Football Wiki
Advertisement
Football Wiki
1954 FIFA World Cup
Tournament details
Host countrySwitzerland rectangle Switzerland
Dates16 June – 4 July (19 days)
Teams16 (from 4 confederations)
Venue(s)(in 6 host cities)
Final positions
ChampionsFlag of Germany West Germany (1st title)
Runner-upFlag of Hungary Hungary
Third placeFlag of Austria Austria
Fourth placeFlag of Uruguay Uruguay
Tournament statistics
Matches played26
Goals scored140 (5.38 per match)
Attendance768,607 (29,562 per match)
Top scorer(s)Flag of Hungary Sándor Kocsis (11 goals)
1950
1958

The 1954 FIFA World Cup, the fifth staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in Switzerland from 16 June to 4 July. Switzerland was chosen as hosts in July 1946. The tournament set a number of all-time records for goal-scoring, including the highest average goals scored per game. The tournament was won by West Germany, who defeated Hungary 3–2 in the final, giving them their first title.

Host selection[]

Switzerland was awarded the tournament unopposed on 22 July 1946, the same day that Brazil was selected for the 1950 World Cup, in Luxembourg City.

Qualification[]

Main article:1954 FIFA World Cup qualification

The hosts (Switzerland) and the defending champions (Uruguay) qualified automatically. Of the remaining 14 places, 11 were allocated to Europe (including Egypt, Turkey and Israel), two to the Americas, and one to Asia.

Scotland, Turkey and South Korea made their World Cup debuts at this tournament (Turkey and Scotland had qualified for the 1950 competition but both withdrew). Austria appeared for the first time since 1934. Turkey would not participate at a finals again until the 2002 competition, while South Korea's next appearance would be in 1986.

The third and fourth place teams from 1950, Sweden and Spain, both failed to qualify. In a shock result, Spain was eliminated by Turkey: after the two countries had tied a three-game series, Turkey progressed by drawing of lots.

German teams were allowed to qualify again, after having been banned from the 1950 FIFA World Cup. West Germany qualified against fellow Germans from the Saarland (which then was a French protectorate), while East Germany had not entered, cancelling international football games after the East German uprising of 1953. Argentina declined to participate for the third World Cup in succession.

Summary[]

Format[]

The 1954 tournament used a unique format. The sixteen qualifying teams were divided into four groups of four teams each. Each group contained two seeded teams and two unseeded teams. Only four matches were scheduled for each group, each pitting a seeded team against an unseeded team. This contrasts with the usual round-robin in which every team plays every other team: six matches in each group. Another oddity was that extra time, which in most tournaments is not employed at the group stage, was played in the group games if the score was level after 90 minutes, with the result being a draw if the scores were still level after 120 minutes.

Two points were awarded for a win and one for a draw. The two teams with the most points from each group progressed to the knockout stage. If the first and second placed teams were level on points, lots were drawn to decide which team would top the group. However, if the second and third placed teams were level on points, there was a play-off to decide which team would progress to the next stage.

It turned out that two of the four groups required play-offs, and the other two required drawing of lots between the two top teams. The play-offs were between Switzerland and Italy, and Turkey and West Germany: in both matches the unseeded teams (Switzerland and West Germany) repeated earlier victories against the seeds (Italy and Turkey) to progress. In the other two groups, lots were drawn to determine the first-place teams: resulting in Uruguay and Brazil finishing above Austria and Yugoslavia, respectively.

A further unusual feature of the format was that the four group-winning teams were drawn against each other in the knockout stages to produce one finalist, and the four second-placed teams played against each other to produce the second finalist. In subsequent tournaments it has become customary to draw group winners against second-placed teams in the first knockout round.

In any knockout game tied after 90 minutes, 30 minutes of extra time were played. If the scores had still been level after extra time, in any knockout game other than the final, lots would have been drawn to decide which team progressed. However, if the final had been tied after extra time, it would have been replayed, with lots deciding the winner only if the replay was also tied after extra time. In the event, all the knockout games were decided in either normal time or extra time, with no replays or drawing of lots being required.

