1982 FIFA World Cup

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Qualifying countries

The 1982 Football World Cup was held in Spain by decision of FIFA in July 1966, in the same session where FIFA gave the right to host the 1974 and 1978 tournaments to, respectively, West Germany and Argentina. It was won by Italy, who beat West Germany 3-1 in the final. With its third World Cup title (after 1934 and 1938), Italy drew level with record champions Brazil. This World Cup was marked by a series of great matches (most famously the epic semifinal between West Germany and France) and is widely regarded as the second-best ever after the legendary 1970 tournament.

Qualification

The most surprising absences from the finals were those of 1974 and 1978 runners-up Holland (eliminated by Belgium and France), perennial power Mexico (eliminated by El Salvador), and to a lesser extent 1974 and 1978 participant Sweden (eliminated by Scotland and Northern Ireland).

England, Czechoslovakia, Belgium, and the Soviet Union were back in the Finals after a 12-year absence. Yugoslavia was also back after missing the 1978 tournament.

Algeria, Cameroon, Honduras, Kuwait, and New Zealand all participated in the World Cup for the first time.

Venues

• Estadio José Rico Pérez, Alicante
• Nou Camp, Barcelona
• Estadio Sarriá, Barcelona
• Estadio San Mamés, Bilbao
• Estadio Muncipal de Riazor - A Coruña
• Nuevo Estadio, Elche
• El Molinón, Gijón
• Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid
• Estadio Vicente Calderón, Madrid
• La Rosaleda, Málaga
• Estadio Carlos Tartiere, Oviedo
• Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán, Seville
• Estadio Luis Casanova, Valencia
• Estadio José Zorrilla, Valladolid
• Estadio Balaidos, Vigo
• Estadio La Romareda, Zaragoza

Squads

Summary

1982 World Cup poster, designed by Joan Miró

First round

The first round was marked by a series of surprisingly strong showings by these supposedly weaker teams, although the more established football powers generally prevailed in advancing to the next stage. In Group A, first-time participant Cameroon held both Poland and Italy to draws, failing to advance only on the basis of fewer goals scored. Poland and Italy qualified over Cameroon and Peru (whose "golden generation" of the 1970s was clearly over the hill) after a series of generally uninspiring matches.

Group B saw one of the great World Cup upsets on the first day with the 2-1 victory of Algeria over reigning European Champion West Germany. This memorable game resulted in the controversial match between West Germany and Austria on the third and final day. As Algeria had already played its third match the day before, West Germany and Austria knew that a West Germany win by 1 or 2 goals would qualify them both, while a larger German victory would qualify Algeria over Austria, and an Austrian win would eliminate the Germans. (The fourth team in the group, Chile, was eliminated regardless of the outcome.) After West Germany scored after 11 minutes of furious attack, the two German-speaking teams went into an unspoken agreement and just kicked the ball around aimlessly for the rest of the game to the chants of "Fuera, fuera" ("Out, out") from the disgusted Spanish crowd, while angry Algerian supporters waved banknotes at the players. This sham performance was widely deplored, even by the German and Austrian fans who had hoped for a hot rematch of the 1978 FIFA World Cup match in Cordoba, Argentina in which Austria had beaten West Germany, and led to the introduction of a revised system at the 1986 FIFA World Cup and future World Cups, in which the final two games in each group were played simultaneously.

Group C saw an upset of lesser magnitude with the 1-0 victory of 1980 European Championship runners-up Belgium over defending World Champion Argentina. Both teams ultimately advanced at the expense of Hungary and El Salvador despite Hungary's 10-1 win over the Central American nation--which, with a total of 11 goals, is the second highest scoreline in a World Cup game, second to the 12-goal Austria-Switzerland (7-5) match in the 1954 tournament.

