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The 1954 FIFA World Cup final was the final match of the 1954 FIFA World Cup, the fifth World Cup in FIFA history. The game was played at the Wankdorf Stadium in Bern, Switzerland, on 4 July 1954, and saw West Germany beat the heavily favoured Golden Team of Hungary 3–2. Earlier in the group stage, Hungary had defeated West Germany 8–3. The 1954 final is often listed as one of the greatest matches in World Cup history, and also one of its most unexpected upsets. Beyond football, some historians ascribe the match a lasting impact on both German and Hungarian post-World War II history, contributing in West Germany to a sense of regained international recognition after the lost Second World War and denazification, and in Hungary to discontent with the communist-authoritarian regime in the run-up to the 1956 Hungarian revolution. In Germany, the 1954 final is known as the Miracle of Bern (German: Wunder von Bern, pronounced [ˌvʊndɐ fɔn ˈbɛʁn] ). The win earned Germany its first of four World Cup titles, with the other titles to follow in 1974 and 1990 as West Germany, and in 2014 as reunified Germany. West Germany was the third country to win a World Cup, following Uruguay (1930 and 1950) and Italy (1934 and 1938), although, different from Uruguay and Italy, West Germany won its maiden title as a guest rather than host. For Hungary, the second place in 1954 remains the best World Cup result to date, jointly with finishing runners-up in 1938. The 1954 tournament is the only FIFA World Cup thus far in which two teams from Central Europe contested the final, with another Central European team, that of Austria, finishing third in the competition. Background Hungary Hungary's legendary Golden Team – also known as the Mighty Magyars – was the favorite to win the 1954 World Cup. In the five years prior to the final, it had remained unbeaten in 31 games (32 if counting a match against East Germany in 1952 that is not considered an official international). Hungary was also the reigning Olympic Champion and winner of the Central European International Cup in 1953. In 1953, Hungary had defeated England 6–3 at Wembley, becoming the first team outside the United Kingdom and Ireland to beat England on home soil, and had thrashed England 7–1 in Budapest just before the World Cup. Hungary did not have to play qualifiers for the 1954 World Cup, as opponent Poland withdrew for lack of prospects. The players of the Hungary national team were full-time professionals. Most played for the army club Budapest Honvéd FC, or for MTK Budapest FC, which, in the 1950s, was run by Hungary's secret police. Several members of the Golden Team were well known and highly regarded for their skills, including forwards Sándor Kocsis and Ferenc Puskás, attacking midfielder Nándor Hidegkuti, half-back József Bozsik, outside forward Zoltán Czibor and goalkeeper Gyula Grosics. Coach Gusztáv Sebes, who was also Hungary's Deputy Minister for Sport, and MTK coach Márton Bukovi are credited with developing further the rigid WM formation that was standard in European football in the early 1950s. Innovations included pulling Hidegkuti – who was nominally listed as centre-forward – back into midfield to create space for the inside forwards, Puskás and Kocsis; employing Bozsik as deep-lying playmaker, with the other half-back, József Zakariás, covering for Bozsik; requesting full-backs to assist in attack and wingers to assist in defence; and introducing flexible positional play that created confusion among opponents used to fixed roles and strict man-marking. West Germany The three German entities emerging from the Second World War – West Germany, East Germany and the Saar protectorate – were not admitted to FIFA until late 1950. As a result, Germany missed the 1950 FIFA World Cup. In the early 1950s, Sepp Herberger – resuming the role as national team coach that he had already occupied between 1936 and 1942 – built the West German team around a nucleus of players from the club 1. FC Kaiserslautern, the German champions of 1951 and 1953, led by veteran playmaker Fritz Walter. The players were semi-professionals (Vertragsspieler), who often worked in a second job or owned a business to support their incomes. Prior to the 1954 tournament, West Germany had played only a few friendly internationals and a short qualifying campaign (against Norway and the Saar). This lack of international exposure left both national and foreign observers unclear about the quality of the German team. Herberger advocated clear roles in defence but permanent positional switches in attack – dubbed the "Herberger whirl" – to unseat the opponents' defenders. Route to the final Overview Hungary In the first stage, Hungary and West Germany were drawn into the same group (2). Hungary opened the World Cup with a 9–0 win over South Korea. It then played Germany, winning 8–3, and therefore qualified for the quarter-finals. In the game, Puskás suffered an ankle hairline fracture from a foul by German central defender Werner Liebrich that made Puskás miss the quarter- and semi-finals. In the quarter-finals, Hungary beat co-favorites Brazil – runners-up of the 1950 World Cup – with 4–2, despite Puskás' absence. The hard-fought, grueling match became famous as the Battle of Berne. In the semi-finals, Hungary defeated defending World Cup champions Uruguay 4–2 after extra time. Also this match is regarded a classic for the high quality of both sides' attacking game. Kocsis scored twice in both the quarter- and semi-finals. From a statistical perspective, on the eve of the 1954 World Cup final, the Hungarian team held the highest Elo score for a national side to that date. Its rating was surpassed only in 2014 by Germany. West Germany West Germany first played Turkey, winning 4–1. In the subsequent 3–8 loss to Hungary, Herberger rested several key players and played others out of position (for example, Fritz Walter as central striker instead of playmaker). The main purpose was to preserve energy for the upcoming decider against (once more) Turkey. However, by sparing his strongest eleven, Herberger may have obscured the real strength of the German team to its subsequent opponents, including Hungary. Germany won the decider against Turkey 7–2. West Germany went as outsider into both its quarter- and semi-final matches. In the quarter-finals, West Germany beat highly regarded Yugoslavia – the Olympic silver medalists of 1952 – with 2–0. The team then went on to defeat Austria in the semi-finals, with an unexpectedly lopsided score of 6–1. Pre-match Team preparations During the tournament, the Hungarian team took residence in a hotel in the town center of Solothurn. This had several repercussions. As Hungary's semi-final against Uruguay was decided only after extra time, the team missed the return bus from Lausanne, and had to organize private cars that arrived only late at night. The evening before the final, a village fair took place in front of.... Discover the Erik Bern popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Erik Bern books.