The finest FIFA World Cup Finals

#1 Hungary vs West Germany, 1954

The calm before the storm: the World Cup final, 1954

Hungary came into the World Cup in 1954 with the whole world expecting them to take home the trophy. After all, the ‘Mighty Magyars’ hadn’t lost a match since 1950, and in Ferenc Puskas, they had arguably the best player of the time.

They blew away teams who dared to stand in their way, with embarrassing scorelines such as 9-0 and 8-3. One of the teams on the receiving end of the Hungarian blitz was West Germany, and when they recovered and made it to the final, they arrived with vengeance on their minds.

All such plans of seeking revenge were thwarted when Hungary raced into a 2-0 lead within the first ten minutes. Onlookers concluded to themselves that this was going to be a repeat of the previous shellacking – Hungary would soon become world champions and establish themselves as legends of the game.

This time, it was the Germans who embarked on plan-foiling of their own. Within minutes, they got their first goal through Max Morlock’s lucky strike.

This goal fired up the Germans, and Morlock in particular – he went on a rampaging run eight minutes later, and Hungary could only clear it for a corner, which resulted in yet another corner. Fritz Walter, the playmaker in the German lineup scooped the ball all the way to the penalty spot, where Helmut Rohn headed home sumptuously.

Less than twenty minutes had been played, and already four goals had been scored. Having seen their 2-0 lead vaporize in no time, the Hungarians came out all guns blazing throughout the rest of the first half. Nandor Hidekguti’s venomous strike needed an acrobatic stop from the German custodian, and minutes later, Hidekguti was it again – only this time, his shot cannoned off the post. Only towards the end of the first period could the Germans fashion a chance for themselves, with only a goal-line clearance preventing a third German goal.

Hungary picked up the second half where they left off, and soon, a glut of chances came their way. An unmarked Puskas fired straight at the German goalkeeper; ten minutes later, two successive goal-line clearances from Kohlmeyer kept Hungary at bay; a Sandor Kocsis header clattered the bar soon after; a string of saves denied Hungary yet again, while the irrepressible Hidekguti this time drove his shot into the side netting with the goal at his mercy. West Germany were being destroyed by Hungary in a lopsided second half and they were hanging on by the finest of threads. Hungary looked like scoring every time they poured forward.

In the 84th minute, the Germans finally managed to break out of their own half having being barricaded in by the Magyars, and Hans Schafer wasted no time in driving forward. His cross was only half cleared, and Ottmar Walter picked up the loose ball and fed it for Rohn, whose low drive flashed beyond Grosics in the Hungarian goal to make it 3-2 to West Germany.

Just when they thought they had nicked an improbable victory, Puskas equalized for Hungary. As he wheeled off to celebrate the all-important goal, he saw the linesman with his flag raised. Hungary’s equalizer didn’t count – it was offside.

With that, the Mighty Magyars saw their unbeaten run come to an unexpected end in the World Cup final of all games, starting their downfall as a footballing giant.

As for West Germany, the newly crowned world champions, this victory was not just limited to the realms of sport. This win put the Germans back on the map, after the utter humiliation faced by them in the World War.

A nation regained its identity and its place in the world.