On 7 July 1974, the football teams of West Germany and the Netherlands faced off at the Olympiastadion in Munich for the Fifa World Cup Final.
The game was marred by several penalties and even a minor dispute arose with the head of FIFA.
How did they get there?
West Germany won two games in the original stages of the tournament but lost 1–0 to East Germany. The Netherlands also won two games at the start of the tournament.
After the first half of the tournament, both sides moved to two new groups. This was a change from the prior World Cup as it did not have knockout stages.
Both sides won their three matches during this part of the event but the Netherlands had a +8 goal difference compared to West Germany’s +5.
Gameplay
Johan Neeskens scored the first goal of the game for the Netherlands at 2′. It was his fifth goal of the tournament, placing him second for most goals scored during that year’s World Cup.
Neeskens scored during a penalty kick when Uli Hoenes scored a penalty in the near field. This was the first time a penalty had been called during a World Cup final. West Germany’s Bertie Vogts was also issued a yellow card two minutes later.
Paul Breitner scored a goal on the penalty kick at 25′. This happened when Bernd Holzenbeing was fouled not far from the net. Breitner chose to kick it this time and it went.
The Netherlands was issued two yellow cards as Willem van Heeneghem had one on 23′ while Nieskens got one on 40′.
Gerd Müller scored his final goal at 43′ in the World Cup competition to give West Germany a 2–1 lead. Johan Cruyff then argued with the referee as the first half was over. He received a yellow card at 45′, making it the third yellow card for the Netherlands and the fourth for the entire game.
It looked like Müller scored the second goal in the second half but was called offside, thus nullifying the potential goal.
The West German team also argued that they were fouled again in the later half but this was considered false. In the end, West Germany won 2–1.
Shortly thereafter West Germany became the first European champion to win a Fifa World Cup Final 1974; The side won its first title in 1972.
After the match
FIFA President Joo Havelunge from 1974 to 1998 later argued that the 1974 World Cup was set for West Germany to win. He had said the same thing about the 1966 World Cup which England won.
However, their claims were quickly dismissed as there was no evidence to suggest a fix.
In addition, West Germany became the first team to collect the current iteration of the World Cup trophy. The old model was taken out of use in 1970.
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