The Story of Football from a village game to the world cup

World Cup: 1986


The tournament opened in Mexico City on 31 May 1986 after serious problems in the run up. The opening game was a 1-1 draw between Bulgaria and Italy.

The biggest early surprise was the terrible start England made to the competition. They lost to Portugal in their first group game. Then they struggled in heat of the Monterrey afternoon to break down a determined Morocco defence.

Their problems increased when just before half time midfielder Ray Wilkins was sent off ‘for throwing the ball at the referee’.

England Survive


England looked close to going out of the tournament but held on for 0-0 draw. A Gary Lineker hat-trick in the last group game against Poland secured qualification for the Second Round.

Surprisingly they were joined by Morocco rather than Portugal. The Portuguese campaign was not helped when their players went on strike - refusing to train between their first and the second games.

One new record was set in the Group E game between Uruguay and Scotland. José Batista of Uruguay was sent off after less than a minute - the fastest red card in the history of the World Cup.

1970 World Cup Factsheet *

World Cup History Quiz 1930 - 1962

Have you read ‘The Big Match’? Try a sample chapter & audio here: bigmatch3dcover


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