MEXICO 1986

The 1986 World Cup in Mexico, 16 years after the first tournament held in the Central American country, was all about one man - Diego Armando Maradona. mMostly for good reasons, but also for one bad - the infamous 'Hand of God' goal, five minutes before his astonishing second goal. Mexico was the second choice venue, after the original choice, Colombia, had to withdraw in 1982 due to economic reasons. There were again 16 teams, but the second group phase was done away with. There were six groups of four teams each, and the top two went through, as well as the best four third place teams into a straight knock-out last 16. So still fairly complicated. Maradona stamped his mark on this World Cup like no-one else had ever done before, or since for that matter. There were three newcomers in Mexico 1986 - Canada, Denmark and Iraq. Denmark were defintely the most competent of that trio. In group A, Argentina started off in awesome form, with Maradona unsurprisingly to the fore. World champions Italy also joined them in the next round, thanks to three goals from Alessandro Altobelli, and minnows Bulgaria surprsingly sneaked through in third place, despite only gaining two points and two goals. Mexico went through easily in group B, and were joined by Belgium and Paraguay, who both drew with each other and beat Iraq. Belgium in particular started to look goods, with a talented generation including Enzo Scifo and Jan Ceulemans. Iraq, in the midst of a devestating war with Iran, did not disgrace themselves in what has been their only finals appearance to date. In group C, the group was dominated by European Champions (and one of the favourites France) and a strong Soviet Union side, with Communist war coming to an end. Hungary showed the world they were no longer the force they once were, losing 3-0 to France and 6-0 to the Soviets. The two giants drew 1-1- with each other in a superb match. In the next group, Brazil, not surprisingly, looked strong. Brazil won all their matches, including the crucial one against Spain 1-0. The Spanish followed them into the last 16. This group was notably for a sparkling goal by Josimar in Brazil's 3-0 win over Northern Ireland. It was also the great Pat Jennings last appearance in goal for the Irish. Group D is widely considered as the toughest group in the 1986 tournamant. Denmark were the star team, with the goals if Preben Elkjaer and creativity of Soren Lerby, Jan Molby, Michael Laudrup and Jesper Olsen among others, and they beat Uruguay 6-1 and 1982 runners-up West Germany 2-0. The West Germans went through, having beaten Scotland 2-1, despite Gordon Strachan giving the Scots the lead. This time, the Scots didn't even come close to qualifying. This group was also notable for the fastest sending off in World Cup history, Uruguay's Jose Batista after 56 seconds in their final game against the Scotland. But they held on to draw 0-0, which was enough to send them through as one of the best third place teams. In the final group, England started off abysmally, losing to an underrated Portugal 1-0. Manager Bobby Robson was under pressure, and this didn't improve with a 0-0 draw against Morocco, with Ray Wilkins being sent-off for England. Something had to change - and Peter Beardsley was introduced to partner Gary Lineker. It worked - Liniker scored a first half hat-trick, largely thanks to the role of Beardsley, and England finsihed second, sandwiched between Morocco (showing the growing ability of African football) and Poland, who also qualified. So in the second round, there was a straight knock-out format for the first time. And this certainly added to the excitement. Mexico matched their performance when they hosted the 1970 tournament, beating Bulgaria 2-0 to reach the last eight. The next game saw one of the best games of the 1986 tournament. And in something of a shock, the highly fancied Soviet Union, who had finished ahead of France in their group, lost 4-3 after extra-time, to a talented Belgium, despite Igor Belanov scoring a hat-trick. The Soviets were 1-0 and 2-1 up, but Ceulemans took the game into extra-time, where goals from Stephane Demol and Nico Claesen clinched the win before Belanov completed his hat-trick. Brazil continued their good form by beating Poland 4-0, who had finished thrid in 1982. In a repeat of the 1930 final, Argentina narrowly defeated an unadventurous Uruguay 1-0. France defeated Italy to end their reign as World Champions, thanks to goals from Michel Platini and Yannick Stopyra. There was almost a huge upset between West Germany and Morocco. The Africans kept out their illustrious neighbours until the 87th minute, when the great sweeper Lothar Matthaus finally broke their resistance. Goalkeeper Badou Zaki was almost the hero for Morocco. Gary Lineker and Peter Beardsley continued their fruitful partnership, scoring the goals in a 3-0 win over Paraguay. Perhaps the biggest surprise of the second round, though, came in the final match. Denmark had been perhaps the best team in the group phase, while Spain were unimpressive in finishing behind Brazil in their group. And when Jesper Olsen scored a penalty, it looked like the script was being followed. But Emilio Butragueno scored just before half-time, and the tide turned. He added another three second-half goals, and Andoni Goikoetxea added a penalty to cap an extraordinary turnaround. Of the quarter-finals, three of them went to penalties, starting with France and Brazil. This was a special match, and in another tournament, would have been the game of the finals. Careca gave Brazil the lead, before the great Michel Platini scored on his final World Cup. Joel Bats saved a Zico penalty in the second-half, to send the game to penalties. Socrates missed for Brazil, before, against all odds, Platini fired over to level the scores again. The decisive miss came from Julio Cesar, leaving Luis Fernandez to put the French through to their second successive semi-final. West Germany played out a dour 0-0 draw with the hosts Mexico and won 4-1 to end home hopes. After all, the Germans never lose on penalties do they! Belgium continued their excellent run. The brilliant Ceulemans gave them the lead, before the brilliantly named Senor equalised with five minutes left. So, another game went to penalties, and Belgium progressed 5-4 on penalties, Eloy with the crucial miss. But, the stand-out quarter-final was the old grudge match between Argentina and England. There was some bad blood here - there was still some bad feeling over the 1966 World Cup quarter-final, and obviously the more recent, hostile, Falklands War. The first-half was pretty uneventful, but the secind wasn't. Maradona scored a goal by cheating, and then the 'goal of the century.' England seemed spent, but then John Barned entered the fray with 16 minutes to go. He created a goal for Lineker with a magnificent cross, and performed the same trick minutes later. However, with the goal at his mercy, the ball was just nipped off Lineker's feet by a last-gasp touch from an Argentine defender. After the match, Maradona described his first goal as 'a little bit of my head and a little bit of the hand of God.' English manager Bobby Robson said 'it was the hand of a rascal.' It was clear there was a difference of opinion here! In the semis, they were both fairly clear cut. The Germans beat France 2-0 in a repeat of the 1982 semi-final, with the scoreline far more comprehensive. Andreas Brehme and Rudi Voller did the damage. Maradona continued his sparkling form against Belgium, with another brilliant two goals to defeat the tournament's surprise package. The great man put the crowning glory on his tournament by leading Argentina to their second World Cup. Jose Brown and Jorge Valdano put them 2-0 up. This looked like it was game over, but Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Voller brought it back to 2-2 within minutes. However, Maradona would save his best until last. With seven minutes remaining, Maradona played a glorious pass from his own half, enabling Jorge Burruchaga to win the cup for the Argentines. Never has a player made his mark on a single tournament as Maradona. He won the quart-finals and semis single handedly, and his influence won the final for Argentina. They weren't a bad team - but Maradona made them a great team.

PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT - DIEGO MARADONA

After a fairly tame group phase, where his only goal was an equaliser against World Champions Italy. But, in the game against England, he really sprung to life. Never has a player provided so many memorable different moments in a single tournament, mostly for the right reason, and once for the wrong reason. As they say, the greatest players in the world will always stamp their mark on the biggest stage of all.

CONTROVERSY - DIEGO MARADONA

Who else, in the tournament he dominated. He may have lit up the world, with some sparkling goals and performances, but this may not have been possible without 'The Hand of God'. The ball was pinging around the English area, when Steve Hodge thumped a clearance up in the air. The ball flew back towards his own goal, and keeper Peter Shilton seemed to have the ball covered. But somehow, little Diego Maradona outjumped to beat the giant Shilton to the ball and head it in to the net. Except he didn't. The English players immediately started protesting to the referee, and it was hard to see where originally. Until you saw the replays, and Maradona clearly punched the ball into the net. But their protests fell on deaf ears, and this laid the foundations for something truly memorable (but for completely different reasons) just five minutes later.

GOAL OF THE TOURNAMENT - DIEGO MARADONA

Five minutes after one of the greatest controversy in football history, came arguably the greatest goal in football history. And again, Maradona was in the centre of the action. Maradona received the ball in his own half, and set out towards goal. He passed Hodge, Beardsley, Terry Butcher and Terry Fenwick. No-one could get near him, and dribbled around Shilton and shot into the empty net. It was quite extraordinary, and left England with too much to do. It was later voted goal of the century.