Venues[]

Six venues in six cities (1 venue in each city) hosted the tournament's 26 matches. The most used stadium was the St. Jakob stadium in Basel, which hosted 6 matches. The venues in Bern, Zurich and Lausanne each hosted 5 matches, the venue in Geneva hosted 4 matches and the venue in Lugano only hosted 1 match.

Basel Bern Geneva
St. Jakob Stadium Wankdorf Stadium
(upgraded)
Charmilles Stadium
Capacity: 54,800 Capacity: 64,600 Capacity: 35,997
Wankdorf demolition 1 Ouches oct 2008 (21)
Lausanne Lugano Zürich
Stade Olympique de la Pontaise
(upgraded)
Cornaredo Stadium Hardturm Stadium
Capacity: 50,300 Capacity: 35,800 Capacity: 34,800
Stade Olympique Hardturm retouched

Squads[]

For a list of all squads that appeared in the final tournament, see 1954 FIFA World Cup squads.

Match officials[]

  • Flag of Switzerland Raymon Wyssling
  • Flag of Wales Benjamin Griffiths
  • Flag of Scotland Charlie Faultless
  • Flag of Spain Manuel Asensi
  • Flag of Portugal Jose da Costa Vieira
  • Flag of France Raymond Vincenti
  • Flag of England William Ling
  • Flag of Uruguay Esteban Marino
  • Flag of England Arthur Edward Ellis
  • Flag of Belgium Laurent Franken
  • Flag of Italy Vincenzo Orlandini
  • Flag of Yugoslavia Vasa Stefanovic
  • Flag of Brazil Mario Vianna
  • Flag of West Germany Emil Schmetzer
  • Flag of Austria Carl Erich Steiner
  • Flag of Hungary István Zsolt

Participants[]

Asia[]

Europe[]

North and Central America[]

South America[]

Results[]

First round[]

Group 1[]

Team Pld W D L GF GA Pts
Brazil Brazil 2 1 1 0 6 1 3
Flag of SFR Yugoslavia 001 Yugoslavia 2 1 1 0 2 1 3
Flag of France France 2 1 0 1 3 3 2
Flag of Mexico Mexico 2 0 0 2 2 8 0
  • Brazil finished ahead of Yugoslavia on drawing of lots
16 June 1954
18:00 (CET)
Brazil Brazil 5–0 Flag of Mexico Mexico Charmilles Stadium, Geneva
Attendance: 13,470
Referee: Raymon Wyssling (Switzerland)
Baltazar Goal 23'
Didi Goal 30'
Pinga Goal 34'43'
Julinho Goal 69'
Report
16 June 1954
18:00 (CET)
Yugoslavia Flag of SFR Yugoslavia 001 1–0 Flag of France France Stade Olympique de la Pontaise, Lausanne
Attendance: 16,000
Referee: Benjamin Griffiths (Wales)
Milutinović Goal 15' Report

19 June 1954
17:00 (CET)
Brazil Brazil 1–1 (a.e.t.) Flag of SFR Yugoslavia 001 Yugoslavia Stade Olympique de la Pontaise, Lausanne
Attendance: 24,637
Referee: Charlie Faultless (Scotland)
Didi Goal 69' Report Zebec Goal 48'

19 June 1954
17:10 (CET)
France Flag of France 3–2 Flag of Mexico Mexico Charmilles Stadium, Geneva
Attendance: 19,000
Referee: Manuel Asensi (Spain)
Jean Vincent Goal 19'
Cárdenas Goal 49' (o.g.)
Kopa Goal 88' (pen.)
Report Lamadrid Goal 54'
Balcázar Goal 85'

Group 2[]

Team Pld W D L GF GA Pts
Flag of Hungary Hungary 2 2 0 0 17 3 4
Flag of Germany West Germany 2 1 0 1 7 9 2
Flag of Turkey Turkey 2 1 0 1 8 4 2
South Korea South Korea 2 0 0 2 0 16 0
  • West Germany finished ahead of Turkey by winning a play-off
17 June 1954
18:00 (CET)
West Germany Flag of Germany 4–1 Flag of Turkey Turkey Wankdorf Stadium, Bern
Attendance: 28,000
Referee: Jose da Costa Vieira (Portugal)
Schäfer Goal 14'
Klodt Goal 52'
O. Walter Goal 60'
Morlock Goal 84'
Report Suat Goal 2'
17 June 1954
18:00 (CET)
Hungary Flag of Hungary 9–0 South Korea South Korea Hardturm Stadium, Zürich
Attendance: 13,000
Referee: Raymond Vincenti (France)
Puskás Goal 12'89'
Lantos Goal 18'
Kocsis Goal 24'36'50'
Czibor Goal 59'
Palotás Goal 75'83'
Report

