page_title: Hungary national football team
section_title: 1950s
hierarchical_section_title: Hungary national football team / History / 1950s
caption_attribution_description: Nederlands: Collectie / Archief&#160;: Fotocollectie Anefo Reportage / Serie&#160;: Aankomst van Ferenc Puskás, trainer van de Griekse voetbalclub Beschrijving&#160;: Puskás Datum&#160;: 4 mei 1971 Locatie&#160;: Noord-Holland, Schiphol Trefwoorden&#160;: portretten, sport, trainers, voetbal Persoonsnaam&#160;: Puskás, Ferenc Instellingsnaam&#160;: Panathinaikos Fotograaf&#160;: Bert Verhoeff / Anefo Auteursrechthebbende&#160;: Nationaal Archief Materiaalsoort&#160;: Negatief (zwart/wit) Nummer archiefinventaris&#160;: bekijk toegang 2.24.01.05 Bestanddeelnummer&#160;: 924-5179
context_page_description: The Hungary national football team represents Hungary in men's international football and it is controlled by the Hungarian Football Federation, The team has made nine appearances in the FIFA World Cup finals and 3 appearances in the European Championship, and plays its home matches at the Puskás Aréna, which opened in November 2019.
  Hungary has a respectable football history, having won three Olympic titles, finishing runners-up in the 1938 and 1954 World Cups, and third in the 1964 UEFA European Football Championship. Hungary revolutionized the sport in the 1950s, laying the tactical fundamentals of Total Football and dominating international football with the remarkable Golden Team which included legend Ferenc Puskás, top goalscorer of the 20th century, to whom FIFA dedicated its newest award, the Puskás Award. The side of that era has the all-time highest Football Elo Ranking in the world, with 2230 in 1954, and one of the longest undefeated runs in football history, remaining unbeaten in 31 games, spanning over four years and including matches such as the Match of the Century.
context_section_description: This Hungarian team was best known as one of the most formidable and influential sides in football history, which revolutionised the play of the game. Centred around the dynamic and potent quartet of strikers Ferenc Puskás, Sándor Kocsis, attacking half-back József Bozsik and withdrawn striker Nándor Hidegkuti, the Aranycsapat ("Golden Team") of the "Magnificent Magyars" captivated the football world with an exciting brand of play with innovative tactical nuances. Excluding the 1954 World Cup Final, they achieved a remarkable record of 43 victories, 6 draws, and 0 defeats from 14 May 1950 until they lost 3–1 to Turkey on 19 February 1956.
  In the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Hungary beat Romania 2–1 with a goal each from Czibor and Kocsis in the preliminary round. In the first round Hungary beat Italy 3–0; in the quarter-finals Hungary beat Turkey 7–1; and in the semi-finals Hungary faced Sweden, the 1948 Olympics champions and won 6–0. In the final, Hungary beat Yugoslavia 2–0 with a goal each from Puskás and Czibor and thus won the Olympic title for the first time.
  On 25 November 1953, England played Hungary at Wembley Stadium, London in a match later dubbed as "the match of the century". The English team were unbeaten for 90 years at home. In front of 105,000 spectators Nándor Hidegkuti scored the first Hungarian goal in the first minute. At half-time the score was 4–2 to Hungary. The Hungarian goals were scored by Nándor Hidegkúti (1st, 22nd) and Ferenc Puskás (25th, 29th). In the second half the Hungarians scored twice more (Hidegkúti and József Bozsik). The final score was 6–3.
  On 23 May 1954, the Hungarian national team beat England 7–1 (which remains their worst defeat to date) at the Puskás Ferenc Stadium. At that time in Hungary there was a saying about the match: Az angolok egy hétre jöttek és 7:1-re mentek, or in English: "The English came for one week (seven days) and went home with 7:1."
  The 1954 World Cup was held in Switzerland. The first match was played against South Korea and Hungary won by 9–0 at the Hardturm, Zürich. In the second group match, Hungary played against West Germany and won by 8–3 at St. Jakob Stadium, Basel. In the quarter-finals, Hungary beat Brazil 4–2 at the Wankdorf Stadium, Bern. In the semi-finals, Hungary played with the two-times World Cup winner Uruguay in Lausanne; Hungary won by 4–2 after extra time. In the final, Hungary faced with West Germany again. Although Hungary won the group match against the Germans, they lost 3–2 in the final in Bern at the Wankdorf Stadium. The Golden Team, built around the legendary Ferenc Puskás, led early 2–0, but ended up 2–3 in a game the West Germans subsequently christened "The Miracle of Bern".
  In 2010, journalist Erik Eggers speculates in a study that the German team may have used drugs to beat the Hungarian team, who were considered "invincible" at that time.
  Although Hungary qualified as the defending champions for the 1956 Olympics, they did not enter the tournament.
  Hungary qualified for the 1958 World Cup in Sweden. Hungary played their first match against Wales at the Jarnvallen stadium in Sandviken and the final result was 1–1. The second group match was played against the host country, Sweden, where Hungary lost 2–1 at the Råsunda Stadium, Solna. Although Hungary won their last group match against Mexico at the Jarnvallen stadium in Sandvinken, they were eliminated from the World Cup after losing a play-off to Wales, who they had drawn level with on points. The Welsh had drawn all their group matches and then beat the once-mighty Hungarians in a play-off match to decide which nation should follow Sweden into the knock-out stage. Had goal difference been the decider, Hungary would have gone through, as the Hungarians had a goal tally of 6–3 compared to 2–2 for Wales. As it was, Wales instead met Brazil in the quarter-finals and were the recipient of young Pelé's first World Cup goal.
caption: Ferenc Puskás, all-time top-scorer
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