Walpurgisnacht
It was in the Year of Maximum Danger
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Starting to suspect that it’s not coming home to Budapest any time soon.
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Mundial: An alternative history of the Football World Cup
- Thread starter morbidteaparty
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morbidteaparty
Putting the moron into oxymoron
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Footnote is now updated. Regarding the psychologist, it's different to OTL, as opposed to having a psychologist who's previous experience was psychologically assessing the Rio de Janeiro bus drivers, the psychologist assigned to the team is, alongside the medical and sports science side, from the military.
As for the next hosts, the 1962 finals will be held in Europe, and there will be a playoff between Africa and Asia for one World Cup spot as in 1958. Regarding the development of the Busby Babes, United and their young squad will certainly experience a different 1960s - though European club football still has its financial orbit outside of the UK, so the pull on salaries is still very much there for British players, some of whom may adapt slightly better to their overseas climes than others. There's also developments in countries that aren't traditionally footballing powers which will start to change both international and club football as well.
I'm looking forward to writing the next update - think this is the first timeline I've had where I haven't got bogged down at all!
morbidteaparty
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Hungary are unfortunate in both OTL and ITTL - in OTL1954 they played against a German side under a canny coach, had poor preparatipn (not necessarily their fault) and had a much tougher route to the final, where they then found their passing game hampered by terrible rain and an injury sufferred by their star player. The real sad thing is that the 1954 side (I suppose for good reason) really does eclipse what came afterwards by the Hungarian sides of the 60s, 70s and 80s were all good - they just didn't get the rub of the green, 1986 probably being the best example.
ITTL, the fall from grace quite so severe - Hungary isn't communist and doesn't suffer an uprising against a hardline Stalinist regime, so key members of the aranycsapat aren't forced into exile. Hungary won't be a global power the same way that say Italy are, but their record at the World Cup post that tournament could be similar to the Soviets, Yugoslavs and Czechoslovaks all of whom are around their level.
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Been keeping track of the top 4 teams each year, thus far we have never had a rematch of previous finalists as the final (Unless I'm wrong about 1930 being Uruguay-Argentina)
So Far Argentina is probably the most "misery" team, closely followed by Hungary and Sweden. Hungary's been prolific but only has one final four finish. Sweden has back to back final fours. Argentina has 2 runner-ups and a 3rd place.
Really hoping for something that'd truly shatter the narrative, like a Soviet win or another "small country" other than Uruguay to win.
So Far Argentina is probably the most "misery" team, closely followed by Hungary and Sweden. Hungary's been prolific but only has one final four finish. Sweden has back to back final fours. Argentina has 2 runner-ups and a 3rd place.
Really hoping for something that'd truly shatter the narrative, like a Soviet win or another "small country" other than Uruguay to win.
Walpurgisnacht
It was in the Year of Maximum Danger
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Considering the lack of any Korean War and their general tenacity so far, I think South Korea have a good shot at slaying a giant or two.
morbidteaparty
Putting the moron into oxymoron
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As a teaser, the next tournament will feature 4 debutantes (the most since 1938), two of whom are European.
Vorwärts!
Vorwärts!
1962 - Football, Modernity and the Art of War
morbidteaparty
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1962 – Germany
Host selection and background
After Mexico had been confirmed as hosts in 1950, expectations were that the tournament would return to Europe, and despite a late bid from Argentina, FIFA’s executive committee confirmed Germany would become the first country to host the tournament twice, beating out a bid from Yugoslavia and a surprise (and somewhat audacious) bid from Greece. In contrast to 1938, where the tournament was an orgiastic showcase for the short-lived triumph of the National Socialist regime, Germany was a democratic republic, with a non-aligned foreign policy and booming economy, much of which was powering it’s club football.
As the memories of the war began to slowly fade, Germany’s unique position, as the largest non-aligned[1] European nation began to come further into focus, as its economy boomed and it steered a course between American and Soviet interests, as the Cold War veered between tensions and de-escalation. Germany’s economic miracle had also begun to be reflected in its club football with Hamburg, Frankfurt and SV Jena all making the last rounds of continental competition. The national league, established in 1953 to celebrate both Saarland rejoining the republic, and the end of any formal allied occupation, had grown in commercial strength as numerous corporations began to become involved in the sport.[2]
The national side was also under new management, as long-serving Sepp Herberger retired in 1960, having been in charge of the national side off and on since 1938[3], his retirement coinciding with that of long serving Federal President Waldemar Koch.[4] In his place stepped up long-serving assistant Hans Weisweiler, who alongside coaches Georg Gawliczek and Helmut Schön had been part of Herberger’s staff for the bulk of the 1950s. Much as Germany’s parliamentarians had opted for continuity in the presidency, with fellow Liberal Thomas Dehler succeeding Koch in 1960, so to did the DFB with Weisweiler in overall charge alongside Gawliczek and Schön.[5] The three, somewhat affectionately named the troika, were firm believers in youth, and the average age of the national side dropped accordingly, with only veteran goalkeeper Bernd Trautmann and captain Hans Schäfer remaining from the 1954 squad, and while Germany had participated in the inaugural European Nations Cup, they failed to qualify for the final tournament. Nevertheless, expectations were reasonably high – while Brazil were still expected to be the team to beat, the home public viewed Germany as a likely contender for the semi-finals.
If 1958, had signalled the burgeoning modernity of the sport, 1962 would accelerate it. Sports science, a novelty at the last tournament, was now more established, though how developed it was varied sharply from nation to nation. The growth of continental competition had also, in Europe at least, ended the ban on overseas internationals and professionalism across the board[6] with overseas internationals becoming an increasing regularity as the money on offer in certain leagues multiplied rapidly. The tournament, building on the growth of television coverage over the previous two, was the first to have television coverage of the majority of games, with the German state broadcaster BRG distributing via the European Broadcasting Union.[7] The tournament, also marked an expansion of commercial partnerships, though these were again concentrated at the national level – it just so happened that for 1962 the nation happened to be one of the world’s leading industrial economies. While not at the level of the tournament post the signing of commercial partnerships between FIFA and various corporations in the early 1970s, 1962 signalled where the tournament was heading towards, though the majority of partners remained rooted in consumer goods.
1962 retained the same format as 1958, with four groups of four and three rounds of knockout matches, with venues largely concentrated in the south and west (with only Hamburg, Berlin and Dresden not from those regions.) The choice of venues would receive some criticism, particularly from the east, with some (largely unfounded) allegations that venues in the east had been overlooked due to their strong voting record for parties of the left. Unlike Mexico, temperature and altitude were expected to be lesser factors in performance than had been the case four years earlier.
Qualification
Germany and Brazil qualified automatically, leaving fourteen places to be decided: three for South America, one for North America, nine for Europe and one to be decided via playoff between Africa and Asia.[8]
In the Americas, Mexico, building on the success of their hosting the tournament in 1958, qualified again for the finals, though they suffered defeat to Costa Rica in the final round, and were perhaps fortunate that the Costa Ricans suffered a surprise defeat to Jamaica in the final round.[9] Mexico, now under the management of Ignacio Trelles, the first native manager of the side since 1950, still proved too strong for their continental rivals, fuelling demands for Mexico to explore switching to South America.[10]
While Mexico qualifying ensured there were no real surprises in North America, in the South, qualification threw up several shocks, with Brazil’s absence largely levelling the field. Argentina, with a refreshed squad under the management of former Vélez Sarsfield manager Victorio Spinetto, gained a measure of revenge over Paraguay (who’s 5-0 victory in 1957 knocked Argentina out of world cup qualification) with home and away victories over them and Ecuador to qualify with a perfect record.
If Argentina qualified with ease, their rioplatense neighbours Uruguay, expected to qualify comfortably from a group containing Andean neighbours, Chile and Bolivia, suffered two seismic defeats to Chile (notably in a match so bad-tempered in Santiago that the Uruguayan embassy lodged a diplomatic protest with the Chilean government) to fail to qualify for the finals for the first time.[11] Uruguay’s failure, was greeted with the shame shock and outrage as their own surprise victory in Brazil had been in 1950 – and if you believed some commentators played a decisive role in the Colorado Party’s surprise return to power in 1962 under Carlos Fischer.
Finally, in a group which was regarded as the weakest of the three, Colombia surprised Peru (who themselves had not qualified since 1930) to qualify for the first time in their history becoming the first South American debutante since 1930. Colombia, who’s league thanks to state investment under the auspices of Gaitánismo had become one of the strongest outside of the traditional big three, had also began to invest in its national side, with a series of overseas coaches leading the national team. Colombia, under former Argentina international Adolfo Pedernera, had surprised Uruguay at the 1959 South American championships, and had held (an admittedly understrength) Brazil to a draw at the same tournament, perhaps making their qualification less of a surprise.
In Europe, qualification largely followed expectations. Italy, who had failed to qualify for 1958, returned to the finals unbeaten ahead of Romania and Cyprus[12] under the management of Giuseppe Viani, a key pioneer of the luchetto tactical system which largely prioritised a strong defensive structure. Italy’s return to the finals was largely built around le cinque sorelle (the five sisters) of A.C. Milan, Fiorentina, Internazionale, Juventus and Roma – it’s perhaps a testament to the strength of Italian club football that these sides provided several key players for other nations as well.[13]
Elsewhere, England and France both comfortably qualified from their respective groups, with England’s side still largely built around the Busby Babes of Manchester United.[14] Scotland and Northern Ireland, who had upset the odds to qualify four years earlier did not see lightning striking again, as Scotland fell to the Czechoslovaks and Northern Ireland finished bottom of their group, topped by surprises Bulgaria.
However, all did not rest on England, as another home nation pulled off a surprise to qualify for the first time. Wales, who had been perhaps unlucky in 1958, shocked the Spanish, who for consecutive tournaments were knocked out of qualifying by a British side.[15] Wales, built around the talents of Juventus star John Charles and Tottenham winger Cliff Jones had a decent (if aging) side, but Spain were unlucky, with Wales’s decisive goal in their 2-1 win in Cardiff coming from an offside position. Wales, coached by Manchester United assistant and former Welsh international Jimmy Murphy, were nevertheless through, and speculation in the British press began over whether they and England would be drawn together at the finals. In the rest of Europe, Hungary overcame a promising, if callow, Portugal to reach the finals for a third straight time, while the Soviets and Swiss finished ahead of Sweden and Belgium respectively.
Africa, expanded by the process of decolonisation, saw nine teams enter qualification for the finals – Morocco, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Sudan, Ethiopia, South Africa, Ghana and Nigeria who were drawn into three groups of three, which were arranged geographically.[16] Morocco, Egypt and Ghana won their respective groups, though South Africa were hamstrung by not being able to call up their European based players regularly with only Louis Johanneson of Leeds regularly appearing for the side[17]. The final round saw Morocco narrowly top the group ahead of Ghana to set up a playoff with the Asian group winner.
Asia’s qualification had seen the most entrants in its history, but as politics, and in many cases funding, intervened the number of sides were whittled down to leave a qualification series based exclusively around the Pacific.[18] The seven sides – Japan, Korea, Republic of China, People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand were drawn into a first round knockout (with Korea receiving a bye) before a final round robin.[19] The final round, which paired Australia, Korea, Japan and Hong Kong was comfortably won by the Koreans to set up the intercontinental playoff with Morocco. The playoff, played in stifling heat in both Casablanca and Seoul was narrowly won by the Moroccans, with former French international Abderrahmane Mahjoub captaining the Moroccans to victory.[20] Morocco’s victory saw them become the second African and Arab side to qualify for the finals, as well the final side to qualify for Germany.
Participating sides:
English football was undergoing something of a revolution, a series of strikes by the Players’ Union having led to the abolition of the maximum wage and the retain and transfer system which had dominated English football since the 1900s, while increasing numbers of British footballers moved to Continental Europe – most notably, Manchester United and England star Duncan Edwards who joined Roma for £90,000 in 1960. For England 1962 was to be the end of an era – Walter Winterbottom, who had coached the side from 1946 (and had been sole manager since 1950) and who also held the role of FA Director of Coaching would be stepping down to transition into sports administration.
As for the other contenders, Germany’s national side had been in sporadic form leading up to the tournament but had played well on a tour of South America, including drawing with the Brazilians in Rio, which boosted confidence. Argentina, returning to the finals after failing to qualify in 1958, had a young squad that combined often exquisite artistry with a physical menace, though unlike later Argentine sides they rarely slid into all out brutality. Italy, who’s record at the tournament postwar had been patchy, found their side bolstered by several oriundi from Latin America, most of whom had been signed during Serie A’s boom in the late 1950s.[21]
FIFA, as with tournaments onwards from 1954, retained a seeding system with half the sides seeded and the other half unseeded. The seeds for 1962 were Brazil, Germany, England, France, Argentina, Soviet Union, Italy and Hungary. The draw, held on March 7 1962 with the groups as follows:
Group 1: Germany, Soviet Union, Colombia, Switzerland
Group 2: Italy, Argentina, Mexico, Czechoslovakia
Group 3: England, Hungary, Chile, Bulgaria
Group 4: Brazil, France, Wales, Morocco
Tournament summary
Group 1
Germany opened their campaign at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, the same venue where a quarter of a century before they had hosted a tournament bathed in the reflected glory of national socialism. Here however, it merely witnessed a dull game, the Germans eventually overcoming stubborn Swiss resistance to win 2-1, having trailed to a Rolf Wüthrich penalty. Despite the toil, the result was largely expected – Switzerland, under long serving Austrian coach Karl Rappan, may have been hard to beat but they were hardly world beaters. In the other game, the Soviets comfortably saw off Colombia 2-0, with Eduard Streltsov and Slava Metreveli getting the goals, though they were lucky to see Marcos Coll’s speculative shot hit the bar with Lev Yashin stranded.
The second round of matches, saw Germany dispatch Colombia 3-1 in Hamburg, with local hero Uwe Seeler scoring two and assisting a third for captain Hans Schäfer, though a mistake from the thirty-eight-year-old Bernd Trautmann saw Marino Klinger score a late consolation for Colombia.[22] If Germany’s victory had been routine, the match between the Soviets and the Swiss in Stuttgart was anything but, with four goals in the first half and another four in the second, aided perhaps by one of the few poor performances in Lev Yashin’s long and storied career.
The game, played in front of a largely partisan crowd, saw the Soviets race into a three-goal lead within the first eleven minutes, with the Swiss further hampered by an injury to their midfielder Norbert Eschmann, and thus necessitating a change of shape. The Soviets, perhaps easing off the gas with the expectation of saving themselves for their final match against the hosts, began to gradually let the Swiss back into the game, and a mistake from Leonid Ovstrovski allowed Roger Vonlanthen to claw back the deficit.[23] Switzerland’s second goal, owed much to Lev Yashin, who completed misjudged the flight of a corner, resulting in Philippe Pottier’s corner sailing over his head directly into goal. The Soviets, who had added their fourth goal on the hour via Valentin Ivanov, found themselves caught on the counter, as Swiss captain Charles Antenen’s scuffed shot rolled into the goal under Yashin’s late dive. The comeback was complete in the 89th minute, as Roger Vonlanthen escaped the attentions of his marker and tapped home from a corner to leave the scores equal at 4-4, and the largely partisan Stuttgart crowd cheering the Swiss off the pitch.
The final round of fixtures saw one tie steeped in recent memory, as Germany and the Soviet Union met for the first time at the World Cup since the 1938 finals in Berlin. Immediate memories of the war may have faded, but there was a minute silence before the game kicked-off in memory of those who lost their lives in the conflict. The game was watched by an extensive set of dignitaries as well – Soviet Foreign Minister Dmitri Shepilov and Premier Nikolai Bulganin both attended as did German Chancellor Georg Diederichs and Mayor of Berlin Friedrich Ebert Jr.[24]
The game itself, once it began, was sedate, perhaps weighed down by the history and ceremony surrounding it, with neither side threatening much of an intervention before Uwe Seeler broke the deadlock via a rasping drive in the 44th minute. The goal spurred the contest to life, and the Soviets equalised through Streltsov, who had come on as a second half substitute, and it took two fine saves from Trautmann to keep the scores level, with the Soviets looking increasingly likely to score. It was, thus against the run of play, that Horst Szymaniak, Germany’s only other overseas international (he played for Verona) scored a fantastic goal to win the game, as he won the ball just inside the Soviet half, skipped past two challenges and hit the ball with such force that Yashin had no chance. The crowd roared, the Soviet players slumped, and Germany were through as group winners.
In the other match, the Swiss and Colombians played out a 1-1 draw, in a game marred by a display of officious refereeing from Peruvian Arturo Yamasaki, who’s whistle was heard as often as the crowd. The game itself, devoid of any real flow, and by extension quality, saw both goals scored from set pieces – Colombia’s evergreen captain Francisco Zuluaga scored from the penalty spot, which was cancelled out by Swiss substitute Roberto Frigerio, who nodded home from a corner after Colombian goalkeeper Efraín Sánchez misjudged the flight on the ball and was left stranded.[25] The game, never much of a free-flowing contest to begin with, petered out in the last ten minutes and ended as a draw, knocking both sides out – though at least Colombia had secured their first ever point at the finals.
Results
9 June Germany 2-1 Switzerland
10 June Soviet Union 2-0 Colombia
12 June Colombia 1-3 Germany
13 June Soviet Union 4-4 Switzerland
15 June Germany 2-1 Soviet Union
16 June Switzerland 1-1 Colombia
Group 2
Group 2, with the possible exception of the Mexicans, was seen as a well balanced one, paring two strong European sides with a resurgent Argentina. Mexico, had performed well at home four years earlier, but had a poor overseas record, and were not expected to put up much of a threat.
The opening matches saw Argentina see off a spirited Mexico, with two goals from José Sanfilippo, and one from Rubén Héctor Sosa, with Salvador Reyes netting Mexico’s consolation goal. The game, Argentina’s first at the finals since 1954, is famous for being immortalised in a short story by Borges which transplanted the radio commentary, with the pronouncement of the overthrow of the Radical government of Ricardo Balbín and the establishment of the military junta under Juan Carlos Onganía.[26]
In the other match, Italy and Czechoslovakia played out one of the dullest games in recent memory, with Italy’s tight defence stifling Czechoslovakia’s passing game, though Jozef Štibrányi hit the bar and both Omar Sívori and Brazilian-born José Atalfini had their chances, to at least give the first half a semblance of contest. The second half however, degenerated into a violent, cynical slugfest – it would be an unfortunate harbinger of what was to come, as the game wound down into a 0-0 draw.
The second round of matches, saw the infamous Battle of Gelsenkirchen between Argentina and Italy, as pre-existing tensions between the two sides[27] burst through to the surface. The game, refereed by pioneer Ken Aston, descended into a “scene worthy of a bar fight” as early as the 8th minute, when a bad tackle on Federicho Sacchi by Giorgio Ferrini saw the Italian defender refuse to leave the pitch, before he was eventually escorted off by members of the Italian coaching staff. The second sending off occurred on the half hour, after Argentine captain Rubén Navarro was sent off for punching Humberto Maschio, after which a mass brawl between both sets of players broke out. Aston, perhaps not wanting to inflame the situation further, refrained from any further expulsions – and Argentina, perhaps as an after-thought scored twice to settle the tie, with their second an own-goal from Mario David, perhaps best epitomising the quality on display. The highlights, shown later that night on Match of the Day have gone down in British folklore with David Coleman’s introduction of “the game you are about to see is the most stupid, appalling, disgusting and disgraceful exhibition of football in the history of the game” being immortalised on the BBC radio satire I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again. If the game had been an outlier, it would perhaps be viewed as a footnote – unfortunately it was emblematic of a tournament that prioritised physicality over finesse.
In the other match, Czechoslovakia eased themselves to a routine win over Mexico, the Mexicans hindered in their efforts by an ankle injury suffered by Salvador Reyes. His replacement by the raw Alberto Baeza reduced Mexico’s goal threat, and Viliam Schrojf in the Czechoslovak goal was barely tested. In contrast, the veteran Antonio Carbajal, playing in his fourth consecutive World Cup, kept Mexico in it, until Václav Mašek, broke through the Mexican defence and delicately slotted home. The win would be secured by Adolf Scherer, whose shot took a deflection off Raúl Cárdenas, leaving Carbajal no chance. While the game was not particularly high on quality, it was at least free from the violence that had plagued the match in Gelsenkirchen.
The final round paired the Argentines with Czechoslovakia and Italy with the Mexicans. The game between Argentina and Czechoslovakia was less bad tempered than the game against Italy, and better as a result with both sides creating several chances, though the poor quality of finishing saw both sides go in goalless. In the second half, as both sides began to struggle in Munich’s summer heat, it took a moment of inspiration to decide the game - Josef Masopust, sending a sumptuous, defence-splitting pass into the path of Scherer who beat the tackle of Rafael Albrecht and steered the ball past the onrushing Antonio Roma to seal the victory for the Czechoslovaks.
In the other game, Italy threw off the shackles to beat Mexico 4-1, with Omar Sívori scoring twice, alongside goals from Atalfini and Antonio Angelillo (all of whom were South American) settling the tie in favour of the Italians, though a late goal from Alfredo del Águila restored a measure of pride for the Mexicans. The win was not enough for Italy – and they again exited the tournament having flattered to deceive.
Results
9 June Argentina 3-1 Mexico
10 June Italy 0-0 Czechoslovakia
12 June Argentina 2--0 Italy
13 June Czechoslovakia 2-0 Mexico
15 June Mexico 1-4 Italy
16 June Czechoslovakia 1-0 Argentina
Group 3
Group 3 paired three European sides with Chile, who returning to the finals for the first time since 1950 (and were playing at a European tournament for the first time.) England and Hungary, were both undergoing a transition of sorts, with England’s squad including overseas internationals for the first time, as Duncan Edwards and Gerry Hitchens both played in Italy’s Serie A.[28] Hungary, long since used to having overseas internationals, still had veterans of the 1954 squad – Gyula Grosics in goal, and Ferenc Purczeld and Sándor Kocsis in attack, both of whom played in Spain, but were largely built around the skills of 20-year-old Ferencvaros striker Flórián Albert and the explosive centre-forward Lajos Tichy. Chile were a largely workmanlike side built around the skills of Leonel Sánchez, while Bulgaria, despite surprising Yugoslavia in qualifying, had a generally poor record at international level.
The opening round of matches saw Hungary extend their unbeaten record against the English, though in contrast to the seismic defeats of 1953, it wasn’t a humiliation. England, with Johnny Haynes as the main playmaker and Duncan Edwards operating as a more defensive midfielder, initially controlled the opening minutes of the game but failed to score. Their profligacy, with Greaves in particular, guilty of missing two gilt-edge chances was punished – Tichy, skipping a tackle from Mark Jones, glided past Fred Moore and blasted the ball past Eddie Hopkinson in the England goal.[29] Hungary doubled their lead at the start of the second half, as Purczeld, on as a substitute, ghosted through the midfield and played a through ball for Albert to slot home. England would claw one back through Bobby Robson, but Hungary would hold on for the win.
In the other game, Chile won a scrappy, and often physical match 1-0 against debutantes Bulgaria, with Leonel Sánchez scoring the Chilean goal in the first ten minutes, the game became stop-start due to a number of cynical fouls and dirty tackles, including a near leg-breaker from Carlos Contreras on Ivan Kolev. The game, as reported on by Frank Swift in the Daily Mirror, was “emblematic of the unpleasantness that this tournament has sunk too – football less as sport or endeavour and more as a war with no purpose other than brutality.” The result, nevertheless, marked Chile’s first win since 1930 in the tournament, and was celebrated in Santiago.
