The 1974 World Cup came to the Federal Republic of Germany, and the tournament was held from June 13 to July 7, 1974, which was the first time the World Cup came to Germany.
But before the Start of the World Cup, there were still many uncertainties that plagued the World Cup. Two years ago, at the Munich Olympics, also held in the Federal Republic of Germany, the Munich Massacre, which shocked the world, broke out, and 11 Israeli athletes were brutally killed. Because of this serious incident, people have also paid close attention to the safety of this World Cup, and the Federal Republic of Germany has promised the world that there will be no security problems, and at the same time has adopted stricter security measures than any previous World Cup. Fortunately, there are no serious security problems in this World Cup.
In terms of format, this World Cup is still played by 16 teams, but the rules have changed a lot compared to the past. The final stage of the competition is divided into three stages, the first 16 participating teams are divided into four groups, each group playing a single round robin. The top two teams in the group, or eight teams, advanced. The eight teams then split into two groups for a single round robin. The first place in each group advances to the final, while the second place participates in the third and fourth place finals. The goal difference system was also officially launched at this World Cup.
The host country, the Federal Republic of Germany, is undoubtedly one of the top favourites for winning this World Cup, and in the previous two World Cups, they have won the second and third places respectively, and this time their goal is of course to win the championship. At this time, the Federal Republic of Germany can be described as strong and in good shape, in addition to the host, they also have an identity, the 1972 European Championship champion, Beckenbauer, Müller and other stars are also in the year of playing.
The Federal Republic of Germany was placed in the first group, which was interestingly grouped, in addition to the Federal Republic of Germany, Chile, Australia, and the GDR.
In the first round of the group stage, the Federal Republic of Germany challenged Chile, and in terms of the game itself, it was not too exciting, and the Federal Republic of Germany won a 1-0 start with Breitner's goal in the 18th minute of the game. In the game, the referee from Turkey, Dogan Babajan, showed a red card to chilean player Castzeli and sent him off, although there was a red and yellow card system in the last World Cup, but there was no red card in the 1970 World Cup, so this is the first red card in the history of the World Cup. In another match in the same group, the GDR beat Australia 2-0.
Australia, which was defeated by the GDR in the first game, soon found out that they were going to play Germany again, only this time the more powerful Federal Republic of Germany. As a result, they fell behind 2-0 in the first half, with Wolfgang Overrat and Bernhard Kuhlmann respectively contributing. In the 53rd minute of the second half, the Federal Republic of Germany won a corner kick opportunity, Uli Hoeness opened a corner to assist Müller's header to score, and the Federal Republic of Germany won Australia 3-0, winning two consecutive games while qualifying from the group. But the fans didn't seem satisfied with the team's performance, and boos began to appear.
In the final round of the group stage, the Federal Republic of Germany faced the GDR, and the two Germans, who were originally one country, were divided into different camps at this time, and the relationship was quite delicate. The match was also very interesting, not the game itself, with Schpavaiser's goal in the 77th minute of the game, the GDR won a 1-0 upset victory over the Federal Republic of Germany without the advantage of the game, thus pushing the opponent to win the first place in the group. After the match, rumors of infighting broke out within the Federal Republic of Germany, saying that Beckenbauer had vacated coach Schauern, but when they saw the same group opponents in the second round of the group stage, the GDR and the Netherlands seemed to have a bit of a conspiracy theory feeling.
On the other side, Australia drew 0-0 with Chile, a goal that did not reach the bottom of the group, but the good guys still have one point.