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The 1954 FIFA World Cup was the fifth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football tournament for senior men's national teams of the nations affiliated to FIFA. It was held in Switzerland from 16 June to 4 July. Switzerland was selected as the host country in July 1946.[1] At the tournament several all-time records for goal-scoring were set, including the highest average number of goals scored per game. The tournament was won by Hungary, who defeated tournament favourites Germany 3–2 in the final for their first World Cup title. Uruguay the defending champions were eliminated by World Cup finalist Hungary and would lose to South Korea in a third place match.
| Fussball-Weltmeisterschaft Schweiz 1954 (German) Championnat du Monde de Football Suisse 1954 (French) Campionato mondiale di calcio Svizzera 1954 (Italian) Campiunadis mundials da ballape Svizra 1954 (Romansh) | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | Switzerland |
| Dates | 16 June – 4 July |
| Teams | 12 (from 4 confederations) |
| Venue(s) | 6 (in 6 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Hungary (1st title) |
| Runners-up |  Germany |
| Third place |  South Korea |
| Fourth place |  Uruguay |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 20 |
| Goals scored | 140 (7 per match) |
| Attendance | 768,607 (38,430 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Sándor Kocsis (11 goals) |
← 1950 1958 → | |
Switzerland was awarded the tournament unopposed at a meeting in Luxembourg City on 22 July 1946, the same day Brazil was selected to host the 1950 World Cup.[1]
The hosts (Switzerland) and the defending champions (Uruguay) qualified automatically. Of the remaining 10 places, 7 were allocated to Europe (including Egypt, Turkey, and Israel), two to the Americas, and one to Asia.
Scotland, Turkey, and South Korea made their World Cup debuts at this tournament (Turkey and Scotland had qualified for the 1950 competition but both withdrew). South Korea became the first independent Asian country to participate in a World Cup tournament. However, South Korea did not appear at a World Cup finals again until 1986, while Turkey's next appearance was not until 2002. Several teams, such as Hungary (the pre-war World Cup's runners-up) were back into the tournament after missing out the 1950 World Cup.
The teams that finished third and fourth in 1950, Sweden and Spain, both failed to qualify. Spain was eliminated by Turkey; the two countries finished level on points in their qualifying group, and then drew their neutral play-off, which led to the drawing of lots by a blindfolded Italian boy, who picked Turkey to progress.[2][3]
Japan was allowed to qualify again, after having been banned from the 1950 FIFA World Cup. However, Japan failed to qualify, having finished below South Korea in their qualifying group. Argentina declined to participate for the third successive World Cup.
List of qualified teams
The following 12 teams qualified for the final tournament.
Format
Group stage
The 1954 tournament used a unique format. extra time, which in most tournaments is not employed at the group stage, was played in the group games if the score was level after 90 minutes, with the result being a draw if the scores were still level after 120 minutes.[4]
Two points were awarded for a win and one for a draw. The two teams with the most points from each group progressed to the knockout stage. In the case of a tie between two teams for second place, the two tied teams competed in a play-off to decide which team would progress to the next stage, with extra time and drawing of lots if necessary.[4][5] Group 4 ended up requiring play-offs – between Switzerland and Italy.
Quarter-finals
For each of the first two quarter-finals, one team progressing from group 1 was drawn against one team progressing from group 2. For the remaining two quarter-finals, this procedure was repeated for groups 3 and 4.[4] Before the tournament, it was stated that in the event of a quarter-final being tied after 90 minutes, 30 minutes of extra time would be played, followed by drawing of lots if necessary.[4] Later, it was stated that a quarter-final could be replayed in this situation.[6] The draw was scheduled to be held on Sunday 20 June, though in fact it was delayed into the early morning of Monday 21 June.[7]
Semi-finals
For the semi-finals, a further draw was held, with each semi-final featuring one team from groups 1–2 against one team from groups 3–4.[4] In the event of a semi-final being tied after extra time, it would be replayed once, followed by drawing of lots if necessary.[4]
The draw for the semi-finals was held on Sunday 27 June.
Final
The final would be replayed if scores were level after extra-time. If the replay was also tied, the winner would be decided by the tournament organising committee,[4] or by drawing of lots.[8]
Notable landmarks
For the first time there was television coverage,[9][10] and special coins were issued to mark the event.
The 11 goals scored by Kocsis of Hungary not only led the World Cup but bettered the previous record (set by Brazilian Ademir in the previous tournament) by three goals. Kocsis' mark was broken by Just Fontaine's 13 goals in 1958. Despite not winning the 1954 tournament, their fourth-place finish and their two previous World Cup titles made Uruguay the most successful World Cup nation for eight years, until Brazil won their second title in 1962.