The second round of matches saw England held to a 0-0 draw by Chile, in a game described by Hugh McIlvanney, in The Observer, as representing a radical new tactical approach in the sense that neither side showed any inclination to attack. England’s one chance, from substitute Jimmy Greaves, was well saved by Misael Escuti in the Chilean goal. The fact that Eddie Hopkinson’s goalkeeping kit had no blemishes on it, was as stated by McIlvanney, representative of Chile’s efforts. Hungary and Bulgaria, also played out a draw, though this at least had goals – all of them scored by the youngest players on the park. Flórián Albert, leading the line as a sole striker scored twice in the first half to put Hungary 2-0 up and cruising to a seemingly routine victory. Bulgaria, who’s squad mixed experience with youth saw two young substitutes combine to score both goals – Georgi Sokolov and Georgi Asparuhov, both of whom were nineteen. Their goals ensured that Bulgaria secured their first ever world cup point, as well as notice from clubs in Germany – indeed, if reports are to be believed, intransigence on the part of Bulgaria’s communist regime scuppered a proposed move for both to move to the Bundesliga.
The final round of fixtures, saw England and Hungary both win – the English, eventually finding their rhythm to see off the Bulgarians 3-1, with Bobby Charlton, Greaves and Duncan Edwards all scoring their first world cup goals in the process. Bulgaria, although finishing bottom of the group, at least returned home with a degree of pride, having not been truly outclassed in any of their games. The same could not be said for Chile, who found themselves on the end of a 6-1 thrashing at the hands of Hungary, with a hat-trick from Albert and goals from Tichy and substitute Purczeld.[30] Chile, who’s physical play had unsettled the Bulgarians and had frustrated England, came unstuck against Hungary, who simply passed round them – Chile’s approach would be replicated (and taken to logical extremes as matches in the Intercontinental Cup would demonstrate) across the decade.
Results
9 June Hungary 2-1 England
10 June Chile 1-0 Bulgaria
12 June Bulgaria 2-2 Hungary
13 June England 0-0 Chile
15 June Hungary 6-1 Chile
16 June England 3-1 Bulgaria
Group 4
Group 4 paired two debutantes in Wales and Morocco (Africa’s first representative in eight years) with the world champions Brazil and the side they defeated in 1958, France. Wales, largely composed of players playing across the English football league system, with star man John Charles playing in Italy for Roma, were a well-organised side built around a strong defence and were on a good run of form going into the tournament. Brazil, possessed huge talent with the star players of 1958 still in situ, as well as new stars such as Antônio Wilson and Amarildo Tavares, were expected to win the group, while the French, who had finished third at the inaugural European Nations Cup in 1960 still possessed a strong side. Only Morocco, represented unknowns, though they had several players at French clubs.
The opening matches saw one expected result and one shock. Brazil, playing Wales in front of a capacity crowd in Dortmund eased to a 2-0 win over Wales, though they were made to work for it, with the aging Welsh defence (led superbly by the thirty-four-year-old Cardiff City man Dave Bowen) shutting down Brazil’s wave of attacks. Jack Kelsey, the veteran Welsh goalkeeper, also had a blinder, and was unlucky with both goals – a deflection from Stuart Williams leaving him no chance with the first, and the second from Vavá in a debatably offside position.
The other match, pairing Morocco with former colonial masters France saw a shock. Played in Cologne, the game began with France taking an early lead, as Maryan Wisniewski raced onto a Raymond Kopaszewski through ball to smash home past Allal Benkassou in the Moroccan goal. Most observers, if Brian Glanville’s account of the press box is to be believed expected France to cruise home. And yet they didn’t – Morocco’s captain, the former French international and Montpellier captain Abderrahmane Mahjoub kept Just Fontaine quiet the entire game, and their confidence growing, Morocco began to pressure their more illustrious opponents. The pressure told, as a mistake from Georges Lamia in the French goal, saw Driss Bamous equalise, and it took a superb intervention from veteran Robert Jonquet to prevent Abdelkader Moukhtatif adding a second. The second would come though – Lamia, making an absolute hash of a cross (there were claims that he may have been unsighted) palmed the ball straight into the path of Mohamed Lamari to secure Morocco’s win. The result was greeted with jubilation in Rabat and in France by the Moroccan community, while Morocco’s triumph was viewed as a breakthrough for football in Africa.[31]
In the second round of fixtures, France recovered from the shock of Cologne to beat the Welsh 1-0, with Raymond Kopaszewski netting the winner, with a fantastic finish, catching a high ball on his chest, skipping past the challenger of Roy Vernon and lobbing Kelsey from twenty yards. Wales, again played well, but lacked cutting edge, though John Charles narrowly missed a chance to level the scores. In the other game, Brazil overcame stubborn Moroccan resistance to win 1-0 with Dico, who had missed the first game due to a minor injury, coming off the bench to net the winner in the 70th minute. Morocco, again had impressed, with Brazilian playmaker Waldyr Pareira later proclaiming them the side he had found most difficult to play against.[32]
The final round of games saw Brazil beat France 3-1, with Mané Garrincha unplayable on the right of Brazil’s fluid attacking trident.[33] Fontaine, who had struggled in the first two games, did at least claw back a goal for France, but the French never looked likely to come back into the game, as Brazil’s yellow and green shirted waves broke them down.[34] The other game saw Morocco, perhaps exhausted by their exploits against France and Brazil, fall to a surprisingly meek defeat to the Welsh, who scored through John Charles and Ivor Allchurch, though Moroccan captain Abderrahmane Mahjoub managed to steal a consolation at the end from a header. Despite the defeat, Morocco went through in second on goal difference, becoming the first side to qualify for the knockouts despite losing two games, as well as the first African side to reach the knockout rounds.
Results
9 June Brazil 2-0 Wales
10 June France 1-2 Morocco
12 June Bazil 1-0 Morocco
13 June Wales 0-1 France
15 June France 1-3 Brazil
16 June Morocco 1-2 Wales
Quarter finals
The quarter finals were drawn on June 17, following the conclusion of the group stage. The hosts Germany were paired with Argentina, while the Soviets faced Czechoslovakia, holders Brazil faced England for the third time at the finals (coincidentally all knockout games), while Hungary faced underdogs Morocco.
The first quarter-final, played between Germany and Argentina in front of a capacity crowd in Munich, was a better contest than expected, neither side having lit up the group stages. Germany, a direct hard-running side, were not intimidated by Argentina’s physical tactics, and were in control for most of the game. Their first goal, like several at the tournament, came from a goalkeeping error – Antonio Roma misjudged Albert Brülls’s freekick and was surprised at his near post.[35] While Antonio Rattín, a surprise pick in midfield, would equalise, Germany didn’t falter and sealed the win through Helmut Haller. The victory, propelling Germany through to a third semi-final, was greeted with delirium in the stands, and in the press. Argentina, a measure of pride restored from the debacle of 1958, returned home.
If a goalkeeping error had gifted Germany’s opener, two superb goalkeeping performances defined the tie between the Soviets and Czechoslovakia in Gelsenkirchen. Lev Yashin, in indifferent form during the group stages, made a string of superb saves, as the Czechoslovaks began brightly, with Josef Masopust almost unplayable in the middle of the pitch. The game turned however on a decision from Soviet manager Gavril Kachalin, who substituted striker Aleksei Mamykin for midfielder Yozhef Sabo (making his international debut) and had Sabo operate as a man-marker much higher up the pitch.[36] The ploy worked, as an unsettled Czechoslovakia increasingly ceded possession, and were largely kept in the game thanks to a brilliant performance from Viliam Schrojf in goal. Igor Chislenko, would settle the game in extra time, running onto a pass after Sabo had dispossessed Masopust and driving the ball home.
Brazil and England faced each other in Hamburg, in a game that was expected to be of high quality. England, who had never beaten Brazil at the tournament, began brightly and took the lead through a highly unlikely source, as Roger Byrne scored his first and only international goal after bundling home at the near post from a Johnny Haynes cross.[37] Brazil, despite the setback, grew into the game and equalised through Garrincha (their vanquisher in 1958) who’s unpredictable play again tormented the English defence. Dico, added a second on the hour, before the game was sealed by Vavá who thundered home a volley to leave Eddie Hopkinson no chance. Brazil were again through to the semi-finals, and England were again out.
The final match paired Hungary with surprises Morocco, though this time there was unfortunately no surprise to be found, as the Hungarians quality eventually told. The game was perhaps unfortunately over as a contest by the half hour, by which time Morocco had suffered two mishaps; their inspirational captain Abderrahmane Mahjoub had to go off injured following a clash of heads with Kálmán Mészöly (who also had to be substituted), while their goalkeeper Allal Benkassou was injured following a clash with Lajos Tichy as he attempted to claim the ball at the striker’s feet. Benkassou’s replacement, Ahmed Lahgrissi conceded the resulting penalty, and could do nothing with the second as Gyula Rákosi scored a wonderful free-kick to take the tie beyond the North African’s reach. Despite the defeat, Morocco returned home to a heroes welcome, as well as leaving a trailblazing memory on the finals – their success paving the way for a FIFA rule change on continental qualification.[38]
Results
19 June Germany 2-1 Argentina
19 June Czechoslovakia 0-1 Soviet Union
19 June Brazil 3-1 England
19 June Hungary 2-0 Morocco
Semi-finals
The semi-finals paired hosts Germany with holders Brazil and the Soviets with the Hungarians, all of which were expected to be competitive games, though most expected Brazil to win through, and likely lift the trophy in Berlin.
The first semi-final was then a shock as Germany pulled off a counterattacking game plan to steal victory from the Brazilians. Germany, probably the fittest team at the tournament, absorbed endless Brazilian pressure, with Bernd Trautmann pulling off a superb double save to deny both Dico and Mário Lobo on the stroke of half-time. This would be as close as Brazil got, as Germany using a five-man defence and four man midfield, with Seeler as a lone striker, absorbed Brazil’s wave of pressure, before their superior fitness began to show in the second half.[39] Germany’s winner, the only goal in the game, came from left-back Karl-Heinz Schnellinger, who after winning the ball from Garrincha, broke forward, outpaced the tiring Djalma Santos and hit a first time cross perfectly for Seeler to tap home beyond the reach of Gilberto. Brazil were out and Germany were through, and expectation suddenly emerged in the bright Dresden sunshine.
In Hamburg, the Soviets proved too strong for Hungary, as the Hungarians finally bade (at the World Cup at least) farewell to the remaining members of the aranycsapat. The game itself, was not a classic as poor weather (the game being played in midst of one of the city’s many wet days) hampered both teams’ games. The Soviets, perhaps aided by having a younger side, scored in both halves, with Eduard Streltsov netting both goals – the match being a sad farewell for the largely anonymous Purczeld.
In the third place playoff, Brazil secured a 1-0 win over Hungary thanks to a Waldyr Pareira freekick – the game was his last for Brazil, as well as the last for Nilton Santos, while Sándor Kocsis and Gyula Grosics both played their final internationals for Hungary, giving the game something of a testimonial feel.
Results
22 June Germany 1-0 Brazil
22 June Hungary 0-2 Soviet Union
Third Place Playoff
24 June Brazil 1-0 Hungary
Final
As in 1958, 1962 would see a new champion. Germany, playing in their first final since 1938 (when they had also hosted) faced a Soviet side who were playing in the final for the first time. 1962 was the first time since 1938 itself that an all-European clash had been held, and while the Germans had shocked Brazil, their generally functional style of play had won them few friends.[40] The Soviets, were more expansive than the Germans, but also unpredictable, and the clash was expected to be reasonably even.
The game, a re-run of their group stage match, was played at the Olympiastadion, to a full house, with, in perhaps an eery reminder of the 1938 tournament, a German military band performing the anthems of both sides.[41] The game itself, began cautiously, with the Germans (having returned to a back four) looking increasingly nervous in the first half – indeed if wasn’t for a superb save from Trautmann to deny Valentin Ivanov, they might well have folded in the face of Soviet pressure. Gradually, though they grew into the game, and they were aided by an uncharacteristically error prone performance from Yashin, who had endured an inconsistent tournament.
His mistake in the 39th minute allowed Schnellinger to tap home for his only international goal, following a mix-up between Anatoli Maslyonkin and Leonid Ovstrovski – Yashin, perhaps anticipating a cross from the German left-back was left his near post unguarded and could only watch as the ball trickled past him. Despite the setback, the Soviets attacked again, with Streltsov hitting the bar from a corner just before half-time. It would be Germany’s second that killed the game as a contest however, as Willi Schulz won the ball back in his own half, hit a long pass to Hans Schäfer who centred the ball for substitute Peter Ducke to divert past Yashin, who had initially come out to collect the cross and was left stranded.[42] With only five minutes left, the Soviets wilted and Germany passed the ball amongst themselves to secure an anticlimactic end to an anticlimactic tournament.
How then do we regard 1962? Certainly in terms of fitness and sports science, it can be argued that it is perhaps the first modern world cup, though the level of violence, brutality, cynicism and foul play it showcased to the world precludes it from being a truly great one. Allegations of doping, political interference in certain nations team selections and weak refereeing also undermined it, though these were not novel things in the history of the world cup itself. Perhaps then it’s best to remember 1962 for two things – Germany’s moment of joy, as a country scarred by two world wars finally emerged from the shadow of history to be remembered for something else, and Morocco’s sheer sense of triumph in defeating France and striking a victory for a continent often patronised, denigrated and viewed as a pawn in international geopolitics. It does say a lot about the overall quality, that no one remembers Germany’s direct, hard running team, but everyone remembers the joy of Brazil. Football, as in life, is seldom fair.
Result
25 June Germany 2-0 Soviet Union
[1] How non-aligned Germany’s foreign policy was during this period is up for debate however – while it maintained trade with the Soviet bloc, generally it aligned with Western interests internationally, and on defence had rebuilt strong relations with the UK, US and France.
[2] This didn’t, with the exception of several works based teams extend to formal ownership, but local sponsorship deals between companies such as Mercedes-Benz and the two local Stuttgart sides were a generally common occurrence, encouraged by the relatively pro-business coalition government of the Christian Democrats and Liberal parties under Chancellor Ernst Lemmer.
[3] Herberger took over from Otto Nerz after the 1938 world cup and remained in charge until 1942, when the national side ceased to play any matches. He was reappointed to the post in 1950.
[4] Koch, who had been one of the key founding figures in the Liberal Democratic Party, was elected President by parliament in 1948 and confirmed again in 1952 and 1956.
[5] Schön had also previously managed the Saarland national side, and was appointed as an assistant coach in 1956.
[6] With the exception of the eastern bloc, which remained officially amateur if de facto professional, and with the exception of Yugoslavia did not generally allow international transfers.
[7] In Europe at least – while highlights were more sophisticated than they had been in previous tournaments, for most fans outside of Europe, radio coverage and the press were still the main ways to follow the tournament. The development and mass expansion of satellite television would however transform the tournament into a televised exercise as much a sporting one.
[8] This arrangement drew protest from both confederations but both were hamstrung by their limited numbers of entrants: Africa had nine, while Asia’s initial eleven were whittled down to seven due to dropouts.
[9] While not fully independent, the self-governing British Caribbean territories had affiliated to the CCCF and FIFA during the late 1950s as part of Britain’s plans to grant independence for the region.
[10] CSF indifference ultimately scuppered the plans, but Mexico would, until the strengthening of the sport in the US and Canda, continue to look southwards for footballing development.
[11] The increasing violence in South American football increasingly mirrored the increasingly violent regimes that came to power across swathes of the continent as South American politics veered between the polarised world of the Cold War.
[12] Who upon gaining independence from Britian as a confederal republic in 1960 had fully affiliated to the UAEF and FIFA.
[13] The record of Italian clubs in Europe during this period is strong, though the strength of the Spanish sides meant they didn’t monopolise competition. However, between 1956 and 1962, A.C Milan won the European Cup twice, while Juventus triumphed over Tottenham in 1962. Fiorentina won the inaugural Cup Winners Cup in 1961 and were runners up in 1962, while Roma won the Federation Cup in 1961. Inter failed to triumph in Europe in this time, but were strong domestically.
[14] The successes of Bill Nicholson’s Tottenham Hotspur in emulating United and doing the double in 1961, as well as their reaching the final of the 1961-62 European Cup saw the England side gradually refreshed, but the core of the 1958 side largely remained intact.
[15] Spain’s streak would be humorously referred to as The Curse of Francis Drake.
[16] Morocco, Tunisia and Libya in Group 1, Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia in Group 2 and Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa in Group 3.
[17] Eddie Firmani, South Africa’s best player during the 1950s and early 1960s would only appear sporadically for the national side following his move to Italy from Charlton Athletic in 1955. Of the overseas players, many of whom played for the South London side, Johanneson and Brian Tocknell would appear the most.
[18] India, Ceylon and Burma all withdrew following disagreements over travel costs, while Indonesia were forced to withdraw as the country sank into political instability.
[19] This paired Australia and New Zealand, Hong Kong and the PRC and Japan and the ROC, the latter of which was a highly politicised tie.
[20] Mahjoub played for France at the 1954 World Cup and was one of the few Arab players to play overseas, playing the majority of his career in France.
[21] As with their earlier compatriots, all of those selected had previously played for their home nations, predominantly Argentina – the loss of several players to overseas clubs and the resultant ban is often cited as a key factor in Argentina’s dismal showing in the 1958 qualifiers.
[22] Trautmann, who had returned to Manchester City from Schalke in 1958 following a dispute with the club management over bonuses, had been a surprise choice to continue in goal with many expecting Borussia Dortmund’s Hans Tilkowski to be first choice.
[23] Ovtrovski, the only Baltic player in the squad (Igor Netto was of Estonian heritage but was born in Leningrad), remains the only Latvian to have played at the World Cup finals.
[24] Ebert, the son of leading social democrat Friedrich Ebert, was often touted as a possible chancellor, due to his role as a party chief in the east, but he instead largely preferred to remain Mayor of Berlin, which he did from 1948-1964. Diederichs, the compromise candidate in the SDP’s leadership election had pulled off a surprise election victory in 1961 over the CDU of Franz-Josef Strauss. The game itself coincided with a series of bilateral meetings over port access rights between the German, Polish and Soviet governments.
[25] 1962 was a tournament of innovations – Addas, who had partnered with the DFB had developed a ball based on a partnership with the Danish company Select had developed the 32-section ball designed by Egil Nielsen, which alternated black and white panels. While still made of leather, though less heavy than its forebears of the decade before, the lightness and pattern were speculated to add velocity to the ball, which made judging the speed of crosses more difficult for goalkeepers. The ball itself became the default symbol of a football and cemented Addas’s reputation as the pre-eminent sportswear and equipment manufacturer, much to the annoyance of rival RuDa.
[26] The coup, in contrast to previous juntas, established a new model of governance, based on the long-standing (if somewhat creaking) model of the Estado Novo in Portugal and the rabidly anti-communist regime of Alfredo Stroessner in neighbouring Paraguay. The rise of dictatorships across the continent, funded by the United States, meant that by the end of the decade only Chile could still be regarded as a democratic state.
[27] These were largely due to a sizeable number of Argentine internationals being signed by Italian clubs for vast sums – due to AFA rules, they were banned from the Argentine national side, thus depriving Argentina of several of its best players. That these players then played for Italy further salted the wound – though while this had bubbled along in the background, the immediate root causes were two extremely violent games between Juventus and Racing Club in a friendly and the two national sides at the 1960 Olympics.
[28] Both would also change clubs after the tournament, with Hitchens moving to Torino and Edwards transferring to A.C. Milan. Jimmy Greaves, who had previously played for A.C. Milan had returned to Chelsea before the World Cup.
[29] Hopkinson, who had been first choice in 1958 remained England’s first-choice at 1962 despite press calls that Sheffield Wednesday’s Ron Springett should be number one.
[30] The goal would be his last at the world cup as well as for Hungary, though he would play his final international in a testimonial match against Spain in 1963.
[31] This reading was controversial at the time however, as many Sub-Saharan nations, several of whom were in the midst of independence struggles, viewed Morocco as an Arab nation first and foremost, as well as one that was too friendly with the former colonial power France. The result, a first win for Africa since Egypt’s in 1930, was nevertheless, still a genuine shock, and moment of joy in a tournament sorely lacking in them.
[32] Though given this quote came from an interview after Pareira had taken over as manager at Wydad Casablanca there may be some playing to the gallery.
[33] Brazil’s formation which had been a loose 4-2-4 in 1958 had morphed into what we would recognise as a broad 4-3-3 or a 4-2-3-1, with Garrincha operating as an out-an-out winger, Dico dropping off Vavá as a second striker and Mário Lobo operating as a midfielder/winger hybrid, a role he had occupied four years earlier.
[34] The third goal and final goal was perhaps the goal of the tournament, as seven quick passes sent Djalma Santos bursting through to set up his namesake Nilton Santos who blasted the ball past the prone Georges Lamia.
[35] Roma was generally well-regarded as a goalkeeper, but his long run in the national side highlighted a lack of options available to successive national managers.
[36] The Soviets were, despite their own innovations with tactical formations (indeed there is an argument that the back-four as we know it was developed by Boris Arkadiev in the 1940s) still largely wedded to a W-M formation, though it was far less rigid than other versions.
[37] Byrne, who was England captain, was known for his phenomenal fitness and had set a record of 41 consecutive internationals for England, which is still unbeaten.
[38] Following the tournament, the FIFA Executive Committee agreed on a vote of 12-5 to give Africa and Asia a sole qualifying spot each.
[39] This should not be understood as a modern day 5-4-1 but something more akin to a refinement of Italy’s luchetto system with a sweeper operating behind a back four, allowing a man to step up into midfield should the need arise, while the four-man midfield consisted of a player operating as an attacking midfielder behind a striker, two more defensive minded players (one with playmaking responsibilities, the other a stopper) and a shuttler.
[40] While defensive, the Germans were generally fair, having the best disciplinary record at the tournament.
[41] Much of the pomp and ceremony of the World Cup, including a formal opening ceremony and presentation of medals to both sides were introduced by the Nazis in 1938, and have, much like the Olympic torch been a fixture at the finals ever since.
[42] Ducke would become the first substitute to score in a world cup final
Host selection and background
After Mexico had been confirmed as hosts in 1950, expectations were that the tournament would return to Europe, and despite a late bid from Argentina, FIFA’s executive committee confirmed Germany would become the first country to host the tournament twice, beating out a bid from Yugoslavia and a surprise (and somewhat audacious) bid from Greece. In contrast to 1938, where the tournament was an orgiastic showcase for the short-lived triumph of the National Socialist regime, Germany was a democratic republic, with a non-aligned foreign policy and booming economy, much of which was powering it’s club football.
As the memories of the war began to slowly fade, Germany’s unique position, as the largest non-aligned[1] European nation began to come further into focus, as its economy boomed and it steered a course between American and Soviet interests, as the Cold War veered between tensions and de-escalation. Germany’s economic miracle had also begun to be reflected in its club football with Hamburg, Frankfurt and SV Jena all making the last rounds of continental competition. The national league, established in 1953 to celebrate both Saarland rejoining the republic, and the end of any formal allied occupation, had grown in commercial strength as numerous corporations began to become involved in the sport.[2]
The national side was also under new management, as long-serving Sepp Herberger retired in 1960, having been in charge of the national side off and on since 1938[3], his retirement coinciding with that of long serving Federal President Waldemar Koch.[4] In his place stepped up long-serving assistant Hans Weisweiler, who alongside coaches Georg Gawliczek and Helmut Schön had been part of Herberger’s staff for the bulk of the 1950s. Much as Germany’s parliamentarians had opted for continuity in the presidency, with fellow Liberal Thomas Dehler succeeding Koch in 1960, so to did the DFB with Weisweiler in overall charge alongside Gawliczek and Schön.[5] The three, somewhat affectionately named the troika, were firm believers in youth, and the average age of the national side dropped accordingly, with only veteran goalkeeper Bernd Trautmann and captain Hans Schäfer remaining from the 1954 squad, and while Germany had participated in the inaugural European Nations Cup, they failed to qualify for the final tournament. Nevertheless, expectations were reasonably high – while Brazil were still expected to be the team to beat, the home public viewed Germany as a likely contender for the semi-finals.