Group D opened at record speed with England midfielder Bryan Robson's goal against France after only 27 seconds of play. England won the game 3-1 and qualified along with France over Czechoslovakia and Kuwait, though the tiny Gulf emirate created yet another sensation by holding Euro 1980 third-place finisher Czechoslovakia to a 1-1 draw. This group was also the stage of a farcical incident during the game between Kuwait and France. As Les Bleus were leading 3-1, France midfielder Alain Giresse scored a goal vehemently contested by the Kuwait team, who had stopped play after hearing a piercing whistle from the stands which they thought had come from Soviet referee Stupar. Play had not yet resumed when Sheikh Fahid Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, brother of the Kuwaiti Emir and president of the Kuwaiti Football Association, rushed onto the pitch to give the referee a vociferous piece of his mind. The visibly shaken Mr Stupar countermanded his initial decision and disallowed the goal to the understandable furor of the French. Bossis scored another valid goal a few minutes later and France won 4-1. Mr Stupar lost his international refereeing credentials on this incident, while Sheikh Al-Sabah would eventually meet an untimely death during Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait.

In Group E, the uprising of the minnows continued with Honduras holding host Spain to a 1-1 draw (this only thanks to a questionable penalty call in Spain's favor), then became a full-fledged revolution as unfancied Northern Ireland won the group outright, eliminating mighty Yugoslavia and beating Spain 1-0 on its home ground in the process, the result was even more impressive as Northern Ireland had to play the majority of the second half with ten men after Mal Donaghy was harshly dismissed but even this could not stop one of the greatest upsets in football history from occuring. The home team showed that it clearly was not World Cup Winner material that year, barely scraping by thanks to yet another controversial penalty in its 2-1 victory over Yugoslavia.

All eyes were on Brazil in Group F. Around Zico, Sócrates, Falcão, Eder and consorts, the rejuvenated auriverde boasted an offensive firepower that promised a return to the glory days of 1970. The tri-campeão lived up to all expectations, beating an unexpectedly strong Soviet side 2-1 in a very entertaining first match thanks to a 20 m Eder screamer two minutes from time, then overpowering Scotland and New Zealand with four goals each. The promising Soviets took the group's other qualifying berth at the expense of the Scots, Rinat Dasaev emerging as a worthy successor to all-time legend Lev Yashin in the Soviet goal. New Zealand earned international respect in its World Cup opener against Scotland, cutting the Scots' 3-0 lead to 3-2 before conceding two more goals late in the game.

Second round

Poland opened Group 1 with a 3-0 thrashing of Belgium on a Zbigniew Boniek hat trick. The Soviet Union prevailed 1-0 in the next match over a Belgian side which clearly had peaked too early in the tournament. The Poles edged out the USSR for the semifinal spot on the final day on goal difference thanks to a 0-0 draw in a politically charged match, as Poland's then-Communist government had imposed a martial law a few months earlier to quash internal dissent and forestall a Soviet invasion.

In Group 2, a tense yet fair-minded opening match between England and West Germany ended in a goalless draw. West Germany took an option on the semifinal spot in their second match by beating Spain 2-1. The home side salvaged some national pride on the last day by drawing 0-0 against England and denying qualification to Kevin Keegan and his team.

It was in Group 3, a true Group of Death with Brazil, Argentina and Italy, that World Cup history was made. In the opener, the Azzurri prevailed 2-1 over Diego Maradona's side after an ill-tempered, obscure battle in which Italy defenders Gaetano Scirea and Claudio Gentile reminded the world of their mastery in the rougher side of the game. Argentina now needed a win over Brazil on the second day, but there was no match as the Seleção produced a stupendous display of attacking virtuosity that completely eclipsed the reigning World Champions. The final score of 3-1--Argentina only scoring in the last minute--could have been much higher had Brazil center-forward Serginho not wasted a series of near-certain scoring opportunities. Perhaps in frustration at his side's powerlessness, Maradona allowed himself a kick in the groin of Brazil defender Batista and was sent off a few minutes from time. The third-day match between Brazil and Italy would be a game to remember, an epic clash between the auriverde's attacking brilliance and the masters of catenaccio. Twice Italy went in the lead on Paolo Rossi goals, and twice Brazil came back. At 2-2, Brazil would have been through on goal difference, but on 74 minutes, a poor clearance on an Italy corner kick went back to the Brazil six-yard line where Rossi and Francesco Graziani were waiting. Both world-class strikers reflexively armed the same shot, Rossi connecting and sending Italy to the semifinals in one of the all-time great games of World Cup history.

