Top scorer: West Germany’s Gerd Muller (10 goals)
Number of games: 32
Total goals scored: 95
Average goals per game: 2.97
Highest scoring game: West Germany’s 5-2 victory over Bulgaria on June 7.
Total attendance: 1,673,975
Average attendance: 52,213
TOURNAMENT FORMAT
Once again, the 16 teams were divided into four groups with the top two in each advancing to the quarterfinals.
THE FINAL
This was to be an epic finale between two nations with vastly different styles and philosophies: Brazil playing an attacking, samba-style brand of soccer that entertained spectators and dismantled opponents in equal parts; and Italy who could score goals with the best of them, but who refused to shake off its defensive shackles and remained true to catenaccio.
Italy ably kept Brazil at bay early on before Pele scored on a fantastic header off a Rivelino cross in the 19th minute. Italy delivered a sucker-punch eight minutes before halftime when Roberto Boninsegna capitalized on a horrendous defensive error by Clodoaldo and beat goalkeeper Felix to tie the score.
Any thoughts Italy harboured about shutting down Brazil were quickly erased, as Pele and his compatriots ran the Italians ragged in the second half. Midfielder Gerson scored a fantastic goal from just outside the penalty area in the 65th minute to give Brazil a 2-1 lead. From that point, the floodgates opened, as Brazil poured on the pressure and ripped the Italian defence to shreds.
Five minutes after scoring, Gerson turned playmaker and booted a long ball forward to Pele who headed it down for Jairzinho to score. The second-half annihilation was completed in the waning minutes with a marvellous goal—the product of a sparkling team effort—that brilliantly capped off the victory for Brazil.
Clodoaldo breezed past a couple of Italian players before passing to Pele. The Brazilian wizard moved down the left side and drifted towards the middle. Pele found some open space and sensing Carlos Alberto was coming down the right side, he played a perfect square pass 25 yards from goal that Alberto lashed onto without breaking stride and hammered past static Italian goalkeeper Enrico Albertosi. It was an emphatic goal in an emphatic victory that saw the Brazilians, purveyors of the “beautiful game,” put the dour, defensive-mind Italians in their rightful place.
Group 1
| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 USSR | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | +5 | 5 |
 Mexico | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | +5 | 5 |
 Belgium | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 2 |
 El Salvador | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9 | −9 | 0 |
Mexico 0-0 USSR
Belgium 3-0 El Salvador
USSR 4-1 Belgium
Mexico 4-0 El Salvador
USSR 2-0 El Salvador
Mexico 1-0 Belgium
Group 2
| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Italy | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 4 |
 Uruguay | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 3 |
 Sweden | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
 Israel | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 2 |
Uruguay 2-0 Israel
Italy 1-0 Sweden
Uruguay 0-0 Italy
Sweden 1-1 Israel
Uruguay 0-1 Sweden
Israel 0-0 Italy
Group 3
| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Brazil | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 3 | +5 | 6 |
 England | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 4 |
 Romania | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 2 |
 Czechoslovakia | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 7 | −5 | 0 |
Romania 0-1 England
Czechoslovakia 1-4 Brazil
Romania 2-1 Czechoslovakia
England 0-1 Brazil
Romania 2-3 Brazil
England 1-0 Czechoslovakia
Group 4
| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 West Germany | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 4 | +6 | 6 |
 Peru | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 5 | +2 | 4 |
 Bulgaria | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 9 | −4 | 1 |
 Morocco | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | −4 | 1 |
Peru 3-2 Bulgaria
Marocco 1-2 Germany
Peru 3-0 Marocco
Bulgaria 2-5 Germany
Peru 1-3 Germany
Bulgaria 1-1 Marocco
Knockout stage
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