The1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13thFIFA World Cup, a quadrennialfootball tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played inMexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-team format. Colombia had been originally chosen to host the competition byFIFA but, largely due to economic reasons, was not able to do so, and resigned in November 1982. Mexico was selected as the new host in May 1983, and became the first country to host the World Cup more than once, after previouslyhosting the 1970 edition.
The World Cup was won byArgentina (their second title, after winning in1978). Argentina was captained by the 25-year-oldDiego Maradona, who played a large part in his team's success by scoring his "Hand of God" goal, as well as another voted the "Goal of the Century", in thesame quarter-final against England. These were two of the five goals that Maradona scored during the tournament, and he also created another five for his teammates.[1] Argentina beatWest Germany 3–2 in thefinal atMexico City'sEstadio Azteca.Argentina would not win the World Cup again until2022, 36 years later. Total attendance was 2,394,031, an average per match of 46,039.[2]Canada,Denmark andIraq made their first appearances at the final stage.
The format of the competition changed from1982. The final pair of matches in each group started at the same time[3] and the second round was played on a knockout basis rather than groups. The 24 teams qualified were divided into six groups of four (A to F). The top two teams and the four best third-place finishers from the six groups advanced to the knockout round of 16 teams.Italy were the defending champions, but were eliminated byFrance in the Round of 16.
The tournament saw the appearance of theMexican wave, a spectator phenomenon which was popularised worldwide after featuring during the tournament.[4][5][6]
Colombia was originally chosen ashosts byFIFA in June 1974, withBogotá,Medellín,Cali,Pereira andBucaramanga intended as the host cities, plus potentiallyBarranquilla.[7] Colombia agreed to host a 16-team competition. However, days before the1978 FIFA World Cup's opening match, FIFA later allowed an expansion to 24 teams for the1982 World Cup inSpain, which was more challenging for Colombia to host, although FIFA PresidentJoão Havelange initially gave assurances that they could revert to a 16-team tournament.[7] Colombian presidentJulio César Turbay Ayala was initially against holding the tournament in his country, but reluctantly granted permission in October 1980.[8] However, the next Colombian president,Belisario Betancur, declared on 5 November 1982 that they could not afford to host the World Cup under the terms that FIFA demanded.[9]
Football fountain created in 1986 to commemorate the FIFA World Cup in Mexico.Querétaro was one of the venues and this fountain is located just a few blocks away from theCorregidora Stadium.
AlthoughMexico,United States andCanada submitted bids on 11 March 1983 to be the replacement host, (Brazil was the only other eligible bidder but did not bid) the five-person special FIFA committee responsible for recommending the bids to theExecutive Committee (Exco) announced on 31 March that it would only consider Mexico's bid, saying the United States and Canada had "deviated" from FIFA's criteria[10] and Exco members refused to visit Canadian and American stadium sites.[11] On 20 May, the committee announced Mexico as the replacement hosts despite Havelange stating that the United States and Canada had made better presentations.[11] Mexico became the first nation to host two World Cups, as it had hosted the1970 FIFA World Cup.
The Canadian representatives criticised the committee's decision not to consider Canada, saying they had submitted a more complete bid than Mexico, and that they had been misled by the number of stadiums required for bidding.[11] The United States' bid contained more than the required number of stadiums with the required capacity to host World Cup matches (at least 40,000 capacity, 60,000 for second-round matches and 80,000 for the tournament final). Mexico submitted a bid with 14 stadiums, only six of which seated over 40,000 at the time of the bid, and three over 60,000.[11] Havelange in turn criticised the United States' handling of stadium selection for thefootball tournament at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. The Americans also pointed out that Mexico had the influence of two seats on the 22-person executive committee, a FIFA vice president and an executive atTelevisa, a Mexican television network with ties to Havelange.[10] Also working in Mexico's favour was Havelange secretly promising the broadcast rights to Televisa ahead of the vote.[12] Following the bidding process,Henry Kissinger, the formerUnited States Secretary of State who led the United States bid committee, remarked, "The politics of soccer make me nostalgic for the politics of the Middle East," while the leader of the Canadian committee called Mexico's 10-page bid document "a joke."[11]
Asevere earthquake in September 1985, eight months before the tournament, cast doubt[13] over Mexico's ability to organise the event, but the stadiums were not affected and it was decided to go ahead with the preparations.[14] As 1986 had been declared theInternational Year of Peace by theUnited Nations, the advertising boards of all the stadia displayed theFIFA andUnited Nations logos along with the legend "Football for Peace – Peace Year".[15]
For the design of the logo an unofficial motto was adopted: "El Mundo Unido por Un Balón" ("The World United by a Ball").[16]
Three teams qualified for the World Cup for the first time:Canada,Denmark andIraq.Iraq played all their home matches on neutral ground because of theIran–Iraq War. South Korea qualified for the first time since 1954, Paraguay for the first time since 1958, Portugal for the first time since 1966, Morocco for the first time since 1970 and Bulgaria and Uruguay for the first time since 1974.
