There may be no World Cup matches today, but there certainly was one 40 years ago today. And it wasn't just any match, either. It was the final, between Franz Beckenbauer's West Germany and Johan Cruyff's Holland. Here's David Lacey's match report, from the following day's Guardian, in full. Enjoy:  West Germany found the answer to Johan Cruyff and won the 1974 World Cup amid much rejoicing, and some relief, here this afternoon. After falling behind before they had touched the ball they defeated Holland with the sort of performance that had made them such overwhelming favourites before the marvellous all-round qualities of the Dutch side began to sow the seeds of doubt in German minds.  The game, which was extremely rough in parts with several cautions given by the English referee, Jack Taylor, seldom if ever reached the heights of skill achieved by the Brazilians in the 1970 final; nor did it equal the dramas of Wembley in 1966. But the willingness of both teams to throw men forward in attack ensured that the football was rarely dull.  If one player was responsible for Germany's victory it was surely Berti Vogts, the stocky blond defender who was detailed to stop Cruyff and won one of the World Cup's most interesting and certainly most telling duels. Late in the game Cruyff moved into the middle of the Dutch attack only to encounter Beckenbauer at his most masterful.  With Cruyff halted, the Dutch football, while remaining skilful, seemed grey and unimaginative in comparison with what had gone before. It was as if somebody had ploughed over a tulip field. The other ingredients were there - Neeskens with his stamina and courage, Van Hanegem's wickedly swerving passes, the energy and quick eye of Jansen and the overlapping of Suurbier and Krol. But for long periods, even though Holland had possession, Rep, Rensenbrink and Van de Kerkhof, who replaced Rensenbrink for the second half, did not get the opportunities near goal to which they had been accustomed. When they did, either the shots were inaccurate or Maier steadfastly blocked the way.  Vogts was cautioned in the opening minutes after two fouls, but the frustration and ill temper were usually Dutch. Cruyff was shown the yellow card when he argued as the teams left the field at half-time, and early in the second half he received a lecture from Mr Taylor for following through recklessly at the goalkeeper. Van Hanegem and Neeskens were cautioned for fouls.  Throughout the competition West Germany have tended to get results when they most wanted them, often improving after unimpressive openings. So it was here. Many teams would have been unnerved to the point of defeat after Holland had taken the lead with a penalty after a minute's play, less because of the goal than the manner of its arrival. Having kicked off the Dutch strung more than a dozen passes around the centre of the field at a walking pace, suggesting that they were looking for mines rather than goals. But suddenly Cruyff broke into a sprint, tried to force his way between Hoeness and Bonhof and was brought down. Neeskens walloped the penalty past Maier, and for the next 20 minutes the Germans played as if in a stupor of disbelief.  Misguidedly, Holland continued to slow the rhythm of their game, content to stop Overath getting his passes through, block the wings and seal the middle. Perhaps they thought they could win the World Cup without allowing Germany to play in the final; if so, it was a rash assumption, for the Germans needed only a goal to recover their poise.  This is precisely what happened. As the Germans began to run wider, making it less easy for the Dutch to maintain their casual cover, Holzenbein raced into the penalty area from the left and was brought down by Jansen, who had charged back 40 yards to make the tackle. Breitner scored with the penalty and from then the crowd in the Olympic Stadium began to recognise their team.  Once more the German system of double wings was an important factor in their success. Hoeness covered huge areas as he worked in turn with Holzenbein and Grabowski to wear down the Dutch flanks. At last Suurbier and Krol, who have had such a splendid tournament as attacking backs, were outmanoeuvred by players of superior pace and wit. In the 36th minute Beckenbauer had Jongbloed stretching back desperately to push a delicate lob of a free-kick over the cross-bar; seven minutes later Germany were ahead with the goal that was to win the World Cup.  A smart early ball by Grabowski and a shrewd run into space by Bonhof opened up the right wing to the corner flag. Grabowski ran deep and his low centre ran slightly behind Müller as he met it in front of goal. But no Dutch defender was near enough to tackle Müller, who had time to check, retrieve and slip his shot past Jongbloed from about 10 yards.  The second half proved more anxious for the German supporters than for their team. Only occasionally did Holland swing from penalty area to penalty area with the effortless running and passing which has made them such a pleasure to watch. When they did seem likely to pierce the German cover, either in the air or on the ground, they found Beckenbauer at his most imperious. He was caught off guard only once when Van Hanegem dived in low and late past his right hip to meet Cruyff's free-kick and test the reflexes of Maier, who caught the ball and gave his captain a hurt glance.  That was one of the best chances Holland had to take the game into extra time. Another came when Neeskens met a centre from Van de Kerkhof with a volley that the goalkeeper blocked. A few minutes after that Suurbier exchanged passes with Haan to create a situation on the right similar to that from which Müller had scored, but Rep headed wide.  As Holland risked more and more to get a goal they were often caught by their opponents breaking. To the end of the tournament West Germany tended to fiddle with simple chances of this kind, but Müller's goal had been enough, and as Beckenbauer, holding the new Fifa Trophy aloft, acknowledged the cheers, the Dutch had the consolation of knowing that they had been beaten by the only team in the competition who truly had the talent to do so - even if they had not always shown it.
The four remaining teams prepare for their semi-finals; and fans discuss all the issues arising from the tournament