The last group paled in comparison, the unexpected second-place finish of Spain in the first round having sent them to another group and cleared a path for France. Les Bleus dispatched Austria 1-0 in their opener, then strolled 4-1 past Northern Ireland (after the referee appeared to unfairly rule the first goal - by Martin O'Neill - out) for their first semifinal appearance since 1958.

Semi-finals, third-place match, and final

In the wake of its brilliant second-round performance, Italy easily dispatched Poland in the first semi-final through two goals from the inevitable Paolo Rossi. However, this good-quality match was to pale in comparison to the unforgettable confrontation between France and West Germany. After the Germans opened the scoring through an inspired Pierre Littbarski strike on 17 minutes, the French held on, equalizing nine minutes later with a Michel Platini penalty. The closely fought match continued until the middle of the second half when a long through ball sent French defender Patrick Battiston racing clear towards the German goal. Moments after Battiston had headed the ball towards goal from inside the German penalty area, Germany goalkeeper Harald Schumacher hurled himself at the French player, foot forward, knocking his opponent unconscious and breaking two of his teeth. The ball went just wide of the post and Dutch referee Charles Corver awarded a goal kick, to the vociferous astonishment of the French. Play was interrupted for several minutes while Battiston, still unconscious, was carried off the field on a stretcher. Schumacher did not even receive a yellow card and the match went on--without retaliatory violent actions, to the credit of both teams. After France defender Manuel Amoros had sent a thundering 25-metre drive crashing onto the Germany crossbar in the final minute, the match went into extra time. On 92 minutes, France sweeper Marius Trésor, in a rare attack, sent a splendid volley under Schumacher's crossbar from ten metres out to make it 2-1. Six minutes later, an unmarked Alain Giresse drove in a beautiful 18-metre shot for 3-1. But Germany would not give up and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, having come in minutes earlier, made it 3-2 on 102 minutes. Finally, in the 108th minute, an error by the French defence left Klaus Fischer unmarked on the six-yard line to equalize with one of his trademark bicycle kicks. One of the greatest games of all time would be decided on penalty kicks and France defender Maxime Bossis, a pillar of strength on the left flank throughout the tournament, emerged as the unlucky hero as his kick was parried by Schumacher for West Germany's 5-4 victory. Later in the year, a French newspaper held a poll to name the most hated man in France. Schumacher won, beating Adolf Hitler into second place. To this day, some of the French players on the field that night still refuse to set foot again in Seville's Sánchez Pizjuán stadium.

Coming after such a monumental game, the final was an anticlimactic, one-sided affair between an inspired Italy and West German side. Paolo Rossi again scored the first goal. Falling behind led the Germans to concentrate on attack at the expense of defence, which also gave Italy more opportunities to score. This led to to the Azzurri scoring twice more and building a 3-0 lead before Paul Breitner scored West Germany's consolation goal seven minutes from time. Coming after the 1934 and 1938 victories, Italy had now drawn level with record champions Brazil. Italy's Paolo Rossi won the Golden Boot with 6 goals, and 40-year-old captain-goalkeeper Dino Zoff became the oldest-ever player to win the World Cup.

In the third-place match, Poland edged France 3-2 to repeat its performance of 1974.

All times local (UTC+2)

First round

Group A

Poland

Italy

Cameroon

Peru

Group B

West Germany

Austria

Algeria

Chile

Group C

Belgium

Argentina

Hungary

El Salvador

Group D

England

France

Czechoslovakia

Kuwait

Group E

Northern Ireland

Spain

Yugoslavia

Honduras

Group F

Brazil

USSR

Scotland

New Zealand

Second round

Group 1

Poland

USSR

Belgium

Group 2

West Germany

England

Spain

Group 3

Italy

Brazil

Argentina

Group 4

France

Austria

Northern Ireland

Knockout stage

Semi-finals

		Penalties
	Kaltz : scored Breitner : scored Stielike : Ettori saved Littbarski : scored Rummenigge : scored Hrubesch : scored	5–4	Giresse : scored Amoros : scored Rocheteau : scored Six : Schumacher saved Platini : scored Bossis : Schumacher saved

-- 18:59, 17 July 2006 (UTC)-- 18:59, 17 July 2006 (UTC)

Third place match

Final

Awards

Firsts

Algeria, 
Cameroon, 
Honduras, 
Kuwait, 
New Zealand all participated in the World Cup for the first time.

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