Tournament details | |
---|---|
Host country | ![]() |
Dates | 16 June – 4 July (19 days) |
Teams | 16 (from 4 confederations) |
Venue(s) | 6 (in 6 host cities) |
Final positions | |
Champions | |
Runner-up | ![]() |
Third place | ![]() |
Fourth place | ![]() |
Tournament statistics | |
Matches played | 26 |
Goals scored | 140 (5.38 per match) |
Attendance | 768,607 (29,562 per match) |
Top scorer(s) | ![]() |
← 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 |
![]() |
![]() | |
Lausanne | Lugano | Zürich |
Stade Olympique de la Pontaise (upgraded) |
Cornaredo Stadium | Hardturm Stadium |
Capacity: 50,300 | Capacity: 35,800 | Capacity: 34,800 |
![]() |
![]() |
Squads[]
For a list of all squads that appeared in the final tournament, see 1954 FIFA World Cup squads.
Match officials[]
Raymon Wyssling
Benjamin Griffiths
Charlie Faultless
Manuel Asensi
Jose da Costa Vieira
Raymond Vincenti
William Ling
Esteban Marino
Arthur Edward Ellis
Laurent Franken
Vincenzo Orlandini
Vasa Stefanovic
Mario Vianna
Emil Schmetzer
Carl Erich Steiner
István Zsolt
Participants[]
Asia[]
Europe[]
- Austria (AUT)
- Belgium (BEL)
- Czechoslovakia (TCH)
- England (ENG)
- France (FRA)
- West Germany (FRG)
- Hungary (HUN)
- Italy (ITA)
- Scotland (SCO)
- Switzerland (SUI)
- Turkey (TUR)
- Yugoslavia (YUG)
North and Central America[]
South America[]
Results[]
First round[]
Group 1[]
Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 3 |
![]() |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
![]() |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
![]() |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 0 |
- Brazil finished ahead of Yugoslavia on drawing of lots
16 June 1954 18:00 (CET) |
Brazil ![]() |
5–0 | ![]() |
Charmilles Stadium, Geneva Attendance: 13,470 Referee: Raymon Wyssling (Switzerland) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Baltazar ![]() Didi ![]() Pinga ![]() Julinho ![]() |
Report |
16 June 1954 18:00 (CET) |
Yugoslavia ![]() |
1–0 | ![]() |
Stade Olympique de la Pontaise, Lausanne Attendance: 16,000 Referee: Benjamin Griffiths (Wales) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Milutinović ![]() |
Report |
19 June 1954 17:00 (CET) |
Brazil ![]() |
1–1 (a.e.t.) | ![]() |
Stade Olympique de la Pontaise, Lausanne Attendance: 24,637 Referee: Charlie Faultless (Scotland) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Didi ![]() |
Report | Zebec ![]() |
19 June 1954 17:10 (CET) |
France ![]() |
3–2 | ![]() |
Charmilles Stadium, Geneva Attendance: 19,000 Referee: Manuel Asensi (Spain) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Jean Vincent ![]() Cárdenas ![]() Kopa ![]() |
Report | Lamadrid ![]() Balcázar ![]() |
Group 2[]
Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 3 | 4 |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 9 | 2 | |
![]() |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 4 | 2 |
![]() |
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 |
4–1 | ![]() |
Wankdorf Stadium, Bern Attendance: 28,000 Referee: Jose da Costa Vieira (Portugal) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Schäfer ![]() Klodt ![]() O. Walter ![]() Morlock ![]() |
Report | Suat ![]() |
17 June 1954 18:00 (CET) |
Hungary ![]() |
9–0 | ![]() |
Hardturm Stadium, Zürich Attendance: 13,000 Referee: Raymond Vincenti (France) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Puskás ![]() Lantos ![]() Kocsis ![]() Czibor ![]() Palotás ![]() |
Report |
20 June 1954 16:50 (CET) |
Hungary ![]() |
8–3 | St. Jakob Stadium, Basel Attendance: 56,000 Referee: William Ling (England) | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Kocsis ![]() Puskás ![]() Hidegkuti ![]() J. Tóth ![]() |
Report | Pfaff ![]() Rahn ![]() Herrmann ![]() |
20 June 1954 17:00 (CET) |
Turkey ![]() |
7–0 | ![]() |
Charmilles Stadium, Geneva Attendance: 4,000 Referee: Esteban Marino (Uruguay) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Suat ![]() Lefter ![]() Burhan ![]() Erol ![]() |
