected 3-8 loss, with the only consequence being the additional playoff game against Turkey that was won with ease. Hungary's team captain Ferenc Puskás, considered by many as the best player in the world in that time, was injured by German defender Werner Liebrich, and had to miss the next two matches of his team, only to show up in the final again, still being in a questionable condition. [2]
The quarter-finals saw the favourites Hungary beat Brazil 4-2 in one of the most violent matches in football history, which became infamous as the Battle of Berne. Meanwhile, the World Cup holders Uruguay sent England out of the tournament, also by 4-2. Germany dispatched Yugoslavia 2-0, and Austria beat the host nation Switzerland in the game that saw the most goals in any World Cup match, 7-5.
One of the semi-finals saw Austria, against the DFB team which represented the Federal Republic of Germany, one of three German states of the time. The DFB had qualified against fellow Germans from the French-occupied Saarland, while East Germany had not entered, cancelling international football games after the East German uprising of 1953. With the final at stake, West Germany won 6-1.
The other semi-final, one of the most exciting games of the tournament, saw Hungary go into the second half leading Uruguay 1-0, only for the game to be taken to extra time with a score after 90 minutes of 2-2. The deadlock was broken by Sándor Kocsis with two late goals to take Hungary through to the final, beating a team that had not previously lost a World Cup game. Uruguay then went on to be beaten for a second time as Austria secured third place.
Final: "The Miracle of Bern"
The Wankdorf Stadion in Berne saw 60,000 people cram inside to watch the final between West Germany and Hungary, a rematch of a first round game, which Hungary had won 8-3 against the reserves of the German team. The Golden Team of the Hungarians were favourites, as they were unbeaten for a record of 32 consecutive matches but they had two tough play-off matches. It had started raining on game day - in Germany this was dubbed "Fritz-Walter-Wetter" (Fritz Walter's weather) because the German team captain Fritz Walter was said to play his best in rainy weather. Adi Dassler had provided shoes with exchangeable studs.
The final saw Hungary's Ferenc Puskás playing again even though he was not fully fit. Despite this he put his team ahead after only 6 minutes and with Zoltán Czibor adding another two minutes later it seemed that the pre-tournament favourites would take the title. However, with a quick goal from Max Morlock in the 10th and the equalizer of Helmut Rahn in the 19th, the tide began to turn.
The second half saw telling misses from the Hungarian team. Barely 6 minutes before the end of the match, the popular German radio reporter Herbert Zimmermann gave the most famous German piece of commentary, recommending Rahn should kick from the backfield, which he did. The second goal from Rahn gave Germany a 3-2 lead while the Hungarian reporter Gyorgy Szepesi burst into tears. Later, Zimmermann called Puskás offside before he kicked the ball into Toni Turek's net with 2 minutes left. While referee Ling pointed to the centre spot, linesman Griffiths signalled offside. After a one-minute consultation, referee Ling disallowed the claimed equalizer.
The Germans were handed the Jules Rimet trophy and the title of World Cup winners while the crowd sang along to the tunes of the national anthems of Germany. In Germany the success is known as The Miracle of Bern, upon which a 2003 film of the same name was based. For the Hungarians, the defeat was a disaster, and remains controversial due to referee errors and claims of doping.
One controversy concerns the 2-2. Hungarian goalie Gyula Grosics jumped to catch Fritz Walter's corner shot, but in plain sight of the camera, Hans Schäfer obstructed him, thus the ball could reach Rahn unhindered. The second controversy concerns allegations of doping to explain the better condition of the German team in the second half. Though teammates steadfastly denied this rumour, German historian Guido Knopp claimed in a 2004 documentary for German public channel ZDF[3] that the players were injected with shots of C vitamine in half-time, using a needle earlier taken from a Soviet sports doctor, which would also explain the wave of jaundice among team members following the tournament.
Most controversial was the offside ruling for Puskás's intended 87th minute equalizer. The camera filming the official footage was in a bad position to judge the situation, only eyewitnesses claimed that the referee was wrong, including German replacement player Alfred Pfaff[4]. However, since then, footage evidencing no offside surfaced (shown on North German regional public channel NDR in 2004[5]).
