Number of participating teams: 24
Top scorer: England’s Gary Lineker (6 goals)
Number of games: 52
Total goals scored: 132
Average goals per game: 2.54
Highest scoring game: Denmark’s 6-1 win over Uruguay on June 8
Total attendance: 2,407,431
Average attendance: 46,297
TOURNAMENT FORMAT
Another year, another format. The field was still made up of 24 teams, again divided into six groups of four. This time, however, the top two teams in each group, along with the four best third-place finishers, qualified for the round of 16, which was now a straight knockout.
THE FINAL
In the final at Azteca Stadium, the Germans assigned Lothar Matthaus the Herculean task of marking Maradona. While Matthaus duly kept the Argentine maestro in check, more or less, his defensive duties robbed West Germany of his creativity in midfield. The cerebral Matthaus found the going rough at first. Argentina duly punished Matthaus for a rash challenge when Jorge Burruchaga delivered a high ball into the penalty area from the ensuing free kick. Jose Luis Brown ghosted towards the far post and nodded the ball into the net in the 22nd minute.
Eventually, Matthaus got a handle on controlling Maradona, forcing Argentina to explore other options. Down a goal, the Germans committed more players forward in attack at the start of the second half but were cruelly hoisted by their own petard. With Germany caught up-field, Argentina quickly launched a counterattack. Hector Enrique fed a pass to Jorge Valdano on the left and he swept the ball past an onrushing Harald Schumacher before depositing the ball into the net.
West Germany looked dead and buried, but manager Franz Beckenbauer substituted the tall centre-forward Dieter Hoeness into the game and his team suddenly found life in the 74th minute. Rudi Voller, another second-half substitute, headed a corner kick into the path of Karl-Heinz Rummenigge who scored. Matthaus quickly deserted his task of keeping tabs and Maradona and began working his playmaking magic in the heart of midfield. Slowly the screw turned against Argentina and with nine minutes left in regulation the Germans levelled the score. Another corner kick was flicked into the middle by Thomas Berthold’s header and Voller nodded it home.
After being merely a passenger for most of the game, Maradona stepped up in Argentina’s time of need. The Napoli star proved to be the architect of Argentina’s winning goal, weaving his way deep into the German half before sending Burruchaga on a clear break with an exquisite, defence splitting pass that the forward thrashed past Schumacher with six minutes left in regulation.
Group A
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Argentina | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 5 |
 Italy | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 4 |
 Bulgaria | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 2 |
 South Korea | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 1 |
Argentina 3-1 South Korea
Italy 1-1 Argentina
South Korea 1-1 Bulgaria
South Korea 2-3 Italy
Argentina 2-0 Bulgaria
Group B
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Mexico | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 5 |
 Paraguay | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 4 |
 Belgium | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 |
 Iraq | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 0 |
Paraguay 1-0 Iraq
Mexico 1-1 Paraguay
Iraq 1-2 Belgium
Paraguay 2-2 Belgium
Iraq 0-1 Mexico
Group C
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 USSR | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 1 | +8 | 5 |
 France | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | +4 | 5 |
 Hungary | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 9 | −7 | 2 |
 Canada | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | −5 | 0 |
USSR 6-0 Hungary
France 1-1 USSR
Hungary 2-0 Canada
Hungary 0-3 France
USSR 2-0 Canada
Group D
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Brazil | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | +5 | 6 |
 Spain | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 4 |
 Northern Ireland | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | −4 | 1 |
 Algeria | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | −4 | 1 |
Algeria 1-1 Northern Ireland
Brazil 1-0 Algeria
Northern Ireland 1-2 Spain
Northern Ireland 0-3 Brazil
Algeria 0-3 Spain
Group E
Uruguay 1-1 Germany
Scotland 0-1 Denmark
Germany 2-1 Scotland
Denmark 6-1 Uruguay
Denmark 2-0 Germany
Scotland 0-0 Uruguay
Group F
Marocco 0-0 Poland
Portugal 1-0 England
England 0-0 Morocco
Poland 1-0 Portugal
England 3-0 Poland
Portugal 1-3 Marocco
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Denmark | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | +8 | 6 |
 West Germany | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 3 |
 Uruguay | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 7 | −5 | 2 |
 Scotland | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 1 |
Scotland 0-1 Denmark
Germany 2-1 Scotland
Denmark 6-1 Uruguay
Denmark 2-0 Germany
Scotland 0-0 Uruguay
Group F
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Morocco | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 4 |
 England | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 3 |
 Poland | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 3 |
 Portugal | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 2 |
Portugal 1-0 England
England 0-0 Morocco
Poland 1-0 Portugal
England 3-0 Poland
Portugal 1-3 Marocco
Knockout stage
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