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,
West Germany and
Sweden made it past the group stage. Fans from the Eastern Communist neighbour states East Germany, Bulgaria and Poland were hindered by
political circumstances.
Carlos Caszely of
Chile became the first player to be sent off with a
red card in a World Cup match, during their match against West Germany. Red cards were formally introduced in World Cup play in
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
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 and
Bulgaria and a draw with Sweden. Sweden joined the Dutch in the second group round after beating Uruguay 3–0.
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 3–2, trounced
Haiti 7–0, then beat
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. 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,
Yugoslavia and
Scotland drawing all their games against each other, it was decided by the number of goals these three teams scored when defeating
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 and the host
West Germany, and they both progressed at the expense of
Chile and newcomers
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 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 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 international 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 minute, Hölzenbein was fouled again, but no penalty this time. Eventually, West Germany, the
1972 European champions, also won the 1974 World Cup. This was the only case of the reigning European champions winning the World Cup, until Spain (winners of the
UEFA Euro 2008) defeated the Netherlands in the
2010 FIFA World Cup final. France have also held both trophies at the same time, albeit in a different order, by winning the
1998 FIFA World Cup followed by the
UEFA Euro 2000. 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. ==Mascot==