Six venues in six cities (1 venue in each city) hosted the tournament's 20 matches.
| Bern, Canton of Bern | Basel, Basel-Stadt | Lausanne, Vaud |
|---|---|---|
| Wankdorf Stadium | St. Jakob Stadium | Stade Olympique de la Pontaise |
| 46°57′46″N 7°27′54″E | 47°32′29″N 7°37′12″E | 46°32′00″N 006°37′27″E |
| Capacity: 64,600 | Capacity: 54,800 | Capacity: 50,300 |
 |
 |
 |
| Geneva, Canton of Geneva | Lugano, Ticino | Zürich, Canton of Zürich |
| Charmilles Stadium | Cornaredo Stadium | Hardturm Stadium |
| 46.2091°N 6.1182°E | 46°01′25″N 8°57′42″E | 47°23′35″N 8°30′17″E |
| Capacity: 35,997 | Capacity: 35,800 | Capacity: 34,800 |
 |
 |
 |
The 12 finalists named squads of 22 for the finals, though South Korea only named 20 players in their squad. Unlike recent tournaments, there were no requirements for teams to name three goalkeepers; most teams did, but 6 did not. Some teams also chose to leave some of their named squad at home, only bringing them to Switzerland if necessary.
Raymon Wyssling
Benjamin Griffiths
Charlie Faultless
Manuel Asensi
José Vieira da Costa
Raymond Vincenti
William Ling
Esteban Marino- Arthur Edward Ellis
Laurent Franken
Vincenzo Orlandini
Mário Vianna- Emil Schmetzer
- Carl Erich Steiner
István Zsolt
All times listed are local time (CET, UTC+1).
Group 1
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Brazil |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | +6 | 4 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 |  France |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | |
| 3 |  Mexico |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | −6 | 0 |
Source: FIFA
Group 2
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hungary |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 10 | +7 | 4 | Advance to the knockout stage |
| 2 | Germany |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 9 | −2 | 2 | |
| 3 |  Turkey |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 13 | −5 | 0 |
Source: FIFA
Group 3
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Uruguay |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | +9 | 4 | Advance to the knockout stage |
| 2 |  South Korea |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 2 | |
| 3 |  Scotland |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | −8 | 0 |
Source: FIFA
| Uruguay | 2–0 | South Korea |
|---|---|---|
Míguez  71'Schiaffino 84' |
| South Korea | 1–0 | Scotland |
|---|---|---|
| Choi 33' |
Group 4
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  England |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 3 | Advance to the knockout stage |
| 2 |  Switzerland |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 2 | |
| 3 |  Italy |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 1 |
Source: FIFA
| England | 2–0 | Switzerland |
|---|---|---|
| Mullen 43' Wilshaw 69' |
Report |
Bracket
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| 27 June – Geneva | ||||||||||
| Hungary | 4 | |||||||||
| 30 June – Basel | ||||||||||
| France | 0 | |||||||||
| Hungary | 2 | |||||||||
| 26 June – Lausanne | ||||||||||
| Uruguay | 1 | |||||||||
| Uruguay | 6 | |||||||||
| 4 July – Bern | ||||||||||
| Switzerland | 5 | |||||||||
| Hungary (a.e.t.) | 4 | |||||||||
| 27 June – Bern | ||||||||||
| Germany | 2 | |||||||||
| Germany | 3 | |||||||||
| 30 June – Lausanne | ||||||||||
| Brazil | 2 | |||||||||
| Germany | 6 | |||||||||
| 26 June – Basel | ||||||||||
| South Korea | 0 | Third place | ||||||||
| South Korea | 3 | |||||||||
| 3 July – Zürich | ||||||||||
| England | 2 | |||||||||
| South Korea | 1 | |||||||||
| Uruguay | 0 | |||||||||
Quarter-finals
| Uruguay | 6–5 | Switzerland |
|---|---|---|
| Borges 5' Hohberg 22', 86'Varela 39'Schiaffino 46'Ambrois 78' |
Ballaman 16', 39' Hügi 17', 19', 60' |
| South Korea | 3–2 | England |
|---|---|---|
| Choi 25', 27', 53' |
Lofthouse 16' Finney 67' |
Semi-finals
Third place play-off
| South Korea | 1–0 | Uruguay |
|---|---|---|
| Choi 89' |
Final
In 1986, FIFA published a report that ranked all teams in each World Cup up to and including 1986, based on progress in the competition, overall results and quality of the opposition.[11][12] The rankings for the 1954 tournament were as follows:
| R | Team | G | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hungary | 2 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 13 | +14 | 10 |
| 2 | Germany | 2 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 18 | 15 | +3 | 6 |
| 3 | South Korea | 3 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 10 | −5 | 6 |
| 4 | Uruguay | 3 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 8 | +7 | 6 |
| Eliminated in the quarter-finals | ||||||||||
| 5 | Brazil | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 3 | +5 | 4 |
| 6 | England | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 7 | +1 | 3 |
| 7 | Switzerland | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 9 | −2 | 2 |
| 8 | France | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 7 | −4 | 2 |
| Eliminated in the group stage | ||||||||||
| 9 | Italy | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 1 |
| 10 | Turkey | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 13 | −5 | 0 |
| 11 | Mexico | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | −6 | 0 |
| 12 | Scotland | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | −8 | 0 |
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