Hungary football

1950-56

Five European teams have won the World Cup but there should probably have been a sixth. The Hungarian side of the 1950s won 42 of their 50 games from 1950-56, with only one defeat, and were unbeaten in 31-straight games (1950-54). In 1953, in a game later labelled the Match of the Century, they handed England their first home loss by a team outside the British Isles (6-3) and the following year thumped the same opposition 7-1,

Olympic champs 1952

which remains England’s heaviest defeat. They hold the records for highest goals per game and most goals scored in a single World Cup (5.4 and 27), and highest goal differential (+17).

That one defeat was significant, however. At the 1954 World Cup, they romped through to the final with wins over South Korea 9- 0, West Germany 8-3, Brazil 4-2 and defending champions Uruguay 4-2. They were heavy favourites leading into the final against West Germany, given their four-year unbeaten streak, and went 2- 0 ahead

World Cup runners-up: 1954

after only eight minutes. The Germans responded, however, winning 3-2 in a match that became known as The Miracle of Bern.

Hungary’s legacy, though, was to revolutionise the way the game was played, implementing an early form of Total Football.