The fact that the euphoria and frustration in football can be fatal has already been sufficiently demonstrated during the World Cup. The fan who sets the tone next to the pitch with his club's football jersey and/or the matching fan articles and pushes his own team, in every single minute of a football game and even beyond. His second goal in extra time ended the game early and brought Germany their third European Championship title. Third place was taken by the Polish team, which had the top scorer Grzegorz Lato, who scored seven goals during the tournament. Somewhat unexpectedly, Spain was also eliminated from qualifying against Yugoslavia and Mexico only finished third in the qualifying round behind Haiti and Trinidad and Tobago. In addition to the footballers from the Caribbean, the GDR, Australia and Zaire also managed to qualify for the first time, becoming the first sub-Saharan country ever to qualify. The application deadline for participation in the qualification for the 1974 World Cup ended on June 30, 1971. The draw for the qualifying groups took place on July 17, 1971 in Düsseldorf.

Düsseldorf: Fortuna Düsseldorf's Rheinstadion was the venue for two first-round and three second-round matches. Stuttgart: The Neckarstadion, home of VfB Stuttgart, was the venue for three first-round and one second-round games. The year 1966 marked a breakthrough for German sports diplomacy, as 21 years after the end of the Second World War and National Socialist rule, a German state was again deemed worthy of hosting the two most important international sporting events. In the second half, however, the Czechoslovakians were able to turn the game around and advance to the next round. The Federal Republic of Germany won the tournament with a 2-1 victory over the Netherlands in the final in Munich and thus became football world champions for the second time after 1954 – the first world champion who was also the current European champion, which was only the Spanish national football team in 2010 could repeat. A total of 247,050 spectators saw the five games, an average of 49,410. Most (68,348) – especially from the Netherlands, but also from the Federal Republic, as a game against their western neighbor was expected – came to the GDR – Netherlands game. A total of 300,000 spectators, the most, came to Frankfurt for the five games, an average of 60,000. There were 62,000 three times: at the opening game between Brazil and Yugoslavia, the Scotland – Brazil game and the Frankfurt water battle.

A total of 126,800 spectators saw the three games, an average of 42,267. Most (81. 100) came to the Federal Republic team's opening game against Chile, which was the best-attended game of the World Cup. In contrast, only 31,700 spectators wanted to see the Yugoslavs' game against Zaire, most of whom were Yugoslav guest workers. Germany, which was seen as a slight favorite alongside the Netherlands in "Group of Death" B, started the tournament with a hard-fought 1-0 win against Portugal. For example, it was clear both during and in the run-up to the 2006 FIFA World Cup Football-related advertising increased rapidly and viewers experienced oversaturation. The film premiered on the large screens in Cologne, which were set up for the public viewings on the occasion of the 2006 World Cup. In 2006 and 2010, Belgium did not qualify for the World Cup; this succeeded The “Red Devils” only returned to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. While the winners of the remaining qualifying groups qualified directly for the World Cup, the Soviet Union, as first in European Group 9, had to play in two play-off games for participation in the World Cup finals against Chile, the winner of South American Group 3. In addition to the reigning world champions Brazil and hosts BR Germany, who were automatically entitled to take part in the tournament, 14 other teams were able to qualify for the World Cup finals.

It was the first final in which two former world champions met. What was particularly surprising was England's elimination against Poland, which meant that a former world champion was missing from the 1974 World Cup. The 60,400-capacity stadium (40,850 seats) was converted for the World Cup at a cost of 26 million marks. The venue, which has a capacity of 70,100 spectators (31,600 seats), was renovated before the World Cup tournament for 24 million marks. Gelsenkirchen: The Parkstadion, which was newly built for 55 million marks, was the home of the football club FC Schalke 04. The venue, which has a capacity of 70,000 spectators (36,000 seats), was the venue for two games in the first and three games in the second final round. Berlin: The Olympic Stadium, the home of Hertha BSC, was the largest German stadium during the 1974 World Cup with 85,000 seats (including 61,800 seats). Three games in the first final round took place in the stadium, which was renovated for 25 million marks. Munich: Three games from the preliminary round as well as the game for third place and the final took place in the Olympic Stadium, which was built for 85 million DM (without a roof) for the 1972 Olympic Games. The oldest player in a World Cup final was American defender Christie Rampone, who came on as a substitute in the final on July 5, 2015 (5-2) against Japan, 11 days after her 40th birthday. A period of rain began right at the opening ceremony, which culminated in the rainy match between Germany and Poland in the second final round and only ended shortly before the final – which was played in bright sunshine.