If 1958, had signalled the burgeoning modernity of the sport, 1962 would accelerate it. Sports science, a novelty at the last tournament, was now more established, though how developed it was varied sharply from nation to nation. The growth of continental competition had also, in Europe at least, ended the ban on overseas internationals and professionalism across the board[6] with overseas internationals becoming an increasing regularity as the money on offer in certain leagues multiplied rapidly. The tournament, building on the growth of television coverage over the previous two, was the first to have television coverage of the majority of games, with the German state broadcaster BRG distributing via the European Broadcasting Union.[7] The tournament, also marked an expansion of commercial partnerships, though these were again concentrated at the national level – it just so happened that for 1962 the nation happened to be one of the world’s leading industrial economies. While not at the level of the tournament post the signing of commercial partnerships between FIFA and various corporations in the early 1970s, 1962 signalled where the tournament was heading towards, though the majority of partners remained rooted in consumer goods.
1962 retained the same format as 1958, with four groups of four and three rounds of knockout matches, with venues largely concentrated in the south and west (with only Hamburg, Berlin and Dresden not from those regions.) The choice of venues would receive some criticism, particularly from the east, with some (largely unfounded) allegations that venues in the east had been overlooked due to their strong voting record for parties of the left. Unlike Mexico, temperature and altitude were expected to be lesser factors in performance than had been the case four years earlier.
Qualification
Germany and Brazil qualified automatically, leaving fourteen places to be decided: three for South America, one for North America, nine for Europe and one to be decided via playoff between Africa and Asia.[8]
In the Americas, Mexico, building on the success of their hosting the tournament in 1958, qualified again for the finals, though they suffered defeat to Costa Rica in the final round, and were perhaps fortunate that the Costa Ricans suffered a surprise defeat to Jamaica in the final round.[9] Mexico, now under the management of Ignacio Trelles, the first native manager of the side since 1950, still proved too strong for their continental rivals, fuelling demands for Mexico to explore switching to South America.[10]
While Mexico qualifying ensured there were no real surprises in North America, in the South, qualification threw up several shocks, with Brazil’s absence largely levelling the field. Argentina, with a refreshed squad under the management of former Vélez Sarsfield manager Victorio Spinetto, gained a measure of revenge over Paraguay (who’s 5-0 victory in 1957 knocked Argentina out of world cup qualification) with home and away victories over them and Ecuador to qualify with a perfect record.
If Argentina qualified with ease, their rioplatense neighbours Uruguay, expected to qualify comfortably from a group containing Andean neighbours, Chile and Bolivia, suffered two seismic defeats to Chile (notably in a match so bad-tempered in Santiago that the Uruguayan embassy lodged a diplomatic protest with the Chilean government) to fail to qualify for the finals for the first time.[11] Uruguay’s failure, was greeted with the shame shock and outrage as their own surprise victory in Brazil had been in 1950 – and if you believed some commentators played a decisive role in the Colorado Party’s surprise return to power in 1962 under Carlos Fischer.
Finally, in a group which was regarded as the weakest of the three, Colombia surprised Peru (who themselves had not qualified since 1930) to qualify for the first time in their history becoming the first South American debutante since 1930. Colombia, who’s league thanks to state investment under the auspices of Gaitánismo had become one of the strongest outside of the traditional big three, had also began to invest in its national side, with a series of overseas coaches leading the national team. Colombia, under former Argentina international Adolfo Pedernera, had surprised Uruguay at the 1959 South American championships, and had held (an admittedly understrength) Brazil to a draw at the same tournament, perhaps making their qualification less of a surprise.
In Europe, qualification largely followed expectations. Italy, who had failed to qualify for 1958, returned to the finals unbeaten ahead of Romania and Cyprus[12] under the management of Giuseppe Viani, a key pioneer of the luchetto tactical system which largely prioritised a strong defensive structure. Italy’s return to the finals was largely built around le cinque sorelle (the five sisters) of A.C. Milan, Fiorentina, Internazionale, Juventus and Roma – it’s perhaps a testament to the strength of Italian club football that these sides provided several key players for other nations as well.[13]
Elsewhere, England and France both comfortably qualified from their respective groups, with England’s side still largely built around the Busby Babes of Manchester United.[14] Scotland and Northern Ireland, who had upset the odds to qualify four years earlier did not see lightning striking again, as Scotland fell to the Czechoslovaks and Northern Ireland finished bottom of their group, topped by surprises Bulgaria.
However, all did not rest on England, as another home nation pulled off a surprise to qualify for the first time. Wales, who had been perhaps unlucky in 1958, shocked the Spanish, who for consecutive tournaments were knocked out of qualifying by a British side.[15] Wales, built around the talents of Juventus star John Charles and Tottenham winger Cliff Jones had a decent (if aging) side, but Spain were unlucky, with Wales’s decisive goal in their 2-1 win in Cardiff coming from an offside position. Wales, coached by Manchester United assistant and former Welsh international Jimmy Murphy, were nevertheless through, and speculation in the British press began over whether they and England would be drawn together at the finals. In the rest of Europe, Hungary overcame a promising, if callow, Portugal to reach the finals for a third straight time, while the Soviets and Swiss finished ahead of Sweden and Belgium respectively.
Africa, expanded by the process of decolonisation, saw nine teams enter qualification for the finals – Morocco, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Sudan, Ethiopia, South Africa, Ghana and Nigeria who were drawn into three groups of three, which were arranged geographically.[16] Morocco, Egypt and Ghana won their respective groups, though South Africa were hamstrung by not being able to call up their European based players regularly with only Louis Johanneson of Leeds regularly appearing for the side[17]. The final round saw Morocco narrowly top the group ahead of Ghana to set up a playoff with the Asian group winner.
Asia’s qualification had seen the most entrants in its history, but as politics, and in many cases funding, intervened the number of sides were whittled down to leave a qualification series based exclusively around the Pacific.[18] The seven sides – Japan, Korea, Republic of China, People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand were drawn into a first round knockout (with Korea receiving a bye) before a final round robin.[19] The final round, which paired Australia, Korea, Japan and Hong Kong was comfortably won by the Koreans to set up the intercontinental playoff with Morocco. The playoff, played in stifling heat in both Casablanca and Seoul was narrowly won by the Moroccans, with former French international Abderrahmane Mahjoub captaining the Moroccans to victory.[20] Morocco’s victory saw them become the second African and Arab side to qualify for the finals, as well the final side to qualify for Germany.
Participating sides:
- Germany (hosts)
- Brazil (holders)
- Argentina
- Bulgaria (debut)
- Chile
- Colombia (debut)
- Czechoslovakia
- England
- France
- Hungary
- Italy
- Mexico
- Morocco (debut)
- Soviet Union
- Switzerland
- Wales (debut)
English football was undergoing something of a revolution, a series of strikes by the Players’ Union having led to the abolition of the maximum wage and the retain and transfer system which had dominated English football since the 1900s, while increasing numbers of British footballers moved to Continental Europe – most notably, Manchester United and England star Duncan Edwards who joined Roma for £90,000 in 1960. For England 1962 was to be the end of an era – Walter Winterbottom, who had coached the side from 1946 (and had been sole manager since 1950) and who also held the role of FA Director of Coaching would be stepping down to transition into sports administration.
As for the other contenders, Germany’s national side had been in sporadic form leading up to the tournament but had played well on a tour of South America, including drawing with the Brazilians in Rio, which boosted confidence. Argentina, returning to the finals after failing to qualify in 1958, had a young squad that combined often exquisite artistry with a physical menace, though unlike later Argentine sides they rarely slid into all out brutality. Italy, who’s record at the tournament postwar had been patchy, found their side bolstered by several oriundi from Latin America, most of whom had been signed during Serie A’s boom in the late 1950s.[21]
FIFA, as with tournaments onwards from 1954, retained a seeding system with half the sides seeded and the other half unseeded. The seeds for 1962 were Brazil, Germany, England, France, Argentina, Soviet Union, Italy and Hungary. The draw, held on March 7 1962 with the groups as follows:
Group 1: Germany, Soviet Union, Colombia, Switzerland
Group 2: Italy, Argentina, Mexico, Czechoslovakia
Group 3: England, Hungary, Chile, Bulgaria
Group 4: Brazil, France, Wales, Morocco
Tournament summary
Group 1
Germany opened their campaign at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, the same venue where a quarter of a century before they had hosted a tournament bathed in the reflected glory of national socialism. Here however, it merely witnessed a dull game, the Germans eventually overcoming stubborn Swiss resistance to win 2-1, having trailed to a Rolf Wüthrich penalty. Despite the toil, the result was largely expected – Switzerland, under long serving Austrian coach Karl Rappan, may have been hard to beat but they were hardly world beaters. In the other game, the Soviets comfortably saw off Colombia 2-0, with Eduard Streltsov and Slava Metreveli getting the goals, though they were lucky to see Marcos Coll’s speculative shot hit the bar with Lev Yashin stranded.
The second round of matches, saw Germany dispatch Colombia 3-1 in Hamburg, with local hero Uwe Seeler scoring two and assisting a third for captain Hans Schäfer, though a mistake from the thirty-eight-year-old Bernd Trautmann saw Marino Klinger score a late consolation for Colombia.[22] If Germany’s victory had been routine, the match between the Soviets and the Swiss in Stuttgart was anything but, with four goals in the first half and another four in the second, aided perhaps by one of the few poor performances in Lev Yashin’s long and storied career.
The game, played in front of a largely partisan crowd, saw the Soviets race into a three-goal lead within the first eleven minutes, with the Swiss further hampered by an injury to their midfielder Norbert Eschmann, and thus necessitating a change of shape. The Soviets, perhaps easing off the gas with the expectation of saving themselves for their final match against the hosts, began to gradually let the Swiss back into the game, and a mistake from Leonid Ovstrovski allowed Roger Vonlanthen to claw back the deficit.[23] Switzerland’s second goal, owed much to Lev Yashin, who completed misjudged the flight of a corner, resulting in Philippe Pottier’s corner sailing over his head directly into goal. The Soviets, who had added their fourth goal on the hour via Valentin Ivanov, found themselves caught on the counter, as Swiss captain Charles Antenen’s scuffed shot rolled into the goal under Yashin’s late dive. The comeback was complete in the 89th minute, as Roger Vonlanthen escaped the attentions of his marker and tapped home from a corner to leave the scores equal at 4-4, and the largely partisan Stuttgart crowd cheering the Swiss off the pitch.
The final round of fixtures saw one tie steeped in recent memory, as Germany and the Soviet Union met for the first time at the World Cup since the 1938 finals in Berlin. Immediate memories of the war may have faded, but there was a minute silence before the game kicked-off in memory of those who lost their lives in the conflict. The game was watched by an extensive set of dignitaries as well – Soviet Foreign Minister Dmitri Shepilov and Premier Nikolai Bulganin both attended as did German Chancellor Georg Diederichs and Mayor of Berlin Friedrich Ebert Jr.[24]
The game itself, once it began, was sedate, perhaps weighed down by the history and ceremony surrounding it, with neither side threatening much of an intervention before Uwe Seeler broke the deadlock via a rasping drive in the 44th minute. The goal spurred the contest to life, and the Soviets equalised through Streltsov, who had come on as a second half substitute, and it took two fine saves from Trautmann to keep the scores level, with the Soviets looking increasingly likely to score. It was, thus against the run of play, that Horst Szymaniak, Germany’s only other overseas international (he played for Verona) scored a fantastic goal to win the game, as he won the ball just inside the Soviet half, skipped past two challenges and hit the ball with such force that Yashin had no chance. The crowd roared, the Soviet players slumped, and Germany were through as group winners.
In the other match, the Swiss and Colombians played out a 1-1 draw, in a game marred by a display of officious refereeing from Peruvian Arturo Yamasaki, who’s whistle was heard as often as the crowd. The game itself, devoid of any real flow, and by extension quality, saw both goals scored from set pieces – Colombia’s evergreen captain Francisco Zuluaga scored from the penalty spot, which was cancelled out by Swiss substitute Roberto Frigerio, who nodded home from a corner after Colombian goalkeeper Efraín Sánchez misjudged the flight on the ball and was left stranded.[25] The game, never much of a free-flowing contest to begin with, petered out in the last ten minutes and ended as a draw, knocking both sides out – though at least Colombia had secured their first ever point at the finals.
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Points |
1 | Germany | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 6 |
2 | Soviet Union | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 6 | +1 | 3 |
3 | Switzerland | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 7 | -1 | 2 |
4 | Colombia | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | -4 | 1 |
9 June Germany 2-1 Switzerland
10 June Soviet Union 2-0 Colombia
12 June Colombia 1-3 Germany
13 June Soviet Union 4-4 Switzerland
15 June Germany 2-1 Soviet Union
16 June Switzerland 1-1 Colombia
Group 2
Group 2, with the possible exception of the Mexicans, was seen as a well balanced one, paring two strong European sides with a resurgent Argentina. Mexico, had performed well at home four years earlier, but had a poor overseas record, and were not expected to put up much of a threat.
The opening matches saw Argentina see off a spirited Mexico, with two goals from José Sanfilippo, and one from Rubén Héctor Sosa, with Salvador Reyes netting Mexico’s consolation goal. The game, Argentina’s first at the finals since 1954, is famous for being immortalised in a short story by Borges which transplanted the radio commentary, with the pronouncement of the overthrow of the Radical government of Ricardo Balbín and the establishment of the military junta under Juan Carlos Onganía.[26]
In the other match, Italy and Czechoslovakia played out one of the dullest games in recent memory, with Italy’s tight defence stifling Czechoslovakia’s passing game, though Jozef Štibrányi hit the bar and both Omar Sívori and Brazilian-born José Atalfini had their chances, to at least give the first half a semblance of contest. The second half however, degenerated into a violent, cynical slugfest – it would be an unfortunate harbinger of what was to come, as the game wound down into a 0-0 draw.
The second round of matches, saw the infamous Battle of Gelsenkirchen between Argentina and Italy, as pre-existing tensions between the two sides[27] burst through to the surface. The game, refereed by pioneer Ken Aston, descended into a “scene worthy of a bar fight” as early as the 8th minute, when a bad tackle on Federicho Sacchi by Giorgio Ferrini saw the Italian defender refuse to leave the pitch, before he was eventually escorted off by members of the Italian coaching staff. The second sending off occurred on the half hour, after Argentine captain Rubén Navarro was sent off for punching Humberto Maschio, after which a mass brawl between both sets of players broke out. Aston, perhaps not wanting to inflame the situation further, refrained from any further expulsions – and Argentina, perhaps as an after-thought scored twice to settle the tie, with their second an own-goal from Mario David, perhaps best epitomising the quality on display. The highlights, shown later that night on Match of the Day have gone down in British folklore with David Coleman’s introduction of “the game you are about to see is the most stupid, appalling, disgusting and disgraceful exhibition of football in the history of the game” being immortalised on the BBC radio satire I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again. If the game had been an outlier, it would perhaps be viewed as a footnote – unfortunately it was emblematic of a tournament that prioritised physicality over finesse.
In the other match, Czechoslovakia eased themselves to a routine win over Mexico, the Mexicans hindered in their efforts by an ankle injury suffered by Salvador Reyes. His replacement by the raw Alberto Baeza reduced Mexico’s goal threat, and Viliam Schrojf in the Czechoslovak goal was barely tested. In contrast, the veteran Antonio Carbajal, playing in his fourth consecutive World Cup, kept Mexico in it, until Václav Mašek, broke through the Mexican defence and delicately slotted home. The win would be secured by Adolf Scherer, whose shot took a deflection off Raúl Cárdenas, leaving Carbajal no chance. While the game was not particularly high on quality, it was at least free from the violence that had plagued the match in Gelsenkirchen.
The final round paired the Argentines with Czechoslovakia and Italy with the Mexicans. The game between Argentina and Czechoslovakia was less bad tempered than the game against Italy, and better as a result with both sides creating several chances, though the poor quality of finishing saw both sides go in goalless. In the second half, as both sides began to struggle in Munich’s summer heat, it took a moment of inspiration to decide the game - Josef Masopust, sending a sumptuous, defence-splitting pass into the path of Scherer who beat the tackle of Rafael Albrecht and steered the ball past the onrushing Antonio Roma to seal the victory for the Czechoslovaks.
In the other game, Italy threw off the shackles to beat Mexico 4-1, with Omar Sívori scoring twice, alongside goals from Atalfini and Antonio Angelillo (all of whom were South American) settling the tie in favour of the Italians, though a late goal from Alfredo del Águila restored a measure of pride for the Mexicans. The win was not enough for Italy – and they again exited the tournament having flattered to deceive.
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Points |
1 | Czechoslovakia | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | +3 | 5 |
2 | Argentina | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 4 |
3 | Italy | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 3 |
4 | Mexico | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 9 | -7 | 0 |
9 June Argentina 3-1 Mexico
10 June Italy 0-0 Czechoslovakia
12 June Argentina 2--0 Italy
13 June Czechoslovakia 2-0 Mexico
15 June Mexico 1-4 Italy
16 June Czechoslovakia 1-0 Argentina
Group 3
Group 3 paired three European sides with Chile, who returning to the finals for the first time since 1950 (and were playing at a European tournament for the first time.) England and Hungary, were both undergoing a transition of sorts, with England’s squad including overseas internationals for the first time, as Duncan Edwards and Gerry Hitchens both played in Italy’s Serie A.[28] Hungary, long since used to having overseas internationals, still had veterans of the 1954 squad – Gyula Grosics in goal, and Ferenc Purczeld and Sándor Kocsis in attack, both of whom played in Spain, but were largely built around the skills of 20-year-old Ferencvaros striker Flórián Albert and the explosive centre-forward Lajos Tichy. Chile were a largely workmanlike side built around the skills of Leonel Sánchez, while Bulgaria, despite surprising Yugoslavia in qualifying, had a generally poor record at international level.
The opening round of matches saw Hungary extend their unbeaten record against the English, though in contrast to the seismic defeats of 1953, it wasn’t a humiliation. England, with Johnny Haynes as the main playmaker and Duncan Edwards operating as a more defensive midfielder, initially controlled the opening minutes of the game but failed to score. Their profligacy, with Greaves in particular, guilty of missing two gilt-edge chances was punished – Tichy, skipping a tackle from Mark Jones, glided past Fred Moore and blasted the ball past Eddie Hopkinson in the England goal.[29] Hungary doubled their lead at the start of the second half, as Purczeld, on as a substitute, ghosted through the midfield and played a through ball for Albert to slot home. England would claw one back through Bobby Robson, but Hungary would hold on for the win.
In the other game, Chile won a scrappy, and often physical match 1-0 against debutantes Bulgaria, with Leonel Sánchez scoring the Chilean goal in the first ten minutes, the game became stop-start due to a number of cynical fouls and dirty tackles, including a near leg-breaker from Carlos Contreras on Ivan Kolev. The game, as reported on by Frank Swift in the Daily Mirror, was “emblematic of the unpleasantness that this tournament has sunk too – football less as sport or endeavour and more as a war with no purpose other than brutality.” The result, nevertheless, marked Chile’s first win since 1930 in the tournament, and was celebrated in Santiago.
The second round of matches saw England held to a 0-0 draw by Chile, in a game described by Hugh McIlvanney, in The Observer, as representing a radical new tactical approach in the sense that neither side showed any inclination to attack. England’s one chance, from substitute Jimmy Greaves, was well saved by Misael Escuti in the Chilean goal. The fact that Eddie Hopkinson’s goalkeeping kit had no blemishes on it, was as stated by McIlvanney, representative of Chile’s efforts. Hungary and Bulgaria, also played out a draw, though this at least had goals – all of them scored by the youngest players on the park. Flórián Albert, leading the line as a sole striker scored twice in the first half to put Hungary 2-0 up and cruising to a seemingly routine victory. Bulgaria, who’s squad mixed experience with youth saw two young substitutes combine to score both goals – Georgi Sokolov and Georgi Asparuhov, both of whom were nineteen. Their goals ensured that Bulgaria secured their first ever world cup point, as well as notice from clubs in Germany – indeed, if reports are to be believed, intransigence on the part of Bulgaria’s communist regime scuppered a proposed move for both to move to the Bundesliga.
The final round of fixtures, saw England and Hungary both win – the English, eventually finding their rhythm to see off the Bulgarians 3-1, with Bobby Charlton, Greaves and Duncan Edwards all scoring their first world cup goals in the process. Bulgaria, although finishing bottom of the group, at least returned home with a degree of pride, having not been truly outclassed in any of their games. The same could not be said for Chile, who found themselves on the end of a 6-1 thrashing at the hands of Hungary, with a hat-trick from Albert and goals from Tichy and substitute Purczeld.[30] Chile, who’s physical play had unsettled the Bulgarians and had frustrated England, came unstuck against Hungary, who simply passed round them – Chile’s approach would be replicated (and taken to logical extremes as matches in the Intercontinental Cup would demonstrate) across the decade.
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Points |
1 | Hungary | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 4 | +6 | 5 |
2 | England | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 3 |
3 | Chile | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | -4 | 3 |
4 | Bulgaria | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | -3 | 1 |
9 June Hungary 2-1 England
10 June Chile 1-0 Bulgaria
12 June Bulgaria 2-2 Hungary
13 June England 0-0 Chile
15 June Hungary 6-1 Chile
16 June England 3-1 Bulgaria
Group 4
Group 4 paired two debutantes in Wales and Morocco (Africa’s first representative in eight years) with the world champions Brazil and the side they defeated in 1958, France. Wales, largely composed of players playing across the English football league system, with star man John Charles playing in Italy for Roma, were a well-organised side built around a strong defence and were on a good run of form going into the tournament. Brazil, possessed huge talent with the star players of 1958 still in situ, as well as new stars such as Antônio Wilson and Amarildo Tavares, were expected to win the group, while the French, who had finished third at the inaugural European Nations Cup in 1960 still possessed a strong side. Only Morocco, represented unknowns, though they had several players at French clubs.
The opening matches saw one expected result and one shock. Brazil, playing Wales in front of a capacity crowd in Dortmund eased to a 2-0 win over Wales, though they were made to work for it, with the aging Welsh defence (led superbly by the thirty-four-year-old Cardiff City man Dave Bowen) shutting down Brazil’s wave of attacks. Jack Kelsey, the veteran Welsh goalkeeper, also had a blinder, and was unlucky with both goals – a deflection from Stuart Williams leaving him no chance with the first, and the second from Vavá in a debatably offside position.
