Thursday 7 June 2018 10:29, UK
The 1954 World Cup staged one of the greatest upsets of all time as West Germany stunned favourites Hungary in the final in Berne.
Switzerland, the home of FIFA, was awarded the honour of hosting the fifth world international championship to mark the 50th anniversary of soccer's governing body.
Hungary, Olympic champions in 1952, were considered certainties to claim glory as they boasted a side of supreme talent that included the attacking delights of Ferenc Puskas.
However, the 'Miracle of Berne' occurred and West Germany lifted the Jules Rimet Cup.
The competition had a seeded format whereby, in each of the four groups, the two seeded teams played only the two non-seeds, and vice versa.
In Group 1, Brazil were drawn alongside Yugoslavia, France and Mexico. The Brazilians kicked off their campaign with a convincing 5-0 victory over Mexico, with Pinga among the goals with a double.
Yugoslavia edged out France thanks to Milos Milutinovic's strike before meeting Brazil in a game that went to extra-time and finished as a draw.
France bowed out with a 3-2 win over Mexico, leaving Brazil top of Group 1 on goal difference and Yugoslavia runners-up.
West Germany, playing in Group 2, got off to a winning start against Turkey, triumphing 4-1, while Hungary hammered South Korea 9-0.
Coach of the Germans, Sepp Herberger, then chose to play a weakened side against the Hungarians, in the knowledge that his side could lose and still progress to the quarter-finals.
Germany duly lost 8-3 against Hungary, although the result was marred when star player Puskas was injured by defender Werner Liebrich.
Having been defeated by Hungary, Germany faced a play-off match with Turkey, who had earlier beaten South Korea 7-0, and they marched into the last eight with a 7-2 victory.
Scotland, making their first World Cup appearance, were drawn alongside Austria and Czechoslovakia in Group 3.
Things did not go well for the Scots, who lost both of their matches and finished bottom of the standings.
Holders Uruguay topped the group as they scored nine goals in their two games without reply. Austria were runners-up after also cruising.
England finished first in Group 4 after winning one and drawing the other of their two encounters.
Switzerland and Italy battled it out for the runners-up berth, with Belgium finishing bottom of the pile.
As both the Swiss and the Italians finished on two points from their two clashes, they met in a play-off that saw the former down the Azzurri 4-1.
Switzerland met Austria in a quite remarkable quarter-final match-up. The clash finished an incredible 7-5 in favour of the Austrians.
England's hopes went up in smoke against two-time winners Uruguay while fans eagerly anticipated Hungary's fixture with Brazil.
The aforementioned duo were renowned for their easy-on-the-eye football. This was supposed to be one for the purists. Yet, it was the 'Battle of Berne'.
Golden Shoe winner Kocsis bagged two of his 11 goals in Hungary's 4-2 win but the 90 minutes remain infamous after red cards were handed to Jozsef Bozsik and Brazil duo Nilton Santos and Humberto. A post-match brawl also ensued.
In the remaining quarter-final, West Germany overcame Yugoslavia 2-0 to set up a semi-final encounter with neighbours Austria.
The Germans proceeded to march into the final with a 6-1 victory over Austria as Fritz Walter netted four of his side's goals.
Hungary met Uruguay in the other semi-final, in a game that was expected to be the eventual showpiece. However, one had to be eliminated and it was Uruguay via a 4-2 extra-time defeat.
Austria finished the tournament in third after beating Uruguay 3-1 in Zurich before the eagerly anticipated final between West Germany and Hungary.
The Hungarians were boosted by the return of hero Puskas after his injury lay-off following the earlier tournament win over West Germany, although doubts still remained over his fitness.
A comfortable victory for the Hungarians was predicted, with the country heading into the game boasting a 31-match unbeaten record.
The conditions, though, favoured the Germans as the rain teemed down at the Wankdorf Stadium on July 4 1954, with German team captain Fritz Walter said to play his best in such conditions. This slice of mother nature-inspired fortune was dubbed "Fritz-Walter-Wetter" by the Germans.
To few people's surprise, Hungary went ahead in front of the 60,000 spectators. Puskas, despite concerns over his fitness, opened the scoring on six minutes and just two minutes later Zoltan Czibor doubled their lead.
However, shock goals from Max Morlock and Helmut Rahn levelled the scoreline before the interval.
Then, with six minutes remaining, Rahn completed a stunning turnaround, netting the tournament's 140th goal in the process.
Puskas did reply, but his strike was controversially ruled out for offside. The victory and glory was West Germany's.
Puskas' participation was restricted after he sustained an injury in Hungary's second game of the competition versus West Germany. But he still shone. Puskas, one of the world's greats, scored a hat-trick in the opening game and then returned for the final to score against the Germans before seeing an equaliser ruled out for offside.
In a quarter-final clash, hosts Switzerland took a 3-0 lead over Austria, but a spell of five goals conceded inside 10 minutes bewildered onlookers. The latter recovered to win 7-5. The 12-goal game remains a tournament record.
Hungary's free-flowing style was encapsulated in this goal as they attacked from defence against Uruguay. Jeno Buzanski mopped up a Uruguay attack as both Laszlo Budai and Jozsef Boszik bombed forward in a bid to counter. Boszik received possession and crossed for Hidegkuti, who emphatically met the ball with a diving header. Wonderful stuff.
Newcomers Scotland endured a torrid debut. They ended their two group games pointless and without having hit the back of the net. Their first encounter ended in a 1-0 loss to Austria, before a 7-0 drubbing against Uruguay compounded their misery.
Uruguay also disposed of England, whose tournament ended at the quarter-finals stage. An opening 4-4 draw with Belgium was cause for concern defensively. Braces from Ivor Broadis and Nat Lofthouse appeared to be enough for the Three Lions only for an injury-time equaliser to deny them.
England then did put on a more accomplished display against Switzerland. Jimmy Mullen and Dennis Wilshaw notched the goals.
However, it all went pear-shaped against Uruguay. Poor goalkeeping cost England as strikes from Lofthouse and Tom Finney were the bright spots in a 4-2 defeat by the holders.
Northern Ireland and Wales both failed to reach the 1954 World Cup after they finished third and fourth respectively in their qualifying group with England and Scotland.