GAFFE OF THE TOURNAMENT - BOBBY ROBSON

This was probably the best English performance at the World Cup other than the 1966 win at home. It got started slowly, but it gathered speed with thrashings of Poland and Portugal, after Lineker was paired with Beardsley. They came unstuck, with the good and the bad of Diego Maradona, and it could all have been so different. There is no question that Robson waited too long to introduce John Barnes to the fray. When he did, the winger created a goal and came so close to creating another for Lineker. Instead, it was a question of what might have been.

HOME NATIONS

England were undoubtedly the best performing nation from the home nations. They reached their first quarter-finals since 1970, and it could all have been very different had it not been for a certain Diego Maradona, in the famous and infamous game in the Azteca.

MASCOT - PIQUE

Pique was a jalapeno pepper (obviously!) It was characteristic of Mexican cuisine, and had a moustache, a sombrero, and wore Mexico's team colours.


ITALY 1990

After a brilliant tournament in the heat of Mexico in 1986, the 1990 edition in Italy is widely regarded as the most dour and negative tournament ever. Goals were a rarity, defences were fierce and hard and attacking quality was at a premium. There were three new qualifiers - Costa Rica, Republic of Ireland and the UAE. The first two definitely overperformed and made their mark on the world occasion. There were, as always, some talented absentees - Denmark, Poland, and most surprisingly, 1982 and 1986 semi-finalists France. USA also qualified for the first time since 1950, and they have appeared in every tournament since. There was controversy before the tournament even started, with Mexico and Chile disqualified from the qualification process - the former for fielding an overage player in a youth tournament, and the latter because their keeper, Roberto Rojas, faked an injury in a qualifier to get a match abandoned! The format was unchanged from four years previously, and this seems to have been the one FIFA had settled on. Until the number of qualifiers was expanded in 1998, that is! The star of the tournament hosts, was undoubtedly Salvatore 'Toto' Schillaci. That is why we all love the World Cup so much. A player can be completely unheralded, but breakthrough at the right time and right their name into World Cup history. That's what happened with Toto. In his Italian career, he won 16 caps and scored seven goals. Seven of these caps and six of these goals came in Italia '90. Italy qualified comfortably, largely thanks to Schillaci and Roberto Baggio, and they were joined by Czechoslovakia, in their last tournament before the country split up. Tomas Skuhravy was particularly impressive for the Czechs. In group B, we saw one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history. Cameroon sprang the shock of the tournament by beating champions Argentina in the opneing game. This despite being reduced to nine men. Francois Oman Biyik's goal was enough. A win against Romania, courtesy of two goals from substitute Roger Milla, was enough for them to progress. Argentina and Romania played out a 1-1 draw to ensure both went through, at the expense of the soon to be defunct Soviet Union. With the Berlin Wall having been torn down less than a year before the tournament, this was a strange time historically for football. Diego Maradona was not the same influence he had been in Mexico. Scotland suffered yet more World Cup disappointment. They lost to Costa Rica in a huge upset in their opening game - Juan Cayasso was the hero. Ally McCoist and a Mo Johnston penalty clinched a win over Sweden, but this still left them needing a point against Brazil in their last game to become one of the best third placed teams. In an agonising twist of fate, substitute Muller sent the Scots crashing out with eight minutes remaining. In group D, UAE were certainly the whipping boys, losing 2-0, 5-1 and 4-1 to Colombia, West Germany and Yugoslavia respectively. West Germany, in their last tournament before unification, went through comfortably, thanks to another big win, 4-1 against Yugoslavia. The Yugoslavs also progressed, as did the Colombians, thanks to a 1-1 draw in their final game against the Germans, a last minute Freddy Rincon goal proving the decisive one. The Germans looked impressive, with Matthaus, Klinsmann and Voller to the fore. Belgium and Spain qualified comfortably from group E - the latter with help of a Michel hat-trick in beating South Korea. But two time champions Uruguay only qualified thanks to a last gasp Daniel Fonseca winner against the Koreans - meaning they were the worst performing of the third placed sides who remained in the tournament. England's group was one of the tighest in World Cup history. It included the European Champions Holland as well as the Republic of Ireland on their World Cup debut - the Irish had of course beaten England famously in said Euro 88 championships. England started well against the Irish, Gary Lineker continuing his great World Cup form with an eight minute striker. But Everton striker Kevin Sheedy spoilt the party with a late equaliser. Egypt surprisingly held the Dutch and the Irish, while England and Holland fought out a dour 0-0 draw. The decisive reult came in the final set of matches - in fact, it was the only decisive result! Mark Wright's header gave England a 1-0 win over Egypt, while Niall Quinn's goal against Holland earned the Republic a second round berth. In the second round, defences and discipline again prevailed. Roger Milla got the knock out stages under way by continuing his heroics against Colombia. Milla clinched the win with his second in extra-time, disposseing the mad Colombian keeper Rene Higuita who had ventured forward, and racing through to slot into an empty net. Czechoslovakia prolonged their final tournament, easily dismantling Costa Rica 4-1 thanks largely to a hat-trick