Editing 1974 FIFA World Cup (section)

===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.