The 1986 World Cup

Podcast Transcript

In 1986, the world’s biggest sporting event came to Mexico, producing one of the most memorable tournaments in soccer history.

It featured political tension, high altitudes, dramatic upsets, and the rise of Diego Maradona from superstar to legend.

It also had earthquakes, economic problems, and the Hand of God.

Learn more about the 1986 World Cup on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

The story of the 1986 World Cup actually begins in 1974, when the FIFA organizing committee met in Stockholm to decide the host country. The FIFA policy at the time was to alternate hemispheres for each World Cup.

This hasn’t been followed as strictly in the modern era, as FIFA has expanded its footprint by taking the tournament to South Africa, Japan, South Korea, Russia, and Qatar.

In 1974, Colombia was the only country to submit a bid, and it was a huge national honor when they were selected to host the 1986 World Cup.

The nation was transitioning away from a unique, mandatory power-sharing arrangement that alternated the presidency between the two major political parties to settle decades of political strife. 1974 was also to be Colombia’s first free democratic election in its history.

Adding to the good news, a dramatic spike in global coffee prices triggered a massive growth spurt in the Colombian economy.

But Colombia never actually held the tournament.

A significant multi-year gap exists between when a country wins a bid and when it actually takes place, creating challenges for the host country and massive expectations from FIFA.

FIFA provided countries with a very specific list of infrastructure requirements for hosting the World Cup. For example, at the time, the host needed enough stadiums to accommodate the 16-team field through both the group and knockout stages, as well as an enormous venue capable of hosting a World Cup Final.

The terms of that 1974 bid allowed Colombia to minimize its initial costs as the nation already had five acceptable stadiums that required only minor upgrades, so they didn’t need to build massive new venues. The five stadiums offered more than enough capacity to accommodate the 38 games of a 16-team field.

Colombia also met the minimum expectations for air, rail, and public transit between the five game sites. Colombia barely met the lighting and broadcasting requirements for the matches, but they did manage to meet them.

Then, on the eve of the 1978 World Cup, everything changed when FIFA expanded the tournament field from 16 to 24 teams. Adding eight teams effectively nullified the 1974 arrangement, as the schedule ballooned to 52 games.

The new requirements FIFA presented to Colombia were staggering. The additional matches meant Colombia had to drastically improve its baseline stadium infrastructure as FIFA now expected Colombia to provide 12 stadiums that met international standards. The governing body also added strict new regulations on transportation, lodging, and broadcasting.

The unfortunate reality was that Colombia simply could not build the stadium infrastructure to meet FIFA’s new expectations.

The Colombian political leadership between 1974 and 1982 did little beyond forming bureaucratic committees, and workers never broke ground on a single stadium expansion. By 1982, the country finally admitted the obvious: Colombia could not host the World Cup.

FIFA immediately entered scramble mode. To keep the hemisphere alternating rule alive, the federation quickly sought a new host after Colombia withdrew.

The United States, Canada, and Mexico all submitted emergency bids. Mexico ultimately won the rights, aided by FIFA’s restrictions on holding matches at venues not controlled by a nation’s soccer association. This rule limited the appeal of stadiums in the United States, which were built for American football.

Mexico easily met the core infrastructure requirements because it had already hosted the 1970 World Cup and the 1968 Summer Olympics. When they were granted the 1986 World Cup, the became first country to host the event twice.

Preparations for the World Cup were in high gear until September 19, 1985, when a massive earthquake that measured 8.0 on the Richter scale struck Mexico City, killing an estimated 10,000 people.

With only eight months to go before the opening match, international critics called for Mexico to withdraw as host, putting the event’s future in doubt. Voices inside the soccer world even demanded that FIFA cancel or delay the World Cup entirely.

The global media harbored serious doubts about Mexico’s ability to host the event on the heels of a major catastrophe. Skeptics suggested that FIFA rapidly move the tournament to places like the United States, West Germany, or France, countries that possessed the infrastructure required to accommodate an event of this size on an emergency eight-month deadline.

While the earthquake caused billions of dollars in damage across Mexico City, when the dust settled, it turned out that the core stadium infrastructure was virtually untouched. FIFA and Mexico recognized an unprecedented opportunity and quickly rebranded the tournament as a global celebration of Mexican resilience.

When the games kicked off in June, FIFA insisted on playing the marquee matches at 12:00 PM local time to reach prime-time television audiences in Europe, creating a brutal test for players and fans.

1986 was one of Mexico’s hottest summers on record, and players struggled on the pitch. Teams played matches in scorching heat, often at altitudes above 2,000 meters, creating incredibly hazardous conditions for the athletes.

Compounding the misery, the stifling midday smog grew progressively worse the closer you got to the Mexico City Metroplex. Athletes and fans alike complained about the suffocating conditions. Yet, despite the oppressive climate, the tournament delivered several iconic moments that etched themselves into sporting history.

