West Germany hosted the World Cup for the first time in 1974…
The 10th edition of the World Cup – football’s greatest tournament -was held in the year 1974. 16 teams from four regions – (East Europe, West Europe, South America, and Rest of the World) – took part in the competition.
Who were the hosts of the 1974 FIFA World Cup?
West Germany was selected as the host for the 1974 World Cup. West Germany faced competition from Spain for the hosting rights. But in the end, West Germany won the hosting rights.
What was the format of the 1974 FIFA World Cup?
FIFA decided to alter the format that was in practice in the past five editions of the tournament. 16 teams were divided into four groups equally in the first round and the top two teams would qualify for the second round where eight teams were divided into two groups. From the second round, the top teams from each group would qualify for the final while the second-placed teams would make it to the third-place play-off.
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Which teams participated in the qualifying round?
A total of 99 teams entered the 1974 FIFA World Cup qualification stage. West Germany as the host nation and Brazil as reigning World Cup champions were granted automatic qualification, with the remaining 14 places divided among the continental confederations.
Nine were available for UEFA (Europe), three for CONMEBOL (South America), one for CAF (Africa), one for a team from either the AFC or the OFC (Asia/Oceania), and one for CONCACAF (North and Central America and the Caribbean). One spot was marked for a team that won the intercontinental play-off between Europe and South America.
The teams who eventually played in the World Cup were – East Germany, West Germany, Chile, Australia, Yugoslavia, Brazil, Scotland, Zaire, Netherlands, Sweden, Bulgaria, Uruguay, Poland, Italy, Argentina and Haiti.
Who won the 1974 FIFA World Cup?
West Germany won the World Cup for the second time after 1954, beating Netherlands 2-1 in the final.
This World Cup saw the introduction of a new World Cup trophy which is currently in use. The previous trophy was awarded permanently to Brazil after they won the title for the third time in 1970.
The new FIFA World Cup trophy was created by Italian sculptor Silvio Gazzaniga.
The tournament also witnessed the Dutch national team’s famous ‘Total Football’ on the global stage. Ajax manager Rinus Michels who masterminded the tactical game plan at the Dutch club introduced it to the national side as well with legendary footballer Johan Cruyff spearheading the attack.
Netherlands produced eye-catching football throughout the competition winning five out of their six matches in the two rounds. Unfortunately, they lost to the hosts in the final despite taking an early lead.
Who were the top goalscorers at the 1974 FIFA World Cup?
Polish winger Grzegorz Lato scored seven goals in the tournament and was the top goalscorer.
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