1954: Hungary reach their peak

1954: Hungary reach their peak
The fifth FIFA World Cup was one of the most amazing tournaments ever played. The first covered by television, it produced an astonishing 140 goals in 26 matches. It also featured a game many hail as the match of the century, another which saw the eventual champions thrashed 8-3 and yet another that produced a staggering 12 goals and one of the greatest comebacks in history. Add to the mix one of the best teams of all time and a totally unexpected winner and there is no surprise it has earned its lofty place in football history.

Format innovation
The tournament saw the introduction of squad numbers on players' shirts and also a fourth change in format. This time the 16 teams were divided into four groups of four with the top two in each going on to a knockout phase. However, two teams in each group were seeded and only had to play the other two weaker teams.

Debut for Turkey
The shocks began before the tournament had even started. Spain - already seeded for the competition proper - were knocked out in qualifying by Turkey, who reached their first World Cup finals on the toss of a coin. Scotland and South Korea were also appearing for the first time, but Sweden, who had reached the last four in 1950, were a notable absentee.

Magnificent Magyars
However, the team everybody thought would win were Hungary who, under coach Gusztav Sebes were unbeaten in four years. They had recently inflicted England's first-ever home defeat by a foreign side in a 6-3 win at Wembley and a 7-1 thrashing of the same illustrious opponents in Budapest merely underlined their pedigree.

Incomparable Puskás
Indeed, it seemed inconceivable that Hungary would not win. Inspired by Ferenc Puskás, nicknamed 'The Galloping Major' and Sándor Kocsis - 'The Man With The Golden Head' - they scored 17 goals in their two group matches - winning 9-0 against hapless South Korea and 8-3 against West Germany.

West German guile
There was, however, a subtext to that second victory. The Germans - coached by Sepp Herberger - calculated they had a better chance if they could avoid Brazil in the quarter-finals so they deliberately fielded a weakened team in the belief they could win a resulting play-off against Turkey, who they had already beaten 4-1. More significantly perhaps was an appalling foul on Puskás, which effectively put him out of the tournament.

Kocsis rampant
However, with Kocsis in rampant form - he scored three against the South Koreans, four against the Germans and two more in the quarter-final win against Brazil - the Hungarians still seemed unstoppable. That game against Brazil, featuring the best two teams in the world, ended in a 4-2 win for the Hungarians but the 'Battle of Berne' is remembered for the violent nature of the game, in which three players were sent off, and for the infamous scenes after the match when players fought an ugly battle in the tunnel.

Magnificent match
Hungary's semi-final against the reigning champions, Uruguay, produced not another bloodbath, as many had feared, but a magnificent match - described by some as the finest ever played. In a game in which both sides played to their best, Uruguay - who had beaten England 4-2 in the quarter-finals - found themselves 2-0 down just after half-time. However, inspired by Juan Alberto Schiaffino, they fought back to force the game into extra time. There, though, the Hungarians proved stronger with Kocsis scoring twice in the last ten minutes to take Hungary into the final and condemn Uruguay to their first-ever World Cup defeat.

Memorable games
The battle to join Hungary in the final produced some memorable matches, none better than the quarter-final between the hosts, Switzerland, and Austria. Trailing 3-0 after 23 minutes the Austrians hit back with an incredible five goals in seven minutes. Austria led 5-4 at half time and finally went though 7-5.

Austria flattened
Perhaps exhausted by their heroics the Austrians were under-par four days later when they faced West Germany in the semi-finals. The Germans, who had followed up a 7-2 play-off win against Turkey with a 2-0 quarter-final defeat of Yugoslavia were the underdogs. However, they battled to a 1-0 half-time lead and then - superbly marshalled by their captain Fritz Walter, who scored two penalties - they took control, cruising to a 6-1 victory, with Walter's younger brother, Ottmar, also scoring twice.

Early goals
The final at the Wankdorf stadium in Berne on 4 July produced the biggest upset in a World Cup final. The Hungarians were playing peerless football and after just eight minutes they were 2-0 up. Puskás, recalled for the final but clearly unfit, scored the first and when Zoltán Czibor added a second the game seemed to be up. The Germans, though, battled hard against over-confident opponents, and impressively - after just 18 minutes - drew level with goals by Max Morlock and Helmut Rahn.

Rahn hits the winner
Even so the Hungarians continued to dominate and only a magnificent display by the German goalkeeper, Toni Turek, kept them out. Finally, with just six minutes left the Germans went ahead through Rahn. Hungary, still not believing they could lose continued to attack. However, a Puskás goal was ruled offside and in the final minute Turek produced a miraculous save to deny Czibor.

All over for Hungary
The West Germans had won 3-2 against all the odds and for Hungary defeat was hard to bear. Sadly, the world never again saw them at their best as the team broke up following the Russian crushing of the 1956 uprising.