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1986 FIFA World Cup

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1986 FIFA World Cup
Copa Mundial de Fútbol
México '86 (Spanish)
Image
1986 FIFA World Cup official logo, designed by Rubén Santiago Hernández
Tournament details
Host countryMexico
Dates31 May – 29 June
Teams24 (from 5 confederations)
Venues12 (in 11 host cities)
Final positions
ChampionsImage Argentina (2nd title)
Runners-upImage West Germany
Third placeImage France
Fourth placeImage Belgium
Tournament statistics
Matches played52
Goals scored132 (2.54 per match)
Attendance2,394,031 (46,039 per match)
Top scorerEngland Gary Lineker (6 goals)
Best playerArgentina Diego Maradona
Best young playerBelgium Enzo Scifo
Fair play awardImage Brazil
← 1982
1990 →
Image
Diego Maradona celebrating with the Trophy. Argentina won the tournament unbeaten

The 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Mexico 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 by FIFA but, largely due to economic reasons, was not able to do so, and withdrew 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 previously hosting the 1970 edition.

The World Cup was won by Argentina (their second title, after winning in 1978). Argentina was captained by the 25-year-old Diego 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 the same quarter-final match 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 beat West Germany 3–2 in the final at Mexico City's Estadio Azteca. Argentina would not win the World Cup again until 2022, 36 years later. Total attendance was 2,394,031, an average per match of 46,039.[2] Canada, Denmark and Iraq made their first appearances at the final stage.

The format of the competition changed from 1982. 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 by France in the round of 16.

The tournament saw the appearance of the Mexican wave, a spectator phenomenon which was popularised worldwide after featuring during the tournament.[4][5][6]

Host selection

[edit]
Image
Adidas Azteca Football ball used in the 1986 World Cup in Mexico

Colombia was originally chosen as hosts by FIFA in June 1974, with Bogotá, Medellín, Cali, Pereira and Bucaramanga intended as the host cities, plus potentially Barranquilla.[7] Colombia agreed to host a 16-team competition. However, days before the 1978 FIFA World Cup's opening match, FIFA later allowed an expansion to 24 teams for the 1982 World Cup in Spain, which was more challenging for Colombia to host, although FIFA President João Havelange initially gave assurances that they could revert to a 16-team tournament.[7] Colombian president Julio 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]

Image
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 the Corregidora Stadium.

Although Mexico, United States and Canada 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 the Executive 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 the 1970 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 the football 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 at Televisa, 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 former United 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]

A severe 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 the International Year of Peace by the United Nations, the advertising boards of all the stadia displayed the FIFA and United 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]

The final draw took place on 15 December 1985 hosted at Televisa San Ángel studios in Mexico City.

Qualification

[edit]

Three teams qualified for the World Cup for the first time: Canada, Denmark and Iraq. Iraq played all their 'home' matches on neutral ground in Saudi Arabia because of the Iran–Iraq War. Canada would not appear again until 2022, and Iraq would not qualify again until the next time the tournament was held in Mexico in 2026. 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. It remains as of 2026 the last appearance of Hungary and Northern Ireland.

All six previous World Cup-winning nations (Argentina, Brazil, England, West Germany, Italy, and Uruguay) qualified, which held the record of most previous champions at a tournament before the record was broken in 2002 with the addition of France (who won the 1998 tournament) and a second time in 2014 with the addition of Spain (who won the 2010 tournament).

List of qualified teams

[edit]

The following 24 teams qualified for the final tournament.

Venues

[edit]
Image
Football fans waiting outside the Estadio Azteca in 1986.

Eleven cities hosted the tournament, with a total of twelve stadiums 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 in Puebla 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.

Mexico City Guadalajara, Jalisco Puebla City, Puebla
Estadio Azteca Estadio Olímpico Universitario Estadio Jalisco Estadio Cuauhtémoc
Capacity: 114,600 Capacity: 72,212 Capacity: 66,193 Capacity: 46,416
Image Image Image Image
San Nicolás de los Garza, Nuevo León
(Monterrey area)		 Querétaro, Querétaro
Estadio Universitario Estadio La Corregidora
Capacity: 43,780 Capacity: 38,576
Image Image
Nezahualcóyotl, State of Mexico
(Mexico City area)		 Monterrey, Nuevo León
Estadio Neza 86 Stadiums in Mexico City (labeled as MXC (Image) above) Estadio Tecnológico
Capacity: 34,536 Capacity: 33,805
Image Image
Toluca, State of Mexico Irapuato, Guanajuato León, Guanajuato Zapopan, Jalisco
(Guadalajara area)
Estadio Toluca 70–86 Estadio Sergio León Chávez Estadio Nou Camp Estadio Tres de Marzo
Capacity: 32,612 Capacity: 31,336 Capacity: 30,531 Capacity: 30,015
Image Image Image Image

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.