The other match, pairing Morocco with former colonial masters France saw a shock. Played in Cologne, the game began with France taking an early lead, as Maryan Wisniewski raced onto a Raymond Kopaszewski through ball to smash home past Allal Benkassou in the Moroccan goal. Most observers, if Brian Glanville’s account of the press box is to be believed expected France to cruise home. And yet they didn’t – Morocco’s captain, the former French international and Montpellier captain Abderrahmane Mahjoub kept Just Fontaine quiet the entire game, and their confidence growing, Morocco began to pressure their more illustrious opponents. The pressure told, as a mistake from Georges Lamia in the French goal, saw Driss Bamous equalise, and it took a superb intervention from veteran Robert Jonquet to prevent Abdelkader Moukhtatif adding a second. The second would come though – Lamia, making an absolute hash of a cross (there were claims that he may have been unsighted) palmed the ball straight into the path of Mohamed Lamari to secure Morocco’s win. The result was greeted with jubilation in Rabat and in France by the Moroccan community, while Morocco’s triumph was viewed as a breakthrough for football in Africa.[31]
In the second round of fixtures, France recovered from the shock of Cologne to beat the Welsh 1-0, with Raymond Kopaszewski netting the winner, with a fantastic finish, catching a high ball on his chest, skipping past the challenger of Roy Vernon and lobbing Kelsey from twenty yards. Wales, again played well, but lacked cutting edge, though John Charles narrowly missed a chance to level the scores. In the other game, Brazil overcame stubborn Moroccan resistance to win 1-0 with Dico, who had missed the first game due to a minor injury, coming off the bench to net the winner in the 70th minute. Morocco, again had impressed, with Brazilian playmaker Waldyr Pareira later proclaiming them the side he had found most difficult to play against.[32]
The final round of games saw Brazil beat France 3-1, with Mané Garrincha unplayable on the right of Brazil’s fluid attacking trident.[33] Fontaine, who had struggled in the first two games, did at least claw back a goal for France, but the French never looked likely to come back into the game, as Brazil’s yellow and green shirted waves broke them down.[34] The other game saw Morocco, perhaps exhausted by their exploits against France and Brazil, fall to a surprisingly meek defeat to the Welsh, who scored through John Charles and Ivor Allchurch, though Moroccan captain Abderrahmane Mahjoub managed to steal a consolation at the end from a header. Despite the defeat, Morocco went through in second on goal difference, becoming the first side to qualify for the knockouts despite losing two games, as well as the first African side to reach the knockout rounds.
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Points |
1 | Brazil | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | +5 | 6 |
2 | Morocco | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | -1 | 2 |
3 | Wales | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | -2 | 2 |
4 | France | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | -3 | 2 |
9 June Brazil 2-0 Wales
10 June France 1-2 Morocco
12 June Bazil 1-0 Morocco
13 June Wales 0-1 France
15 June France 1-3 Brazil
16 June Morocco 1-2 Wales
Quarter finals
The quarter finals were drawn on June 17, following the conclusion of the group stage. The hosts Germany were paired with Argentina, while the Soviets faced Czechoslovakia, holders Brazil faced England for the third time at the finals (coincidentally all knockout games), while Hungary faced underdogs Morocco.
The first quarter-final, played between Germany and Argentina in front of a capacity crowd in Munich, was a better contest than expected, neither side having lit up the group stages. Germany, a direct hard-running side, were not intimidated by Argentina’s physical tactics, and were in control for most of the game. Their first goal, like several at the tournament, came from a goalkeeping error – Antonio Roma misjudged Albert Brülls’s freekick and was surprised at his near post.[35] While Antonio Rattín, a surprise pick in midfield, would equalise, Germany didn’t falter and sealed the win through Helmut Haller. The victory, propelling Germany through to a third semi-final, was greeted with delirium in the stands, and in the press. Argentina, a measure of pride restored from the debacle of 1958, returned home.
If a goalkeeping error had gifted Germany’s opener, two superb goalkeeping performances defined the tie between the Soviets and Czechoslovakia in Gelsenkirchen. Lev Yashin, in indifferent form during the group stages, made a string of superb saves, as the Czechoslovaks began brightly, with Josef Masopust almost unplayable in the middle of the pitch. The game turned however on a decision from Soviet manager Gavril Kachalin, who substituted striker Aleksei Mamykin for midfielder Yozhef Sabo (making his international debut) and had Sabo operate as a man-marker much higher up the pitch.[36] The ploy worked, as an unsettled Czechoslovakia increasingly ceded possession, and were largely kept in the game thanks to a brilliant performance from Viliam Schrojf in goal. Igor Chislenko, would settle the game in extra time, running onto a pass after Sabo had dispossessed Masopust and driving the ball home.
Brazil and England faced each other in Hamburg, in a game that was expected to be of high quality. England, who had never beaten Brazil at the tournament, began brightly and took the lead through a highly unlikely source, as Roger Byrne scored his first and only international goal after bundling home at the near post from a Johnny Haynes cross.[37] Brazil, despite the setback, grew into the game and equalised through Garrincha (their vanquisher in 1958) who’s unpredictable play again tormented the English defence. Dico, added a second on the hour, before the game was sealed by Vavá who thundered home a volley to leave Eddie Hopkinson no chance. Brazil were again through to the semi-finals, and England were again out.
The final match paired Hungary with surprises Morocco, though this time there was unfortunately no surprise to be found, as the Hungarians quality eventually told. The game was perhaps unfortunately over as a contest by the half hour, by which time Morocco had suffered two mishaps; their inspirational captain Abderrahmane Mahjoub had to go off injured following a clash of heads with Kálmán Mészöly (who also had to be substituted), while their goalkeeper Allal Benkassou was injured following a clash with Lajos Tichy as he attempted to claim the ball at the striker’s feet. Benkassou’s replacement, Ahmed Lahgrissi conceded the resulting penalty, and could do nothing with the second as Gyula Rákosi scored a wonderful free-kick to take the tie beyond the North African’s reach. Despite the defeat, Morocco returned home to a heroes welcome, as well as leaving a trailblazing memory on the finals – their success paving the way for a FIFA rule change on continental qualification.[38]
Results
19 June Germany 2-1 Argentina
19 June Czechoslovakia 0-1 Soviet Union
19 June Brazil 3-1 England
19 June Hungary 2-0 Morocco
Semi-finals
The semi-finals paired hosts Germany with holders Brazil and the Soviets with the Hungarians, all of which were expected to be competitive games, though most expected Brazil to win through, and likely lift the trophy in Berlin.
The first semi-final was then a shock as Germany pulled off a counterattacking game plan to steal victory from the Brazilians. Germany, probably the fittest team at the tournament, absorbed endless Brazilian pressure, with Bernd Trautmann pulling off a superb double save to deny both Dico and Mário Lobo on the stroke of half-time. This would be as close as Brazil got, as Germany using a five-man defence and four man midfield, with Seeler as a lone striker, absorbed Brazil’s wave of pressure, before their superior fitness began to show in the second half.[39] Germany’s winner, the only goal in the game, came from left-back Karl-Heinz Schnellinger, who after winning the ball from Garrincha, broke forward, outpaced the tiring Djalma Santos and hit a first time cross perfectly for Seeler to tap home beyond the reach of Gilberto. Brazil were out and Germany were through, and expectation suddenly emerged in the bright Dresden sunshine.
In Hamburg, the Soviets proved too strong for Hungary, as the Hungarians finally bade (at the World Cup at least) farewell to the remaining members of the aranycsapat. The game itself, was not a classic as poor weather (the game being played in midst of one of the city’s many wet days) hampered both teams’ games. The Soviets, perhaps aided by having a younger side, scored in both halves, with Eduard Streltsov netting both goals – the match being a sad farewell for the largely anonymous Purczeld.
In the third place playoff, Brazil secured a 1-0 win over Hungary thanks to a Waldyr Pareira freekick – the game was his last for Brazil, as well as the last for Nilton Santos, while Sándor Kocsis and Gyula Grosics both played their final internationals for Hungary, giving the game something of a testimonial feel.
Results
22 June Germany 1-0 Brazil
22 June Hungary 0-2 Soviet Union
Third Place Playoff
24 June Brazil 1-0 Hungary
Final
As in 1958, 1962 would see a new champion. Germany, playing in their first final since 1938 (when they had also hosted) faced a Soviet side who were playing in the final for the first time. 1962 was the first time since 1938 itself that an all-European clash had been held, and while the Germans had shocked Brazil, their generally functional style of play had won them few friends.[40] The Soviets, were more expansive than the Germans, but also unpredictable, and the clash was expected to be reasonably even.
The game, a re-run of their group stage match, was played at the Olympiastadion, to a full house, with, in perhaps an eery reminder of the 1938 tournament, a German military band performing the anthems of both sides.[41] The game itself, began cautiously, with the Germans (having returned to a back four) looking increasingly nervous in the first half – indeed if wasn’t for a superb save from Trautmann to deny Valentin Ivanov, they might well have folded in the face of Soviet pressure. Gradually, though they grew into the game, and they were aided by an uncharacteristically error prone performance from Yashin, who had endured an inconsistent tournament.
His mistake in the 39th minute allowed Schnellinger to tap home for his only international goal, following a mix-up between Anatoli Maslyonkin and Leonid Ovstrovski – Yashin, perhaps anticipating a cross from the German left-back was left his near post unguarded and could only watch as the ball trickled past him. Despite the setback, the Soviets attacked again, with Streltsov hitting the bar from a corner just before half-time. It would be Germany’s second that killed the game as a contest however, as Willi Schulz won the ball back in his own half, hit a long pass to Hans Schäfer who centred the ball for substitute Peter Ducke to divert past Yashin, who had initially come out to collect the cross and was left stranded.[42] With only five minutes left, the Soviets wilted and Germany passed the ball amongst themselves to secure an anticlimactic end to an anticlimactic tournament.
How then do we regard 1962? Certainly in terms of fitness and sports science, it can be argued that it is perhaps the first modern world cup, though the level of violence, brutality, cynicism and foul play it showcased to the world precludes it from being a truly great one. Allegations of doping, political interference in certain nations team selections and weak refereeing also undermined it, though these were not novel things in the history of the world cup itself. Perhaps then it’s best to remember 1962 for two things – Germany’s moment of joy, as a country scarred by two world wars finally emerged from the shadow of history to be remembered for something else, and Morocco’s sheer sense of triumph in defeating France and striking a victory for a continent often patronised, denigrated and viewed as a pawn in international geopolitics. It does say a lot about the overall quality, that no one remembers Germany’s direct, hard running team, but everyone remembers the joy of Brazil. Football, as in life, is seldom fair.
Result
25 June Germany 2-0 Soviet Union
[1] How non-aligned Germany’s foreign policy was during this period is up for debate however – while it maintained trade with the Soviet bloc, generally it aligned with Western interests internationally, and on defence had rebuilt strong relations with the UK, US and France.
[2] This didn’t, with the exception of several works based teams extend to formal ownership, but local sponsorship deals between companies such as Mercedes-Benz and the two local Stuttgart sides were a generally common occurrence, encouraged by the relatively pro-business coalition government of the Christian Democrats and Liberal parties under Chancellor Ernst Lemmer.
[3] Herberger took over from Otto Nerz after the 1938 world cup and remained in charge until 1942, when the national side ceased to play any matches. He was reappointed to the post in 1950.
[4] Koch, who had been one of the key founding figures in the Liberal Democratic Party, was elected President by parliament in 1948 and confirmed again in 1952 and 1956.
[5] Schön had also previously managed the Saarland national side, and was appointed as an assistant coach in 1956.
[6] With the exception of the eastern bloc, which remained officially amateur if de facto professional, and with the exception of Yugoslavia did not generally allow international transfers.
[7] In Europe at least – while highlights were more sophisticated than they had been in previous tournaments, for most fans outside of Europe, radio coverage and the press were still the main ways to follow the tournament. The development and mass expansion of satellite television would however transform the tournament into a televised exercise as much a sporting one.
[8] This arrangement drew protest from both confederations but both were hamstrung by their limited numbers of entrants: Africa had nine, while Asia’s initial eleven were whittled down to seven due to dropouts.
[9] While not fully independent, the self-governing British Caribbean territories had affiliated to the CCCF and FIFA during the late 1950s as part of Britain’s plans to grant independence for the region.
[10] CSF indifference ultimately scuppered the plans, but Mexico would, until the strengthening of the sport in the US and Canda, continue to look southwards for footballing development.
[11] The increasing violence in South American football increasingly mirrored the increasingly violent regimes that came to power across swathes of the continent as South American politics veered between the polarised world of the Cold War.
[12] Who upon gaining independence from Britian as a confederal republic in 1960 had fully affiliated to the UAEF and FIFA.
[13] The record of Italian clubs in Europe during this period is strong, though the strength of the Spanish sides meant they didn’t monopolise competition. However, between 1956 and 1962, A.C Milan won the European Cup twice, while Juventus triumphed over Tottenham in 1962. Fiorentina won the inaugural Cup Winners Cup in 1961 and were runners up in 1962, while Roma won the Federation Cup in 1961. Inter failed to triumph in Europe in this time, but were strong domestically.
[14] The successes of Bill Nicholson’s Tottenham Hotspur in emulating United and doing the double in 1961, as well as their reaching the final of the 1961-62 European Cup saw the England side gradually refreshed, but the core of the 1958 side largely remained intact.
[15] Spain’s streak would be humorously referred to as The Curse of Francis Drake.
[16] Morocco, Tunisia and Libya in Group 1, Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia in Group 2 and Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa in Group 3.
[17] Eddie Firmani, South Africa’s best player during the 1950s and early 1960s would only appear sporadically for the national side following his move to Italy from Charlton Athletic in 1955. Of the overseas players, many of whom played for the South London side, Johanneson and Brian Tocknell would appear the most.
[18] India, Ceylon and Burma all withdrew following disagreements over travel costs, while Indonesia were forced to withdraw as the country sank into political instability.
[19] This paired Australia and New Zealand, Hong Kong and the PRC and Japan and the ROC, the latter of which was a highly politicised tie.
[20] Mahjoub played for France at the 1954 World Cup and was one of the few Arab players to play overseas, playing the majority of his career in France.
[21] As with their earlier compatriots, all of those selected had previously played for their home nations, predominantly Argentina – the loss of several players to overseas clubs and the resultant ban is often cited as a key factor in Argentina’s dismal showing in the 1958 qualifiers.
[22] Trautmann, who had returned to Manchester City from Schalke in 1958 following a dispute with the club management over bonuses, had been a surprise choice to continue in goal with many expecting Borussia Dortmund’s Hans Tilkowski to be first choice.
[23] Ovtrovski, the only Baltic player in the squad (Igor Netto was of Estonian heritage but was born in Leningrad), remains the only Latvian to have played at the World Cup finals.
[24] Ebert, the son of leading social democrat Friedrich Ebert, was often touted as a possible chancellor, due to his role as a party chief in the east, but he instead largely preferred to remain Mayor of Berlin, which he did from 1948-1964. Diederichs, the compromise candidate in the SDP’s leadership election had pulled off a surprise election victory in 1961 over the CDU of Franz-Josef Strauss. The game itself coincided with a series of bilateral meetings over port access rights between the German, Polish and Soviet governments.
[25] 1962 was a tournament of innovations – Addas, who had partnered with the DFB had developed a ball based on a partnership with the Danish company Select had developed the 32-section ball designed by Egil Nielsen, which alternated black and white panels. While still made of leather, though less heavy than its forebears of the decade before, the lightness and pattern were speculated to add velocity to the ball, which made judging the speed of crosses more difficult for goalkeepers. The ball itself became the default symbol of a football and cemented Addas’s reputation as the pre-eminent sportswear and equipment manufacturer, much to the annoyance of rival RuDa.
[26] The coup, in contrast to previous juntas, established a new model of governance, based on the long-standing (if somewhat creaking) model of the Estado Novo in Portugal and the rabidly anti-communist regime of Alfredo Stroessner in neighbouring Paraguay. The rise of dictatorships across the continent, funded by the United States, meant that by the end of the decade only Chile could still be regarded as a democratic state.
[27] These were largely due to a sizeable number of Argentine internationals being signed by Italian clubs for vast sums – due to AFA rules, they were banned from the Argentine national side, thus depriving Argentina of several of its best players. That these players then played for Italy further salted the wound – though while this had bubbled along in the background, the immediate root causes were two extremely violent games between Juventus and Racing Club in a friendly and the two national sides at the 1960 Olympics.
[28] Both would also change clubs after the tournament, with Hitchens moving to Torino and Edwards transferring to A.C. Milan. Jimmy Greaves, who had previously played for A.C. Milan had returned to Chelsea before the World Cup.
[29] Hopkinson, who had been first choice in 1958 remained England’s first-choice at 1962 despite press calls that Sheffield Wednesday’s Ron Springett should be number one.
[30] The goal would be his last at the world cup as well as for Hungary, though he would play his final international in a testimonial match against Spain in 1963.
[31] This reading was controversial at the time however, as many Sub-Saharan nations, several of whom were in the midst of independence struggles, viewed Morocco as an Arab nation first and foremost, as well as one that was too friendly with the former colonial power France. The result, a first win for Africa since Egypt’s in 1930, was nevertheless, still a genuine shock, and moment of joy in a tournament sorely lacking in them.
[32] Though given this quote came from an interview after Pareira had taken over as manager at Wydad Casablanca there may be some playing to the gallery.
[33] Brazil’s formation which had been a loose 4-2-4 in 1958 had morphed into what we would recognise as a broad 4-3-3 or a 4-2-3-1, with Garrincha operating as an out-an-out winger, Dico dropping off Vavá as a second striker and Mário Lobo operating as a midfielder/winger hybrid, a role he had occupied four years earlier.
[34] The third goal and final goal was perhaps the goal of the tournament, as seven quick passes sent Djalma Santos bursting through to set up his namesake Nilton Santos who blasted the ball past the prone Georges Lamia.
[35] Roma was generally well-regarded as a goalkeeper, but his long run in the national side highlighted a lack of options available to successive national managers.
[36] The Soviets were, despite their own innovations with tactical formations (indeed there is an argument that the back-four as we know it was developed by Boris Arkadiev in the 1940s) still largely wedded to a W-M formation, though it was far less rigid than other versions.
[37] Byrne, who was England captain, was known for his phenomenal fitness and had set a record of 41 consecutive internationals for England, which is still unbeaten.
[38] Following the tournament, the FIFA Executive Committee agreed on a vote of 12-5 to give Africa and Asia a sole qualifying spot each.
[39] This should not be understood as a modern day 5-4-1 but something more akin to a refinement of Italy’s luchetto system with a sweeper operating behind a back four, allowing a man to step up into midfield should the need arise, while the four-man midfield consisted of a player operating as an attacking midfielder behind a striker, two more defensive minded players (one with playmaking responsibilities, the other a stopper) and a shuttler.
[40] While defensive, the Germans were generally fair, having the best disciplinary record at the tournament.
[41] Much of the pomp and ceremony of the World Cup, including a formal opening ceremony and presentation of medals to both sides were introduced by the Nazis in 1938, and have, much like the Olympic torch been a fixture at the finals ever since.
[42] Ducke would become the first substitute to score in a world cup final
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Another compelling update. Germany victorious at home in 1962 seems a reasonable outcome. I had hoped England might have performed better than their OTL counterparts. Is the selection committee causing Winterbottom problems at all, or is it now just a vestigial thing, leftover from a bygone time?
Is this 'A' at the end of the paragraph the start of a missing sentence, or just an interloper?
Is this 'A' at the end of the paragraph the start of a missing sentence, or just an interloper?
It seems to me that the most likely hosts for 1966 are going to be Argentina, with Chile an outside possibility. At a World Cup in Argentina, I would expect a South American team to win, probably an Artime-inspired Argentina on home turf or Brazil.
The performance of Morocco in 1962 might make a CAF qualification spot more likely, especially with 16/17 teams (depending on whether Congo-Brazzaville are allowed to enter) competing. That said, I wonder if FIFA still decline an automatic African spot and we get the boycott again.
With England, I wonder whether butterflies mean that Alf Ramsey isn't manager. If not, then Bobby Moore is probably not captain. Jimmy Adamson and Bill Nicholson are the obvious alternative choices. I would expect England to have difficulties performing in South America, so another quarter final exit seems likely.
The performance of Morocco in 1962 might make a CAF qualification spot more likely, especially with 16/17 teams (depending on whether Congo-Brazzaville are allowed to enter) competing. That said, I wonder if FIFA still decline an automatic African spot and we get the boycott again.
With England, I wonder whether butterflies mean that Alf Ramsey isn't manager. If not, then Bobby Moore is probably not captain. Jimmy Adamson and Bill Nicholson are the obvious alternative choices. I would expect England to have difficulties performing in South America, so another quarter final exit seems likely.
morbidteaparty
Putting the moron into oxymoron
- Location
- Westcombe Park
- Pronouns
- he/him
To answer your points - the selection committee is a vestigal thing at this point, with Winterbottom and his coaching staff having greater say. One of the big changes in English (and by extension British) football is the FA making coaching courses an increasingly mandatory condition of being able to coach at the top level (something Europe was doing around the same time.) England are hamstrung in the world cup, by still having a largely conservative approach to the game - Nicholson was an innovator, as was Ramsey, but even with the rest of the world shifting to a four-man system, sides at the top level in England would still play a version of the W-M. England are also hampered by the fact that Winterbottom, for all his innovations in coaching instruction and good work at the FA, just wasn't a particularly good manager - IOTL England lost 6-3 and 7-1 to Hungary having learnt nothing from either game, and were knocked out of the 1962 World Cup by Brazil after sides had cottoned on to the fact that if they silenced Haynes they silenced England.
The A at the end is a typo (now removed!) Regarding you're other points, following Morocco's performances and the very real threat of a boycott from African and Asian sides, FIFA agrees to give both confederations and automatic spot each (it's addressed in a footnote above, but I appreciate this is a very footnote dense work!) I will address world cup hosts in the next update, as FIFA is moving to a system where hosts for multiple world cups (i.e. 1966 & 1970) are determined at the same Congress and Executive Committee meeting.
1966 - Futurism in England's Dreaming
morbidteaparty
Putting the moron into oxymoron
- Location
- Westcombe Park
- Pronouns
- he/him
1966 – England
Host selection and background
The tournament returning to Europe for a consecutive tournament was greeted as a surprise by many, but largely hinged on a series of background confederal dealings at the FIFA Congress in Lausanne during the 1960 Olympics[1]. Not for the first time in football history, backroom dealings secured UAEF hosting rights – with an agreement hinging on a deal between themselves and the CSF that the two confederations would agree to support each other’s candidate for hosting of the 1966 and 1970 World Cups, which marked the first time FIFA initiated host selection for consecutive tournaments. As a result, with the FIFA Executive Committee presented with a fait accompli, England won hosting rights for 1966 and Argentina securing them for 1970, preparations would begin in earnest.
England in some ways were a surprise host – no British government of either Tory or Labour persuasion had expressed huge interest in hosting the tournament, though once England had won the rights to host in 1960, both the Eden and Gaitskell governments were happy to support.[2] Despite being the country which birthed the modern sport of football, and spread its gospel across the world, the Home Nations record at the finals wasn’t particularly awe inspiring – only England had ever made it out of the group stages, and with the exception of 1958, they had gone out in the quarter finals every time they had.
Nevertheless, despite this record, hopes were reasonably high – league football in England and Scotland remained highly competitive, with the league title in both failing to be monopolised by any one side.[3] The Home Nations were all undergoing changes of a sort as well – following England’s lead, the notion of a full-time national manager was no longer seen as an oddity. England, having pioneered this in the British Isles, were the first to change their manager, with Bill Nicholson, who had overseen Tottenham’s successive title wins in 1960 and 1961 (the latter of which was a double), taking over from the long-serving Walter Winterbottom.[4]
Scotland, who had appointed managers for individual tournaments on a part-time basis, appointed former Rangers manager Scot Symon as their first full-time manager in 1960, while Wales appointed former international Ron Burgess to a full-time position in 1962 and Northern Ireland followed by appointing former international Alf McMichael as their first full-time manager in 1963. The increasing shift to a more professional set-up at national level was increasingly reflected across the continent, though in both Central and Eastern Europe such a system had been largely commonplace by the mid-1950s.