20 June 1954
16:50 (CET)
Hungary Flag of Hungary 8–3 Flag of Germany West Germany St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
Attendance: 56,000
Referee: William Ling (England)
Kocsis Goal 3'21'69'78'
Puskás Goal 17'
Hidegkuti Goal 52'54'
J. Tóth Goal 75'
Report Pfaff Goal 25'
Rahn Goal 77'
Herrmann Goal 84'

20 June 1954
17:00 (CET)
Turkey Flag of Turkey 7–0 South Korea South Korea Charmilles Stadium, Geneva
Attendance: 4,000
Referee: Esteban Marino (Uruguay)
Suat Goal 10'30'
Lefter Goal 24'
Burhan Goal 37'64'70'
Erol Goal 76'
Report
Play-off[]
23 June 1954
18:00 (CET)
West Germany Flag of Germany 7–2 Flag of Turkey Turkey Hardturm Stadium, Zürich
Attendance: 17,000
Referee: Raymond Vincenti (France)
O. Walter Goal 7'
Schäfer Goal 12'79'
Morlock Goal 30'60'77'
F. Walter Goal 62'
Report Mustafa Goal 21'
Lefter Goal 82'

Group 3[]

Team Pld W D L GF GA Pts
Flag of Uruguay Uruguay 2 2 0 0 9 0 4
Flag of Austria Austria 2 2 0 0 6 0 4
Flag of Czech Czechoslovakia 2 0 0 2 0 7 0
Scotland Scotland 2 0 0 2 0 8 0
  • Uruguay finished ahead of Austria on drawing of lots
16 June 1954
18:00 (CET)
Uruguay Flag of Uruguay 2–0 Flag of Czech Czechoslovakia Wankdorf Stadium, Bern
Attendance: 20,500
Referee: Arthur Ellis (England)
Míguez Goal 72'
Schiaffino Goal 81'
Report
16 June 1954
18:00 (CET)
Austria Flag of Austria 1–0 Scotland Scotland Hardturm Stadium, Zürich
Attendance: 25,000
Referee: Laurent Franken (Belgium)
Probst Goal 33' Report

19 June 1954
16:50 (CET)
Uruguay Flag of Uruguay 7–0 Scotland Scotland St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
Attendance: 34,000
Referee: Vincenzo Orlandini (Italy)
Borges Goal 17'47'57'
Míguez Goal 30'83'
Abbadie Goal 54'85'
Report

19 June 1954
17:00 (CET)
Austria Flag of Austria 5–0 Flag of Czech Czechoslovakia Hardturm Stadium, Zürich
Attendance: 26,000
Referee: Vasa Stefanovic (Yugoslavia)
Stojaspal Goal 3'70'
Probst Goal 4'21'24'
Report

Group 4[]

Team Pld W D L GF GA Pts
England England 2 1 1 0 6 4 3
Switzerland rectangle Switzerland 2 1 0 1 2 3 2
Flag of Italy Italy 2 1 0 1 5 3 2
Belgium Belgium 2 0 1 1 5 8 1
  • Switzerland finished ahead of Italy by winning a play-off
17 June 1954
17:50 (CET)
Switzerland Switzerland rectangle 2–1 Flag of Italy Italy Stade Olympique de la Pontaise, Lausanne
Attendance: 43,000
Referee: Mario Vianna (Brazil)
Ballaman Goal 18'
Hügi Goal 78'
Report Boniperti Goal 44'

17 June 1954
18:10 (CET)
England England 4–4
(a.e.t.)
Belgium Belgium St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
Attendance: 14,000
Referee: Emil Schmetzer (West Germany)
Broadis Goal 26'63'
Lofthouse Goal 36'91'
Report Anoul Goal 5'71'
Coppens Goal 67'
Dickinson Goal 94' (o.g.)