The 11 goals scored by Kocsis of Hungary not only led the World Cup but bettered the previous record (set by Brazilian Ademir in the previous tournament) by two goals. Kocsis' mark was then broken by Just Fontaine's 13 goals in 1958. Despite not winning the 1954 tournament, the fourth place finish and their two previous World Cup titles made Uruguay the most successful World Cup nation for eight years, until Brazil won their second title in 1962. Hungary's 9-0 result against Korea during the group stages remains to this day the biggest margin of victory in FIFA World Cup history, later equalled by Yugoslavia winning 9-0 against Zaire in 1974 and again Hungary winning 10-1 against El Salvador in 1982.
Venues
Six cities hosted the tournament:
- Basel, St. Jakob Stadium
- Berne, Wankdorf Stadium
- Geneva, Charmilles Stadium
- Lausanne, Stade Olympique de la Pontaise
- Lugano, Cornaredo Stadium
- Zürich, Hardturm Stadium
Squads
For a list of all squads that appeared in the final tournament, see 1954 FIFA World Cup squads.
Results
First round
Group 1
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Brazil |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 3 |
 Yugoslavia |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
 France |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
 Mexico |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 0 |
| 16 June 1954 18:00 |
Brazil |
5 – 0 | Mexico |
Geneva, Charmilles Stadium Attendance: 13,000 Referee: Wyssling (Switzerland) |
Baltazar  23'Didi 30'Pinga 34' 43'Julinho 69' |
(Report) |
| 16 June 1954 18:00 |
Yugoslavia |
1 – 0 | France |
Lausanne, Stade Olympique de la Pontaise Attendance: 27,000 Referee: Griffiths (Wales) |
| Milutinović 15' |
(Report) |
| 19 June 1954 17:00 |
Brazil |
1 – 1 (a.e.t.) | Yugoslavia |
Lausanne, Stade Olympique de la Pontaise Attendance: 40,000 Referee: Faultless (Scotland) |
| Didi 69' |
(Report) | Zebec 48' |
| 19 June 1954 17:10 |
France |
3 – 2 | Mexico |
Geneva, Charmilles Stadium Attendance: 19,000 Referee: Asensi (Spain) |
| Vincent 19' Cárdenas 49' (o.g.)Kopa 88' (pen.) |
(Report) | Lamadrid 54' Balcázar 85' |
Group 2
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hungary |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 3 | 4 |
| West Germany |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 9 | 2 |
 Turkey |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 4 | 2 |
 Korea Republic |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 0 |
| 17 June 1954 18:00 |
West Germany |
4 – 1 | Turkey |
Berne, Wankdorf Stadium Attendance: 39,000 Referee: Da Costa Vieira (Portugal) |
| Schäfer 14' Klodt 52'O. Walter 60'Morlock 84' |
(Report) | Suat 2' |
| 17 June 1954 18:00 |
Hungary |
9 – 0 | Korea Republic |
Zürich, Hardturm Stadium Attendance: 18,000 Referee: Vincenti (France) |
| Puskás 12' 89' Lantos 18'Kocsis 24' 36' 50'Czibor 59'Palotás 75' 83' |
(Report) |
| 20 June 1954 16:50 |
Hungary |
8 – 3 | West Germany |
Basel, St. Jakob Stadium Attendance: 65,000 Referee: Ling (England) |
| Kocsis 3' 21' 67' 78' Puskás 17'Hidegkuti 50' 54'J. Tóth 73' |
(Report) | Pfaff 25' Rahn 77'Herrmann 81' |
| 20 June 1954 17:00 |
Turkey |
7 – 0 | Korea Republic |
Geneva, Charmilles Stadium Attendance: 3,000 Referee: Marino (Uruguay) |
| Suat 10' 30' Lefter 24'Burhan 37' 64' 70'Erol 76' |
