FIFA World Cup 1954 Group 2

fifa world cup 1954 poster The seedings were decided before the end of the qualifying competition and Spain were to be one of them but they were unexpectedly eliminated by Turkey on the toss of a coin after a drawn replay. Turkey therefore inherited Spain's seeded status despite never having appeared in the World Cup finals before. Hungary, the Olympic champions, were the other seed. There were an average of over seven goals per match and a play-off was needed to separate West Germany and Turkey. As there was no professional league in Germany at the time, the West German team were all amateurs. Technically the teams from the communist countries were also amateurs but in fact they played as professionals for their clubs.

West Germany

Turkey

West Germany 4 Turkey 1

Wankdorf Stadium, Bern (39,000)
17 June 1954

Suat put Turkey into the lead in the second minute of the match and they held on for just over ten minutes before West Germany equalised. In the second half, the Germans stamped their authority on the game and scored another three.

Hungary

South Korea

Hungary 9 South Korea 0

Hardturm Stadium, Zürich (18,000)
17 June 1954

Hungary were as the outstanding European team of the period having been unbeaten in their previous 32 games. They faced easy opposition in their opening match.

(Glen Isherwood, Andre Silva)

Hungary

West Germany

Hungary 8 West Germany 3

St Jakob Stadium, Basel (65,000)
20 June 1954

With two points already in the bag, the West German coach, Sepp Herberger, rested several key players in order to disguise the real strength of his side, knowing they would face a weak team in the play-off. The Hungarians ran riot, Kocsis scoring four and although Germany rallied towards the end with two goals, they were comprehensively beaten. Ominously, however, Hungary's captain, the great Ferenc Puskás had to go off with a broken ankle.

Turkey

South Korea

Turkey 7 South Korea 0

Charmilles Stadium, Geneva (3,000)
20 June 1954

Turkey demolished the unfortunate South Koreans to finish level on points with Germany.

Play-Off

West Germany

Turkey

West Germany 7 Turkey 2

Hardturm Stadium, Zürich (18,000)
23 June 1954

Herberger's gamble against Hungary paid off as his side took Turkey apart. Mustafa gave his side some brief hope by scoring in the 21st minute to make the score 2-1 but after that it was one way traffic.

(Andre Silva)