Fans across the world witnessed the global debut of “La Ola”, the Mexican Wave. Originating in North American college football and spreading to Mexico, the wave became an international sensation.

Fans also learned a new piece of soccer vernacular: the “Group of Death,” a term that describes a difficult group in the opening stage of a tournament. Commentators used the phrase to describe the brutal collection of nations that FIFA placed into Group E.

West Germany, an established soccer power, publicly voiced their dissatisfaction with FIFA’s decision to place it in such a challenging group. Their frustration stemmed from being drawn alongside Uruguay, a two-time world champion; a disciplined Scotland team; and a good Denmark team. The name stuck and commentators and fans continue to use the “Group of Death” moniker to this day.

Uruguay triggered the tournament’s first major controversy. Famous for its aggressive play style, they drew a red card just 52 seconds into their match against Scotland. José Batista flew in with a violent tackle against Scotland’s Gordon Strachan, earning the fastest ejection in World Cup history.

Referees rarely use the red card so early, and to see a referee flash one before the stadium announcers had even finished reading the lineups was entirely unprecedented.

The now ten-man Uruguayan side retreated into a defensive shell, turning the match into an ugly, frustrating slog. They held the Scots to a 0-0 draw, eliminating a Scotland squad that had entered the tournament with high hopes.

But Uruguay’s physical approach had already met its match earlier in that opening round, when the world witnessed the arrival of the legendary “Danish Dynamite.” The Danes played a fast-paced, relentless attacking style that caught Uruguay completely off guard, beating them 6-1 in Uruguay’s worst World Cup defeat.

Denmark had never before qualified for the World Cup because, until 1978, the Danish Football Union embraced a rigid form of amateurism that strictly barred overseas professionals from the national team. When those professional athletes finally returned to play for Denmark, the team became a powerhouse.

However, what most people think of when they think of the 1986 World Cup has to be Argentina’s Diego Maradona. While his overall play defined the tournament, serious fans instantly point to the legendary quarterfinal against England on June 22.

This game was deeply personal for Argentina. Just four years earlier, Argentina and England had fought a 74-day war over the Falkland Islands, also known as the Malvinas Islands. which resulted in over 900 deaths and a British victory.

Despite claiming before the match that the war meant little to his personal motivation, Maradona later admitted the truth in his autobiography, writing:

“It was like beating a country, not a football team. Although we said before the game that football had nothing to do with the Malvinas War, we knew that a lot of Argentine kids had died there, that they had mowed us down like little birds…This was our revenge, it was … recovering a part of the Malvinas. We all said beforehand that we shouldn’t mix the two things, but that was a lie. A lie! We didn’t think of anything except that, like hell it was going to be just another game!”

England had their own demons to face. They had underachieved on the global stage ever since winning the World Cup in 1966. They desperately wanted to reassert their position among soccer’s elite. The English had a highly talented roster led by scoring sensation Gary Lineker.

Lineker would leave Mexico with the Golden Boot as the tournament’s top scorer, but few remember his individual accolade because Maradona completely stole the show.

In the 51st minute, Maradona chased a deflected ball into the box, challenging England goalkeeper Peter Shilton. Maradona was six inches shorter than the goalkeeper, yet he leaped in the air with incredible timing to attempt a header.

The next split-second became one of the most famous moments in sports history. Maradona punched the ball past the keeper with his left fist, and despite furious English protests, the official allowed the goal to stand.

As Maradona later described it, the ball went in: “…a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God.”

Just four minutes later, Maradona scored what is often considered the greatest goal in World Cup history. He received the ball in Argentina’s own side of the field, turned away from two English players, and dribbled more than half the field, beating Peter Beardsley, Peter Reid, Terry Butcher, Terry Fenwick, and finally the goalkeeper Shilton before putting the ball into the net. In contrast to the first goal, the second was pure brilliance.

It was later voted the “Goal of the Century” in a FIFA poll.

Maradona wasn’t done yet; this was entirely his tournament.

Facing off against a remarkably talented West German squad in the final, Maradona carried Argentina to a thrilling 3-2 victory. German manager and legend Franz Beckenbauer refused to let Maradona beat them single-handedly, so the West Germans focused an incredible amount of defensive energy on keeping him completely neutralized.

The strategy worked, until it didn’t. The Germans covered Maradona relentlessly, but he simply used the vacuum created by the extra defenders to lift his teammates.

When West Germany staged a late comeback to tie the match 2-2, Maradona delivered the game’s deciding moment in the 84th minute with a brilliant pass through a cluster of defenders to a sprinting Jorge Burruchaga, who secured the 3-2 victory.

While Gary Lineker won the Golden Boot for most goals scored, Maradona commanded the focus of every defense he faced, leaving absolutely no doubt that he reigned as the world’s best football player.

What began as Colombia’s attempt to host an event that would put them on the world stage resulted in Mexico stepping up at the last minute to host the tournament. An earthquake, scorching heat, and smog didn’t stop what many considered to be one of the greatest World Cups in history.