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Italy survived the opening round on goal difference and then went on to win the trophy for a third time after a creative Brazilian team had bowed out to them in an astonishing match in the second phase.
Zico, Socrates, Falcao and Eder could not stop attacking and Brazil paid for it when they lost 3-2 to a Paolo Rossi hat-trick. Italy went on to the final and beat West Germany 3-1. Rossi finished top scorer with six goals.
Final: Italy - Germany 3-1
Having reached the final in 1930, Argentina had to wait a while before winning the FIFA World Cupâ„¢, which they eventually did on own soil in 1978. The great support for the home team helped carry them to victory over the Netherlands in the final, Cruyff having turned his back as he refused to travel to Argentina because of the political situation.
Another host triumph as the West Germans took the new FIFA World Cupâ„¢ for the first time with a quite exceptional display of the hard-running, interchanging style in a tournament remembered for the arrival of “total footballâ€.
The ninth FIFA World Cupâ„¢ also became a major TV spectacle and to fit in with television company requests, some matches kicked off at 12 noon. This was an unpopular decision with many players and managers because of the intense heat in Mexico at that time of day.