Stadium Matches Teams hosted in the first round
Estadio AztecaOpening match, Group B,
R2, QF, SF, Final		Image Mexico
Estadio Olímpico UniversitarioGroup A, R2Image Argentina, Image Bulgaria, Image South Korea
Estadio JaliscoGroup D, R2, QF, SFImage Brazil
Estadio CuauhtémocGroup A, R2, QF,
Match for third place		Image Italy
Estadio UniversitarioGroup F, R2, QFImage Poland
Estadio La CorregidoraGroup E, R2Image West Germany
Estadio TecnológicoGroup FImage England, Image Portugal*, Image Morocco*
Estadio Nou CampGroup C, R2Image France
Estadio Neza 86Group EImage Uruguay, Image Denmark, Image Scotland
Estadio Sergio León ChávezGroup CImage Soviet Union, Image Hungary, Image Canada
Estadio Tres de MarzoGroup DImage Spain*, Image Northern Ireland, Image Algeria*
Estadio Toluca 70–86Group BImage Belgium, Image Paraguay, Image Iraq
  • Morocco and Portugal played in Guadalajara while Spain and Algeria played in Monterrey.

Match officials

[edit]
Africa
Asia
Europe
North and Central America
Oceania
South America

Squads

[edit]

For a list of all squads that appeared in the final tournament, see 1986 FIFA World Cup squads.

Seeding

[edit]
Seeded teams
(hosts and top 5 from 1982 World Cup)		 Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3

Summary

[edit]
Image
Map of results

First round (group stage)

[edit]
Image
Celebrations of Mexican fans at Zocalo main square, June 7, 1986.

The first round of the finals began in Group A, where Italy were held 1–1 by Bulgaria. Meanwhile, Argentina beat South Korea 3–1, with Diego Maradona playing a major part. Italy and Argentina drew 1–1, Maradona and Alessandro 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 B Mexico beat Belgium 2–1, and despite being held 1–1 by Paraguay, they won the group after a further win over Iraq, 1–0. Paraguay and Belgium also progressed after both beating Iraq and drawing with each other.

Group C pitted a strong Dynamo Kyiv-dominated Soviet Union side against the reigning European champions France. They drew with each other 1–1, with a goal scored by Vasyl Rats. France beat Canada 1–0 and finished in 2nd place in the group after beating Hungary, 3–0. Hungary had earlier lost 6–0 against the Soviet Union, which won the group due to goal difference.

Group D saw Brazil start against Spain, winning 1–0 after the referee failed to validate a legal goal scored by Míchel. Northern Ireland began their campaign with a draw against Algeria. Northern Ireland were then narrowly beaten by Spain before losing to Brazil 3–0 in their final match. This match saw a goal from Josimar on his debut and was also the final time Pat Jennings played for Northern Ireland. Spain qualified along with Brazil after defeating Algeria 3–0.

Denmark stormed through Group E, dubbed the group of death, with a 100 per cent record. They beat Alex Ferguson's Scotland 1–0 in their first game, then hammered Uruguay 6–1, with Preben Elkjær hitting a hat-trick. Denmark beat one of the favourites to win the tournament, West Germany, 2–0 thanks to a Jesper Olsen penalty and a goal from John Eriksen. After losing to Denmark, Scotland took the lead against West Germany thanks to a Gordon 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 game José Batista of Uruguay was sent off after less than one minute of play for a foul on Strachan, a World Cup record that still stands. West Germany went through to the second round despite a loss against Denmark.

Morocco topped Group F after holding both Poland and England to goalless draws, and beating Portugal 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 captain Bryan Robson to injury (for the remainder of the tournament) and vice-captain Ray 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 by Peter Shilton in goal, a first-half Gary 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 the Saltillo Affair) during the competition. Players refused to train between their first and second games (against England and Poland) and were eliminated after a loss to Morocco in the final group match.