England, and by extension Britain, were enjoying something of an economic boom as the Swinging Sixties and the increasing counterculture became more mainstream – if tastes in music and film were changing, so too it seemed was the nation’s football, with players beginning to become increasingly recognised household names, as commercial brands recognised the strength of advertising via the game.[5] If 1958 had signalled football’s shift to increasing modernity and sports science innovation, and 1962 had seen this accelerate, 1966 perhaps marks the first time advertising and branding really began to take off around the tournament.[6] England, like Germany in 1962, was a country undergoing transition – decolonisation was well underway, and while nowhere near as bloody or haphazard as the French or Belgian withdrawals from Africa had been, still saw the British Army deployed overseas, with British military personnel still ensconced in the now nominally independent nations of the Commonwealth.[7] Was Britain looking forward, back to the empire and her ruling the seas, or was she looking forward to the future, as a bright, modern, socially democratic nation? Football can often wither in the face of these questions, but the tournament offered a real chance for the UK to show its face to the world.
1966 retained the same format as the previous tournaments in Mexico and Germany, with four groups of four and three knockout rounds. 1966, like 1962, saw no new venues constructed for the finals, though there were some minor renovations at a few of the grounds, and by 1963 the host cities and venues were decided upon: London (Wembley and Highbury), Birmingham (Villa Park), Liverpool (Goodison Park), Manchester (Old Trafford), Newcastle (St James’s Park), Sheffield (Hillsborough) and Sunderland (Roker Park.)[8] The groups were largely geographically organised with Group 1 hosted in London, Group 2 in Liverpool and Manchester, Group 3 in Newcastle and Sunderland and the final group in Birmingham and Sheffield. For the first time the finals also had a mascot, establishing the trend (for good and ill) of major sporting events being accompanied by a mascot, with 1966’s being the Union Jack wearing World Cup Willie. Finally, the official match ball, was similar in design to that of 1962, and was manufactured in a joint partnership between Slazenger and Addas, the latter becoming the official ball provider from 1970s onwards.
Qualification
Following a series of Executive Committee meetings in the aftermath of the 1962 tournament, FIFA agreed to abolish the playoff between the African and Asian confederations and granted each a sole qualifying spot – Morocco’s performance, in becoming the first African side to reach the knockout stages of the tournament, and the very real threat of an African boycott were largely the main factors in doing so.
England and Germany both qualified automatically, leaving fourteen places to be decided: one each for Africa and Asia, four for the Americas and eight for Europe.[9] European qualification demonstrated what had become a running question in Madrid: were Spain the most cursed national side in Europe? As with 1958 and 1962, they again failed to qualify after being bested by a side from the British Isles, in this case the Irish Republic.[10] Elsewhere, there were no real shocks, with France, Hungary, the Soviets and Italy all qualifying comfortably, while Belgium returned to the finals after failing to qualify for 1962. Northern Ireland, perhaps surprisingly, returned to the finals after besting Switzerland, thanks in part to a strong defence and a mercurial playmaker in Wolverhampton Wanderers George Best, while Portugal qualified for the first time ahead of Czechoslovakia.
In the Americas, Mexico, the perennial North American representative, again qualified for the finals, ahead of Costa Rica and the Netherlands Antilles. In South America, after two tournaments of surprise eliminations, normal service was largely resumed as Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay all comfortably qualified for the finals, though Brazil were surprisingly held to a draw in Quito by minnows Ecuador.[11] All three sides were expected to be competitive at the finals, and all three had the backing of new military regimes as the continent fell to a succession of military or civic-military dictatorships. “Militarised football” a term once associated with the authoritarian states of 1930s Europe was transposed into Latin America, with often brutal results.
Elsewhere, Korea comfortably won qualification from the Asian qualification round, seeing off Australia, Japan and Syria in the final round.[12] If Asian qualification was remarkably straightforward, with Korea winning four and drawing two of their games (both against Australia), Africa saw a real contest. With seventeen entrants, a reflection of the continent’s growing decolonisation, and as an increasingly competitive African Cup showed, football in Africa was beginning to take off. The sides were divided into two groups of four, and three groups of three, with the five group winners advancing to a final round, from which the winner would qualify for the 1966 tournament.[13]
The groups threw up few surprises, with Ghana, South Africa, Tunisia, Morocco and Egypt qualifying from their respective groups for the final round.[14] The final round itself however was different – South Africa, despite having seen several of their key players retire, were still a strong side and had a strong strike-force built around the veteran Eddie Firmani and youngster Kaizer Motaung, while Ghana were continental champions and the North African sides were all fiercely competitive. The final round, however, did see surprises, as the two Sub-Saharan sides emerged as the frontrunners, as Morocco surprisingly faltered, while Egypt and Tunisia (who had lost to Ghana in the 1965 African Cup final) both faded after bright starts, leaving it as a straight knockout between Ghana and the South Africans. The two sides were in some ways mirror nations: Ghana, under the leadership of Kwame Nkrumah had become the first of Britain’s Black African colonies to gain independence, and was committed to a pan-African identity, while South Africa had been self-governing since 1910 and was in the midst of a long, gradual (and often stuttering) transition from minority rule to something resembling a multiracial democracy.[15]
The first match in Accra ended in a 2-2 draw, as veteran strike Steve Mokone[16] coming on as a substitute to equalise after a mistake from Arthur Lightening in the South African goal had allowed Frank Odoi to put Ghana in front. The return, held in Johannesburg, also ended up in a draw, leaving both sides level on points at the top of the group.[17] As a result, following negotiations between the two FAs and agreed at the General Congress of the AFC/CAF, a playoff would be held in Léopoldville, the capital of the Congo Federation.[18] The playoff, played in front of a capacity crowd, was a tight affair with very few chances, and looked to be heading to extra time, before a late goal from Osei Kofi settled the tie, sending Ghana through to the finals as the first Sub-Saharan African side to make the finals.[19]
Participating nations
Group 1: England, Uruguay, Belgium, Irish Republic
Group 2: Italy, Hungary, Mexico, France
Group 3: Germany, Brazil, Portugal, Korea
Group 4: Argentina, Soviet Union, Northern Ireland, Ghana
Tournament summary
Group 1
The opening game between England and Uruguay, held at Wembley, saw a capacity crowd[20] witness a 1-1 draw, as Uruguay’s Héctor Silva cancelled out Bobby Charlton’s piledriver of an opener. The game was not a classic, as Uruguay’s defensive tactics stifled any English invention, and it took Charlton’s goal to enliven the contest, before an error from Duncan Edwards allowed Silva to score.[21] In the other opening game, Belgium and Ireland[22] also played out a draw, with Ireland’s Manchester-born right-back Shay Brennan scoring his only international goal, following a sumptuous pass from Johnny Giles, cancelling out Paul van Himst’s opener for Belgium, leaving all sides equal on points and goals after the first round.
In the second round of games, Uruguay eased to a 1-0 victory over Belgium, thanks to a late goal from Pedro Rocha, in a game which had few clear-cut chances. The game, played at Highbury, was marred by a horrific injury suffered by young Belgian substitute Wilfried van Moer following an accidental collision with Néstor Gonçalves, which resulted in van Moer suffering a broken leg.[23] In the other game, England comfortably saw off Ireland 3-1, with goals from Roger Hunt, Jimmy Greaves and substitute Martin Peters seeing off a spirited Irish side. Ireland took a surprise lead through Blackburn Rovers midfielder Andy McEvoy, who capitalised on a mistake from England right-back Jimmy Armfield and fired first-time past an unsighted Gordon Banks in the England goal.[24] England were denied a gloss to the finish, thanks to a superb save from Pat Dunne to deny Maurice Norman, tipping Norman’s thunderbolt of a header onto the bar, which drew applause from the Wembley crowd.[25]
In the final round of fixtures, Ireland and Uruguay played out a 0-0 draw, the most notable feature of which was Uruguayan goalkeeper Ladislao Mazurkiewicz saving Ireland captain Noel Cantwell’s penalty. The game itself, was devoid of much in the way of action, though Uruguay were unlucky not to steal it in the final minutes, when Rocha somehow smashed wide after being sent clean through following a mistake from Sunderland’s Charlie Hurley. The draw, coupled with England’s win over Belgium saw Uruguay through in second, though the Irish departed with a sense of pride.
England’s final game against Belgium, a routine 2-0 victory which is most notable for Nicholson settling on the starting eleven that would be deployed throughout the rest of the tournament. Nicholson, who had pioneered the 4-4-2 formation in his successful period at Tottenham Hotspur, deployed a lopsided version of it with England, which resembled a 4-1-3-2 or 4-1-4-1, with captain Edwards sitting deep[26] and Bobby Charlton, Alan Ball and Martin Peters pushing ahead of him.[27] England’s defence meanwhile, paired technical ball-playing ability with wily experience in the Tottenham pairing of Fred Moore and Maurice Norman, while Everton’s Ray Wilson had replaced long-serving Roger Byrne at left-back after the 1962 finals. The game against Belgium, was a comfortable victory, with goals from Roger Hunt in both halves settled the tie as a contest, to see England through to the quarter-finals unbeaten and top of the group.
Results
11 June England 1-1 Uruguay
12 June Belgium 1-1 Ireland
14 June Uruguay 1-0 Belgium
15 June Ireland 1-3 England
17 June Uruguay 0-0 Ireland
18 June England 2-0 Belgium
Group 2
Group 2 was regarded as the most even of the four, pairing three European sides with Mexico. Italy, and France after their poor showings at the 1962 tournament, had refreshed their squads, with Italy abandoning the oriundi of 1962[28] for a wholly homegrown squad built around a strong defence, while France had a youthful squad with only two players over the age of thirty. Hungary, who had finally waved goodbye to the last vestiges of the golden squad in 1962 were reigning European champions, having won the 1964 European Nations Cup, were in strong form heading into the tournament, while Mexico were again seen as makeweights.
The opening round of matches saw the Hungarians thrash Mexico 5-0, with János Farkas and Flórián Albert scoring twice, before Kálmán Mészöly added gloss to the result by scoring a late penalty. Mexico, who had become much more competitive at the World Cup, had veteran Antonio Carbajal (playing in a record setting fifth consecutive tournament) to thank for the score not being higher as he made a string of saves to keep the score down.
In the other match, goals from Italy’s two most creative players, Gianni Rivera and Sandro Mazzola, saw off France, though the French were denied a legitimate equaliser after Néstor Combin was wrongly flagged for offside. The game was also marred by a series of niggly fouls and bad temper between the two sides, as the Italian’s ruthless defence smothered any French attacks, through fair means or foul. France were forced to play the final fifteen minutes with ten men after Jacques Simon reacted badly to a late tackle from Italian captain Sandro Salvadore, and a brawl broke out between the two. The decision of the Swiss referee Gottfried Dienst to only send off Simon, was also badly reacted to by the French coaching staff, and at the final whistle very strong words were exchanged between Henri Guérin and Dienst, resulting in the French manager being escorted off by police.
The second round of matches avoided such controversy, as Italy and Hungary played out a stultifyingly dull 0-0 draw, with neither side able to secure a decisive blow. Hungary, who had been so vibrant against the Mexicans found space at a premium, as Italy’s luchetto system strangled any creativity at source. Nevertheless, there was at least chances for both sides to win, with Enrico Albertosi saving well from a Bene freekick, and Antal Szentmihályi twice denying Rivera in quick succession. France eased to a 2-1 victory over Mexico, with goals from Combin and Lucien Muller cancelling out an earlier strike from Salvador Reyes, who became the first Mexican to score in three consecutive World Cups. The game itself had an openness missing from the other contests, as both sides played attacking football, but the quality of finishing often left something to be desired.
The final round of matches saw Italy secure a 2-0 win over Mexico to qualify for the knockout stage for the first time since 1950, as Ezio Pascutti and Paolo Barison scored in the last twenty minutes to put the game beyond Mexico, who had looked likely to pull a surprise draw. The other match, between Hungary and France was decided on a highly controversial decision by Brazilian referee Armando Marques to award a goal to Hungary which hadn’t crossed the line (instead hitting the underside of the bar and landing just on the goal-line itself) while also only booking Hungarian captain Ferenc Sipos for a scything challenge on Gérard Hausser. Despite the controversy, and a late goal from Combin, Hungary held on to win 2-1 and thus qualify as top of the group.
Results
11 June Hungary 5-0 Mexico
12 June Italy 2-1 France
14 June Italy 0-0 Hungary
15 June France 2-1 Mexico
17 June Mexico 0-2 Italy
18 June Hungary 2-1 France
Group 3
Groups of death had become sporadic features of World Cups, but Group 3 proved a real humdinger, with the reigning champions paired with the side they had dethroned, a debutante side built around a strong club core, and a competitive Asian side facing off against each other.
The opening round of fixtures saw Brazil ease to a 2-0 win over a spirited Korea, with goals from Dico and Mané Garrincha sealing the win, though Brazil were made to work hard for their victory, with Korean captain Pak Doo-ik (the first northerner to captain the Korean side) coming close to scoring a late consolation, being denied by the woodwork. Korea’s well organised approach under Soviet coach Georgy Glazkov frustrated the Brazilians, with Jair Ventura lucky not to be dismissed for a petulant trip on Korean substitute Lee Yi-woo.
In the other opening match, Germany and Portugal played out a classic, with both sides, taking, losing and retaking the lead before 1860 Munich midfielder Anton Beckenbauer decided the game in the 90th minute, with a beautifully taken header from substitute Jürgen Grabowski beautifully floating free kick.[29] The game was end to end, with Portugal twice taking the lead though Eusébio da Silva and José Torres before being pegged back by goals from Uwe Seeler and Lothar Emmerich, and was easily contender for game of the round.
From beauty to brutality: the second round of games saw Brazil taken apart physically by Portugal, who’s robust play pretty much kicked the Brazilians out of the game, in a game defined as much by controversy as the result, which Portugal won 4-2. The game, which saw several bad tackles go unpunished by the English referee George McCabe, including a notable failure to send off (or even book) João Morais for a brutal foul on Dico, who was substituted soon afterwards. Portugal, despite the brutality, did still possess players of real skill, and scored twice in the first half as a shell-shocked Brazil increasingly fell apart.[30] The one bright spot was the performance of Gérson Nunes who’s passing ability largely kept the Brazilians in the game, with Garrincha (otherwise a sad shadow of himself in the tournament) reducing the deficit at half time. The second half saw Mário Coluna and Eusébio da Silva seal the win, before a late consolation from Wálter Machado restored a measure of pride for Brazil. Nevertheless, this was a result as shocking to the Brazilian psyche as o fantasma had been in 1950 and one which would see a shift in the country’s footballing mindset.
Meanwhile Germany were surprisingly held to a draw by Korea, with Huh Yoon-jung cancelling out Helmut Haller’s opener in the 88th minute. The game, played at Sunderland’s Roker Park saw the local crowd largely cheer on the Korean efforts as they put together one of the great backs to the wall defensive efforts in the world cup’s long and storied history. Nineteen year-old Korean goalkeeper Li Chan-myung, who had been a late replacement for veteran Ham Heung-chul, made a string of excellent saves throughout the game, as Germany took the lead following a defensive mix-up from a long Horst-Dieter Höttges throw. Despite the setback, the Koreans remained unawed by the occasion and the diligent work of Pak Seung-zin and Lee Woo-bong in midfield largely nullified Germany’s passing game. Korea’s equaliser would come through excellent work by Pak Doo-ik to win the ball from Wolfgang Overath in the middle of the park, as he burst through the German defence and played a delicate pass into the path of Huh Yoon-jung who smashed the ball past Hans Tilkowski. A few minutes later, the final whistle was blown and the Koreans collapsed onto their haunches with the crowd cheering them of the pitch.
The final round of fixtures saw Germany recover from the shock draw against Korea to defeat a demoralised Brazil 3-1, with the Brazilians barely in the contest after goals from Werner Krämer, Lothar Emmerich and Wolfgang Weber put them 3-0 up by the hour. Brazil, a sad shadow of the superb sides which had lit up Mexico and Germany, managed to grab a consolation through Djalma Santos (playing his 100th and last game for Brazil) but the defining image of the game remains the pictures of Dico watching from the substitutes bench with a barely contained grimace. Brazil’s era of purely expressive football (at least internationally) was over – but in the brutality of Europe it would be reborn.[31]
Portugal and Korea meanwhile played out an entertaining game at Hillsborough, with the Koreans twice taking a surprise lead before a hat-trick from Eusébio da Silva and a goal from winger José Augusto sealed the Portuguese victory. In contrast to their physicality against Brazil, the Portuguese returned to their fast, passing game, which incorporated a certain directness into their approach.[32] The game was played at a frenetic pace, with Brian Glanville describing it as being similar to an FA Cup tie between first and third division sides (though he pointedly didn’t clarify who was who.) The win sent Portugal through in second behind Germany, while Korea returned home with a vast amount of pride and a lot of new friends in the north-east of England.
Results
11 June Brazil 2-0 Korea
12 June Germany 3-2 Portugal
14 June Brazil 2-4 Portugal
15 June Korea 1-1 Germany
17 June Germany 3-1 Brazil
18 June Portugal 4-2 Brazil
Group 4
Group 4 paired Argentina and the Soviet Union with Northern Ireland and debutantes Ghana, the first Sub-Saharan African side to qualify for the finals. Argentina, who had played in one of the most notoriously violent games in world cup history four years earlier, were a physically imposing side with a propensity for violence.[33] The Soviets, playing “socialist football” were a technically neat team, and still had several veterans of the 1962 silver medal side in their squad. Northern Ireland, returning to the finals after failing to qualify in 1962, were built around an English Football League core, while Ghana had won the Africa Cup back-to-back (1963 & 1965) to leave the group well poised.
The opening round of matches saw the Soviets ease to a 4-1 victory over Ghana, who’s coach Charles Gyamfi, a former international who had played in Germany, became the first Black African coach at a World Cup. The game itself was even in the first half as Osei Kofi cancelled out Anatoliy Banishevskiy’s opener for the Soviets. In the second half, the Soviets superior fitness began to tell and goals from Eduard Malofeyev and substitute Eduard Streltsov sealed the victory. Much like the Koreans in Merseyside however, the Ghanaians had been taken to by the Villa Park faithful and were greeted with cheers upon leaving the field.
The other opening match, played at Hillsborough between Argentina and Northern Ireland was a spiky affair, which saw George Best targeted for intimidatory tackling from kick-off, while a stray elbow from Rafael Albrecht broke the nose of Alec Dougan, resulting in Albrecht’s expulsion by the German referee Rudi Kreitlein – Dougan was replaced by the veteran Jimmy McIlroy. The game was halted for several minutes due to Albrecht’s refusal to leave the field, until the intervention of Argentine captain Antonio Rattín saw him leave the pitch.[34] Northern Ireland’s captain, Hibernian’s Jackie Blanchflower opened the scoring from a corner, though there were strong protests from Argentina that Martin Harvey had blocked off Antonio Roma, giving him no chance to claim the ball. The protests were waved away, but it set the tone for another match of cynical tactics and hard tackling. Argentina, for all their recourse to violence, still possessed players of exceptional technical ability, and River Plate’s Ermindo Onega scored a superb goal to equalise, skipping through two challenges and deftly chipping the onrushing Jennings. Best, despite the harsh treatment he was receiving, was on mercurial form and only a series of saves from Antonio Roma prevented him adding to the lead. Northern Ireland’s failure to capitalise on these chances would be punished in cruel fashion, as a loose shot from substitute Alfredo Rojas took a wicked deflection off Billy Neill’s boot and careened over the despairing Jennings to settle the game.
Argentina then faced the Soviets in Birmingham, with Argentina’s rough play against Northern Ireland resulting in a rare instance of a Soviet side being heartily applauded by a British crowd.[35] The game, was a better spectacle than expected, with the Argentines playing a fast, passing game in contrast to the Soviets technical precision.[36] The Soviets were indebted to their veteran goalkeeper Lev Yashin, who having put behind him the inconsistencies of 1962, was on imperious form throughout the tournament, and made two stupendous saves to deny both Antonio Rattín and Silvio Marzolini.[37] Argentina’s often brute physicality often overshadowed just how talented their side was – Rattín in particular had claim to be one of the world’s best midfielders, while their attack combined finesse with improvisation and speed. The Soviets, however, were a match for it – Yozhef Sabo, deployed as an advanced ball-winner to such effect in 1962 – opened the scoring, while Slava Metreveli made it two on the hour. Argentina did not wilt however and got back into the game following a mistake from the usually unflappable Albert Shesternyov, which allowed Oscar Más to slide home from a corner. Rattín, who was carrying a slight injury, scored the equaliser, brushing past Leonid Ostrovski to place the ball past an unsighted Yashin.
Northern Ireland and Ghana played out an entertaining game at Hillsborough, with Cecil Jones Attuquayefio nearly sealing a superb comeback, only to be denied by Pat Jennings.[38] Northern Ireland, perhaps smarting from the rough game against Argentina, started strongly, with George Best setting up the first goal for Jimmy Nicholson and then, scoring one of the great individual goals in World Cup history. Receiving the ball inside his own half, he sped past two attempted challenges, sent defender Willie Evans the wrong way with a feint, skipped past another challenge and drove the ball past Robert Mensah. [39] That Ghana came out fighting in the second half is a testament to their competitiveness as Cecil Jones Attuquayefio and Osei Kofi tore the Northern Irish defence to shreds in the second half, with Kofi’s technical ability and tendency to drift, leaving his marker Alex Elder no chance, and it was only a fine performance from Jennings and a tactical tweak by manager Alf McMichael which kept Northern Ireland in the game.[40] Ghana did claw a goal back through Attuquayefio, and were indebted to Jennings for preventing him from snatching a late equaliser, as the Northern Irish hung on for their first win at a World Cup.
The final round of fixtures saw Argentina ease to a 2-1 victory over the Ghanaians, who opened the scoring through Ibrahim Sunday, who would later become the first African player in the German Bundesliga. Argentina, provided too strong however, and scored either side of half-time, with Luis Artime netting both, with the game petering out as a contest. Nevertheless, much like the Koreans, the Ghanaians could return home with pride – they hadn’t been outclassed, and indeed the performances of their squad saw interest in several from sides in Europe and the Americas.[41] The Soviets meanwhile, brushed aside Northern Ireland 2-0, with Galimzyan Khusainov and Eduard Streltsov scoring both goals, as the Soviets played a largely second-string side. The result saw the Soviets top the group ahead of Argentina on goal difference, to set up a quarter final with Portugal, while Argentina faced Germany.
Results
11 June Soviet Union 4-1 Ghana
12 June Argentina 2-1 Northern Ireland
14 June Soviet Union 2-2 Argentina
15 June Northern Ireland 2-1 Ghana
17 June Ghana 1-2 Argentina
18 June Northern Ireland 0-2 Soviet Union
Quarterfinals
The draw for the quarterfinals was held on June 19, following the conclusion of the group stages. England were paired with Italy, the two sides meeting for the first time at the World Cup, while Hungary and Uruguay faced a replay of the 1954 semi-final. Holders Germany were drawn with Argentina, while the Portuguese faced the Soviets.