20 June 1954
17:00 (CET)
Italy Flag of Italy 4–1 Belgium Belgium Cornaredo Stadium, Lugano
Attendance: 24,000
Referee: Carl Erich Steiner (Austria)
Pandolfini Goal 41' (pen.)
Galli Goal 48'
Frignani Goal 58'
Lorenzi Goal 78'
Report Anoul Goal 81'

20 June 1954
17:10 (CET)
England England 2–0 Switzerland rectangle Switzerland Wankdorf Stadium, Bern
Attendance: 43,500
Referee: Istvan Zsolt (Hungary)
Mullen Goal 43'
Wilshaw Goal 69'
Report
Play-off[]
23 June 1954
18:00 (CET)
Switzerland Switzerland rectangle 4–1 Flag of Italy Italy St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
Attendance: 30,000
Referee: Benjamin Griffiths (Wales)
Hügi Goal 14'85'
Ballaman Goal 48'
Fatton Goal 90'
Report Nesti Goal 67'

Knockout stage[]

Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
                   
27 June – Geneva        
 Flag of Germany West Germany  2
30 June – Basel
 Flag of SFR Yugoslavia 001 Yugoslavia  0  
 Flag of Germany West Germany  6
26 June – Lausanne
     Flag of Austria Austria  1  
 Flag of Austria Austria  7
4 July – Bern
 Switzerland rectangle Switzerland  5  
 Flag of Germany West Germany  3
27 June – Bern    
   Flag of Hungary Hungary  2
 Flag of Hungary Hungary  4
30 June – Lausanne
 Brazil Brazil  2  
 Flag of Hungary Hungary (a.e.t.)  4 Third place
26 June – Basel
     Flag of Uruguay Uruguay  2   3 July – Zürich
 Flag of Uruguay Uruguay  4
 Flag of Austria Austria  3
 England England  2  
 Flag of Uruguay Uruguay  1
 

Quarter-finals[]

Main article:Austria v Switzerland (1954 FIFA World Cup)
26 June 1954
17:00 (CET)
Austria Flag of Austria 7–5 Switzerland rectangle Switzerland Stade Olympique de la Pontaise, Lausanne
Attendance: 35,000
Referee: Charlie Faultless (Scotland)
Wagner Goal 25'27'53'
R. Körner Goal 26'34'
Ocwirk Goal 32'
Probst Goal 76'
Report Ballaman Goal 16'39'
Hügi Goal 17'19'58'
26 June 1954
17:00 (CET)
Uruguay Flag of Uruguay 4–2 England England St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
Attendance: 28,000
Referee: Carl Erich Steiner (Austria)
Borges Goal 5'
Varela Goal 39'
Schiaffino Goal 46'
Ambrois Goal 78'
Report Lofthouse Goal 16'
Finney Goal 67'

27 June 1954
17:00 (CET)
West Germany Flag of Germany 2–0 Flag of SFR Yugoslavia 001 Yugoslavia Charmilles Stadium, Geneva
Attendance: 17,000
Referee: Istvan Zsolt (Hungary)
Horvat Goal 9' (o.g.)
Rahn Goal 85'
Report
Main article:Battle of Berne (1954 FIFA World Cup)
27 June 1954
17:00 (CET)
Hungary Flag of Hungary 4–2 Brazil Brazil Wankdorf Stadium, Bern
Attendance: 40,000
Referee: Arthur Ellis (England)
Hidegkuti Goal 4'
Kocsis Goal 7'88'
Lantos Goal 60' (pen.)
Report Djalma Santos Goal 18' (pen.)
Julinho Goal 65'

Semi-finals[]

30 June 1954
18:00 (CET)
West Germany Flag of Germany 6–1 Flag of Austria Austria St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
Attendance: 58,000
Referee: Vincenzo Orlandini (Italy)
Schäfer Goal 31'
Morlock Goal 47'
F. Walter Goal 54' (pen.)64' (pen.)
O. Walter Goal 61'89'
Report Probst Goal 51'
30 June 1954
18:00 (CET)
Hungary Flag of Hungary 4–2
(a.e.t.)
Flag of Uruguay Uruguay Stade Olympique de la Pontaise, Lausanne
Attendance: 45,000
Referee: Benjamin Griffiths (Wales)
Czibor Goal 13'
Hidegkuti Goal 46'
Kocsis Goal 111'116'
Report Hohberg Goal 75'86'