Report |
Play-off[]
23 June 1954 18:00 (CET) |
West Germany |
7–2 | ![]() |
Hardturm Stadium, Zürich Attendance: 17,000 Referee: Raymond Vincenti (France) |
---|---|---|---|---|
O. Walter ![]() Schäfer ![]() Morlock ![]() F. Walter ![]() |
Report | Mustafa ![]() Lefter ![]() |
Group 3[]
Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 4 |
![]() |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 4 |
![]() |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
![]() |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
- Uruguay finished ahead of Austria on drawing of lots
16 June 1954 18:00 (CET) |
Uruguay ![]() |
2–0 | ![]() |
Wankdorf Stadium, Bern Attendance: 20,500 Referee: Arthur Ellis (England) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Míguez ![]() Schiaffino ![]() |
Report |
16 June 1954 18:00 (CET) |
Austria ![]() |
1–0 | ![]() |
Hardturm Stadium, Zürich Attendance: 25,000 Referee: Laurent Franken (Belgium) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Probst ![]() |
Report |
19 June 1954 16:50 (CET) |
Uruguay ![]() |
7–0 | ![]() |
St. Jakob Stadium, Basel Attendance: 34,000 Referee: Vincenzo Orlandini (Italy) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Borges ![]() Míguez ![]() Abbadie ![]() |
Report |
19 June 1954 17:00 (CET) |
Austria ![]() |
5–0 | ![]() |
Hardturm Stadium, Zürich Attendance: 26,000 Referee: Vasa Stefanovic (Yugoslavia) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Stojaspal ![]() Probst ![]() |
Report |
Group 4[]
Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 3 |
![]() |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
![]() |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
![]() |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 1 |
- Switzerland finished ahead of Italy by winning a play-off
17 June 1954 17:50 (CET) |
Switzerland ![]() |
2–1 | ![]() |
Stade Olympique de la Pontaise, Lausanne Attendance: 43,000 Referee: Mario Vianna (Brazil) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Ballaman ![]() Hügi ![]() |
Report | Boniperti ![]() |
17 June 1954 18:10 (CET) |
England ![]() |
4–4 (a.e.t.) |
![]() |
St. Jakob Stadium, Basel Attendance: 14,000 Referee: Emil Schmetzer (West Germany) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Broadis ![]() Lofthouse ![]() |
Report | Anoul ![]() Coppens ![]() Dickinson ![]() |
20 June 1954 17:00 (CET) |
Italy ![]() |
4–1 | ![]() |
Cornaredo Stadium, Lugano Attendance: 24,000 Referee: Carl Erich Steiner (Austria) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Pandolfini ![]() Galli ![]() Frignani ![]() Lorenzi ![]() |
Report | Anoul ![]() |
20 June 1954 17:10 (CET) |
England ![]() |
2–0 | ![]() |
Wankdorf Stadium, Bern Attendance: 43,500 Referee: Istvan Zsolt (Hungary) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Mullen ![]() Wilshaw ![]() |
Report |
Play-off[]
23 June 1954 18:00 (CET) |
Switzerland ![]() |
4–1 | ![]() |
St. Jakob Stadium, Basel Attendance: 30,000 Referee: Benjamin Griffiths (Wales) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Hügi ![]() Ballaman ![]() Fatton ![]() |
Report | Nesti ![]() |
Knockout stage[]
Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
27 June – Geneva | ||||||||||
|
2 | |||||||||
30 June – Basel | ||||||||||
![]() |
0 | |||||||||
|
6 | |||||||||
26 June – Lausanne | ||||||||||
![]() |
1 | |||||||||
![]() |
7 | |||||||||
4 July – Bern | ||||||||||
![]() |
5 | |||||||||
|
3 | |||||||||
27 June – Bern | ||||||||||
![]() |
2 | |||||||||
![]() |
4 | |||||||||
30 June – Lausanne | ||||||||||
![]() |
2 | |||||||||
![]() |
4 | Third place | ||||||||
26 June – Basel | ||||||||||
![]() |
2 | 3 July – Zürich | ||||||||
![]() |
4 | |||||||||
![]() |
3 | |||||||||
![]() |
2 | |||||||||
![]() |
1 | |||||||||
Quarter-finals[]
- Main article:Austria v Switzerland (1954 FIFA World Cup)
