Since the 1960’s football has gained immense popularity, becoming the most loved sport in the world. The 1974 World Cup was held in Germany. Germany was chosen as host country due to their impressive win at the European Championships in 1972. The 1974 World Cup was scheduled for June 13 to July 7.

Thirty-eight matches were to be held leading up to the World Cup finals. Germany gave it their all and was a strong presence, largely because they didn’t want to disappoint the crowd in their home country. The crowd was decent with around 1,768,152 in attendance in all the stadiums in Germany, an average of about 46,530 fans per match.

Ninety-seven goals were scored in the 1974 World Cup tournament. England and Russia were prominent absentees, the former failing to qualify the first time, the latter refusing to travel to a play-off in Chile for political reasons. Among the new entrants, East Germany made the biggest impact. They scored 1-0 in the first round against their Western neighbor Hamburg. Jurgen Sparwasser's 77th-minute strike meant the East Germans advanced as group winners.

The World Cup quarter-finals were between 14 teams that battled to get to the top. Germany was in the lead, with the Netherlands behind, and Italy was beaten by Brazil with a strong performance by Pele.

There was a new FIFA President - Brazilian João Havelange, who had taken the place of Englishman Sir Stanley Rous. Another change was the introduction of two different groups of four teams, meant to be a replacement to the customary knockout process.

The four teams that advanced to the World Cup semi-finals were Germany, the Netherlands, Brazil, and Poland. The Netherlands had a good comeback and emerged victorious in the semi-finals. Brazil, who was undefeated all throughout the tournament, lost in the semi-finals to Poland, finishing fourth in the 1974 World Cup.

Germany and the Netherlands went on to the World Cup finals. After an intense game, Germany beat the Netherlands 2-1 to win the Cup. A new trophy was unveiled this year: the FIFA World Cup Trophy, created by the Italian sculptor Silvio Gazzaniga. The West German captain Beckenbauer was the first player to lift the FIFA World Cup trophy following his country's win.

The FIFA Gold Shoe Award was given to Grzegorz LATO of Poland because he was the top scorer in all the matches. There were various awards given to players during the 1974 World Cup, based upon their skill and attitude towards the game.