The Austria West German debacle, if my memory serves me right, had something to do with Algeria? , who had caused one of the biggest ever World Cup shock results, by beating the Germans in an earlier group game.George Street-Bridge wrote:There was also a notorious draw between Austria and West Germany, but I can't remember the context.
In May 1978 I went to Ninian Park for Cardiff v Orient, back before all clubs had to finish their games on the same day. Orient needed a win to stay in the old D2 and relegate Blackpool and duly won 1-0. City rolled over for them. It was decades before Blackpool got back to that level. City were managed by the late Jimmy Andrews and there were chants of "Jim'll fix it".
https://dicmortimer.com/2010/05/27/blac ... ff-city-2/
A Draw between Austria and WG in the last group game would see both through, and that’s what exactly happened. I think in those days, all group games were staggered time wise, so they both knew exactly what result was required. May have been one of the main reasons for the eventual change?