Background
The 1974 FIFA World Cup was the tenth edition of the tournament and was held in West Germany from June 13 to July 7, 1974. The tournament was organized by FIFA and was the first World Cup to feature a 16-team format, as opposed to the 24 teams that participated in the previous tournament in Mexico in 1970.
Participants
A total of 16 teams participated in the tournament, including defending champions Brazil, who were eliminated in the second round. Other notable participants included the Netherlands, Argentina, West Germany, and Poland.
Format
The 16 teams were divided into four groups of four teams each, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the second round, which was played in a knockout format. The winners of the quarterfinals advanced to the semifinals, and the winners of the semifinals played in the final.
Matches
A total of 38 matches were played in the tournament, with a total of 97 goals scored. The opening match was played between West Germany and Chile, with the host nation winning 1-0. The final was played between West Germany and the Netherlands, with West Germany winning 2-1.
Goalscorers
The Golden Boot for the top scorer in the tournament was awarded to Grzegorz Lato of Poland, who scored seven goals. Other notable goalscorers included Johan Neeskens and Johan Cruyff of the Netherlands, who scored three and two goals, respectively.
Winner
West Germany won the tournament, defeating the Netherlands 2-1 in the final. The victory marked the second time that West Germany had won the World Cup, the first being in 1954.
Legacy
The 1974 FIFA World Cup is remembered for the “Total Football” style of play exhibited by the Dutch team, which was led by Johan Cruyff. The tournament also marked the emergence of West Germany as a footballing power, with the team winning the World Cup on home soil.
Controversy
One of the most controversial moments of the tournament came in the second-round match between West Germany and East Germany, which was dubbed the “Match of the Century”. The match was played against the backdrop of political tensions between the two nations, which were divided by the Iron Curtain. West Germany won the match 1-0, but there were allegations of biased refereeing in favor of the host nation.