England’s match with Italy, played at Highbury due to issues with Wembley’s pitch, was high on drama and low on quality, as England’s patient possession-based game came up against Italy’s blanket defence. England’s manager, Bill Nicholson, recognising the difficulty of breaking through Italy’s defensive wall, and wary of the threat posed by Giacinto Facchetti’s runs from left-back changed his formation, bringing in Johnny Haynes for his first start of the tournament in place of Jimmy Greaves, with Roger Hunt acting as a lone centre-forward with a more advanced Bobby Charlton playing off of him.[42] The match began with England starting brightly, Ball and Cohen combining well on England’s right flank to nullify the threat posed by Fachetti’s forward runs. The game however, became one largely decided in midfield as England found themselves unable to break through Italy’s defensive line, and Italy were unable to mount attacking forays as easily due to the man-marking of Fachetti, and isolation of Mazzola and Rivera.[43] The game would largely turn on one incident, as Romano Fogli, starting in place of the injured Giacomo Bulgarelli was dismissed for a late tackle on Edwards. Italy’s manager, Edmondo Fabbri reacted by substituting Rivera for the defensive midfielder Giovanni Lodetti, and Italy’s attacking threat all but dissipated, with Peters scoring a late winner to send Italy out and cost Fabbri his job.
Hungary and Uruguay played out an equally close match at Hillsborough, with the Uruguayans eventually triumphing with a hard-fought 2-1 win. The first half was a drab affair, with neither side offering much in the way of a goal threat, though Domingo Pérez went close from a free-kick. The second half however, was a different story – Hungary opened the scoring through János Farkas, and with half-an-hour left appeared to be cruising to victory. Uruguay, perhaps tapping into the spirit of 1950, threw off their shackles and began to chase an equaliser, with their directness unsettling the Hungarian defence. Uruguay’s equaliser came from a mistake by goalkeeper József Gelei, who’s fumbling of a corner allowed Uruguay captain Horacio Troche to bundle home for his only international goal, before Pedro Rocha stole home to break Hungarian hearts and send Uruguay through to the semi-finals.
The third quarterfinal, played at Old Trafford, is rightly regarded as one of the worst in tournament history, with nearly 120 minutes of sterile, goalless football before German substitute Horst Szymaniak’s deflected free-kick settled the tie, though Argentina had been denied a seemingly legitimate goal by Spanish referee Juan Gardeazábal, adding credence (in Argentine minds at least) to claims that the tournament’s refereeing was biased towards the European sides. Either way, one of the worst knockout games in the tournament’s history would end with Argentina’s exit, with four years to fester on resentments both real and imagined.
The final quarter-final, played at St James’s Park, was the tie of the round, with the sides sharing seven goals in a thriller, with Portugal’s Eusébio da Silva becoming the first man to score four goals in a world cup quarterfinal. The game was end to end, with both sides taking, losing and retaking the lead before Eusébio da Silva’s final goal sealed the victory for the Portuguese. Both sides were applauded off the pitch, as Portugal made the semi-finals for the first time.
Results
25 June England 1-0 Italy
25 June Hungary 1-2 Uruguay
25 June Germany 1-0 Argentina
25 June Soviet Union 3-4 Portugal
Semi-finals
The semi-final draw paired England with Uruguay and Germany with Portugal in a repeat of the group-stage. England, hosted Uruguay at Wembley, which would also stage the final, while Germany and Portugal faced each other at Villa Park.
England, aware of Uruguay’s tactics from their draw in the group stages, decided to go for an attacking strategy, with Jimmy Greaves returning to the starting line-up in place of Johnny Haynes who dropped to the bench, while Bobby Charlton was given greater licence to get forward, playing in essence as an attacking midfielder. The game was a tight one, but England, who under Nicholson had become much more tactically flexible, were largely in control with Gordon Banks barely tested. Uruguay were undermined by an injury suffered by Pedro Rocha, and following his withdrawal went into their shells – two goals from Bobby Charlton comfortably sealed victory.
Germany and Portugal was also a tight game, with Beckenbauer’s opener cancelled out by António Simões to leave both sides evenly poised at half-time. In the second-half Germany had a legitimate goal ruled out for offside by the Soviet linesman Tofiq Bahramov.[44] Portugal capitalised through José Torres, who scored the winner in the 89th minute to send the Portuguese through to the final.
The third place playoff, played at Wembley, saw Germany win 4-1 as Uruguay wilted after Troche was sent off, though the Uruguayans could return to South America with bragging rights as the highest finishing Latin American side at the finals.
Results
2 July England 2-0 Uruguay
3 July Germany 1-2 Portugal
Third place playoff
8 July Germany 4-1 Uruguay
Final
The final paired hosts England with surprise packages Portugal, who would never reach the same heights again. The game, played in front of a capacity Wembley crowd, was an entertaining one, settled by substitute Geoff Hurst, who became the first substitute to score a winning goal in the World Cup final. Portugal started brightly, unsettling the English defence with their pace, Eusébio da Silva in particular giving the English defence a torrid time. Portugal took the lead through a defensive mix up between Maurice Norman and Gordon Banks in the 20th minute, and came close to doubling their lead on the half hour as Torres narrowly fired over. England, despite falling behind, kept their composure and equalised through Jimmy Greaves, who headed home from Duncan Edwards’s floating cross to leave the scores equal at half-time.
The second half saw Nicholson make a double substitution which would change the match, as he brought on West Ham’s Geoff Hurst for Greaves, who had suffered a nasty blow to the ankle in a tussle for the ball with José Carlos, while also bringing on Haynes for a tiring Peters, shifting Charlton out to the left. The ploy worked, as Haynes’s passing in tandem with Edwards saw England take control of the middle of the pitch, and Charlton’s drifting inside from the left unsettled the Portuguese defence. Indeed, it was Charlton’s shot which led to England’s winner, as his volley hit the crossbar and bounced favourably into the path of Hurst to tap home. The final ten minutes saw England push for a winner, with both Hunt and Moore denied by the post, before the referee blew his whistle to end the game, with England champions for the first time. Edwards received the trophy from King Edward VIII and was lifted across the pitch in one of the great iconic football images (in the British imagination at least.)
How then should 1966 be remembered? England were certainly worthy winners, astutely coached by Bill Nicholson and playing a style of football which would have been alien to the sides of Walter Winterbottom. Portugal, making the world cup final on debut, with a fine side built around the brilliant Benfica team of that era, was also a great story, though their violence against Brazil removed some of the lustre? The efforts of Korea and Ghana, both patronised, both returning home with admirers across England for their courage and ability were also great narratives. And yet this was not a vintage tournament – doping allegations surrounded several sides, notably the Germans, Soviets and Italians, while like its predecessor violent play and weak refereeing devalued the overall contest. For the victors and the losers, there was an innate sense that things would never be so good again.
July 9 England 2-1 Portugal
[1] The collocating with the Olympic hosts was largely due to FIFA’s involvement with the Olympic football tournament – as membership expanded the Executive Committee agreed to host a General Congress to elect tournament hosts in the World Cup host country. As a result, 1974 was decided in London in 1966, and FIFA would alternate between deciding single hosts and consecutive hosts from this point onwards.
[2] How various governments reacted to football would oscillate over the decades in the UK, but even the most blinkered peer recognised that it was the one truly global sport in which British club national sides competed in. Indeed, populist foreign secretaries (the two Harolds as they were popularly known) of both parties gave overseas speeches in Africa and Asia at football stadiums, leading some to christen it as “government via football diplomacy.”
[3] Between 1955 and 1962, England saw Chelsea, Manchester United (1956, 1957 and 1959), Wolverhampton Wanderers, Tottenham Hotspur (1960, 1961) and Burnley all claim the title. In Scotland, there was a period of non-Glaswegian dominance as Hearts, Kilmarnock and Dundee all won titled between 1955-1966.
[4] Nicholson who was a former Spurs player was replaced at Tottenham by former Spurs and England player Alf Ramsey, who had himself led provincial Ipswich to third place and European football for the first time in their history. Nicholson’s staff was also more professional and contained several ex-players who had undertaken the now mandatory FA coaching courses, including recently retired Don Revie and the West Ham manager and former England u-23 manager Ron Greenwood, both of whom would have long managerial careers.
[5] If the exact radicalness of this decade, in the UK at least, has often been overstated, it shouldn’t detract from the fact that the Labour government of the 1960s introduced a wealth of reforms that encouraged a more socially liberal society.
[6] Previously this had been almost entirely restricted to local brands, and while there was certainly a predominantly British feel to many of these, it’s perhaps notable that companies from the Western nations competing began to express an interest in the World Cup from a commercial point of view as well. It would take until 1970 for commercial partnerships to become truly international, aided perhaps by it being the first technicolour tournament, but 1966 very much laid the groundwork.
[7] Britain’s military had reduced in size, but still retained a presence in many of its strategically important colonies and former colonies, including Malta, Cyprus, Aden, Hong Kong and Singapore.
[8] The list of venues, was generally uncontroversial, though there were rumours that Highbury’s selection as a second London venue were manoeuvred by Arsenal chairman and former Lord Mayor of London Sir Bracewell Smith.
[9] Europe’s reduction in qualifying spots, was offset by the agreement to expand the European Nations Cup to an eight-team tournament from 1968 onwards.
[10] Spain’s national side, have good claim to be Europe’s greatest underachievers – while later decades would see them return to the World Cup, their run of three straight failed qualification campaigns came at a time when their clubs were a real force in European football. Spain also finished runners up in the one final they managed, losing the 1964 European Nations Cup on home soil to Hungary.
[11] The result was perhaps mitigated by the travel difficulties the Brazilians experienced and the altitude of Quito itself.
[12] 1966 marked the first continental integration between the Middle Eastern associations and their AFU counterparts with Syria qualifying for the final round from a group containing Iran, India and Iraq.
[13] The groups were largely divided based on geography, though with South Africa being the only Southern African entrant, they faced several long journeys.
[14] Ghana’s win over Cameroon, which sealed their place is still rooted in controversy, over whether Osei Koffi’s winner was onside.
[15] Though very much not a democracy by modern standards, with franchise qualifications and power still concentrated largely in white hands. Economically though the country was experiencing a boom, with a middle-class expansion across ethnic lines encouraging greater political debate around further integration. In football at least, if not many other sports, the national side was more reflective of this mix, with a side containing white, coloured and black African internationals.
[16] Mokone was one of the first black African footballers in postwar Britain, having brief spells with Coventry and Cardiff, before making his name in the Netherlands and France with Heracles Almelo and Marseille respectively.
[17] The game coincided with the South African cricket team’s second test at Headingley with England, resulting in limited coverage of the fact that South Africa were one game away from qualifying for the World Cup.
[18] Congo, formerly Belgium’s major African possession, had gained independence in 1960 after a long insurgency, had experienced years of crisis, including a secessionist crisis, a brief military interregnum, and finally following a constitutional change, a new highly decentralised federal parliamentary republic, with Jean Bolikango as President and former Katanga leader Moïse Tshombe as Prime Minister, which firmly aligned itself with the Western bloc.
[19] South Africa during the 1950s and 1960s may have claim to be Africa’s great international underachievers, never making the final of the Africa Cup or qualifying for the World Cup, though they were frequently hamstrung by the limited availability of their various overseas players.
[20] Including King Edward VIII and Queen Ingrid, alongside other royals, the Prime Minister Hugh Gaitskell and members of his cabinet and various other dignitaries.
[21] Edwards, who had taken over from Johnny Haynes as captain in 1964 was usually England’s most reliable player on the pitch, but had been carrying a minor injury from the final weeks of the league season, and wasn’t fully fit by the time of the tournament’s opening fixtures. Edwards, nevertheless became the first Englishman to captain his country while playing overseas, as he had moved to Juventus from A.C. Milan in 1964, and would return to England after seven years in Italy in 1967.
[22] Generally in the UK, following the decision to become a republic within the commonwealth (the model for which was adapted by India in 1950), the name of the country in British terminology became either Eire or the Irish Republic. In the republic itself, the country was simply referred to as Ireland. In sporting terms, it was generally referred to by the same nomenclature within FIFA, though all-Ireland sides represented the whole island in rugby and cricket. For ease of use, I will be referring to it as Ireland.
[23] Van Moer would recover to have a long international career, but would miss the rest of the tournament and the entirety of the 1966-67 season.
[24] Armfield, who had been pushed hard by Fulham’s George Cohen, in the lead-up to the tournament, would be dropped by Nicholson following this game, with Cohen taken the starting place.
[25] Due in part to the breadth of immigration from Ireland to England, the Irish were one of the best supported sides at the tournament, with the Wembley fixture seeing Irish fans making up a sizeable contingent in the crowd.
[26] While deployed as something resembling a modern holder, his technical ability meant that he also operated akin to a playmaker.
[27] Nicholson was also proactive with his substitutions, with veteran playmaker Johnny Haynes and Ron Flowers both often being deployed as late midfield substitutes due to their experience and passing ability. Having seen his side struggle using orthodox wingers against a highly defensive Uruguay, Nicholson switched to using Ball and Peters as wide midfielders against Ireland and persisted with it for the rest of the tournament.
[28] Also due in part to a rule change brought about by FIFA following concerted lobbying from South America, which changed eligibility rules so that players who had previously been capped by one nation in competitive games could no longer be capped by another nation, unless given special dispensation. The rule change effectively ended the international careers of several players in their prime including the oriundi who had played for Italy in the 1962 tournament. The rule also allowed players to represent nations different to the one of their birth, through either parentage, grandparents or naturalisation. In the UK, agreements between the Home Nations allowed players who had been born in one Home Nation to play for another (if uncapped) if they had family ties (either parents or grandparents), which paved the way for “grandfathered” players to become relatively common across the British Isles.
[29] Beckenbauer was one of a generation of defenders from the 1960s onwards who helped to redefine the concept of a defender alongside England’s Fred Moore, the Soviet Albert Shesternyov and Italy’s full-back pairing of Tarciso Burgnich and Giacinto Facchetti. Originally a centre-forward he was converted into a centre-back who would step up into midfield and act as a passing holding midfielder, though he could also play as a libero and out and out central midfielder as well.
[30] While the refereeing performance was poor, and Portugal’s brutality essentially kicked Brazil out of the World Cup, long serving manager Vicente Feola also deserves criticism for selecting an aging side largely built around the core of 1958 and 1962. Tactically the game had moved on.
[31] The failure in England also marked the first time Brazil had failed to make it past the first round of a World Cup in their history.
[32] Portuguese football, like many, was influenced by both British and Central European styles of play, though the Portuguese style as practiced by Benfica and Sporting in Europe tended more towards the Central European thanks to the influence of Hungarian coaches such as Benfica’s Béla Guttmann.
[33] It’s a shame in many ways that their thuggish reputation has overshadowed some of the more technical aspects of their play, but the record of both Argentine club sides and the national side during the 1960s make it very clear that the reputation was well-desrved.
[34] This game would inspire Ken Aston to introduce red and yellow cards for sending offs and bookings, which were adopted by FIFA in 1968, as a way to make communication where language might be an issue easier. Aston, who had refereed the bloodbath between Argentina and Italy in 1962 had also been a pioneer in establishing coloured linesman flags which were adopted in the 1950s.
[35] There was something of a blinkered coverage to this though, as noted by Brian Glanville, Hugh McIlvanney and Frank Swift – while Argentina had certainly been physical, Northern Ireland had a few hatchet men in their squad and had thrown in a few rough tackles themselves. The watching Tottenham manager and notorious xenophobe, watching with former Northern Ireland captain Danny Blanchflower would infamously describe the Argentines as worse than animals.
[36] The Soviet Union, in the shape of Dynamo Kyiv would be where pressing as a tactical system would be fully developed, built around positional interchange and precise, technical football. Nicknamed “socialist football” it mirrored developments in both the Low Countries and Latin America, though it can also be viewed as a revisioning of developments made by Hungary, the Soviets themselves and Brazil in the 1950s.
[37] Has there been a decade better for full backs? The 1960s provided scores of gifted full backs, as the reduction in the role of wingers encouraged their attacking play down the flanks.
[38] Attuquayefio’s performance wasn’t unnoticed however, and he would be signed by Sheffield Wednesday after the tournament from Accra Olympic. Known in England as Cecil Jones, he would later play in Austria and North America.
[39] Best would leave Wolverhampton Wanderers after the finals, joining Rangers in a £100,000 deal, a then record transfer between British clubs.
[40] McMichael introduced Coventry City midfielder Dave Clements as an auxiliary centre-back, and switched to a back-five which slowly curtailed Ghana’s attacking thrusts.
[41] Alongside Cecil Jones, Willie Evans would also move to Britain, joining Hibernian in Scotland, while Frank Odoi would move to Standard Liege (before later moving to the US alongisde several other African internationals) while Osei Kofi would spend four years in France, before returning to Assante Kotoko.
[42] Haynes, who had suffered several injuries prior to the tournament, had reinvented himself as a deep-lying midfielder, where his passing ability allowed him to dictate play from deep. Partnered with Duncan Edwards, and with the multi-functional wide midfielders Martin Peters and Alan Ball alongside them, England were essentially playing a 4-4-1-1.
[43] For all the discussion around Italy’s luchetto defence, it is remarkable how talented their midfield were, with Rivera and Mazzola both supremely gifted attacking midfielders.
[44] Who when later asked about the decision, would simply reply “Stalingrad.”
Host selection and background
The tournament returning to Europe for a consecutive tournament was greeted as a surprise by many, but largely hinged on a series of background confederal dealings at the FIFA Congress in Lausanne during the 1960 Olympics[1]. Not for the first time in football history, backroom dealings secured UAEF hosting rights – with an agreement hinging on a deal between themselves and the CSF that the two confederations would agree to support each other’s candidate for hosting of the 1966 and 1970 World Cups, which marked the first time FIFA initiated host selection for consecutive tournaments. As a result, with the FIFA Executive Committee presented with a fait accompli, England won hosting rights for 1966 and Argentina securing them for 1970, preparations would begin in earnest.
England in some ways were a surprise host – no British government of either Tory or Labour persuasion had expressed huge interest in hosting the tournament, though once England had won the rights to host in 1960, both the Eden and Gaitskell governments were happy to support.[2] Despite being the country which birthed the modern sport of football, and spread its gospel across the world, the Home Nations record at the finals wasn’t particularly awe inspiring – only England had ever made it out of the group stages, and with the exception of 1958, they had gone out in the quarter finals every time they had.
Nevertheless, despite this record, hopes were reasonably high – league football in England and Scotland remained highly competitive, with the league title in both failing to be monopolised by any one side.[3] The Home Nations were all undergoing changes of a sort as well – following England’s lead, the notion of a full-time national manager was no longer seen as an oddity. England, having pioneered this in the British Isles, were the first to change their manager, with Bill Nicholson, who had overseen Tottenham’s successive title wins in 1960 and 1961 (the latter of which was a double), taking over from the long-serving Walter Winterbottom.[4]
Scotland, who had appointed managers for individual tournaments on a part-time basis, appointed former Rangers manager Scot Symon as their first full-time manager in 1960, while Wales appointed former international Ron Burgess to a full-time position in 1962 and Northern Ireland followed by appointing former international Alf McMichael as their first full-time manager in 1963. The increasing shift to a more professional set-up at national level was increasingly reflected across the continent, though in both Central and Eastern Europe such a system had been largely commonplace by the mid-1950s.
England, and by extension Britain, were enjoying something of an economic boom as the Swinging Sixties and the increasing counterculture became more mainstream – if tastes in music and film were changing, so too it seemed was the nation’s football, with players beginning to become increasingly recognised household names, as commercial brands recognised the strength of advertising via the game.[5] If 1958 had signalled football’s shift to increasing modernity and sports science innovation, and 1962 had seen this accelerate, 1966 perhaps marks the first time advertising and branding really began to take off around the tournament.[6] England, like Germany in 1962, was a country undergoing transition – decolonisation was well underway, and while nowhere near as bloody or haphazard as the French or Belgian withdrawals from Africa had been, still saw the British Army deployed overseas, with British military personnel still ensconced in the now nominally independent nations of the Commonwealth.[7] Was Britain looking forward, back to the empire and her ruling the seas, or was she looking forward to the future, as a bright, modern, socially democratic nation? Football can often wither in the face of these questions, but the tournament offered a real chance for the UK to show its face to the world.
1966 retained the same format as the previous tournaments in Mexico and Germany, with four groups of four and three knockout rounds. 1966, like 1962, saw no new venues constructed for the finals, though there were some minor renovations at a few of the grounds, and by 1963 the host cities and venues were decided upon: London (Wembley and Highbury), Birmingham (Villa Park), Liverpool (Goodison Park), Manchester (Old Trafford), Newcastle (St James’s Park), Sheffield (Hillsborough) and Sunderland (Roker Park.)[8] The groups were largely geographically organised with Group 1 hosted in London, Group 2 in Liverpool and Manchester, Group 3 in Newcastle and Sunderland and the final group in Birmingham and Sheffield. For the first time the finals also had a mascot, establishing the trend (for good and ill) of major sporting events being accompanied by a mascot, with 1966’s being the Union Jack wearing World Cup Willie. Finally, the official match ball, was similar in design to that of 1962, and was manufactured in a joint partnership between Slazenger and Addas, the latter becoming the official ball provider from 1970s onwards.
Qualification
Following a series of Executive Committee meetings in the aftermath of the 1962 tournament, FIFA agreed to abolish the playoff between the African and Asian confederations and granted each a sole qualifying spot – Morocco’s performance, in becoming the first African side to reach the knockout stages of the tournament, and the very real threat of an African boycott were largely the main factors in doing so.
England and Germany both qualified automatically, leaving fourteen places to be decided: one each for Africa and Asia, four for the Americas and eight for Europe.[9] European qualification demonstrated what had become a running question in Madrid: were Spain the most cursed national side in Europe? As with 1958 and 1962, they again failed to qualify after being bested by a side from the British Isles, in this case the Irish Republic.[10] Elsewhere, there were no real shocks, with France, Hungary, the Soviets and Italy all qualifying comfortably, while Belgium returned to the finals after failing to qualify for 1962. Northern Ireland, perhaps surprisingly, returned to the finals after besting Switzerland, thanks in part to a strong defence and a mercurial playmaker in Wolverhampton Wanderers George Best, while Portugal qualified for the first time ahead of Czechoslovakia.
In the Americas, Mexico, the perennial North American representative, again qualified for the finals, ahead of Costa Rica and the Netherlands Antilles. In South America, after two tournaments of surprise eliminations, normal service was largely resumed as Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay all comfortably qualified for the finals, though Brazil were surprisingly held to a draw in Quito by minnows Ecuador.[11] All three sides were expected to be competitive at the finals, and all three had the backing of new military regimes as the continent fell to a succession of military or civic-military dictatorships. “Militarised football” a term once associated with the authoritarian states of 1930s Europe was transposed into Latin America, with often brutal results.