Third-place match[]

3 July 1954
17:00 (CET)
Austria Flag of Austria 3–1 Flag of Uruguay Uruguay Hardturm Stadium, Zürich
Attendance: 32,000
Referee: Raymon Wyssling (Switzerland)
Stojaspal Goal 16' (pen.)
Cruz Goal 59' (o.g.)
Ocwirk Goal 89'
Report Hohberg Goal 22'

Final[]

Main article:1954 FIFA World Cup Final
4 July 1954
17:00 (CET)
West Germany Flag of Germany 3–2 Flag of Hungary Hungary Wankdorf Stadium, Bern
Attendance: 62,472
Referee: William Ling (England)
Morlock Goal 10'
Rahn Goal 18'84'
Report Puskás Goal 6'
Czibor Goal 8'

Goalscorers[]

With 11 goals, Sándor Kocsis was the top scorer in the tournament. In total, 140 goals were scored by 63 different players, with four of them credited as own goals.

11 goals
  • Flag of Hungary Sándor Kocsis
6 goals
  • Flag of Austria Erich Probst
  • Flag of Switzerland Josef Hügi
  • Flag of West Germany Max Morlock
4 goals

  • Flag of Uruguay Carlos Borges
  • Flag of West Germany Helmut Rahn
  • Flag of West Germany Hans Schäfer

  • Flag of West Germany Ottmar Walter
3 goals

  • Flag of Austria Ernst Stojaspal
  • Flag of Austria Theodor Wagner
  • Flag of Belgium Léopold Anoul
  • Flag of England Nat Lofthouse

  • Flag of Hungary Zoltán Czibor
  • Flag of Turkey Burhan Sargun
  • Flag of Turkey Suat Mamat

  • Flag of Uruguay Juan Hohberg
  • Flag of Uruguay Óscar Míguez
  • Flag of West Germany Fritz Walter
2 goals

  • Flag of Austria Robert Körner
  • Flag of Austria Ernst Ocwirk
  • Flag of Brazil Didi
  • Flag of Brazil Julinho

  • Flag of Brazil Pinga
  • Flag of England Ivor Broadis
  • Flag of Hungary Mihály Lantos
  • Flag of Hungary Péter Palotás

  • Flag of Turkey Lefter Küçükandonyadis
  • Flag of Uruguay Julio Abbadie
  • Flag of Uruguay Juan Alberto Schiaffino
1 goal

  • Flag of Belgium Henri Coppens
  • Flag of Brazil Baltazar
  • Flag of Brazil Djalma Santos
  • Flag of England Tom Finney
  • Flag of England Jimmy Mullen
  • Flag of England Dennis Wilshaw
  • Flag of France Raymond Kopa
  • Flag of France Jean Vincent
  • Flag of Hungary József Tóth
  • Flag of Italy Giampiero Boniperti

  • Flag of Italy Amleto Frignani
  • Flag of Italy Carlo Galli
  • Flag of Italy Benito Lorenzi
  • Flag of Italy Fulvio Nesti
  • Flag of Italy Egisto Pandolfini
  • Flag of Mexico Tomás Balcázar
  • Flag of Mexico José Luis Lamadrid
  • Flag of Switzerland Jacques Fatton

  • Flag of Turkey Mustafa Ertan
  • Flag of Turkey Erol Keskin
  • Flag of Uruguay Javier Ambrois
  • Flag of Uruguay Obdulio Varela
  • Flag of West Germany Richard Herrmann
  • Flag of West Germany Bernhard Klodt
  • Flag of West Germany Alfred Pfaff
  • Flag of Yugoslavia Miloš Milutinović
  • Flag of Yugoslavia Branko Zebec
Own goals
  • Flag of England Jimmy Dickinson (against Belgium)
  • Flag of Mexico Raúl Cárdenas (against France)
  • Flag of Uruguay Luis Cruz (against Austria)
  • Flag of Yugoslavia Ivica Horvat (against Germany)

FIFA retrospective ranking[]

In 1986, FIFA published a report that ranked all teams in each World Cup up to and including 1986, based on progress in the competition, overall results and quality of the opposition. The rankings for the 1954 tournament were as follows:

