East Germany at the FIFA World Cup East Germany at the FIFA World Cup After the division of Germany in 1949, West Germany was declared Germany's official successor team. East Germany was accepted as a FIFA member only in 1952 and entered the qualification tournament for the first time for 1958, but finished last in their qualification group behind Czechoslovakia and Wales. They appeared in the finals of the FIFA World Cup on one occasion in 1974. During the tournament they played West Germany, who were hosts in that year, for the first and only time at senior level, winning 1-0. East Germany was reunified with West
South American nations at the FIFA World Cup by Argentina who beat the Netherlands 3–1 after extra time in the final. This win was the first World Cup title for Argentina. Controversy surrounded the hosts, however, as all of their games in the first round kicked off at night, giving the Argentines the advantage of knowing where they stood in the group. This issue would arise again in Spain 1982, which prompted FIFA to change the rules so that the final two group games in subsequent World Cups would be played simultaneously. In 1978, Argentina needed to beat Copa América holders Peru by four clear goals to reach