Football fans waiting outside theEstadio Azteca in 1986.
Eleven cities hosted the tournament, with a total of twelve stadia used (two of them in Mexico City), among which were counted all five stadia that hosted the 1970 tournament. The Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, the largest stadium used for the tournament, hosted nine matches (including the final), more than any other stadium used. Mexico City hosted 13 total matches; the Olimpico Universitario Stadium hosted four matches (if the Mexico City suburban town Nezahualcoyotl's three matches are included, this brings the total up to 16 matches; nearly a third of all matches in this tournament). Guadalajara, Mexico's second largest city hosted nine total matches (the Jalisco Stadium hosted six matches, the Tres de Marzo Stadium in Zapopan hosted three), Monterrey hosted eight matches (The Tecnologico Stadium hosted three matches and the Universitario Stadium in San Nicolas de los Garza hosted five matches), and the Cuauhtémoc Stadium inPuebla hosted five matches.
The hot, humid and rainy summer weather in Mexico varied from humid desert locations like Monterrey to tropical locations such as Guadalajara; but perhaps the greatest hardship the players had to contend with was the high altitude of the Mexican locations. With the exception of the 93–104 °F (34–40 °C) temperatures of Monterrey (still 2,000 feet above sea level), all of the stadia were located in cities that varied anywhere from Guadalajara being 5,138 feet (1,566 m) above sea level to Toluca being 8,730 feet (2,660 m) above sea level, making conditions very difficult for the players running around in these stadia – but the higher the cities, the less intense the heat. Mexico City, the location of the opening and final matches and the location where the most matches were played was 7,380 feet (2,250 m) above sea level and the weather there was not as hot as in other cities used in this World Cup.
All of these venues except Monterrey were located in central Mexico, as this tournament was organized with the then-standard way of keeping teams playing in locations in close proximity to each other. Group A only played at the Olimpico and in Puebla (except for the Bulgaria-Italy opening tournament match, which was played in the Azteca), Group B only played at the Azteca and in Toluca (hosts Mexico were part of this group; they played all their group stage matches at the Azteca), Group C played in León and Irapuato, Group D only played in Guadalajara (including the Guadalajara area town of Zapopan; the last match of this group was played in Monterrey), Group E exclusively played in Querétaro and Nezahualcóyotl, and Group F played in the northern city of Monterrey (including the Monterrey area town of San Nicolas de los Garza; the last match of this group was played in Guadalajara). All of the venues listed hosted knockout round matches except the ones in Nezahualcoyotl, Irapuato, Zapopan, Toluca and the Estadio Tecnologico in Monterrey.
Celebrations of Mexican fans at Zocalo main square, June 7, 1986.
The first round of the finals began in Group A, whereItaly were held 1–1 byBulgaria. Meanwhile,Argentina beatSouth Korea 3–1, withDiego Maradona playing a major part.Italy andArgentina drew 1–1, Maradona andAlessandro Altobelli scoring. South Korea and Bulgaria also drew 1–1 in a downpour. The final set of matches saw Argentina beating Bulgaria 2–0, and Italy narrowly defeating South Korea 3–2.
In Group BMexico beatBelgium 2–1, and despite being held 1–1 byParaguay, they won the group after a further win overIraq, 1–0. Paraguay and Belgium also progressed after both beating Iraq and drawing with each other.
Group C pitted a strongDynamo Kyiv-dominatedSoviet Union side against the reigning European championsFrance. They drew with each other 1–1, with a goal scored byVasyl Rats. France beatCanada 1–0 and finished in 2nd place in the group after beatingHungary, 3–0. Hungary had earlier lost 6–0 against the Soviet Union, which won the group due to goal difference.