Second round and quarter-finals (knockout rounds)

[edit]

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 time Stephane Demol and Nico 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 the Olympic University Stadium in Mexico City, the European champions France ended Italy's reign as world champions with a 2–0 victory thanks to goals from Michel Platini and Yannick Stopyra. In the rematch of the 1930 FIFA World Cup Final, Argentina just edged out South American champions Uruguay in Puebla thanks to a 42nd-minute strike from Pedro 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 player Frank Arnesen was suspended for the game after being sent off against West Germany in their last group match, for taking a swipe at German playmaker Lothar Matthäus. The Danes scored first, with a Jesper Olsen penalty, but they were then taken apart by a devastating performance from Butragueño of Spain, who scored four of his team's five goals. At the Azteca 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 goalkeeper Badou 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 by Manuel Negrete which is honored by a remembrance plaque at the 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 from Dominique Rocheteau. Brazil had a chance to regain the lead in the second half when Branco was fouled by French keeper Joël 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, and Luis 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 goalkeeper Harald 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 goalkeeper Peter 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 the Falklands War.[17]

Semi-finals, match for third place and final

[edit]

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 when Rudi 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 match for third place, 4–2 at extra time. As of 2026, it remains the only third place match to go to extra time.

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 when Jorge 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 gave Jorge Burruchaga the chance to score the winner for Argentina. Eight years on from their home 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.

Group stage

[edit]

All times are Central Time (UTC−6)

Key to colours in group tables
Group winners, runners-up, and best four third-placed teams advance to the round of 16

Group A

[edit]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Image Argentina 3 2 1 0 6 2 +4 5 Advance to knockout stage
2 Image Italy 3 1 2 0 5 4 +1 4
3 Image Bulgaria 3 0 2 1 2 4 −2 2
4 Image South Korea 3 0 1 2 4 7 −3 1
Source: FIFA
Bulgaria Image1–1Image Italy
 [Report 1]
Attendance: 96,000
Italy Image1–1Image Argentina
 [Report 3]
Attendance: 32,000
South Korea Image2–3Image Italy
 [Report 5]
Attendance: 20,000
Argentina Image2–0Image Bulgaria
 [Report 6]
Attendance: 65,000

Group B

[edit]
Image
Cruz and Cabañas going for the ball in Mexico v Paraguay

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Image Mexico (H) 3 2 1 0 4 2 +2 5 Advance to knockout stage
2 Image Paraguay 3 1 2 0 4 3 +1 4
3 Image Belgium 3 1 1 1 5 5 0 3
4 Image Iraq 3 0 0 3 1 4 −3 0
Source: FIFA
(H) Hosts
Belgium Image1–2Image Mexico
 [Report 7]
Attendance: 110,000
Paraguay Image1–0Image Iraq
 [Report 8]
Attendance: 24,000
Mexico Image1–1Image Paraguay
 [Report 9]
Attendance: 114,600
Iraq Image1–2Image Belgium
 [Report 10]
Attendance: 20,000
Paraguay Image2–2Image Belgium
 [Report 11]
Attendance: 16,000
Iraq Image0–1Image Mexico
[Report 12]
Attendance: 103,763

Group C

[edit]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Image Soviet Union 3 2 1 0 9 1 +8 5 Advance to knockout stage
2 Image France 3 2 1 0 5 1 +4 5
3 Image Hungary 3 1 0 2 2 9 −7 2
4 Image Canada 3 0 0 3 0 5 −5 0
Source: FIFA
Canada Image0–1Image France
[Report 13]
Attendance: 35,748[A]
Referee: Hernán Silva (Chile)
Soviet Union Image6–0Image Hungary
 [Report 14]
Attendance: 16,500
Referee: Luigi Agnolin (Italy)
France Image1–1Image Soviet Union
 [Report 15]
Attendance: 36,540
Hungary Image2–0Image Canada
 [Report 16]
Attendance: 13,800
Hungary Image0–3Image France
[Report 17]
Attendance: 31,420
Soviet Union Image2–0Image Canada
 [Report 18]
Attendance: 14,200

Group D

[edit]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Image Brazil 3 3 0 0 5 0 +5 6 Advance to knockout stage
2 Image Spain 3 2 0 1 5 2 +3 4
3 Image Northern Ireland 3 0 1 2 2 6 −4 1
4 Image Algeria 3 0 1 2 1 5 −4 1
Source: FIFA
Spain Image0–1Image Brazil
[Report 19]
Attendance: 65,500[A]
Algeria Image1–1Image Northern Ireland
 [Report 20]
Attendance: 22,000
Brazil Image1–0Image Algeria
 [Report 21]
Attendance: 48,000
Northern Ireland Image1–2Image Spain
 [Report 22]
Attendance: 28,000
Northern Ireland Image0–3Image Brazil
[Report 23]
Attendance: 51,000
Algeria Image0–3Image Spain
[Report 24]
Attendance: 23,980
Referee: Shizuo Takada (Japan)

