Named as the main favorite to win the V. World Cup, Hungary arrived for the clashes on Swiss soil. Led by Ferenc Puskás, they pursued the dream of winning the first world Cup for Hungarian territory. Alongside Puskás, other great names like József Bozsik, Sándor Kocsis, Nándor Hidegkuti emerged to enhance Hungarian football. Right inside forward Kocsis, who was in brilliant form as well, performing an exceptional Nemzeti Bajnokság I. 1954 for Budapesti Honvéd S.E. Not only was he scoring goals, he was putting on show after show with his advanced technique and accomplished acrobatics.

Hungary's first encounter was against the much inferior South Korea, an opponent that the result was mapped in an avalanche of goals for the Hungarian team.

Kocsis, as usual, played this game being the most advanced of the inside trio. However, in this particular game, he played much more forward than others on the offensive line. He played splendidly, always very dangerous, with always threatening actions for the opposing defensive system. Kocsis scored 3 goals and provided 2 assists. Kocsis started the tournament in great style, already being the top scorer.

Kocsis 8#

In the next match, against Fritz Walter's West Germany, the match was another outing for Hungary, mainly on the part of Puskás, the general, and Kocsis, the goal scorer.


László Feleki: Kocsis was again more of a forward player, although he often went backwards for the ball and also took on some of the build-up. His subtle, inventive moves were a great threat to the German goal and he scored brilliant goals. His strength seems to be untapped.


Kocsis participated more in the creation of the plays, always very well positioned to combine with József Tóth or to combine with the inside trio. "Impeccable" was the word to his performance. Kocsis scored 4 golas and gave one assist to Hidegkuti. Kocsis also showed amazing skills while he was receiving the balls in the middle, the germans just could not stop him. There were times when Kocsis toyed with the Germans; performing flicks in midfield and applying bicycle passes to the right side. Kocsis was at ease in the match. He and Puskás, mainly Öcsi, were the mainstays of the Hungarian offensive line.



After Puskás was injured, Kocsis would have to assume responsibility, the role alongside Bozsik. The next match would be against Brazil, a team considered by many as the third best in the tournament.

The match was not easy, it was a true battle between Hungarians and Brazilians. Even personalities from the field quarreled with each other. Even before the match, Kocsis was warned not to run too much, but rather to try to find a hole in front of the Brazilian goal and use the balls he received to take the goal. We asked him to fight hard for the balls and to use his heading skills to good effect.

The inside right didn't receive that much support from his teammates, but when he received the ball he always used it very well. His positioning, his movements caused chaos in the Brazilian defense. Kocsis scored two goals through his signature feature: headers.

In the semi-final, against the 1950 world champions, Kocsis was once again important. This time he played with more determination, with more vigour, always fighting in the opponent's area and focused on defending effectively. The game demanded it of him – he performed yet another exceptional game. Kocsis' positioning was exemplary. As well as performing impressively, Kocsis once again, when Hungary needed it most, scored 2 headers to qualify them for the final. He also assisted Zoltán Czibor.

The historic final between Hungary and West Germany was marked by several controversies, and one of them was an unmarked penalty on Kocsis himself. Hungary, as favorite as it was, ended up losing 3:2 in a dramatic story. Kocsis proved to be relatively the best forward. It was his movement that posed the greatest threat to the German goal. He also worked hard in the box. He tried to do his part in the build-up, but received very little support from his comrades. Kocsis's fault was that he was relatively easily separated from the ball by the tough German defenders, and this time he was rarely able to get himself into scoring positions.



Kocsis had an exceptional tournament right from the start. With impressive actions, tricks, movements and always being a danger to the opposing goal. He started with a more advanced role, but he did a great job defensively in the knockout phase. When Hungary needed it most in the absence of Ferenc Puskás, Kocsis was decisive for his team scoring 4 headed goals against the 1950 champions and the runners-up. Sanyi was in spectacular form, even before the V. World Cup. He was artistic, with refined technique and performed acrobatics in any part of the field. He also scored an impressive 11 goals in 5 matches, assisting his teammates on 4 occasions. Without a doubt, one of the greatest performances in the history of the World Cup.


See also: Top scorers: FIFA World Cup 1954