Only Brazil have won more men’s FIFA World Cup titles than Germany. We look back at each of Germany’s four World Cup wins by analysing the data behind each tournament.
List of Germany’s World Cup Wins:
1954 World Cup Champions in Switzerland (as West Germany)1974 World Cup Champions in Germany (as West Germany)1990 World Cup Champions in Italy (as West Germany)2014 World Cup Champions in Brazil
1954
The Maiden World Cup Title
Germany (then West Germany) won their first ever World Cup in the 1954 tournament in Switzerland, defeating Hungary 3-2 in what is widely considered one of the best finals in World Cup history.
Hungary came into the final as arguably the best team in the world and the favourites to be World Cup winners. Their ‘Golden Team’ – often referred to as the ‘Mighty Magyars’ – were unbeaten in 31 official international matches on the eve of the 1954 final, and their squad boasted players like Sándor Kocsis and Ferenc Puskás.
Hungary had already taught the West Germans a footballing lesson earlier in the tournament, defeating them 8-3 in the group stage. Some would have expected a similar result in the final.
After racing into a 2-0 lead inside eight minutes, Hungary found themselves pegged back to 2-2 only 10 minutes later following goals from Max Morlock and Helmut Rahn. Germany then struck an 84th-minute winner to complete the turnaround against the great Hungarian side.
The players became instantaneously famous in Germany as the Heroes of Bern following the final and were immortalised in German football history.
1974
Winning on Home Soil
Hosting the World Cup for the very first time, Germany (then West Germany) became the fourth tournament hosts to win the competition, after Uruguay in 1930, Italy in 1934, and England in 1966.
West Germany actually lost to East Germany in the first group stage, a defeat that meant the West Germans finished in second place behind their neighbours in the group. However, they were to make no such error in the second group stage, winning all three of their matches and reaching the final, where they would face the Netherlands.
Germany won that match at the Olympiastadion despite falling behind in the second minute. Indeed, Johan Neeskens’ penalty, scored after 86 seconds, remains the earliest goal ever scored from the start of a World Cup final.
The Germans’ achievement in coming from behind to win meant that seven of the first nine World Cup final winners (excluding 1950, which had no official final) had won despite going behind. That has only happened once since (Italy in 2006).
Gerd Müller scored the winning goal in the final – one of four that he scored at the 1974 tournament and 14 overall in World Cup finals.
1990
Revenge for 1986
West Germany won the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy. After finishing runners-up in 1982 and 1986, they became the first team to reach the World Cup final in three successive tournaments. They also followed in the footsteps of Brazil and Italy in winning the tournament for a third time.
Captain Lothar Matthäus played every minute of Germany’s successful campaign, putting him on his way to becoming the player with the most appearances in the history of the competition (25). That’s a record that Lionel Messi (26) now owns. He would also finish as the Germans’ top scorer at the tournament with four goals, too.
The 1990 World Cup final against Argentina came after the German side broke English hearts in the semi-final with a penalty-shootout victory. The final brought about the first rematch of a World Cup final and the only back-to-back rematch, following Argentina’s Diego-Maradona-powered 1986 final victory over Germany (3-2).
This time, West Germany became the first team to keep a clean sheet in a men’s World Cup final, and also the first European team to defeat a South American side in the final. Argentina did them a bit of a favour, though, with two of their players sent off in the final, as Pedro Monzón (65 minutes) and Gustavo Dezotti (87 minutes) became the first players to be sent off in the competition’s showpiece event.
The 1-0 victory was the final game for the West German team in the World Cup. They played three more non-World-Cup games before a unified German national team was formed later in 1990, following the reunification of the country after more than 40 years.
2014
Winning in Style
Germany’s fourth men’s FIFA World Cup title came in Brazil in 2014. Arguably one of the most impressive World Cup wins in the modern era, Joachim Löw’s team started their campaign with a 4-0 win over Portugal – who exited at the group stage – before knocking out Algeria, France and Brazil, and then beating Argentina in the final.
The semi-final win over Brazil, in particular, was spectacular. The 7-1 rout in Belo Horizonte went down as one of the most shocking games in World Cup history, while it also included Miroslav Klose overtaking Ronaldo to become the leading goalscorer in men’s World Cup history.
Go Deeper:
FootballAbout That Game: Brazil 1-7 Germany (2014)
3 years ago Matt FurnissDie Mannschaft’s 1-0 win over Argentina in the final – a repeat of the result in the 1990 final – came through an extra-time goal from substitute midfielder Mario Götze, who became just the fourth substitute to score in a men’s World Cup final. Götze also became the youngest scorer of a goal in a World Cup final since Wolfgang Weber in 1966 (22 years, 33 days), while his goal was Germany’s 18th in this tournament – the most by a team in a World Cup tournament since Brazil in 2002 (18).
In winning the 2014 World Cup, Germany became the first team from Europe to win a World Cup in the Americas. It was also their first World Cup title following the reunification of Germany in 1990.
Four years later, there was much less reason to cheer for Germany. They lost to both Mexico and South Korea in the group stage and subsequently became the third successive World Cup holders to be eliminated in the group stage.
Subscribe to our football newsletter to receive exclusive weekly content. You should also follow our social accounts over on X, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook.
Looking Back: Germany’s Four FIFA World Cup Wins Opta Analyst.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Looking Back: Germany’s Four FIFA World Cup Wins )
Also on site :
- 4 semis catch fire, causing explosions at Weld County truck stop
- Ukraine kills one of the highest-ranking Russian officers of the conflict
- Abrego Garcia was beaten and tortured in Salvadoran prison, new court filings reveal