Group 4 had a favorite – Holland. Poland was in decline and considered good for second, DDR and Switzerland were not seen as teams capable of major upsets, and Iceland existed only to improve the goal-difference of the others. And everything went as predicted in the first 8 matches played in the group. The 9th was between Poland and Holland in Poland. The clash between potential group winners, which Poland won 2-0. Nothing really upsetting – except that Holland did not look as strong as thought. But then again, Poland had a reputation since 1974 and a home win was hardly a surprise. After this match all went as expected again… until the last 2 group matches. DDR either played better than expected or at least took full advantage of their games against weaker opponents, for they suddenly had a chance – rather theoretical still – of winning the group. They had 11 points. Poland also had 11. Holland had 10 – but they played in both last games, hosting Poland first and then visiting DDR. Suddenly the lost match in Poland was costlier than thought earlier, but no worries: a home victory over Poland and a tie with DDR was almost sure outcome. Holland needed 3 points and by now calculation, not outplaying opponents was the strength of the Dutch. 3 points were not just desirable – it was a certainty. But… Poland, also having a chance to go to the finals, played strong game, which ended 1-1, Holland having hard time to just equalize,after Poland got the lead in the 38th minute. Poland finished their campaign with 12 points, still leading before the last group match, but heir fate was already known: no matter how the last match ended, Poland will be second in the group. The winner will be either Holland or DDR. The East Germans had home advantage. It was all or nothing for both teams, so playing for a tie was not an option. It was worthy end of the campaign: DDR got 2-0 lead in the first half. Holland managed to score a goal immediately after the start of the second half and the early goal gave them psychological advantage. They were also the classier team. In the 50th minute they equalized. 20 minutes later they scored another goal. The match ended 3-2 for Holland.
Surprisingly good campaign for DDR – they almost won the group stage. Almost… Third row from left: Werner Walter (assistant coach), Gerd Weber, Hartmut Schade, Hans-Ullrich Grapenthin, Bodo Rutwaleit, Hans-Jürgen Riediger, Reinhard Häfner, Georg Buschner (coach).
Middle row: Hans-Jürgen Dörner, Michael Noack, Martin Hoffmann, Lutz Lindemann, Joachim Streich.
Sitting in front: Konrad Weise, Wolfgang Steinbach, Dieter Kühn, Jürgen Pommerenke.
Poland finished 2nd, but fooled no one: the team was a pale shadow of the great squad of 1974. Aging played a role – by now, few of the 1974 heroes were still in the team and the younger talent was not at its prime yet. They were competitive, but no more.
Holland qualified and on the surface everything was fine: they were expected to win, they won. But…
This is the squad, which was almost beaten by Poland at home. Standing, from left: Piet Schrijvers, Johnny Rep, Huub Stevens, Hugo Hovenkamp, Ernie Brandts, Ruud Krol.
First row: Bennie Wijnstekers, Wim Jansen, Willy van de Kerkhof, Simon Tahamata, Kees Kist.
Impressive on a picture… familiar names, the hero of 1978 Ernie Brandts, the top European goalscorer Kist, bright young talent Tahamata, plenty of experience… It is save to say that by 1979 only Ruud Krol was a great star – the rest were either declining (Rep, Jansen, van de Kerkhof), or never really great (Schrijvers, Hovenkamp), or more or less empty promises (Brandts, Wijnstekers), or just promises (Stevens, Kist, Tahamata). A competent team, a bit too physical, not so technical and imaginative. A far cry from the exciting Dutch circa 1974. It was muscle and determination, not skill, qualifying them at the last minute.
1. Holland 6 1 1 20-6 13
2. Poland 5 2 1 13-4 12
3. DDR 5 1 2 18-11 11
4. Switzerland 2 0 6 7-18 4
5. Iceland 0 0 8 2-21 0