R Team G P W D L GF GA GD Pts.
1 Flag of Germany West Germany 2 6 5 0 1 25 14 +11 10
2 Flag of Hungary Hungary 2 5 4 0 1 27 10 +17 8
3 Flag of Austria Austria 3 5 4 0 1 17 12 +5 8
4 Flag of Uruguay Uruguay 3 5 3 0 2 16 9 +7 6
Eliminated in the quarter-finals
5 Switzerland rectangle Switzerland 4 4 2 0 2 11 11 0 4
6 Brazil Brazil 1 3 1 1 1 8 5 +3 3
7 England England 4 3 1 1 1 8 8 0 3
8 Flag of SFR Yugoslavia 001 Yugoslavia 1 3 1 1 1 2 3 −1 3
Eliminated in the group stage
9 Flag of Turkey Turkey 2 3 1 0 2 10 11 −1 2
10 Flag of Italy Italy 4 3 1 0 2 6 7 −1 2
11 Flag of France France 1 2 1 0 1 3 3 0 2
12 Belgium Belgium 4 2 0 1 1 5 8 −3 1
13 Flag of Mexico Mexico 1 2 0 0 2 2 8 −6 0
14 Flag of Czech Czechoslovakia 3 2 0 0 2 0 7 −7 0
15 Scotland Scotland 3 2 0 0 2 0 8 −8 0
16 South Korea South Korea 2 2 0 0 2 0 16 −16 0

In film[]

The final scene of Rainer Werner Fassbinder's film The Marriage of Maria Braun takes place during the finals of the 1954 World Cup; in the scene's background, the sports announcer is celebrating West Germany's victory and shouting "Deutschland ist wieder was!" (Germany is something again); the film uses this as the symbol of Germany's recovery from the ravages of the Second World War.

Sönke Wortmann's 2003 German box-office hit The Miracle of Bern (in German: Das Wunder von Bern) re-tells the story of the German team's route to victory through the eyes of a young boy who admires the key player of the final, Helmut Rahn.

External links[]

Template:1954 FIFA World Cup

2022 FIFA World Cup emblem
FIFA World Cup FIFA World Cup
Tournaments

Uruguay 1930 · Italy 1934 · France 1938 · Brazil 1950 · Switzerland 1954 · Sweden 1958 · Chile 1962 · England 1966 · Mexico 1970 · West Germany 1974 · Argentina 1978 · Spain 1982 · Mexico 1986 · Italy 1990 · United States 1994 · France 1998 · South Korea/Japan 2002 · Germany 2006 · South Africa 2010 · Brazil 2014 · Russia 2018 · Qatar 2022 · United States/Mexico/Canada 2026 · Spain/Portugal/Morrocco/Argentina/Paraguay/Uruguay 2030 · Saudi Arabia 2034 · 2038 ·

FIFA World Cup finals

1930 · 1934 · 1938 · 1950 · 1954 · 1958 · 1962 · 1966 · 1970 · 1974 · 1978 · 1982 · 1986 · 1990 · 1994 · 1998 · 2002 · 2006 · 2010 · 2014 · 2018 · 2022 ·

FIFA World Cup Qualification

1930 · 1934 · 1938 · 1950 · 1954 · 1958 · 1962 · 1966 · 1970 · 1974 · 1978 · 1982 · 1986 · 1990 · 1994 · 1998 · 2002 · 2006 · 2010 · 2014 · 2018 · 2022 ·

FIFA World Cup Squads

1930 · 1934 · 1938 · 1950 · 1954 · 1958 · 1962 · 1966 · 1970 · 1974 · 1978 · 1982 · 1986 · 1990 · 1994 · 1998 · 2002 · 2006 · 2010 · 2014 · 2018 · 2022 ·

International football
FIFA · World Cup · Confederations Cup · U-20 World Cup · U-17 World Cup · Minor tournaments · World Rankings · Player of the Year · Teams · Competitions · Federations · Codes
Confederation Competitions
AFC Asian Cup
CAF Africa Cup of Nations
CONCACAF Gold Cup
CONMEBOL Copa América
OFC Nations Cup
UEFA European Championship
Non-FIFA N.F.-Board · Viva World Cup
Advertisement