SAAR SCHON THE WAY

On the 4th of July 1954, West Germany beat Hungary 3-2 in the World Cup Final, held in Switzerland. Two weeks previously, Hungary had beaten them 8-3 in a Group Match. 

During the Qualifying groups, West Germany had beaten Saar 3-0 at home, in Stuttgart and then 1-3 away in Saarbrucken. SAAR? was a short-lived protectorate governed by France following the 1939-45 war. It ran from 1950-6 during France's occupation and was eventually absorbed by Germany. 

Coach Helmut Schon, had managed the Saarland team from 1952-6; he was a German footballer and manager, best remembered for his exceptional career as manager of West Germany in four consecutive World Cups, including winning the Cup in 1974, losing in the final in 1966, and coming in third in 1970. In addition, his teams won the European Championship in 1972 and lost in the final in 1976.

Before qualification was complete, the eight seeded teams were determined by FIFA. They were Austria, Brazil, England, France, Hungary, Italy, Spain and Uruguay. In Group 6, Turkey eliminated Spain in qualification. Spain, in Madrid, had beaten Turkey 4-1, but lost 0-1 in Istanbul. Goal aggregate was not considered and the teams had to "play off" in a neutral, Rome, when the teams drew 2-2....no resolution on the pitch until LOTS were drawn and Spain lost! Can't see FIFA putting up with that these days. 

FIFA gave Turkey the seeding that had previously been allocated to Spain. The tournament, began on June 16th and continued in Switzerland (who were given a free pass to the finals). West Germany was selected in a group with Hungary, Turkey and South Korea. South Korea conceded 16 goals in three matches and scored NONE. The West Germans had to play off with Turkey and won 7-2.

The 1954 tournament used a unique format. The sixteen qualifying teams were divided into four groups of four teams each. Each group contained two seeded teams and two unseeded teams. Only four matches were scheduled for each group, each pitting a seeded team against an unseeded team. This contrasts with the usual round robin in which every team plays every other team: six matches in each group. Another oddity was that 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.

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. If the first and second placed teams were level on points, lots were drawn to decide which team would top the group. However, if the second and third placed teams were level on points, there was a play-off to decide which team would progress to the next stage.

Two of the four groups would require play-offs, and the other two required drawing of lots between the two top teams. The play-offs were between Switzerland and Italy, and Turkey and West Germany: in both matches the unseeded teams (Switzerland and West Germany) repeated earlier victories against the seeds (Italy and Turkey) to progress. In the other two groups, lots were drawn to determine the first-place teams, resulting in Uruguay and Brazil finishing above Austria and Yugoslavia, respectively.

Another unusual feature of the format was that the four group-winning teams were drawn against each other in the knockout stages to produce one finalist, and the four second-placed teams played against each other to produce the second finalist. In subsequent tournaments it has become customary to draw group winners against second-placed teams in the first knockout round.

In any knockout game tied after 90 minutes, 30 minutes of extra time were played. If the scores had still been level after extra time, in any knockout game other than the final, lots would have been drawn to decide which team progressed. However, if the final had been tied after extra time, it would have been replayed, with lots deciding the winner only if the replay was also tied after extra time. In the event, all the knockout games were decided in either normal time or extra time, with no replays or drawing of lots being required. Overall, there were 26 matches and 140 goals @ 5.38 goals per match.

On this day in 1990, England met West Germany in the World Cup Semi-final, the match that reduced Paul Gascoigne to tears, when he was "booked", which meant that should England win, he would miss the Final.Thankfully, in the penalty shoot out, Waddle and Pearce missed their spot kicks and saved upsetting Paul any more.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCjsBoJSs-E