The 1974 Football World Cup was held in West Germany. The host nation won the title beating the Netherlands in the final, 2-1. The victory was the second for West Germany, who had won in 1954.

The tournament marked the first time that the current trophy, the FIFA World Cup, was awarded. The previous trophy, the Jules Rimet Trophy, was won for the third time by Brazil in 1970 and awarded permanently to the Brazilians.

The format of the competition changed from 1970: 16 teams qualified, divided into four groups of four. The top two teams in each group advanced to the second round, where they split into two groups of four. The winners of each group played each other in the final, and the second place finishers in the third place match.

The first round saw a politically charged match as West and East Germany played each other in Hamburg. The East won that match 1-0, but fell in the second round. West Germany was led by Franz Beckenbauer and Gerd Müller, who scored the game winner in the final. Although the Dutch finished second, their star Johan Cruyff and their Total Football system dazzled the competition.

Poland's Grzegorz Lato led the tournament in scoring seven goals.

First Round

Group 1

Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
East Germany	5	3	2	1	0	4	1	3
West Germany	4	3	2	0	1	4	1	3
Chile	2	3	0	2	1	1	2	-1
Australia	1	3	0	1	2	0	5	-5

June 14, Olympiastadion, Berlin - West Germany 1 - 0 Chile

June 14, Volksparkstadion, Hamburg - East Germany 2 - 0 Australia

June 18, Volksparkstadion, Hamburg - West Germany 3 - 0 Australia

June 18, Olympiastadion, Berlin - East Germany 1 - 1  Chile

June 22, Olympiastadion, Berlin - Australia 0 - 0 Chile

June 22, Volksparkstadion, Hamburg - East Germany 1 - 0 West Germany

Group 2

Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Yugoslavia	4	3	1	2	0	10	1	9
Brazil	4	3	1	2	0	3	0	3
Scotland	4	3	1	2	0	3	1	2
Zaire	0	3	0	0	3	0	14	-14

June 13, Waldstadion, Frankfurt - Brazil 0 - 0 Yugoslavia

June 14, Westfalenstadion, Dortmund - Scotland 2 - 0 Zaire

June 18, Parkstadion, Gelsenkirchen - Yugoslavia 9 - 0 Zaire

June 18, Waldstadion, Frankfurt - Brazil 0 - 0 Scotland

June 22, Waldstadion, Frankfurt - Scotland 1 - 1 Yugoslavia

June 22, Waldstadion, Frankfurt - Brazil 3 - 0 Zaire

Group 3

Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Netherlands	5	3	2	1	0	6	1	5
Sweden	4	3	1	2	0	3	0	3
Bulgaria	2	3	0	2	1	2	5	-3
Uruguay	1	3	0	1	2	1	6	-5

June 15, Niedersachsenstadion, Hannover - Netherlands 2 - 0 Uruguay

June 15, Rheinstadion, Düsseldorf - Sweden 0 - 0 Bulgaria

June 19, Niedersachsenstadion, Hannover - Bulgaria 1 - 1 Uruguay

June 19, Westfalenstadion, Dortmund - Netherlands 0 - 0 Sweden

June 23, Westfalenstadion, Dortmund - Netherlands 4 - 1 Bulgaria

June 23, Rheinstadion, Düsseldorf - Sweden 3 - 0 Uruguay

Group 4

Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Poland	6	3	3	0	0	12	3	9
Argentina	3	3	1	1	1	7	5	2
Italy	3	3	1	1	1	5	4	1
Haiti	0	3	0	0	3	2	14	-12

June 15, Olympiastadion, Munich - Italy 3 - 1 Haiti

June 15, Neckarstadion, Stuttgart - Poland 3 - 2 Argentina

June 19, Neckarstadion, Stuttgart - Italy 1 - 1 Argentina

June 19, Olympiastadion, Munich - Poland 7 - 0 Haiti

June 22, Olympiastadion, Munich - Argentina 4 - 1 Haiti

June 22, Neckarstadion, Stuttgart - Poland 2 - 1 Italy

Second Round

Group 1

Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Netherlands	6	3	3	0	0	8	0	8
Brazil	4	3	2	0	1	3	3	0
East Germany	1	3	0	1	2	1	4	-3
Argentina	1	3	0	1	2	2	7	-5

June 26, Parkstadion, Gelsenkirchen - Netherlands 4 - 0 Argentina

June 26, Niedersachsenstadion, Hannover - Brazil 1 - 0 East Germany

June 30, Niedersachsenstadion, Hannover - Brazil 2 - 1 Argentina

June 30, Parkstadion, Gelsenkirchen - Netherlands 2 - 0 East Germany

July 3, Parkstadion, Gelsenkirchen - East Germany 1 - 1 Argentina

July 3, Westfalenstadion, Dortmund - Netherlands 2 - 0 Brazil

Group 2

Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
West Germany	6	3	3	0	0	7	2	5
Poland	4	3	2	0	1	3	2	1
Sweden	2	3	1	0	2	4	6	-2
Yugoslavia	0	3	0	0	3	2	6	-4

June 26, Rheinstadion, Düsseldorf - West Germany 2 - 0 Yugoslavia

June 26, Neckarstadion, Stuttgart - Poland 1 - 0 Sweden

June 30, Waldstadion, Frankfurt - Poland 2 - 1 Yugoslavia

June 30, Rheinstadion, Düsseldorf - West Germany 4 - 2 Sweden

July 3, Waldstadion, Frankfurt - West Germany 1 - 0 Poland

July 3, Rheinstadion, Düsseldorf - Sweden 2 - 1 Yugoslavia

Third Place Match

July 6, Olympiastadion, Munich - Poland 1 - 0 Brazil

Final

July 7, Olympiastadion, Munich - West Germany 2 - 1 Netherlands

Attendance: 77,822

Referee: Jack Taylor (England)

Goals: Neeskens (NED) 2' (penalty), Breitner (FRG) 25' (penalty), Müller (FRG) 43'.

Neeskens scored the first goal within 90 seconds of the kickoff, before Germany had even touched the ball. Gerd Müller's goal was his 14th in World Cups, which beat Just Fontaine's record of 13.