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. Puskás was in great form, commanding the forward actions of his teams. The inside left, alongside other great names, was the main hope for Hungary to finally win the title.

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.

Puskás kept up his good form. He worked tirelessly, picked up the ball, fought with enthusiasm, and excelled not only in building but also in finishing attacks. He scored 2 goals against South Korea, things were starting in an splendid way for the Hungarian.



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

Puskás was not much involved into the final pass or scoring, but he was the schemer of almost every single play of the Hungarian team. Puskás, nevertheless, still scored a goal and assisted Kocsis. He was always providing, supplying his teammates, opening spaces and commanding the actions. Öcsi was superb.

However, in the 58th minute, Liebrich makes a strong tackle on Puskás's left ankle, therefore in such a way that the Hungarian had to leave the match at the beginning of the second half. Puskás' injury was serious. According to Liebrich himself, he did not intend to deliberately hurt the inside left — that's not what it looked like. Liebrich had switched positions with Posipal, in an attempt to mark Puskás more aggressively.


Ferenc Puskás:  Czibor ran with the ball on the left wing. I shouted to him: I'll jump out and you can give it to me! Zoli very cleverly waited for a moment and at the right moment he rolled the ball in front of me. I reached the ball a moment before Liebrich, who had started almost at the same time as me, and I had already kicked the ball with my left foot when I saw Liebrich deliberately aiming for my left ankle. I tried to step aside, but unfortunately I was a thought too late. Liebrich's sneaky foul...


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. Puskás would miss the next matches of the tournament. Some wondered whether Puskás would be able to play the final. Doctor Kreisz quickly made sure Puskás returned to the tournament as soon as possible.



Puskás, although many believed he shouldn't be able to play the final, was a starter for the team.

The Hungarian star had a different role for this match. Due to his physical condition, Puskás' space on the field has been drastically reduced, as has his work-rate on the field. He played more advanced on the field, in line with Kocsis. Hidegkuti, on the other hand, in the standard tactical organization, was positioned behind both. Puskás wasn't allowed to move around as much — and that wasn't his usual style of play.

In the controversial final disputed, Öcsi scored two goals, one of which was disallowed by the referee William Ling. Puskás had other good situations to score, but he couldn't take advantage of them.


CONCLUSION

There wasn't much to show during the tournament, as Liebrich managed to pull Puskás out of the two toughest matches — Uruguay and Brazil. Still, Puskás performed well in every match he played, especially in the 8:3 against West Germany. In just 3 matches played, Ferenc Puskás scored 4 goals and assisted once.