(Report) |
Play-off
| 23 June 1954 18:00 |
West Germany |
7 – 2 | Turkey |
Zürich, Hardturm Stadium Attendance: 18,000 Referee: Vincenti (France) |
| O. Walter 7' Schäfer 12' 79'Morlock 30' 60' 77'F. Walter 62' |
(Report) | Mustafa 21' Lefter 82' |
Group 3
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uruguay |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 4 |
| Austria |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 4 |
 Czechoslovakia |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
 Scotland |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 16 June 1954 18:00 |
Uruguay |
2 – 0 | Czechoslovakia |
Berne, Wankdorf Stadium Attendance: 20,500 Referee: Ellis (England) |
| Míguez 72' Schiaffino 81' |
(Report) |
| 16 June 1954 18:00 |
Austria |
1 – 0 | Scotland |
Zürich, Hardturm Stadium Attendance: 30,000 Referee: Franken (Belgium) |
| Probst 33' |
(Report) |
| 19 June 1954 16:50 |
Uruguay |
7 – 0 | Scotland |
Basel, St. Jakob Stadium Attendance: 43,000 Referee: Orlandini (Italy) |
| Borges 17' 47' 57' Míguez 30' 83'Abbadie 54' 85' |
(Report) |
| 19 June 1954 17:00 |
Austria |
5 – 0 | Czechoslovakia |
Zürich, Hardturm Stadium Attendance: 25,000 Referee: Stefanovic (Yugoslavia) |
| Stojaspal 3' 70' Probst 4' 21' 24' |
(Report) |
Group 4
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 England |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 3 |
| Switzerland |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
 Italy |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
 Belgium |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 1 |
| 17 June 1954 17:50 |
Switzerland |
2 – 1 | Italy |
Lausanne, Stade Olympique de la Pontaise Attendance: 43,000 Referee: Viana (Brazil) |
| Ballaman 18' Hügi 78' |
(Report) | Boniperti 44' |
| 17 June 1954 18:10 |
England |
4 – 4 (a.e.t.) | Belgium |
Basel, St. Jakob Stadium Attendance: 40,000 Referee: Schmetzer (West Germany) |
| Broadis 26' 63' Lofthouse 36' 91' |
(Report) | Anoul 5' 71' Coppens 67'Dickinson 94' (o.g.) |
| 20 June 1954 17:00 |
Italy |
4 – 1 | Belgium |
Lugano, Cornaredo Stadium Attendance: 26,000 Referee: Steiner (Austria) |
| Pandolfini 41' (pen.) Galli 48'Frignani 58'Lorenzi 78' |
(Report) | Anoul 81' |
| 20 June 1954 17:10 |
England |
2 – 0 | Switzerland |
Berne, Wankdorf Stadium Attendance: 50,000 Referee: Zsolt (Hungary) |
| Mullen 43' Wilshaw 69' |
(Report) |
Play-off
| 23 June 1954 18:00 |
Switzerland |
4 – 1 | Italy |
Basel, St. Jakob Stadium Attendance: 30,000 Referee: Griffiths (Wales) |
| Hügi 14' 85' Ballaman 48'Fatton 90' |
(Report) | Nesti 67' |
Knockout stage
| Quarter finals | Semi finals | Final | ||||||||
| 27 June - Bern | ||||||||||
| Brazil |
2 | |||||||||
| 30 June – Lausanne | ||||||||||
| Hungary |
4 | |||||||||
| Hungary (aet) |
4 | |||||||||
| 26 June - Basel | ||||||||||
| Uruguay |
2 | |||||||||
| Uruguay |
4 | |||||||||
| 4 July – Bern | ||||||||||
| England |
2 | |||||||||
| Hungary |
2 | |||||||||
| 27 June – Geneva | ||||||||||
| West Germany |
3 | |||||||||
| Yugoslavia |
0 | |||||||||
| 30 June - Basel | ||||||||||
| West Germany |
2 | |||||||||
| West Germany |
6 | Third place | ||||||||
| 26 June - Lausanne | ||||||||||
| Austria |
1 | |||||||||
| Austria |
7 | Uruguay |
1 | |||||||
| Switzerland |
5 | Austria |
3 | |||||||