Group D sawBrazil start againstSpain, winning 1–0 after the referee failed to validate a legal goal scored byMíchel.Northern Ireland began their campaign with a draw againstAlgeria. Northern Ireland were then narrowly beaten by Spain before losing to Brazil 3–0 in their final match. This match saw a goal fromJosimar on his debut and was also the final timePat Jennings played forNorthern Ireland. Spain qualified along with Brazil after defeating Algeria 3–0.
Denmark stormed through Group E, dubbed thegroup of death, with a 100 per cent record. They beat Alex Ferguson'sScotland 1–0 in their first game, then hammeredUruguay 6–1, withPreben Elkjær hitting a hat-trick. Denmark beat one of the favourites to win the tournament,West Germany, 2–0 thanks to aJesper Olsen penalty and a goal fromJohn Eriksen. After losing to Denmark, Scotland took the lead against West Germany thanks to aGordon Strachan goal, but the West Germans fought back to win 2–1. After a violent 0–0 draw against Uruguay, the Scots were eliminated from the tournament. During that gameJosé Batista of Uruguay wassent off after less than one minute of play for a foul on Strachan, aWorld Cup record that still stands. West Germany went through to the second round despite a loss against Denmark.
Morocco topped Group F after holding bothPoland andEngland to goalless draws, and beatingPortugal 3–1. By doing so, they became the first African team, and only the second nation from outside Europe and the Americas (after North Korea in 1966), to reach the second round. England lost 1–0 to Portugal, followed by a 0–0 draw against Morocco in which they lost captainBryan Robson to injury (for the remainder of the tournament) and vice-captainRay Wilkins to a red card (he was not selected for the remainder of the tournament, even after having served his obligatory one-match ban). In their last first-round game, with the captaincy taken over byPeter Shilton in goal, a first-halfGary Lineker hat-trick helped the reshaped side beat Poland 3–0 – although losing yet another player to a ban for the next round, Terry Fenwick receiving his second booking of the tournament. Poland had previously beaten Portugal, and in the end the Portuguese were the only team from Group F to be eliminated in the first round. Portugal, making their first appearance in 20 years, went on strike (in theSaltillo Affair) during the competition. Players refused to train between their first and second games (against England and Poland) and were eliminated after a loss toMorocco in the final group match.
Belgium beat the Soviet Union 4–3, despite a hat-trick by the Soviets'Igor Belanov. The game was level at 2–2 after 90 minutes, and in extra timeStephane Demol andNico Claesen put Belgium 4–2 up. Belanov scored from the penalty spot with nine minutes remaining, but neither he nor any of his teammates could find a fourth goal for the Soviet Union. At theOlympic University Stadium in Mexico City, the European champions France ended Italy's reign as world champions with a 2–0 victory thanks to goals fromMichel Platini andYannick Stopyra. In the rematch of the1930 FIFA World Cup Final, Argentina just edged out South American champions Uruguay in Puebla thanks to a 42nd-minute strike fromPedro Pasculli. The all-South American affair had a Diego Maradona goal disallowed.
In Querétaro, Denmark were eliminated as they went from a 1–0 lead to a 5–1 battering against Spain; key playerFrank Arnesen was suspended for the game after being sent off against West Germany in their last group match, for taking a swipe at German playmakerLothar Matthäus. The Danes scored first, with a Jesper Olsen penalty, but they were then taken apart by a devastating performance fromButragueño of Spain, who scored four of his team's five goals. At theAzteca Stadium in Mexico City, England progressed to the quarter-finals comfortably when they saw off Paraguay 3–0, while Brazil brushed aside Poland 4–0. West Germany had a much harder time getting past Morocco, for whom goalkeeperBadou Zaki had an outstanding game. Morocco held out until the 87th minute, when Lothar Matthäus scored the only goal of the match with a free kick. Mexico won 2–0 against Bulgaria with an outstanding scissor-kick goal byManuel Negrete which is honored by a remembrance plaque atthe Azteca.
In the quarter-finals, France faced three-time world champion Brazil in Guadalajara. Brazil were well on top in the early stages, and Careca put them one up after 18 minutes. Five minutes before half-time, France drew level when Michel Platini scored his 41st goal after converting a cross fromDominique Rocheteau. Brazil had a chance to regain the lead in the second half when Branco was fouled by French keeperJoël Bats in the penalty area.Zico got up to take the kick, but Bats saved Zico's penalty.
