Doing a bit of idle research on shock results in UEFA qualifying groups over the years, came across a game from December 1967. West Germany went to Tirana needing any win to progress (they'd won the home group game 6-0) but could only draw 0-0, a result that allowed Yugoslavia to reach the finals. Is there a tale to that game? It seems pretty seismic that the World Cup finalists would fail to win there. Is it remembered in Germany like the English remember the Poland game in 1973?
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It always was the game we refer not to speak about. But there are a few things that made it less than seismic.
1. West-Germany was still an ascending footballing power. 1966 had exceeded expectations, but generally the possibility of failure was still present in ways it would become inconveivable.
2. West-Germany were missing a number of key players, including Beckenbauer, Gerd Müller and Uwe Seeler. I think that game also proved that you couldn't really have Netzer and Overath in one team.
3. The European Cup wasn't a big deal yet. In 1960 and '64, many countries hadn't even bothered to enter. Failing to qualify in 1968 was more a nuisance than a tragedy.Comment
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