Group E

[edit]
Image
Antonio Alzamendi scoring for Uruguay v West Germany

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Image Denmark 3 3 0 0 9 1 +8 6 Advance to knockout stage
2 Image West Germany 3 1 1 1 3 4 −1 3
3 Image Uruguay 3 0 2 1 2 7 −5 2
4 Image Scotland 3 0 1 2 1 3 −2 1
Source: FIFA
Uruguay Image1–1Image West Germany
 [Report 25]
Attendance: 30,500
Scotland Image0–1Image Denmark
[Report 26]
Attendance: 18,000
West Germany Image2–1Image Scotland
 [Report 27]
Attendance: 30,000
Referee: Ioan Igna (Romania)
Denmark Image6–1Image Uruguay
 [Report 28]
Attendance: 26,500
Denmark Image2–0Image West Germany
 [Report 29]
Attendance: 36,000
Scotland Image0–0Image Uruguay
[Report 30]
Attendance: 20,000

Group F

[edit]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Image Morocco 3 1 2 0 3 1 +2 4 Advance to knockout stage
2 Image England 3 1 1 1 3 1 +2 3
3 Image Poland 3 1 1 1 1 3 −2 3
4 Image Portugal 3 1 0 2 2 4 −2 2
Source: FIFA
Portugal Image1–0Image England
 [Report 32]
Attendance: 23,000
England Image0–0Image Morocco
[Report 33]
Attendance: 20,200
Poland Image1–0Image Portugal
 [Report 34]
Attendance: 19,915
England Image3–0Image Poland
 [Report 35]
Attendance: 22,700
Portugal Image1–3Image Morocco
 [Report 36]
Attendance: 28,000

Ranking of third-placed teams

[edit]
Pos Grp Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 B Image Belgium 3 1 1 1 5 5 0 3 Advance to knockout stage
2 F Image Poland 3 1 1 1 1 3 −2 3
3 A Image Bulgaria 3 0 2 1 2 4 −2 2
4 E Image Uruguay 3 0 2 1 2 7 −5 2
5 C Image Hungary 3 1 0 2 2 9 −7 2
6 D Image Northern Ireland 3 0 1 2 2 6 −4 1
Source: FIFA

Knockout stage

[edit]

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.

Bracket

[edit]
 
Round of 16Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
              
 
16 June – Puebla
 
 
Image Argentina1
 
22 June – Mexico City (Azteca)
 
Image Uruguay0
 
Image Argentina2
 
18 June – Mexico City (Azteca)
 
Image England1
 
Image England3
 
25 June – Mexico City (Azteca)
 
Image Paraguay0
 
Image Argentina2
 
18 June – Querétaro
 
Image Belgium0
 
Image Denmark1
 
22 June – Puebla
 
Image Spain5
 
Image Spain1 (4)
 
15 June – León
 
Image Belgium (p)1 (5)
 
Image Soviet Union3
 
29 June – Mexico City (Azteca)
 
Image Belgium (a.e.t.)4
 
Image Argentina3
 
16 June – Guadalajara
 
Image West Germany2
 
Image Brazil4
 
21 June – Guadalajara
 
Image Poland0
 
Image Brazil1 (3)
 
17 June – Mexico City (Olímpico)
 
Image France (p)1 (4)
 
Image Italy0
 
25 June – Guadalajara
 
Image France2
 
Image France0
 
17 June – San Nicolás de los Garza
 
Image West Germany2 Match for third place
 
Image Morocco0
 
21 June – San Nicolás de los Garza28 June – Puebla
 
Image West Germany1
 
Image West Germany (p)0 (4)Image Belgium2
 
15 June – Mexico City (Azteca)
 
Image Mexico0 (1) Image France (a.e.t.)4
 
Image Mexico2
 
 
Image Bulgaria0
 

Round of 16

[edit]
Mexico Image2–0Image Bulgaria
 [Report 37]
Attendance: 114,580
Soviet Union Image3–4 (a.e.t.)Image Belgium
 [Report 38]
Attendance: 32,277
Brazil Image4–0Image Poland
 [Report 39]
Attendance: 45,000
Argentina Image1–0Image Uruguay
 [Report 40]
Attendance: 26,000
Referee: Luigi Agnolin (Italy)
Italy Image0–2Image France
[Report 41]
Attendance: 70,000
Morocco Image0–1Image West Germany
[Report 42]
Attendance: 19,800
England Image3–0Image Paraguay
 [Report 43]
Attendance: 98,728
Denmark Image1–5Image Spain
 [Report 44]
Attendance: 38,500

