Who won the World Cup in 1970?

The ninth edition of the World Cup - football's greatest tournament -was held in the year 1970. 16 teams from five confederations - Europe, South America, Asia, Africa and North America - took part in the competition.

Who were the hosts of the 1970 FIFA World Cup?

Mexico was selected as the host for the 1970 World Cup. This was the first time that the FIFA World Cup was being hosted outside Europe and South America.

Other than Mexico, only Argentina were in contention to host the premier tournament but eventually, the North American nation was handed the rights.

What was the format of the 1970 FIFA World Cup?

The format of the 1954, 1958, 1962 and 1966 World Cups was followed in this edition as well where 16 teams were divided into four groups. The top two teams from each group then qualified for the knock-out stage.

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Who won the 1970 FIFA World Cup?

Brazil won the World Cup for the third time in four editions, beating Italy 4-1 in the final.

This World Cup witnessed some classic encounters like Brazil vs England in the group stage and Italy vs West Germany in the semifinal which is considered as the 'Game of the Century'.

The group stage tie between England and Brazil was immortalised by Gordon Banks' world class 'reflex save' of Pele's header from close range, which as per the Brazilian is the 'greatest save of all time.'

The semifinal clash between West Germany and Italy produced seven goals, of which five came in the extra time. In fact, no World Cup game has seen more goals scored in the extra-time than the famous clash between West Germany and Italy.

In the final, Pele, Gerson, Jairzinho and Carlos Alberto were on target as Brazil thrashed Italy 4-1 to bag their record third title. It also earned them the right to permanently keep the Jules Rimet Trophy.

Which teams participated in the qualifying round?

A total of 75 teams entered the 1970 FIFA World Cup and 73 nations participated in the qualifying round. Later, due to rejected entries and withdrawals, 68 teams eventually participated in the qualifying stages, including eight for the first time. Mexico as the host nation and England as reigning World Cup champions were granted automatic qualification, with the remaining 14 finals places divided among the continental confederations.

Eight places were available for UEFA (Europe), three for CONMEBOL (South America), one for CAF (Africa), one for a team from either the AFC or the OFC (Asia/Oceania), and one for CONCACAF (North and Central America and the Caribbean). For the first time in history, a place for an African representative was guaranteed as a response to the mass boycott of the qualifying process for the 1966 World Cup by the African nations.

The teams who eventually played in the World Cup were - England, Mexico, Uruguay, Israel Morocco, El Salvador, Brazil, Peru, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, England, Italy, Romania, Soviet Union, Sweden, West Germany.

Who were the top goalscorers at the 1970 FIFA World Cup?

German legend Gerd Muller scored 10 goals in the tournament and was the top goalscorer.

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The 22-man 1970 FIFA World Cup-winning Brazil squad