Elsewhere, Korea comfortably won qualification from the Asian qualification round, seeing off Australia, Japan and Syria in the final round.[12] If Asian qualification was remarkably straightforward, with Korea winning four and drawing two of their games (both against Australia), Africa saw a real contest. With seventeen entrants, a reflection of the continent’s growing decolonisation, and as an increasingly competitive African Cup showed, football in Africa was beginning to take off. The sides were divided into two groups of four, and three groups of three, with the five group winners advancing to a final round, from which the winner would qualify for the 1966 tournament.[13]
The groups threw up few surprises, with Ghana, South Africa, Tunisia, Morocco and Egypt qualifying from their respective groups for the final round.[14] The final round itself however was different – South Africa, despite having seen several of their key players retire, were still a strong side and had a strong strike-force built around the veteran Eddie Firmani and youngster Kaizer Motaung, while Ghana were continental champions and the North African sides were all fiercely competitive. The final round, however, did see surprises, as the two Sub-Saharan sides emerged as the frontrunners, as Morocco surprisingly faltered, while Egypt and Tunisia (who had lost to Ghana in the 1965 African Cup final) both faded after bright starts, leaving it as a straight knockout between Ghana and the South Africans. The two sides were in some ways mirror nations: Ghana, under the leadership of Kwame Nkrumah had become the first of Britain’s Black African colonies to gain independence, and was committed to a pan-African identity, while South Africa had been self-governing since 1910 and was in the midst of a long, gradual (and often stuttering) transition from minority rule to something resembling a multiracial democracy.[15]
The first match in Accra ended in a 2-2 draw, as veteran strike Steve Mokone[16] coming on as a substitute to equalise after a mistake from Arthur Lightening in the South African goal had allowed Frank Odoi to put Ghana in front. The return, held in Johannesburg, also ended up in a draw, leaving both sides level on points at the top of the group.[17] As a result, following negotiations between the two FAs and agreed at the General Congress of the AFC/CAF, a playoff would be held in Léopoldville, the capital of the Congo Federation.[18] The playoff, played in front of a capacity crowd, was a tight affair with very few chances, and looked to be heading to extra time, before a late goal from Osei Kofi settled the tie, sending Ghana through to the finals as the first Sub-Saharan African side to make the finals.[19]
Participating nations
- England (hosts)
- Germany (holders)
- Argentina
- Belgium
- Brazil
- France
- Ghana (debut)
- Hungary
- Irish Republic (debut)
- Italy
- Korea
- Mexico
- Northern Ireland
- Portugal (debut)
- Soviet Union
- Uruguay
Group 1: England, Uruguay, Belgium, Irish Republic
Group 2: Italy, Hungary, Mexico, France
Group 3: Germany, Brazil, Portugal, Korea
Group 4: Argentina, Soviet Union, Northern Ireland, Ghana
Tournament summary
Group 1
The opening game between England and Uruguay, held at Wembley, saw a capacity crowd[20] witness a 1-1 draw, as Uruguay’s Héctor Silva cancelled out Bobby Charlton’s piledriver of an opener. The game was not a classic, as Uruguay’s defensive tactics stifled any English invention, and it took Charlton’s goal to enliven the contest, before an error from Duncan Edwards allowed Silva to score.[21] In the other opening game, Belgium and Ireland[22] also played out a draw, with Ireland’s Manchester-born right-back Shay Brennan scoring his only international goal, following a sumptuous pass from Johnny Giles, cancelling out Paul van Himst’s opener for Belgium, leaving all sides equal on points and goals after the first round.
In the second round of games, Uruguay eased to a 1-0 victory over Belgium, thanks to a late goal from Pedro Rocha, in a game which had few clear-cut chances. The game, played at Highbury, was marred by a horrific injury suffered by young Belgian substitute Wilfried van Moer following an accidental collision with Néstor Gonçalves, which resulted in van Moer suffering a broken leg.[23] In the other game, England comfortably saw off Ireland 3-1, with goals from Roger Hunt, Jimmy Greaves and substitute Martin Peters seeing off a spirited Irish side. Ireland took a surprise lead through Blackburn Rovers midfielder Andy McEvoy, who capitalised on a mistake from England right-back Jimmy Armfield and fired first-time past an unsighted Gordon Banks in the England goal.[24] England were denied a gloss to the finish, thanks to a superb save from Pat Dunne to deny Maurice Norman, tipping Norman’s thunderbolt of a header onto the bar, which drew applause from the Wembley crowd.[25]
In the final round of fixtures, Ireland and Uruguay played out a 0-0 draw, the most notable feature of which was Uruguayan goalkeeper Ladislao Mazurkiewicz saving Ireland captain Noel Cantwell’s penalty. The game itself, was devoid of much in the way of action, though Uruguay were unlucky not to steal it in the final minutes, when Rocha somehow smashed wide after being sent clean through following a mistake from Sunderland’s Charlie Hurley. The draw, coupled with England’s win over Belgium saw Uruguay through in second, though the Irish departed with a sense of pride.
England’s final game against Belgium, a routine 2-0 victory which is most notable for Nicholson settling on the starting eleven that would be deployed throughout the rest of the tournament. Nicholson, who had pioneered the 4-4-2 formation in his successful period at Tottenham Hotspur, deployed a lopsided version of it with England, which resembled a 4-1-3-2 or 4-1-4-1, with captain Edwards sitting deep[26] and Bobby Charlton, Alan Ball and Martin Peters pushing ahead of him.[27] England’s defence meanwhile, paired technical ball-playing ability with wily experience in the Tottenham pairing of Fred Moore and Maurice Norman, while Everton’s Ray Wilson had replaced long-serving Roger Byrne at left-back after the 1962 finals. The game against Belgium, was a comfortable victory, with goals from Roger Hunt in both halves settled the tie as a contest, to see England through to the quarter-finals unbeaten and top of the group.
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Points |
1 | England | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 5 |
2 | Uruguay | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 4 |
3 | Ireland | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | -2 | 2 |
4 | Belgium | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | -2 | 1 |
11 June England 1-1 Uruguay
12 June Belgium 1-1 Ireland
14 June Uruguay 1-0 Belgium
15 June Ireland 1-3 England
17 June Uruguay 0-0 Ireland
18 June England 2-0 Belgium
Group 2
Group 2 was regarded as the most even of the four, pairing three European sides with Mexico. Italy, and France after their poor showings at the 1962 tournament, had refreshed their squads, with Italy abandoning the oriundi of 1962[28] for a wholly homegrown squad built around a strong defence, while France had a youthful squad with only two players over the age of thirty. Hungary, who had finally waved goodbye to the last vestiges of the golden squad in 1962 were reigning European champions, having won the 1964 European Nations Cup, were in strong form heading into the tournament, while Mexico were again seen as makeweights.
The opening round of matches saw the Hungarians thrash Mexico 5-0, with János Farkas and Flórián Albert scoring twice, before Kálmán Mészöly added gloss to the result by scoring a late penalty. Mexico, who had become much more competitive at the World Cup, had veteran Antonio Carbajal (playing in a record setting fifth consecutive tournament) to thank for the score not being higher as he made a string of saves to keep the score down.
In the other match, goals from Italy’s two most creative players, Gianni Rivera and Sandro Mazzola, saw off France, though the French were denied a legitimate equaliser after Néstor Combin was wrongly flagged for offside. The game was also marred by a series of niggly fouls and bad temper between the two sides, as the Italian’s ruthless defence smothered any French attacks, through fair means or foul. France were forced to play the final fifteen minutes with ten men after Jacques Simon reacted badly to a late tackle from Italian captain Sandro Salvadore, and a brawl broke out between the two. The decision of the Swiss referee Gottfried Dienst to only send off Simon, was also badly reacted to by the French coaching staff, and at the final whistle very strong words were exchanged between Henri Guérin and Dienst, resulting in the French manager being escorted off by police.
The second round of matches avoided such controversy, as Italy and Hungary played out a stultifyingly dull 0-0 draw, with neither side able to secure a decisive blow. Hungary, who had been so vibrant against the Mexicans found space at a premium, as Italy’s luchetto system strangled any creativity at source. Nevertheless, there was at least chances for both sides to win, with Enrico Albertosi saving well from a Bene freekick, and Antal Szentmihályi twice denying Rivera in quick succession. France eased to a 2-1 victory over Mexico, with goals from Combin and Lucien Muller cancelling out an earlier strike from Salvador Reyes, who became the first Mexican to score in three consecutive World Cups. The game itself had an openness missing from the other contests, as both sides played attacking football, but the quality of finishing often left something to be desired.
The final round of matches saw Italy secure a 2-0 win over Mexico to qualify for the knockout stage for the first time since 1950, as Ezio Pascutti and Paolo Barison scored in the last twenty minutes to put the game beyond Mexico, who had looked likely to pull a surprise draw. The other match, between Hungary and France was decided on a highly controversial decision by Brazilian referee Armando Marques to award a goal to Hungary which hadn’t crossed the line (instead hitting the underside of the bar and landing just on the goal-line itself) while also only booking Hungarian captain Ferenc Sipos for a scything challenge on Gérard Hausser. Despite the controversy, and a late goal from Combin, Hungary held on to win 2-1 and thus qualify as top of the group.
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Points |
1 | Hungary | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 1 | +6 | 5 |
2 | Italy | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 5 |
3 | France | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | -1 | 2 |
4 | Mexico | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 9 | -8 | 0 |
11 June Hungary 5-0 Mexico
12 June Italy 2-1 France
14 June Italy 0-0 Hungary
15 June France 2-1 Mexico
17 June Mexico 0-2 Italy
18 June Hungary 2-1 France
Group 3
Groups of death had become sporadic features of World Cups, but Group 3 proved a real humdinger, with the reigning champions paired with the side they had dethroned, a debutante side built around a strong club core, and a competitive Asian side facing off against each other.
The opening round of fixtures saw Brazil ease to a 2-0 win over a spirited Korea, with goals from Dico and Mané Garrincha sealing the win, though Brazil were made to work hard for their victory, with Korean captain Pak Doo-ik (the first northerner to captain the Korean side) coming close to scoring a late consolation, being denied by the woodwork. Korea’s well organised approach under Soviet coach Georgy Glazkov frustrated the Brazilians, with Jair Ventura lucky not to be dismissed for a petulant trip on Korean substitute Lee Yi-woo.
In the other opening match, Germany and Portugal played out a classic, with both sides, taking, losing and retaking the lead before 1860 Munich midfielder Anton Beckenbauer decided the game in the 90th minute, with a beautifully taken header from substitute Jürgen Grabowski beautifully floating free kick.[29] The game was end to end, with Portugal twice taking the lead though Eusébio da Silva and José Torres before being pegged back by goals from Uwe Seeler and Lothar Emmerich, and was easily contender for game of the round.
From beauty to brutality: the second round of games saw Brazil taken apart physically by Portugal, who’s robust play pretty much kicked the Brazilians out of the game, in a game defined as much by controversy as the result, which Portugal won 4-2. The game, which saw several bad tackles go unpunished by the English referee George McCabe, including a notable failure to send off (or even book) João Morais for a brutal foul on Dico, who was substituted soon afterwards. Portugal, despite the brutality, did still possess players of real skill, and scored twice in the first half as a shell-shocked Brazil increasingly fell apart.[30] The one bright spot was the performance of Gérson Nunes who’s passing ability largely kept the Brazilians in the game, with Garrincha (otherwise a sad shadow of himself in the tournament) reducing the deficit at half time. The second half saw Mário Coluna and Eusébio da Silva seal the win, before a late consolation from Wálter Machado restored a measure of pride for Brazil. Nevertheless, this was a result as shocking to the Brazilian psyche as o fantasma had been in 1950 and one which would see a shift in the country’s footballing mindset.
Meanwhile Germany were surprisingly held to a draw by Korea, with Huh Yoon-jung cancelling out Helmut Haller’s opener in the 88th minute. The game, played at Sunderland’s Roker Park saw the local crowd largely cheer on the Korean efforts as they put together one of the great backs to the wall defensive efforts in the world cup’s long and storied history. Nineteen year-old Korean goalkeeper Li Chan-myung, who had been a late replacement for veteran Ham Heung-chul, made a string of excellent saves throughout the game, as Germany took the lead following a defensive mix-up from a long Horst-Dieter Höttges throw. Despite the setback, the Koreans remained unawed by the occasion and the diligent work of Pak Seung-zin and Lee Woo-bong in midfield largely nullified Germany’s passing game. Korea’s equaliser would come through excellent work by Pak Doo-ik to win the ball from Wolfgang Overath in the middle of the park, as he burst through the German defence and played a delicate pass into the path of Huh Yoon-jung who smashed the ball past Hans Tilkowski. A few minutes later, the final whistle was blown and the Koreans collapsed onto their haunches with the crowd cheering them of the pitch.
The final round of fixtures saw Germany recover from the shock draw against Korea to defeat a demoralised Brazil 3-1, with the Brazilians barely in the contest after goals from Werner Krämer, Lothar Emmerich and Wolfgang Weber put them 3-0 up by the hour. Brazil, a sad shadow of the superb sides which had lit up Mexico and Germany, managed to grab a consolation through Djalma Santos (playing his 100th and last game for Brazil) but the defining image of the game remains the pictures of Dico watching from the substitutes bench with a barely contained grimace. Brazil’s era of purely expressive football (at least internationally) was over – but in the brutality of Europe it would be reborn.[31]
Portugal and Korea meanwhile played out an entertaining game at Hillsborough, with the Koreans twice taking a surprise lead before a hat-trick from Eusébio da Silva and a goal from winger José Augusto sealed the Portuguese victory. In contrast to their physicality against Brazil, the Portuguese returned to their fast, passing game, which incorporated a certain directness into their approach.[32] The game was played at a frenetic pace, with Brian Glanville describing it as being similar to an FA Cup tie between first and third division sides (though he pointedly didn’t clarify who was who.) The win sent Portugal through in second behind Germany, while Korea returned home with a vast amount of pride and a lot of new friends in the north-east of England.
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Points |
1 | Germany | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 5 |
2 | Portugal | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 7 | +3 | 4 |
3 | Brazil | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 7 | -2 | 2 |
4 | Korea | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 7 | -4 | 1 |
11 June Brazil 2-0 Korea
12 June Germany 3-2 Portugal
14 June Brazil 2-4 Portugal
15 June Korea 1-1 Germany
17 June Germany 3-1 Brazil
18 June Portugal 4-2 Brazil
Group 4
Group 4 paired Argentina and the Soviet Union with Northern Ireland and debutantes Ghana, the first Sub-Saharan African side to qualify for the finals. Argentina, who had played in one of the most notoriously violent games in world cup history four years earlier, were a physically imposing side with a propensity for violence.[33] The Soviets, playing “socialist football” were a technically neat team, and still had several veterans of the 1962 silver medal side in their squad. Northern Ireland, returning to the finals after failing to qualify in 1962, were built around an English Football League core, while Ghana had won the Africa Cup back-to-back (1963 & 1965) to leave the group well poised.
The opening round of matches saw the Soviets ease to a 4-1 victory over Ghana, who’s coach Charles Gyamfi, a former international who had played in Germany, became the first Black African coach at a World Cup. The game itself was even in the first half as Osei Kofi cancelled out Anatoliy Banishevskiy’s opener for the Soviets. In the second half, the Soviets superior fitness began to tell and goals from Eduard Malofeyev and substitute Eduard Streltsov sealed the victory. Much like the Koreans in Merseyside however, the Ghanaians had been taken to by the Villa Park faithful and were greeted with cheers upon leaving the field.
The other opening match, played at Hillsborough between Argentina and Northern Ireland was a spiky affair, which saw George Best targeted for intimidatory tackling from kick-off, while a stray elbow from Rafael Albrecht broke the nose of Alec Dougan, resulting in Albrecht’s expulsion by the German referee Rudi Kreitlein – Dougan was replaced by the veteran Jimmy McIlroy. The game was halted for several minutes due to Albrecht’s refusal to leave the field, until the intervention of Argentine captain Antonio Rattín saw him leave the pitch.[34] Northern Ireland’s captain, Hibernian’s Jackie Blanchflower opened the scoring from a corner, though there were strong protests from Argentina that Martin Harvey had blocked off Antonio Roma, giving him no chance to claim the ball. The protests were waved away, but it set the tone for another match of cynical tactics and hard tackling. Argentina, for all their recourse to violence, still possessed players of exceptional technical ability, and River Plate’s Ermindo Onega scored a superb goal to equalise, skipping through two challenges and deftly chipping the onrushing Jennings. Best, despite the harsh treatment he was receiving, was on mercurial form and only a series of saves from Antonio Roma prevented him adding to the lead. Northern Ireland’s failure to capitalise on these chances would be punished in cruel fashion, as a loose shot from substitute Alfredo Rojas took a wicked deflection off Billy Neill’s boot and careened over the despairing Jennings to settle the game.
Argentina then faced the Soviets in Birmingham, with Argentina’s rough play against Northern Ireland resulting in a rare instance of a Soviet side being heartily applauded by a British crowd.[35] The game, was a better spectacle than expected, with the Argentines playing a fast, passing game in contrast to the Soviets technical precision.[36] The Soviets were indebted to their veteran goalkeeper Lev Yashin, who having put behind him the inconsistencies of 1962, was on imperious form throughout the tournament, and made two stupendous saves to deny both Antonio Rattín and Silvio Marzolini.[37] Argentina’s often brute physicality often overshadowed just how talented their side was – Rattín in particular had claim to be one of the world’s best midfielders, while their attack combined finesse with improvisation and speed. The Soviets, however, were a match for it – Yozhef Sabo, deployed as an advanced ball-winner to such effect in 1962 – opened the scoring, while Slava Metreveli made it two on the hour. Argentina did not wilt however and got back into the game following a mistake from the usually unflappable Albert Shesternyov, which allowed Oscar Más to slide home from a corner. Rattín, who was carrying a slight injury, scored the equaliser, brushing past Leonid Ostrovski to place the ball past an unsighted Yashin.
Northern Ireland and Ghana played out an entertaining game at Hillsborough, with Cecil Jones Attuquayefio nearly sealing a superb comeback, only to be denied by Pat Jennings.[38] Northern Ireland, perhaps smarting from the rough game against Argentina, started strongly, with George Best setting up the first goal for Jimmy Nicholson and then, scoring one of the great individual goals in World Cup history. Receiving the ball inside his own half, he sped past two attempted challenges, sent defender Willie Evans the wrong way with a feint, skipped past another challenge and drove the ball past Robert Mensah. [39] That Ghana came out fighting in the second half is a testament to their competitiveness as Cecil Jones Attuquayefio and Osei Kofi tore the Northern Irish defence to shreds in the second half, with Kofi’s technical ability and tendency to drift, leaving his marker Alex Elder no chance, and it was only a fine performance from Jennings and a tactical tweak by manager Alf McMichael which kept Northern Ireland in the game.[40] Ghana did claw a goal back through Attuquayefio, and were indebted to Jennings for preventing him from snatching a late equaliser, as the Northern Irish hung on for their first win at a World Cup.
The final round of fixtures saw Argentina ease to a 2-1 victory over the Ghanaians, who opened the scoring through Ibrahim Sunday, who would later become the first African player in the German Bundesliga. Argentina, provided too strong however, and scored either side of half-time, with Luis Artime netting both, with the game petering out as a contest. Nevertheless, much like the Koreans, the Ghanaians could return home with pride – they hadn’t been outclassed, and indeed the performances of their squad saw interest in several from sides in Europe and the Americas.[41] The Soviets meanwhile, brushed aside Northern Ireland 2-0, with Galimzyan Khusainov and Eduard Streltsov scoring both goals, as the Soviets played a largely second-string side. The result saw the Soviets top the group ahead of Argentina on goal difference, to set up a quarter final with Portugal, while Argentina faced Germany.
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Points |
1 | Soviet Union | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 5 |
2 | Argentina | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 7 | +3 | 4 |
3 | Northern Ireland | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 7 | -2 | 2 |
4 | Ghana | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 7 | -4 | 1 |
11 June Soviet Union 4-1 Ghana
12 June Argentina 2-1 Northern Ireland
14 June Soviet Union 2-2 Argentina
15 June Northern Ireland 2-1 Ghana
17 June Ghana 1-2 Argentina
18 June Northern Ireland 0-2 Soviet Union
Quarterfinals
The draw for the quarterfinals was held on June 19, following the conclusion of the group stages. England were paired with Italy, the two sides meeting for the first time at the World Cup, while Hungary and Uruguay faced a replay of the 1954 semi-final. Holders Germany were drawn with Argentina, while the Portuguese faced the Soviets.
England’s match with Italy, played at Highbury due to issues with Wembley’s pitch, was high on drama and low on quality, as England’s patient possession-based game came up against Italy’s blanket defence. England’s manager, Bill Nicholson, recognising the difficulty of breaking through Italy’s defensive wall, and wary of the threat posed by Giacinto Facchetti’s runs from left-back changed his formation, bringing in Johnny Haynes for his first start of the tournament in place of Jimmy Greaves, with Roger Hunt acting as a lone centre-forward with a more advanced Bobby Charlton playing off of him.[42] The match began with England starting brightly, Ball and Cohen combining well on England’s right flank to nullify the threat posed by Fachetti’s forward runs. The game however, became one largely decided in midfield as England found themselves unable to break through Italy’s defensive line, and Italy were unable to mount attacking forays as easily due to the man-marking of Fachetti, and isolation of Mazzola and Rivera.[43] The game would largely turn on one incident, as Romano Fogli, starting in place of the injured Giacomo Bulgarelli was dismissed for a late tackle on Edwards. Italy’s manager, Edmondo Fabbri reacted by substituting Rivera for the defensive midfielder Giovanni Lodetti, and Italy’s attacking threat all but dissipated, with Peters scoring a late winner to send Italy out and cost Fabbri his job.
Hungary and Uruguay played out an equally close match at Hillsborough, with the Uruguayans eventually triumphing with a hard-fought 2-1 win. The first half was a drab affair, with neither side offering much in the way of a goal threat, though Domingo Pérez went close from a free-kick. The second half however, was a different story – Hungary opened the scoring through János Farkas, and with half-an-hour left appeared to be cruising to victory. Uruguay, perhaps tapping into the spirit of 1950, threw off their shackles and began to chase an equaliser, with their directness unsettling the Hungarian defence. Uruguay’s equaliser came from a mistake by goalkeeper József Gelei, who’s fumbling of a corner allowed Uruguay captain Horacio Troche to bundle home for his only international goal, before Pedro Rocha stole home to break Hungarian hearts and send Uruguay through to the semi-finals.
The third quarterfinal, played at Old Trafford, is rightly regarded as one of the worst in tournament history, with nearly 120 minutes of sterile, goalless football before German substitute Horst Szymaniak’s deflected free-kick settled the tie, though Argentina had been denied a seemingly legitimate goal by Spanish referee Juan Gardeazábal, adding credence (in Argentine minds at least) to claims that the tournament’s refereeing was biased towards the European sides. Either way, one of the worst knockout games in the tournament’s history would end with Argentina’s exit, with four years to fester on resentments both real and imagined.
The final quarter-final, played at St James’s Park, was the tie of the round, with the sides sharing seven goals in a thriller, with Portugal’s Eusébio da Silva becoming the first man to score four goals in a world cup quarterfinal. The game was end to end, with both sides taking, losing and retaking the lead before Eusébio da Silva’s final goal sealed the victory for the Portuguese. Both sides were applauded off the pitch, as Portugal made the semi-finals for the first time.
Results
25 June England 1-0 Italy
25 June Hungary 1-2 Uruguay
25 June Germany 1-0 Argentina
25 June Soviet Union 3-4 Portugal
Semi-finals
The semi-final draw paired England with Uruguay and Germany with Portugal in a repeat of the group-stage. England, hosted Uruguay at Wembley, which would also stage the final, while Germany and Portugal faced each other at Villa Park.