Quarter-finals

[edit]
Argentina Image2–1Image England
 [Report 47]
Attendance: 114,580

Semi-finals

[edit]
France Image0–2Image West Germany
[Report 49]
Attendance: 45,000
Referee: Luigi Agnolin (Italy)
Argentina Image2–0Image Belgium
 [Report 50]
Attendance: 114,500

Match for third place

[edit]
Belgium Image2–4 (a.e.t.)Image France
 [Report 51]
Attendance: 21,000

Final

[edit]
Argentina Image3–2Image West Germany
 [Report 52]
Attendance: 114,600

Statistics

[edit]

Goalscorers

[edit]

Gary Lineker received the Golden Boot for scoring six goals. In total, 132 goals were scored by 82 players, with two of them credited as own goals.

6 goals[19]

5 goals

4 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

Own goals

Awards

[edit]

Source:[20]

Golden Boot Best Young Player FIFA Fair Play Trophy
England Gary Lineker Belgium Enzo Scifo Image Brazil
Golden Ball
Rank Player Points
1 Argentina Diego Maradona 1282
2 West Germany Toni Schumacher 344
3 Denmark Preben Elkjær 236
4 Belgium Jean-Marie Pfaff 224
France Michel Platini
6 England Gary Lineker 200
7 France Manuel Amoros 168
8 Spain Emilio Butragueño 156
9 France Jean Tigana 124
10 Brazil Júlio César 110

Red cards

[edit]

Eight players received a red card during the tournament:

Final standings

[edit]

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.[28][29] The rankings for the 1986 tournament were as follows:

R Team G P W D L GF GA GD Pts.
1Image ArgentinaA7610145+913
2Image West GermanyE732287+18
3Image FranceC7421126+610
4Image BelgiumB72231215−36
Eliminated in the quarter-finals
5Image BrazilD5410101+99
6Image MexicoB532062+48
7Image SpainD5311114+77
8Image EnglandF521273+45
Eliminated in the round of 16
9Image DenmarkE4301106+46
10Image Soviet UnionC4211125+75
11Image MoroccoF412132+14
12Image ItalyA412156−14
13Image ParaguayB412146−24
14Image PolandF411217−63
15Image BulgariaA402226−42
16Image UruguayE402228−62
Eliminated in the group stage
17Image PortugalF310224−22
18Image HungaryC310229−72
19Image ScotlandE301213−21
20Image South KoreaA301247−31
21Image Northern IrelandD301226−41
22Image AlgeriaD301215−41
23Image IraqB300314−30
24Image CanadaC300305−50

Marketing

[edit]

Sponsorship

[edit]

The sponsors of the 1986 FIFA World Cup consisted out of 15 FIFA World Cup sponsors.[30]

FIFA World Cup sponsors

Symbols

[edit]

Mascot

[edit]
Image
Pique, the official mascot of the 1986 FIFA World Cup

The official mascot of the 1986 World Cup was Pique, a jalapeño pepper, characteristic of Mexican cuisine, with a moustache, a Colimote sombrero, and Mexican football team colours. Its name comes from picante, a Spanish word meaning "spicy", and was also a pun on the "PK" abbreviation of the football term penalty kick. Pique is also a common Spanish name.

The character caused a degree of controversy within Mexico for its ethnic stereotypes.[31][32]

Match ball

[edit]
Image
Adidas Azteca

The official match ball of this World Cup was the "Azteca", manufactured by Adidas. It was the first fully synthetic FIFA World Cup ball and the elaborately decorated design was inspired by the hosting nation’s native Aztec architecture and murals.[33]

Music

[edit]

The official song of this World Cup was "El mundo unido por un balón".

