A young boy from a working class family in post-war Germany struggles with his estranged father returning from war captivity, while a friend of his plays for the German National Soccer Team at the 1954 FIFA World Cup in Switzerland.

The movie deals with the championship-winning German soccer team of 1954. Its story is linked with two others: The family of a young boy is split by World War II events, and the father returns from Russia after 11 years. His problems in getting back to normal life with his wife and children are shown. The second story is about a reporter and his wife reporting from the tournament.—Benjamin Stello