Editing 1974 FIFA World Cup (section)

==Summary==
[[File:1974 world cup.png|thumb|350px|Results of finalists]]
[[File:Fifaworldcup1974.JPG|thumb|upright|One of two official match footballs of the FIFA World Cup 1974 – the [[Adidas Telstar]] durlast. The other, was the all-white Adidas Chile durlast]]

===First round===
The tournament was held mostly in bad weather, and the stadia had few protected places. Only five western European nations had qualified, of which only the [[Netherlands national football team|Netherlands]], [[Germany national football team|West Germany]] and [[Sweden men's national football team|Sweden]] made it past the group stage. Fans from the Eastern Communist neighbour states East Germany, Bulgaria and Poland were hindered by [[Iron Curtain|political circumstances]].

[[Carlos Caszely]] of [[Chile national football team|Chile]] became the first player to be sent off with a [[misconduct (football)|red card]] in a World Cup match, during their match against West Germany. Red cards were formally introduced in World Cup play in [[1970 FIFA World Cup|1970]], but no players were sent off in that tournament.

Two teams made a particularly powerful impact on the first round. The Netherlands demonstrated the "[[Total Football]]" techniques pioneered by the top Dutch club [[AFC Ajax|Ajax]], in which specialised positions were virtually abolished for the outfield players, and individual players became defenders, midfielders or strikers as the situation required. The Dutch marked their first World Cup finals since 1938 by topping their first-round group, with wins over [[Uruguay national football team|Uruguay]] and [[Bulgaria national football team|Bulgaria]] and a draw with Sweden. Sweden joined the Dutch in the second group round after beating Uruguay 3–0.

[[Poland national football team|Poland]], meanwhile, appearing for the first time since 1938, took maximum points from a group containing two of the favourites for the tournament. They beat [[Argentina national football team|Argentina]] 3–2, trounced [[Haiti national football team|Haiti]] 7–0, then beat [[Italy national football team|Italy]] 2–1 – a result that allowed Argentina to qualify for the second group round ahead of Italy on goal difference. Argentina would not fail to win either of their opening two games of a World Cup again until 2018.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/jun/21/argentina-croatia-world-cup-2018-group-d-match-report|title=Argentina on brink as Ante Rebic sparks rout to put Croatia through|website=[[TheGuardian.com]] |date=21 June 2018}}</ref> While Haiti lost all three games and finished second-to-last in the tournament, they did have one moment of glory; in their opening game against Italy, they managed to take the lead with a goal from [[Emmanuel Sanon]], before eventually losing 3–1. That goal proved to be significant as it ended [[Dino Zoff]]'s run of 1,142 minutes without conceding a goal – Italy had not conceded in their last 12 international matches.

Group 2 was a particularly close group. With [[Brazil national football team|Brazil]], [[Yugoslavia national football team|Yugoslavia]] and [[Scotland national football team|Scotland]] drawing all their games against each other, it was decided by the number of goals these three teams scored when defeating [[Congo DR national football team|Zaire]]. Yugoslavia hammered the African nation 9–0, equalling a finals record for the largest margin of victory. Brazil beat them 3–0. Scotland only managed a 2–0 margin, and so were edged out of the tournament on goal difference. They were the only team that did not lose a game in the tournament and the first ever country to be eliminated from a World Cup Finals without having lost a match.

Group 1 contained both [[East Germany national football team|East Germany]] and the host [[Germany national football team|West Germany]], and they both progressed at the expense of [[Chile national football team|Chile]] and newcomers [[Australia men's national soccer team|Australia]]. The last game played in Group 1 was much anticipated, a first ever clash between the two German teams. West Germany was already assured of progression to the second round whatever the result. In one of the most politically charged matches of all time, the East won, thanks to a late [[Jürgen Sparwasser]] goal. This result forced a realignment of the West German team that would later help them win the tournament.

===Second round===
Coincidentally, the two second-round groups both produced matches that were, in effect, semi-finals. In Group A, the Netherlands and Brazil met after each had taken maximum points from their previous two matches. In Group B, the same happened with West Germany and Poland – so the winners of these two games would contest the final.

