The 1974 FIFA World Cup was the tenth FIFA World Cup and was held in West Germany from 13 June to 7 July. West Germany claimed their second title defeating the Netherlands 2–1 in the final at the Olympiastadion, Munich
The tournament marked the first time that the current trophy, the FIFA World Cup Trophy, created by the Italian sculptor Silvio Gazzaniga, was awarded. The previous trophy, the Jules Rimet Trophy, was awarded permanently to Brazil following their third title in 1970.
- 1. Host selection
- 2. Qualifying
- 3. Wales and the 1974 World Cup
- 4. Wales players used during qualifying
Italy, Spain, Netherlands and West Germany expressed an interest to bid for the 1974 FIFA World Cup, but following the withdrawl of Italy and the Netherlands, West Germany agreed a deal with Spain by which Spain would support West Germany for the 1974 tournament, and in return West Germany would allow Spain to bid for the 1982 World Cup unopposed.
The hosting rights for the 1974, 1978 and 1982 FIFA World Cup tournaments were awarded at the FIFA Congress in London, England on 6 July 1966.
Ninety nine1 countries entered the qualifying competition.
The hosts, West Germany, and the defending champions, Brazil, qualified automatically. Of the remaining 14 places, eight were allocated to Europe (UEFA), two to South America (CONMEBOL), one to the North and Central American and Caribbean (CONCACAF), one to Africa (CAF) and one place to the Asian (AFC) and Oceania (OFC) qualifiers whilst one team from UEFA would face one CONMEBOL team in an intercontinental play off for the final place.
Thirty three European teams entered the 1974 FIFA World Cup with hosts, West Germany, qualifying automatically. The remaining 32 teams were drawn into four groups of three teams and five groups of four teams. The group winners would qualify for the 1974 FIFA World Cup Final, except for the winner of Group 9, which would advance to the UEFA / CONMEBOL Intercontinental Play-off.
Wales were drawn in Group 5 alongside England and Poland who Wales would meet for the first time.
Uefa qualifying Group 5
no. | date | score | scorers (wales) | venue | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
304 | 15/11/1972 | Wales 0-1 England | Ninian Park, Cardiff | WCQ | |
305 | 24/01/1973 | England 1-1 Wales | Toshack | Wembley Stadium, London | WCQ |
306 | 28/03/1973 | Wales 2-0 Poland | L James, Hockey | Ninian Park, Cardiff | WCQ |
06/06/1973 | Poland 2-0 England | Stadion Śląski, Chorzów | WCQ | ||
310 | 26/09/1973 | Poland 3-0 Wales | Stadion Śląski, Chorzów | WCQ | |
17/10/1973 | England 1-1 Poland | Wembley Stadium, London | WCQ |
Group standings
P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts2 | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | Poland | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 5 |
2. | England | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
3. | Wales | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 3 |
Wales were drawn in Group 5 alongside England and and Poland who Wales would meet for the first time.
Despite losing the opening match of the campaign against England, Wales took heart from a 1-1 draw in the return match against England at Wembley Stadium before being buoyed further by a 2-0 home win over Poland.
Following Poland's 2-0 win over England, Wales went into their final game in Chorzów knowing that victory would almost guarantee their place in West Germany. However the Poles extracted revenge for their defeat in Cardiff with a 3-0 win in a match which saw Trevor Hockey become the first player to be sent off for Wales.
Players used during qualifying
Manager Dave Bowen selected just 17 players during the campaign with Gary Sprake, Leighton James and Rod Thomas playing every minute of all four matches whilst Trevor Hockey, John Mahoney and Peter Rodrigues played some part in all four matches, however Hockey become the first player to be sent off for Wales in the final group match in Poland.
Dave Roberts won his first cap in the home game against Poland.
Player | ENG | ENG | POL | POL |
---|---|---|---|---|
Wyn Davies | 90 | 90 | ||
Mike England | 90 | 90 | 90 | |
Brian Evans | 90 | 90 | 78 | |
Terry Hennessey | 90 | |||
Trevor Hockey | 90 | 90 | 90 | 39 |
Leighton James | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 |
John Mahoney | 90 | 90 | 90 | 84 |
Malcolm Page | 10 | |||
Leighton Phillips | 90 | 6 | ||
Gil Reece | 30 | 12 | ||
Peter Rodrigues | 80 | 60 | 90 | 90 |
Dave Roberts | 90 | |||
John Roberts | 90 | 90 | 90 | |
Gary Sprake | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 |
Rod Thomas | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 |
John Toshack | 90 | 90 | 90 | |
Terry Yorath | 90 | 90 | 90 |
1Of the 99 countries who entered Ceylon, Gabon, India, Jamaica, Madagascar, Philippines and Venezuela withdrew whilst the Soviet Union were disqualified from the intercontinental play off for refusing to play against Chile in the Estadio Nacional de Chile in Santiago.
22 pts for a win / 1 pt for a draw