West Germany won its second FIFA World Cup title in 1974, the first tournament to award the new FIFA World Cup Trophy designed by Silvio Gazzaniga.
Key Facts
- Tournament edition
- 10th FIFA World Cup
- Dates
- 13 June – 7 July 1974
- Final score
- West Germany 2–1 Netherlands
- Top scorer
- Grzegorz Lato (Poland) – 7 goals
- Müller career World Cup goals
- 14 (new record, surpassing Fontaine's 13)
- First-time participants
- Australia, East Germany, Haiti, Zaire
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Held on a quadrennial cycle, the 1974 FIFA World Cup was assigned to West Germany as host nation. Brazil had permanently retained the previous Jules Rimet Trophy after winning it for the third time in 1970, necessitating a newly commissioned trophy for future competitions.
The tournament was played across West Germany and West Berlin from 13 June to 7 July 1974. West Germany defeated the Netherlands 2–1 in the final at the Olympiastadion in Munich, claiming the country's second World Cup title. Poland finished third, while Gerd Müller's final goal set a new career World Cup scoring record of 14 goals.
West Germany's victory established the FIFA World Cup Trophy as the tournament's permanent award. Gerd Müller's record of 14 World Cup goals stood for 32 years until Ronaldo surpassed it in 2006. East Germany and Zaire made their only appearances at the final stage, and the tournament remained notable as one of only four World Cups requiring no extra time in any match.
Result
at Olympiastadion, Munich, West Germany