In Group A, two goals from the inspirational [[Johan Cruyff]] helped the Dutch side thrash Argentina 4–0. At the same time, Brazil defeated East Germany 1–0. The Dutch triumphed over East Germany 2–0 while in the "Battle of the South Americans", Brazil managed to defeat Argentina 2–1 in a scrappy match. Argentina and East Germany drew 1–1 and were on their way home while the crucial match between the Netherlands and Brazil turned into another triumph for Total Football, as second-half goals from [[Johan Neeskens]] and Cruyff put the Netherlands in the final. However the match would also be remembered for harsh defending on both sides.

Meanwhile, in Group B, West Germany and Poland both managed to beat Yugoslavia and Sweden. The crucial game between the Germans and the Poles was goalless until the 76th minute, when Gerd Muller scored to send the hosts through 1–0. The Poles took third place after defeating Brazil 1–0.

===Final===
{{main|1974 FIFA World Cup Final}}

The final was held on 7 July 1974 at Olympiastadion, Munich. West Germany was led by [[Franz Beckenbauer]], while the Dutch had their star [[Johan Cruyff]], and their Total Football system which had dazzled the competition. With just a minute gone on the clock, following a solo run, Cruyff was brought down by [[Uli Hoeneß]] inside the German penalty area, and the Dutch took the lead from the ensuing penalty by [[Johan Neeskens]] before any German player had even touched the ball. West Germany struggled to recover, and in the 26th minute were awarded a penalty, after [[Bernd Hölzenbein]] fell within the Dutch area, causing [[English people|English]] referee [[Jack Taylor (referee)|Jack Taylor]] to award another controversial penalty. [[Paul Breitner]] spontaneously decided to kick, and scored. These two penalties were the first in a World Cup final. West Germany now pushed, and in the 43rd minute, in his typical style, [[Gerd Müller]] scored what turned out to be the winning goal, and the last of his career as he retired from the national team. The second half saw chances for both sides, with Müller putting the ball in the net for a goal that was disallowed as offside. In the 85th, Hölzenbein was fouled again, but no penalty this time. Eventually, West Germany, European Champions of 1972, also won the 1974 World Cup.

This was the only case of the reigning European champions winning the World Cup, until Spain (champions of the [[UEFA Euro 2008]]) defeated the Netherlands in the South Africa [[2010 FIFA World Cup]] Final. France have also held both trophies, albeit in a different order, at the same time by winning the 1998 World Cup followed by Euro 2000.

[[Joao Havelange]] (former FIFA President from 1974 to 1998) claimed that the 1966 and 1974 World Cups were fixed so that England and Germany would win respectively.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.goal.com/en-us/news/1966-1974-world-cups-were-fixed-former-fifa-president/blt6e01f417661567f1 |title=1966 & 1974 World Cups Were Fixed – Former FIFA President |publisher=Goal.com |date=26 June 2008 |access-date=28 October 2011}}</ref>

This was only the second time that a team had won the World Cup after losing a match in the Finals (West Germany losing to East Germany during the group stage). The previous occasion was West Germany's earlier win in 1954.

Poland's [[Grzegorz Lato]] led the tournament in scoring seven goals. [[Gerd Müller]]'s goal in the final was the 14th in his career of two World Cups, beating [[Just Fontaine]]'s record of 13, in his single World Cup. Müller's record was only surpassed 32 years later, in 2006 by [[Ronaldo (Brazilian footballer)|Ronaldo]]'s 15 goals from three World Cups and then 8 years after, in 2014 by [[Miroslav Klose|Klose]]'s 16 goals from four World Cups.

[[Günter Netzer]], who came on as a substitute for West Germany during the defeat by the East Germans, was playing for [[Real Madrid]] at the time: this was the first time that a World Cup winner had played for a club outside his home country.

This is the last of four [[FIFA World Cup]] tournaments to date with no [[Overtime (sports)|extra-time]] matches. The others are the [[1930 FIFA World Cup|1930]], [[1950 FIFA World Cup|1950]], and [[1962 FIFA World Cup|1962]] tournaments.