Moment 1 of 4
World Cup final / Olympiastadion, Munich / Sunday 7 July 1974
West Germany
Breitner 25′ (pen), Müller 43′
Score: West Germany 2, Netherlands 1
Netherlands
Neeskens 2′ (pen)
The final Total Football didn't win
Johan Cruyff was brought down inside the first minute, and Johan Neeskens scored the penalty before a West German player had touched the ball. West Germany came back. Paul Breitner levelled from the spot and Gerd Müller scored the winner before half-time. The Netherlands had been the team of the tournament, and they lost the final.
Neeskens scores the penalty, 0–1, with Maier beaten. World Cup final, Munich, 7 July 1974. Photo: Bert Verhoeff / Anefo, Nationaal Archief. Public domain (CC0).
The first minute
The Netherlands kicked off and kept the ball until Cruyff ran into the penalty area, where Uli Hoeneß brought him down. The English referee, Jack Taylor, gave a penalty.
Neeskens scored it in the second minute. No West German player had touched the ball.
Johan Cruyff leaves the pitch, beaten, after the final. Munich, 7 July 1974. Photo: Bert Verhoeff / Anefo, Nationaal Archief. Public domain (CC0).
West Germany reply
Paul Breitner equalised with another penalty in the 25th minute. Gerd Müller scored in the 43rd. There were no more goals.
After Munich
It was West Germany's second World Cup, twenty years after their first in 1954. The crowd in the Olympiastadion was 78,200.
Why it mattered
The best side of the tournament lost its final. Total Football is remembered all the same, as the way the Netherlands played in 1974.
Sources and credits
- 1974 FIFA World Cup final, Wikipedia (English)
- 1974 FIFA World Cup, Wikipedia (English)
- Photos: Bert Verhoeff / Anefo, Nationaal Archief. Public domain (CC0)
Published: checked against the sources above
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