from the impresseive Tomas Skuhravy. Groans were heard around the world everywhere when Argentina beat Brazil in the all South American affair. Brazil wasted chance after chance, with keeper Sergio Goycochea in inspired form, and Maradona went on a magical solo run to set up the winner for Claudio Cannigia. In an intriguing bit of controversy, it was claimed water offered to Brazilian player Branco by the Argentinian defence contained a tranquilisier! However, nothing was ever proven. The game between two of the favourites, West Germany and Holland, was mostly remembered for being an ugly affair. In the 22nd minute, Rudi Voller and Frank Rijkaard clashed in the Dutch half. Voller launched spit in Rijkaard's direction, and Voller reacted. Both were sent off. Jurgen Klinsmann and Andreas Brehme put the Germans in charge on the pitch, and Ronald Koeman's penalty was too little, too late. Italy did for a dour Uruguay side 2-0, with 'Toto' Schillaci again on the scoresheet. The Republic of Ireland continued their remarkable progress, drawing 0-0 with Romania before defeating them 5-4 on penalties, legend David O'Leary scoring the decisive kick. Dragan Stojkovic was the hero for Yugoslavia, his two goals defeating a talented Spain team, the winner coming in extra-time. England were the last nation to book their quarter-final place. Belgium were on top for large parts of a game devoid of incident, but the decisive moment came with just a minute remaining in extra-time. Paul Gascoigne took over a free-kick midway inside the Belgian half, and, with quick thinking, dinked a quickly taken free-kick into David Platt. The substitute, with the ball coming over his shoulder, swivelled and volleyed the ball into the far corner, in one of the most iconic moments in England's World Cup history. The quarter-finals were again, more or less, dominated by defences. None more so than the first encounter - Yugoslavia and Argentina drew 0-0, and Goycochea was again the Argentine hero, saving three penalties. He was only playing because the first choice, Pumpido, had gotten injured during the group stages. The gallant effort of Ireland was brought to an end, with another goal from Schillaci putting the host through, and a penalty from Matthaus was enough for West Germany to see off Czechoslovakia, in yet another game almost devoid of quality. So, all the quarter-final action came in the last game, between England and surprise package Cameroon. The English were very cocky pre-match, writing off the chances of their opponents, and this seemed justified when Platt continued his good form by heading England into a half-time lead. But the introduction in the interval of Milla, one of the original super-subs, changed the complexion of a game. In the 61st minute, Milla won a penalty which Emmanuel Kunde converted, and within five minutes, the Africans had taken a shock lead, when a brilliant Milla pass released Eugene Ekeke to score. But, just as it seemed England were going to be humiliated, they were awarded a penalty of their own, which Lineker converted. Another penalty, in extra-time, prevented embarassment and set up a semi-final with old foes West Germany. In the first semi-final, 'Toto' Schillaci scored again, but a Cannigia equaliser was enough to take the match into extra-time and penalties. Goycochea was again the hero, saving two Italian penalties, leaving Maradona with the chance to put Argentina into their second successive final. Which they took, off course. The second semi also finished 1-1, but was a far better game. There was emotion, controversy and near misses. But it started with a fortuitous goal for Germany, a long-range free-kick from Brehme taking a huge deflection off the on-rushing Paul Parker, and looping into the net. To this day, there are question marks about the role of the 40-year-old keeper Peter Shilton in the goal. Gary Lineker scored a goal so typical of him, opportunistically firing into the corner from the edge of the area, to take the match into extra-time. The game went back and forth, this way and that. Both sides came close, most notably when England winger Chris Waddle fired against the bar from almost 40 yards. There were tears, as well, as Gascoigne received a booking for a needless foul, meaning he would miss the final should England reach out. Then there was the iconic signal from Lineker to the England bench, signalling they needed to watch Gazze. But there were no more goals, and penalties it was. Stuart Pearce, and more famously Waddle, were the guilty parties. This would give them the opportunity to star in a Pizza Hut advert alongside fellow penalty shoot-out culprit Gareth Southgate, though. It was agonising for England, the closest they had come to reaching a World Cup final in any tournament apart from 1966. The final is generally regarded as the worst of all time. Argentina were reduced to ten men, not surprising considering their attitude to the tournament. Chances were pretty much non-existent, until Gustavo Dezotti hauled Jurgen Kohler to the ground with five minutes remaining. Brehme converted the penalty, and there was no way this awful Argentina team would find a way back, especially as Maradona was no longer inspiring them. And so, the poorest World Cup in history came to an end. West Germany won their thrid title, equalling the achievements of Brazil and Italy. But no-one really cared. Italy 1990 had the lowest goals per game ratio of any tournament ever. There were also an asotnishing four penalty shoot-outs. But another four games went to extra-time, with another two containing just one goal, the goal being a penalty. The world prayed we'd never experience such a defence minded, negative and cynical tournament again. And thankfully, in the USA in 1994, our faith in beautiful football was restored and we remembered the tournament for the righ reasons (except the final again!) It's just a pity England weren't there to enjoy the party!

PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT -ROGER MILLA

Never has a player so old lit up a World Cup. I mean, how old was he really?! Cameroon's quarter-final appearance in 1990 remains the best performance by an African nation to date, and this was largely thanks to Milla. All of his four goals were topped off by an extravagant celebration, performing a tribal dance around the corner flag! He scored crucial goals against Romania and Colombia, but he was at his best against England. Bobby Robson and his men were disparaging in the warm-up, but Milla almost made them eat their words. A superb pass brought them level having gone behind, before winning a penalty, which was converted to give Cameroon a lead they held on to until the 82nd minute. The archetypal super-sub, the general consensus is that he had just turned 38 when he boarded the plane to Italy!

GOAL OF THE TOURNAMENT - ROBERTO BAGGIO

Baggio scored the greatest individual goal of his home World Cup. It didn't quite match up with Maradona's effort in terms of importance and quality, but it didn't come far short of the latter. He went on a superb individual run, waltzing in and out of Czech defenders, before lifting the ball over the onrushing keeper. However, for the majority of the tournament, he was overshadowed by the previously unheralded 'Toto' Schillaci.

GAFFE OF THE TOURNAMENT - ARGENTINA IN THE OPENING GAME

This has to rank as the biggest opening game upset of all time - that is, until the then World Champions France ran into the brick wall that was Senegal. This was the first indication that his class of Argentinian football was not comparable to the great effort we'd seen four years previously. Yes, they'd reached the final, but that was more by luck than judgment. They lost 1-0 in the tournament's opening game against a Cameroon we would soon find out were rather good. And this was despite the Africans being reduced to nine men, displaying some rather rough tactics!

FLASH IN THE PAN - 'TOTO' SCHILLACI

You get these sometimes in major tournaments, where they are in the right place at the right time. Paolo Rossi came good at the right time to help Italy win the World Cup in 1982. But his Italy career spanned three World Cups, and he won over 50 caps with a goals to games ratio of almost one in two. The same could not be said of Schillaci. His Italy career spanned from 1990 to 1991. He scored just one more goal for Italy after the end of the tournament, against Norway in 1991, and within four years he was playing in Japan. But he is still revered in Italy to this day!

HOME NATIONS

The England team which travelled to Italy in 1990 is widely regarded as second to only the 1966 World Cup winners. And this team, after a slow start, got into their rythym, with stars like Gary Lineker, David Platt, Chris Waddle, and the introduction onto the world stage of Paul Gascoigne. After some dour performances in the group phase, they scraped past Belgium thanks to some quick thinking from Gascoigne and a tremendous Platt volley in the 199th minute of their second round encounter. Having enjoyed an element of luck and yet more extra-time to edge past the unfancied Cameroon, they came up against old enemies Germany. And what a game it turned out to be. Ebbing backwards and forwards, goals, controversy, near misses and eventually another peanlty shoot-out defeat. It was a case of so close, yet so far. Scotland disappointed again as is their want, failing to make it past the first round. But Ireland were a pleasant surprise on their World Cup debut, playing with great fight and spirit and only losing narrowly in the quarter-finals to the hosts

MASCOT - CIAO

Slang for 'goodbye' in Italian, Ciao was a stick figure player with a football for a head, and an Italian tricolor body. Well, why wouldn't it be?!