The match went to extra time, and France finished slightly the stronger of the two sides. No more goals were scored, and so it was time for a penalty shoot-out. Socrates, who had earlier missed an open goal and headed an easy chance straight into the French keeper's arms, failed with the first kick for Brazil. The next six penalties were all converted, and then Platini fired over the bar. Brazil were back on level terms – but not for long.Julio Cesar struck the post with his penalty, andLuis Fernández then scored to put France through 4–3 on penalties.
Two other quarter-finals were also decided on penalties.Jan Ceulemans put Belgium ahead against Spain in the 35th minute, but Spanish substitute Señor equalised with five minutes to go. No more goals were scored in extra time, and Belgium won the shoot-out 5–4. On the hosts' first game outside of the Azteca,Francisco Javier Cruz saw a goal disallowed as West Germany and Mexico drew 0–0 after extra time. The West Germans eliminated the hosts 4–1 on penalties. As a curiosity, the German goalkeeperHarald Schumacher jumped to the right in the three Mexican penalties (stopping two of them).
The quarter-final between Argentina and England at the Azteca featured two very different goals in the second half by Diego Maradona: the first was scored illegally, as he punched the ball into the goal past England goalkeeperPeter Shilton. The referee did not see the handball and the goal was given as valid. After the game, Maradona claimed the goal was scored "A bit with the head of Maradona and another bit with the hand of God"; it became known as the "Hand of God" goal. For his second goal, voted "Goal of the Century" in 2002 on the FIFA website, Maradona dribbled half the length of the field past five English players before scoring. With 20 minutes to go, the introduction of John Barnes as a substitute changed the tide of play in England's favour, as he pinged cross after cross into the Argentine penalty area: with 9 minutes to go, Lineker got on the end of one and scored, then almost repeated the dose six minutes later but was just unable to reach the ball thanks to a timely block by Olarticoechea: 2–1 to Argentina was the final score. In Argentina, the game was seen as revenge for theFalklands War.[17]
In the first semi-final match,Andreas Brehme put West Germany 1–0 ahead against France in the ninth minute in Guadalajara, but the outcome remained in doubt until two minutes from time whenRudi Völler made it 2–0, and West Germany were in the final for the second World Cup in succession. In the second semi-final match, Maradona struck twice in the second half as Argentina beat Belgium 2–0 at the Azteca. France went on to defeat Belgium in the third-place match, 4–2.
So it was to be the South American Argentina vs the European West Germany at the final at the Azteca, the second time this massive stadium would host a World Cup Final (the first in 1970).Jose Brown put Argentina one up midway through the first half of the final, and whenJorge Valdano scored a second for the South Americans in the 55th minute, Argentina looked to be strolling to victory. West Germany then staged a spirited comeback.Karl-Heinz Rummenigge pulled one back in the 74th minute, and six minutes later Rudi Völler hit the equaliser. With seven minutes remaining, a pass from Maradona gaveJorge Burruchaga the chance to score the winner for Argentina. Eight years on from theirhome triumph, Argentina regained the world title and 30 million people in Argentina celebrated in the streets after the final victory. Maradona was the Golden Ball winner as the best player of the tournament, while Gary Lineker of England won the Golden Boot as the leading scorer of the World Cup with six goals.
Argentina beat West Germany for the first time and won their second World Cup. Belgium finished in fourth place, their best finish in the World Cup until 2018, where they finished third.
In 1986, FIFA published a report that ranked all teams in each World Cup up to and including 1986, based on progress in the competition, overall results and quality of the opposition.[27][28] The rankings for the 1986 tournament were as follows:
Pique, the official mascot of the 1986 FIFA World Cup
Theofficial mascot of the 1986 World Cup wasPique, ajalapeño pepper, characteristic ofMexican cuisine, with a moustache, a Colimotesombrero, and Mexican football team colours. Its name comes frompicante, a Spanish word meaning "spicy", and was also a pun on the "PK" abbreviation of the football termpenalty kick. Pique is also a common Spanish name.
The character caused a degree of controversy within Mexico for its ethnic stereotypes.[42][43]
Theofficial match ball of this World Cup was the "Azteca", manufactured byAdidas. It was the first fully synthetic FIFA World Cup ball and the elaborately decorated design was inspired by the hosting nation’s nativeAztec architecture and murals.[44]
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