Notes

[edit]
  1. 1 2 The FIFA technical report mistakenly interchanged the attendance data for the 1 June matches.[18]

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ "1986 FIFA World Cup Mexico – Overview". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Archived from the original on 9 July 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
  2. ↑ "1986 FIFA World Cup Mexico". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Archived from the original on 20 December 2013. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
  3. ↑ "The Game that Changed the World Cup — Algeria". algeria.com. Archived from the original on 10 September 2015. Retrieved 15 September 2009.
  4. ↑ "Who invented the Mexican Wave?". BBC. Archived from the original on 12 September 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  5. ↑ Jackson, Andy (11 June 2010). "...Fan Crazes". FourFourTwo (Australia). Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 25 August 2011.
  6. ↑ Rice, Simon (10 June 2010). "The 100 greatest World Cup moments. # 94. The Mexican Wave". The Independent. Archived from the original on 20 November 2018. Retrieved 25 August 2011.
  7. 1 2 Maier, Hanns J (June 1979). "1986 - World Cup without a home?". World Soccer. pp. 24–25.
  8. ↑ "for the record SOCCER". Detroit Free Press. 23 October 1980. Archived from the original on 2 November 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  9. ↑ Pougatch, Mark (11 January 2011). Three Lions Versus the World: England's World Cup Stories from the Men Who Were There. Mainstream Publishing. p. 175. ISBN 978-1-907195-59-4.
  10. 1 2 Mifflin, Lawrie (8 May 1983). "A place for soccer's World Cup". New York Times. Archived from the original on 21 August 2021. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 "Mexico Is Chosen As World Cup Host". UPI. 21 May 1983. Archived from the original on 16 August 2021. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  12. ↑ Hughes, Rob (7 September 2011). "One of FIFA's Own Speaks Out". New York Times. Archived from the original on 3 August 2021. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  13. ↑ "World Cup : Draw Comes as Mexico Tries to Pick Up Pieces". Los Angeles Times. 15 December 1985. Archived from the original on 21 May 2024. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  14. ↑ "EARTHQUAKES IN MEXICO : World Cup Still On, Officials Say". Los Angeles Times. 23 September 1985. Archived from the original on 4 November 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  15. ↑ "International Year of Peace 1986 Stamps". 4 May 2012. Archived from the original on 4 May 2012. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  16. ↑ "Creador del mejor logo de los mundiales: "Nadie me ha felicitado"". ESPN.com.ar (in Spanish). 3 September 2019. Archived from the original on 26 November 2022. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  17. ↑ El Diego – Diego Maradona, Page 127, ISBN 0-224-07190-4
  18. ↑ "Yesterday's results". Reading Evening Post. Reading, Berkshire. 2 June 1986. p. 16. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  19. ↑ FIFA World Cup – Mexico '86: Official Report, p. 228
  20. ↑ "1986 FIFA World Cup Mexico – Awards". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Archived from the original on 10 December 2013. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
  21. ↑ "HUNGARY – CANADA". Planet World Cup. Archived from the original on 1 January 2012. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
  22. ↑ "DENMARK – WEST GERMANY". Planet World Cup. Archived from the original on 31 December 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
  23. ↑ "ENGLAND – MOROCCO". Planet World Cup. Archived from the original on 1 March 2014. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
  24. 1 2 "WEST GERMANY – MEXICO". Planet World Cup. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
  25. ↑ "IRAQ – BELGIUM". Planet World Cup. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
  26. ↑ "SCOTLAND – URUGUAY". Planet World Cup. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
  27. ↑ "DENMARK – URUGUAY". Planet World Cup. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
  28. ↑ Argentina's Road to the World Title FIFA.com. page 45
  29. ↑ "FIFA World Cup: Milestones, facts & figures. Statistical Kit 7" (PDF). FIFA. 26 March 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 May 2013.
  30. ↑ "The Official FIFA World Cup™ Partners & Sponsors since 1982" (PDF). www.whatahowler.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 November 2025. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  31. ↑ "MEXICO WORLD CUP MASCOT: NOT 'OLE' BUT 'OH NO'". The New York Times. 12 May 1984. Archived from the original on 6 December 2022. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
  32. ↑ Snyder, John (1 September 2001). Soccer's Most Wanted: The Top 10 Book of Clumsy Keepers, Clever Crosses, and Outlandish Oddities. Potomac Books, Inc. p. 247. ISBN 978-1-57488-365-7.
  33. ↑ "Adidas Azteca is official match ball of World Cup 1986". Football Balls Database. 2022. Archived from the original on 22 November 2022. Retrieved 22 November 2022.

Reports

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[edit]
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