Editing 1974 FIFA World Cup (section)

==Format==
The tournament featured a new format. While the competition once again began with the sixteen teams divided into four groups of four teams, the eight teams which advanced did not enter a knockout stage as in the previous five World Cups but instead played in a second group stage. The winners of the two groups in the second stage then played each other in the final, with the respective runners-up from each group meeting in the third place play-off. This was one of only two times that this format was deployed (1978 being the other). For the 1974 World Cup, FIFA introduced the [[penalty shoot-out (association football)|penalty shoot-out]] as a means of determining the winner in knockout stages should the match end on a draw after 120 minutes.<ref>{{cite news |title=Nur das Endspiel wird wiederholt |date=May–June 1974|work=[[Kicker Sportmagazin]] - Sonderheft WM 74 (World Cup '74 special issue)|page=131|language=de}}</ref> The method, however, was not put in practice as both the third-place match and the final were decided after 90 minutes. The first World Cup to feature a penalty shoot-out was the 1982 World Cup, in the semi-final match between France and West Germany.

It was decided in advance that if the host nation progressed to the second round their matches would not take place simultaneous to the other matches but instead be held in the other timeslot (either 16:00 or 19:30 local time).<ref>{{cite news |title=Das ist der Fahrplan|date=May–June 1974|work=[[Kicker Sportmagazin]] – Sonderheft WM '74 |page=5|language=de}}</ref>