England, aware of Uruguay’s tactics from their draw in the group stages, decided to go for an attacking strategy, with Jimmy Greaves returning to the starting line-up in place of Johnny Haynes who dropped to the bench, while Bobby Charlton was given greater licence to get forward, playing in essence as an attacking midfielder. The game was a tight one, but England, who under Nicholson had become much more tactically flexible, were largely in control with Gordon Banks barely tested. Uruguay were undermined by an injury suffered by Pedro Rocha, and following his withdrawal went into their shells – two goals from Bobby Charlton comfortably sealed victory.
Germany and Portugal was also a tight game, with Beckenbauer’s opener cancelled out by António Simões to leave both sides evenly poised at half-time. In the second-half Germany had a legitimate goal ruled out for offside by the Soviet linesman Tofiq Bahramov.[44] Portugal capitalised through José Torres, who scored the winner in the 89th minute to send the Portuguese through to the final.
The third place playoff, played at Wembley, saw Germany win 4-1 as Uruguay wilted after Troche was sent off, though the Uruguayans could return to South America with bragging rights as the highest finishing Latin American side at the finals.
Results
2 July England 2-0 Uruguay
3 July Germany 1-2 Portugal
Third place playoff
8 July Germany 4-1 Uruguay
Final
The final paired hosts England with surprise packages Portugal, who would never reach the same heights again. The game, played in front of a capacity Wembley crowd, was an entertaining one, settled by substitute Geoff Hurst, who became the first substitute to score a winning goal in the World Cup final. Portugal started brightly, unsettling the English defence with their pace, Eusébio da Silva in particular giving the English defence a torrid time. Portugal took the lead through a defensive mix up between Maurice Norman and Gordon Banks in the 20th minute, and came close to doubling their lead on the half hour as Torres narrowly fired over. England, despite falling behind, kept their composure and equalised through Jimmy Greaves, who headed home from Duncan Edwards’s floating cross to leave the scores equal at half-time.
The second half saw Nicholson make a double substitution which would change the match, as he brought on West Ham’s Geoff Hurst for Greaves, who had suffered a nasty blow to the ankle in a tussle for the ball with José Carlos, while also bringing on Haynes for a tiring Peters, shifting Charlton out to the left. The ploy worked, as Haynes’s passing in tandem with Edwards saw England take control of the middle of the pitch, and Charlton’s drifting inside from the left unsettled the Portuguese defence. Indeed, it was Charlton’s shot which led to England’s winner, as his volley hit the crossbar and bounced favourably into the path of Hurst to tap home. The final ten minutes saw England push for a winner, with both Hunt and Moore denied by the post, before the referee blew his whistle to end the game, with England champions for the first time. Edwards received the trophy from King Edward VIII and was lifted across the pitch in one of the great iconic football images (in the British imagination at least.)
How then should 1966 be remembered? England were certainly worthy winners, astutely coached by Bill Nicholson and playing a style of football which would have been alien to the sides of Walter Winterbottom. Portugal, making the world cup final on debut, with a fine side built around the brilliant Benfica team of that era, was also a great story, though their violence against Brazil removed some of the lustre? The efforts of Korea and Ghana, both patronised, both returning home with admirers across England for their courage and ability were also great narratives. And yet this was not a vintage tournament – doping allegations surrounded several sides, notably the Germans, Soviets and Italians, while like its predecessor violent play and weak refereeing devalued the overall contest. For the victors and the losers, there was an innate sense that things would never be so good again.
July 9 England 2-1 Portugal
[1] The collocating with the Olympic hosts was largely due to FIFA’s involvement with the Olympic football tournament – as membership expanded the Executive Committee agreed to host a General Congress to elect tournament hosts in the World Cup host country. As a result, 1974 was decided in London in 1966, and FIFA would alternate between deciding single hosts and consecutive hosts from this point onwards.
[2] How various governments reacted to football would oscillate over the decades in the UK, but even the most blinkered peer recognised that it was the one truly global sport in which British club national sides competed in. Indeed, populist foreign secretaries (the two Harolds as they were popularly known) of both parties gave overseas speeches in Africa and Asia at football stadiums, leading some to christen it as “government via football diplomacy.”
[3] Between 1955 and 1962, England saw Chelsea, Manchester United (1956, 1957 and 1959), Wolverhampton Wanderers, Tottenham Hotspur (1960, 1961) and Burnley all claim the title. In Scotland, there was a period of non-Glaswegian dominance as Hearts, Kilmarnock and Dundee all won titled between 1955-1966.
[4] Nicholson who was a former Spurs player was replaced at Tottenham by former Spurs and England player Alf Ramsey, who had himself led provincial Ipswich to third place and European football for the first time in their history. Nicholson’s staff was also more professional and contained several ex-players who had undertaken the now mandatory FA coaching courses, including recently retired Don Revie and the West Ham manager and former England u-23 manager Ron Greenwood, both of whom would have long managerial careers.
[5] If the exact radicalness of this decade, in the UK at least, has often been overstated, it shouldn’t detract from the fact that the Labour government of the 1960s introduced a wealth of reforms that encouraged a more socially liberal society.
[6] Previously this had been almost entirely restricted to local brands, and while there was certainly a predominantly British feel to many of these, it’s perhaps notable that companies from the Western nations competing began to express an interest in the World Cup from a commercial point of view as well. It would take until 1970 for commercial partnerships to become truly international, aided perhaps by it being the first technicolour tournament, but 1966 very much laid the groundwork.
[7] Britain’s military had reduced in size, but still retained a presence in many of its strategically important colonies and former colonies, including Malta, Cyprus, Aden, Hong Kong and Singapore.
[8] The list of venues, was generally uncontroversial, though there were rumours that Highbury’s selection as a second London venue were manoeuvred by Arsenal chairman and former Lord Mayor of London Sir Bracewell Smith.
[9] Europe’s reduction in qualifying spots, was offset by the agreement to expand the European Nations Cup to an eight-team tournament from 1968 onwards.
[10] Spain’s national side, have good claim to be Europe’s greatest underachievers – while later decades would see them return to the World Cup, their run of three straight failed qualification campaigns came at a time when their clubs were a real force in European football. Spain also finished runners up in the one final they managed, losing the 1964 European Nations Cup on home soil to Hungary.
[11] The result was perhaps mitigated by the travel difficulties the Brazilians experienced and the altitude of Quito itself.
[12] 1966 marked the first continental integration between the Middle Eastern associations and their AFU counterparts with Syria qualifying for the final round from a group containing Iran, India and Iraq.
[13] The groups were largely divided based on geography, though with South Africa being the only Southern African entrant, they faced several long journeys.
[14] Ghana’s win over Cameroon, which sealed their place is still rooted in controversy, over whether Osei Koffi’s winner was onside.
[15] Though very much not a democracy by modern standards, with franchise qualifications and power still concentrated largely in white hands. Economically though the country was experiencing a boom, with a middle-class expansion across ethnic lines encouraging greater political debate around further integration. In football at least, if not many other sports, the national side was more reflective of this mix, with a side containing white, coloured and black African internationals.
[16] Mokone was one of the first black African footballers in postwar Britain, having brief spells with Coventry and Cardiff, before making his name in the Netherlands and France with Heracles Almelo and Marseille respectively.
[17] The game coincided with the South African cricket team’s second test at Headingley with England, resulting in limited coverage of the fact that South Africa were one game away from qualifying for the World Cup.
[18] Congo, formerly Belgium’s major African possession, had gained independence in 1960 after a long insurgency, had experienced years of crisis, including a secessionist crisis, a brief military interregnum, and finally following a constitutional change, a new highly decentralised federal parliamentary republic, with Jean Bolikango as President and former Katanga leader Moïse Tshombe as Prime Minister, which firmly aligned itself with the Western bloc.
[19] South Africa during the 1950s and 1960s may have claim to be Africa’s great international underachievers, never making the final of the Africa Cup or qualifying for the World Cup, though they were frequently hamstrung by the limited availability of their various overseas players.
[20] Including King Edward VIII and Queen Ingrid, alongside other royals, the Prime Minister Hugh Gaitskell and members of his cabinet and various other dignitaries.
[21] Edwards, who had taken over from Johnny Haynes as captain in 1964 was usually England’s most reliable player on the pitch, but had been carrying a minor injury from the final weeks of the league season, and wasn’t fully fit by the time of the tournament’s opening fixtures. Edwards, nevertheless became the first Englishman to captain his country while playing overseas, as he had moved to Juventus from A.C. Milan in 1964, and would return to England after seven years in Italy in 1967.
[22] Generally in the UK, following the decision to become a republic within the commonwealth (the model for which was adapted by India in 1950), the name of the country in British terminology became either Eire or the Irish Republic. In the republic itself, the country was simply referred to as Ireland. In sporting terms, it was generally referred to by the same nomenclature within FIFA, though all-Ireland sides represented the whole island in rugby and cricket. For ease of use, I will be referring to it as Ireland.
[23] Van Moer would recover to have a long international career, but would miss the rest of the tournament and the entirety of the 1966-67 season.
[24] Armfield, who had been pushed hard by Fulham’s George Cohen, in the lead-up to the tournament, would be dropped by Nicholson following this game, with Cohen taken the starting place.
[25] Due in part to the breadth of immigration from Ireland to England, the Irish were one of the best supported sides at the tournament, with the Wembley fixture seeing Irish fans making up a sizeable contingent in the crowd.
[26] While deployed as something resembling a modern holder, his technical ability meant that he also operated akin to a playmaker.
[27] Nicholson was also proactive with his substitutions, with veteran playmaker Johnny Haynes and Ron Flowers both often being deployed as late midfield substitutes due to their experience and passing ability. Having seen his side struggle using orthodox wingers against a highly defensive Uruguay, Nicholson switched to using Ball and Peters as wide midfielders against Ireland and persisted with it for the rest of the tournament.
[28] Also due in part to a rule change brought about by FIFA following concerted lobbying from South America, which changed eligibility rules so that players who had previously been capped by one nation in competitive games could no longer be capped by another nation, unless given special dispensation. The rule change effectively ended the international careers of several players in their prime including the oriundi who had played for Italy in the 1962 tournament. The rule also allowed players to represent nations different to the one of their birth, through either parentage, grandparents or naturalisation. In the UK, agreements between the Home Nations allowed players who had been born in one Home Nation to play for another (if uncapped) if they had family ties (either parents or grandparents), which paved the way for “grandfathered” players to become relatively common across the British Isles.
[29] Beckenbauer was one of a generation of defenders from the 1960s onwards who helped to redefine the concept of a defender alongside England’s Fred Moore, the Soviet Albert Shesternyov and Italy’s full-back pairing of Tarciso Burgnich and Giacinto Facchetti. Originally a centre-forward he was converted into a centre-back who would step up into midfield and act as a passing holding midfielder, though he could also play as a libero and out and out central midfielder as well.
[30] While the refereeing performance was poor, and Portugal’s brutality essentially kicked Brazil out of the World Cup, long serving manager Vicente Feola also deserves criticism for selecting an aging side largely built around the core of 1958 and 1962. Tactically the game had moved on.
[31] The failure in England also marked the first time Brazil had failed to make it past the first round of a World Cup in their history.
[32] Portuguese football, like many, was influenced by both British and Central European styles of play, though the Portuguese style as practiced by Benfica and Sporting in Europe tended more towards the Central European thanks to the influence of Hungarian coaches such as Benfica’s Béla Guttmann.
[33] It’s a shame in many ways that their thuggish reputation has overshadowed some of the more technical aspects of their play, but the record of both Argentine club sides and the national side during the 1960s make it very clear that the reputation was well-desrved.
[34] This game would inspire Ken Aston to introduce red and yellow cards for sending offs and bookings, which were adopted by FIFA in 1968, as a way to make communication where language might be an issue easier. Aston, who had refereed the bloodbath between Argentina and Italy in 1962 had also been a pioneer in establishing coloured linesman flags which were adopted in the 1950s.
[35] There was something of a blinkered coverage to this though, as noted by Brian Glanville, Hugh McIlvanney and Frank Swift – while Argentina had certainly been physical, Northern Ireland had a few hatchet men in their squad and had thrown in a few rough tackles themselves. The watching Tottenham manager and notorious xenophobe, watching with former Northern Ireland captain Danny Blanchflower would infamously describe the Argentines as worse than animals.
[36] The Soviet Union, in the shape of Dynamo Kyiv would be where pressing as a tactical system would be fully developed, built around positional interchange and precise, technical football. Nicknamed “socialist football” it mirrored developments in both the Low Countries and Latin America, though it can also be viewed as a revisioning of developments made by Hungary, the Soviets themselves and Brazil in the 1950s.
[37] Has there been a decade better for full backs? The 1960s provided scores of gifted full backs, as the reduction in the role of wingers encouraged their attacking play down the flanks.
[38] Attuquayefio’s performance wasn’t unnoticed however, and he would be signed by Sheffield Wednesday after the tournament from Accra Olympic. Known in England as Cecil Jones, he would later play in Austria and North America.
[39] Best would leave Wolverhampton Wanderers after the finals, joining Rangers in a £100,000 deal, a then record transfer between British clubs.
[40] McMichael introduced Coventry City midfielder Dave Clements as an auxiliary centre-back, and switched to a back-five which slowly curtailed Ghana’s attacking thrusts.
[41] Alongside Cecil Jones, Willie Evans would also move to Britain, joining Hibernian in Scotland, while Frank Odoi would move to Standard Liege (before later moving to the US alongisde several other African internationals) while Osei Kofi would spend four years in France, before returning to Assante Kotoko.
[42] Haynes, who had suffered several injuries prior to the tournament, had reinvented himself as a deep-lying midfielder, where his passing ability allowed him to dictate play from deep. Partnered with Duncan Edwards, and with the multi-functional wide midfielders Martin Peters and Alan Ball alongside them, England were essentially playing a 4-4-1-1.
[43] For all the discussion around Italy’s luchetto defence, it is remarkable how talented their midfield were, with Rivera and Mazzola both supremely gifted attacking midfielders.
[44] Who when later asked about the decision, would simply reply “Stalingrad.”
England winning in 1966 is interesting - I've always felt that England were somewhat fortunate to win in '66 (having the home advantage, Rattin's red card, Hurst's goal being allowed). I think having Nicholson over Ramsey gives England an advantage, as Nicholson is probably a better coach, and possibly gives England a better chance of retaining the trophy in 1970 (especially as conditions in Argentina might be a slight improvement on Mexico for England).
It will be interesting to see the evolution of Brazilian football come 1970 - in our timeline possibly the ultimate expression of o joga bonito. But in our 1966 Brazil were the World Cup winners in 1958 and 1962, so were better able to see 1966 as an aberration. Here it seems to be hinted that Brazilian football will be a lot more physical (which might be an advantage after 1970...)
I love the little changes - Fred Moore, Anton Beckenbauer (where he should have been, at 1860 München), George Best at Wolves, all the others I've missed. I had wondered whether the changes to nationality rules and Ireland qualifying would see some English players of Irish descent decide to supplant the Irish players who had actually qualified, but the only person who I think that could have been a credible option for were Liverpool's Gerry Byrne and Ian Callaghan (depending on whether Nicholson had called up either). I think I'm right in saying that this agreement to allow 'grandfathering' in the Home Nations is earlier than in our timeline (I think it came in 1993), so this could have big changes in future updates (though I'm struggling to think of a good example - Kevin Keegan impetuously choosing to be called up by Northern Ireland while still a young rookie at Scunthorpe maybe).
It will be interesting to see the evolution of Brazilian football come 1970 - in our timeline possibly the ultimate expression of o joga bonito. But in our 1966 Brazil were the World Cup winners in 1958 and 1962, so were better able to see 1966 as an aberration. Here it seems to be hinted that Brazilian football will be a lot more physical (which might be an advantage after 1970...)
I love the little changes - Fred Moore, Anton Beckenbauer (where he should have been, at 1860 München), George Best at Wolves, all the others I've missed. I had wondered whether the changes to nationality rules and Ireland qualifying would see some English players of Irish descent decide to supplant the Irish players who had actually qualified, but the only person who I think that could have been a credible option for were Liverpool's Gerry Byrne and Ian Callaghan (depending on whether Nicholson had called up either). I think I'm right in saying that this agreement to allow 'grandfathering' in the Home Nations is earlier than in our timeline (I think it came in 1993), so this could have big changes in future updates (though I'm struggling to think of a good example - Kevin Keegan impetuously choosing to be called up by Northern Ireland while still a young rookie at Scunthorpe maybe).
A tournament in Argentina in 1970 is not going to be as corrupt as a tournament in Argentina in 1978 was (assuming butterflies don't mean there's been a coup).
England go into the tournament heavily favoured, preparation is good, Nicholson is tactically astute, though by 1970 the Busby Babes who survived there being no Munich air disaster will be retiring, taking away England's core. I think it's a coin toss whether England win a follow-up tournament. Head says no, heart says yes type stuff.
A more physical Brazil might be more consistent but just grind out results. A good team for tournaments like our timeline's 1974, 1978 and 1982, but maybe transitional and able to be overcome by teams like Italy, Germany or England in 1970.
Germany isn't going to be chosen to host in 1974 here, so it presumably goes to Spain or Italy. I'd guess Italy, seeing as there's no deal being made between Germany and Spain, but awarding the World Cup to a fascist regime - it's not like FIFA doesn't have prior form.
England go into the tournament heavily favoured, preparation is good, Nicholson is tactically astute, though by 1970 the Busby Babes who survived there being no Munich air disaster will be retiring, taking away England's core. I think it's a coin toss whether England win a follow-up tournament. Head says no, heart says yes type stuff.
A more physical Brazil might be more consistent but just grind out results. A good team for tournaments like our timeline's 1974, 1978 and 1982, but maybe transitional and able to be overcome by teams like Italy, Germany or England in 1970.
Germany isn't going to be chosen to host in 1974 here, so it presumably goes to Spain or Italy. I'd guess Italy, seeing as there's no deal being made between Germany and Spain, but awarding the World Cup to a fascist regime - it's not like FIFA doesn't have prior form.
Walpurgisnacht
It was in the Year of Maximum Danger
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[ThreeLionsTheLightningSeedsBassBoosted10Hours.wav]
Do like the more underdog-y nature of world football in TTL--Brazil, especially, has been heavily cut down, and African and Asian teams are getting much more chances to get far.
Do like the more underdog-y nature of world football in TTL--Brazil, especially, has been heavily cut down, and African and Asian teams are getting much more chances to get far.
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So because I have way too much free time apparently, I'm working on something and have two questions
The text for 1934 says that Argentina won their match in 1934 vs Czechoslovakia 2-0, but the section below listing the fixtures says it was just 1-0.
Also, what's the (theoretical) tiebreakers used for groups? I assume Goal difference and then Goals For? Or is it h2h?
Also, the 1958 Group 2 lists the Czechoslovaks as 4th, when it should be Paraguay according to the Text.
The text for 1934 says that Argentina won their match in 1934 vs Czechoslovakia 2-0, but the section below listing the fixtures says it was just 1-0.
Also, what's the (theoretical) tiebreakers used for groups? I assume Goal difference and then Goals For? Or is it h2h?
Also, the 1958 Group 2 lists the Czechoslovaks as 4th, when it should be Paraguay according to the Text.
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Said "too much time to spend" project is an all-time table, inspired by (many other All-time tables), featuring the usual rules like "Knockout games going to Extra Time are listed as Draws" etc. Did them Cup by Cup, Something rather amusing is seeing the rise and fall of certain teams (United States) etc.
| England 1966 | MP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | 37 | 24 | 3 | 10 | 82 | 43 | 39 | 51 |
| Uruguay | 32 | 22 | 4 | 6 | 75 | 40 | 35 | 48 |
| Germany | 29 | 19 | 4 | 6 | 62 | 30 | 32 | 42 |
| Argentina | 27 | 15 | 4 | 8 | 62 | 37 | 25 | 34 |
| Hungary | 28 | 12 | 9 | 7 | 53 | 28 | 25 | 33 |
| Italy | 22 | 13 | 3 | 6 | 46 | 19 | 27 | 29 |
| England (H) | 23 | 12 | 5 | 6 | 35 | 25 | 10 | 29 |
| Yugoslavia | 17 | 11 | 2 | 4 | 34 | 15 | 19 | 24 |
| France | 22 | 11 | 1 | 10 | 35 | 35 | 0 | 23 |
| Soviet Union | 18 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 34 | 27 | 7 | 20 |
| Czechoslovakia | 17 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 27 | 22 | 5 | 17 |
| United States | 11 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 14 | 20 | -6 | 10 |
| Sweden | 14 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 18 | 30 | -12 | 10 |
| Chile | 12 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 12 | 23 | -11 | 9 |
| Portugal | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 17 | 13 | 4 | 8 |
| Spain | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 9 | 1 | 6 |
| Scotland | 9 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 16 | -8 | 6 |
| Romania | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 13 | -2 | 5 |
| Switzerland | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 10 | 13 | -3 | 5 |
| Paraguay | 9 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 9 | 14 | -5 | 5 |
| Belgium | 11 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 13 | 22 | -9 | 5 |
| Austria | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 10 | -2 | 4 |
| Mexico | 20 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 13 | 73 | -60 | 4 |
| Costa Rica | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | -3 | 3 |
| Northern Ireland | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 13 | -4 | 3 |
| Egypt | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 13 | -9 | 3 |
| Peru | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 2 |
| Poland | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 2 |
| Wales | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | -2 | 2 |
| Ireland | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | -2 | 2 |
| Morocco | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | -3 | 2 |
| Netherlands | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 9 | -4 | 2 |
| Bulgaria | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | -3 | 1 |
| Colombia | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | -4 | 1 |
| Korea | 9 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 7 | 26 | -19 | 1 |
| Norway | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| Ghana | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 7 | -4 | 0 |
| Bolivia | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9 | -9 | 0 |
| Japan | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 12 | -11 | 0 |
| India | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 13 | -12 | 0 |
| Siam | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 18 | -18 | 0 |
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You're currently missing one Poland match - they won their opening game at 1938 5-3, so went to the quarter finals and lost 3-2 to Brazil.
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Thanks.
In checking that I did factor that in for Brazil (but not poland, probably because I lost where I was when changing my record keeping), I noticed that the text says Brazil won the 1938 third place "because of a hat trick to overturn a 2 goal deficit", but the "results" section lists it as being a 2-1 win over Sweden.
morbidteaparty
Putting the moron into oxymoron
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Yeah, the 1960s is quite interesting for players being selected for the British and Irish sides who weren't born in the respective nations - Wales had their first non-Welsh born international in 1969 OTL so seems like a sensible decision to bring it in earlier for me. Ramsey and Nicholson's roles being reversed ITTL should lead to some interesting developments for Spurs, and with the European Nations Cup being expanded to eight sides from four in 1968, the Home Nations (and Ireland) should theoretically have a chance of making it from there. Callaghan does play for Ireland, but Gerry Byrne wins a handful of England caps in Nicholson's early years.
Regarding the next hosts two things - Argentina are under the "civil-military dictatorship" of Juan Carlos Ongania (who came to power in 1966 OTL) from 1962, but his dictatorship was quite different from that of the junta, as he was more in favour of a corporatist state a la Salazar's Portugal making him quite an interesting figure. Spain is also a republic with a different constitution to that of 1931 (a different WW2 and different nationalist leadership change the composition of the war), which is why Real Madrid are simply known as Madrid F.C. and Real Sociedad are known as Racing San Sebastián (having changed from Real Sociedad to Donostia and then to Racing after being donated kits and balls by the French club of the same name.) It's also the reason Atletico Madrid remain Athletic Madrid ITTL.
Yeah there's a couple of errors on my part - I'm going to do some revisions and general clearing up once I finish, but I'd go on the scorelines.
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Not enough Bobby Moore 