German football mourns last of 1954 World Cup winners

Eckel was the youngest member of a German team which came from two goals down to beat favourites Hungary 3-2 to win the 1954 World Cup in a final later dubbed "The Miracle of Bern".

The shock result was a founding moment in West Germany's post-war identity as German teams went on to win further World Cup titles in 1974, 1990 and 2014. Eckel and team captain Fritz Walter were the only two German players to feature in all of their six games at the 1954 finals in Switzerland. Eckel won the German championship, the predecessor to the Bundesliga, with Kaiserslautern in 1951 and 1953.

"Unfortunately, I never got to see Horst Eckel play live, but the man was a role model for me in every respect," Germany head coach Hansi Flick told the DFB website.