26 June 1954 17:00 (CET) |
Austria ![]() |
7–5 | ![]() |
Stade Olympique de la Pontaise, Lausanne Attendance: 35,000 Referee: Charlie Faultless (Scotland) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Wagner ![]() R. Körner ![]() Ocwirk ![]() Probst ![]() |
Report | Ballaman ![]() Hügi ![]() |
26 June 1954 17:00 (CET) |
Uruguay ![]() |
4–2 | ![]() |
St. Jakob Stadium, Basel Attendance: 28,000 Referee: Carl Erich Steiner (Austria) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Borges ![]() Varela ![]() Schiaffino ![]() Ambrois ![]() |
Report | Lofthouse ![]() Finney ![]() |
27 June 1954 17:00 (CET) |
West Germany |
2–0 | ![]() |
Charmilles Stadium, Geneva Attendance: 17,000 Referee: Istvan Zsolt (Hungary) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Horvat ![]() Rahn ![]() |
Report |
- Main article:Battle of Berne (1954 FIFA World Cup)
27 June 1954 17:00 (CET) |
Hungary ![]() |
4–2 | ![]() |
Wankdorf Stadium, Bern Attendance: 40,000 Referee: Arthur Ellis (England) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Hidegkuti ![]() Kocsis ![]() Lantos ![]() |
Report | Djalma Santos ![]() Julinho ![]() |
Semi-finals[]
30 June 1954 18:00 (CET) |
West Germany |
6–1 | ![]() |
St. Jakob Stadium, Basel Attendance: 58,000 Referee: Vincenzo Orlandini (Italy) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Schäfer ![]() Morlock ![]() F. Walter ![]() O. Walter ![]() |
Report | Probst ![]() |
30 June 1954 18:00 (CET) |
Hungary ![]() |
4–2 (a.e.t.) |
![]() |
Stade Olympique de la Pontaise, Lausanne Attendance: 45,000 Referee: Benjamin Griffiths (Wales) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Czibor ![]() Hidegkuti ![]() Kocsis ![]() |
Report | Hohberg ![]() |
Third-place match[]
3 July 1954 17:00 (CET) |
Austria ![]() |
3–1 | ![]() |
Hardturm Stadium, Zürich Attendance: 32,000 Referee: Raymon Wyssling (Switzerland) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Stojaspal ![]() Cruz ![]() Ocwirk ![]() |
Report | Hohberg ![]() |
Final[]
- Main article:1954 FIFA World Cup Final
4 July 1954 17:00 (CET) |
West Germany |
3–2 | ![]() |
Wankdorf Stadium, Bern Attendance: 62,472 Referee: William Ling (England) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Morlock ![]() Rahn ![]() |
Report | Puskás ![]() Czibor ![]() |
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
- 6 goals
- 4 goals
|
- 3 goals
- 2 goals
- 1 goal
- Own goals
Jimmy Dickinson (against Belgium)
Raúl Cárdenas (against France)
Luis Cruz (against Austria)
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 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 25 | 14 | +11 | 10 | |
2 | ![]() |
2 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 27 | 10 | +17 | 8 |
3 | ![]() |
3 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 12 | +5 | 8 |
4 | ![]() |
3 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 9 | +7 | 6 |
Eliminated in the quarter-finals | ||||||||||
5 | ![]() |
4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 4 |
6 | ![]() |
1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 5 | +3 | 3 |
7 | ![]() |
4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 3 |
8 | ![]() |
1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 3 |
Eliminated in the group stage | ||||||||||
9 | ![]() |
2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 11 | −1 | 2 |
10 | ![]() |
4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 7 | −1 | 2 |
11 | ![]() |
1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
12 | ![]() |
4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 8 | −3 | 1 |
13 | ![]() |
1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | −6 | 0 |
14 | ![]() |
3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | −7 | 0 |
15 | ![]() |
3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | −8 | 0 |
16 | ![]() |
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
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