| 3 July - Zürich | ||||||||||
Quarter-finals
| 26 June 1954 17:00 |
Austria |
7 – 5 | Switzerland |
Lausanne, Stade Olympique de la Pontaise Attendance: 35,000 Referee: Faultless (Scotland) |
| Wagner 25' 27' 53' A. Körner 26' 34'Ocwirk 32'Probst 76' |
(Report) | Ballaman 16' 39' Hügi 17' 19' 58' |
| 26 June 1954 17:00 |
Uruguay |
4 – 2 | England |
Basel, St. Jakob Stadium Attendance: 35,000 Referee: Steiner (Austria) |
| Borges 5' Varela 39'Schiaffino 46'Ambrois 78' |
(Report) | Lofthouse 16' Finney 67' |
| 27 June 1954 17:00 |
Brazil |
2 – 4 | Hungary |
Berne, Wankdorf Stadium Attendance: 60,000 Referee: Ellis (England) |
| Djalma Santos 18' (pen.) Julinho 65' |
(Report) | Hidegkuti 4' Kocsis 7' 88'Lantos 60' (pen.) |
| 27 June 1954 17:00 |
Yugoslavia |
0 – 2 | West Germany |
Geneva, Charmilles Stadium Attendance: 20,000 Referee: Zsolt (Hungary) |
| (Report) | Horvat 9' (o.g.) Rahn 85' |
Semi-finals
| 30 June 1954 18:00 |
Hungary |
4 – 2 (a.e.t.) | Uruguay |
Lausanne, Stade Olympique de la Pontaise Attendance: 37,000 Referee: Griffiths (Wales) |
| Czibor 13' Hidegkuti 46'Kocsis 111' 116' |
(Report) | Hohberg 75' 86' |
| 30 June 1954 18:00 |
West Germany |
6 – 1 | Austria |
Basel, St. Jakob Stadium Attendance: 58,000 Referee: Orlandini (Italy) |
| Schäfer 31' Morlock 47'F. Walter 54' (pen.) 64' (pen.)O. Walter 61' 89' |
(Report) | Probst 51' |
Third place match
| 3 July 1954 17:00 |
Uruguay |
1 – 3 | Austria |
Zürich, Hardturm Stadium Attendance: 35,000 Referee: Wyssling (Switzerland) |
| Hohberg 22' |
(Report) | Stojaspal 16' (pen.) Cruz 59' (o.g.)Ocwirk 89' |
Final
| 4 July 1954 17:00 |
Hungary |
2 – 3 | West Germany |
Berne, Wankdorf Stadium Attendance: 60,000 Referee: Ling (England) |
| Puskás 6' Czibor 8' |
(Report) | Morlock 10' Rahn 18' 84' |
Awards
| 1954 FIFA World Cup Winners |
|---|
West Germany First title |
Scorers
|
11 goals
6 goals
4 goals
Own goals
|
3 goals
2 goals
|
1 goal
|
In film
The final scene of Rainer Werner Fassbinder's film The Marriage of Maria Braun takes place during the finals of the 1954 World Cup; in the scene's background, the sports announcer is celebrating West Germany's victory and shouting "Deutschland ist wieder was!" (Germany is something again) - which the film uses as the symbol of Germany's recovery from the ravages of WWII.
Söhnke Wortmann's 2003 German box-office hit The Miracle of Bern (in German: Das Wunder von Bern) re-tells the story of the German team's route to victory through the eyes of a young boy who admires the key player of the final, Helmut Rahn.
References
- ↑ History of the World Cup Final Draw
- ↑ FERENC PUSKAS - International Football Hall of Fame
- ↑ Das Wunder von Bern - Die wahre Geschichte
- ↑ Ewiger Knaben Wunderhorn (DER SPIEGEL, 18/2004)
- ↑ Das Trauma von Bern: Die unbekannte Seite des legendären Endspiels
External links
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Uruguay 1930 | Italy 1934 | France 1938 | Brazil 1950 | Switzerland 1954 | Sweden 1958 | Chile 1962 | England 1966 | Mexico 1970 | West Germany 1974 | Argentina 1978 | Spain 1982 | Mexico 1986 | Italy 1990 | United States 1994 | France 1998 | Korea/Japan 2002 | Germany 2006 | South Africa 2010 | Brazil 2014 | 2018 |
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International football
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