FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...
, a quadrennial
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in Spain from 13 June to 11 July 1982. The tournament was won by
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, who defeated
West Germany
West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
3–1 in the
final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...
held in the
Santiago Bernabéu Stadium
Santiago Bernabéu Stadium (, ) is a retractable roof association football, football stadium in Madrid, Spain. With a seating capacity of around 83,000 following its extensive renovation completed in late 2024, the stadium has the second-largest ...
in the capital,
Madrid
Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
. It was Italy's third World Cup title, but their first since
1938
Events
January
* January 1 – state-owned enterprise, State-owned railway networks are created by merger, in France (SNCF) and the Netherlands (Nederlandse Spoorwegen – NS).
* January 20 – King Farouk of Egypt marries Saf ...
. The defending champions,
Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
, were eliminated in the second round (finishing third and last in their group).
Algeria
Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...
,
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...
,
Honduras
Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...
,
Kuwait
Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...
and
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
made their first appearances in the finals.
The tournament featured the first penalty shootout in World Cup competition. This was the third and last World Cup to feature two rounds of group stages. It was also the third time (after
1934
Events
January–February
* January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established.
* January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...
and
1966
Events January
* January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko.
* January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...
) that all four semi-finalists were European.
In the first round of Group 3,
Hungary
Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
defeated
El Salvador
El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...
10–1, equalling the largest margin of victory recorded in the finals (Hungary over
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
9–0 in
1954
Events
January
* January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting.
* January 7 – Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head ...
, and
Yugoslavia
, common_name = Yugoslavia
, life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation
, p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia
, flag_p ...
over
Zaire
Zaire, officially the Republic of Zaire, was the name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1971 to 18 May 1997. Located in Central Africa, it was, by area, the third-largest country in Africa after Sudan and Algeria, and the 11th-la ...
9–0 in
1974
Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...
).
Although successful and filled with compelling and entertaining matches, this tournament also was blighted by violent fouls, some poor officiating and some overcrowded stadiums. One particular incident of note was West German goalkeeper
Harald Schumacher
Harald Anton "Toni" Schumacher (born 6 March 1954) is a German former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. At club level, he won a Bundesliga title and three DFB-Pokal titles with 1. FC Köln. At international level, he represen ...
's foul of French player
Patrick Battiston
Patrick Raymond Jean Battiston (born 12 March 1957) is a French former footballer who played as a defender for the France national team in three World Cups and won UEFA Euro 1984. At club level, he played for Metz, Saint-Étienne, Bordeaux, ...
during a semi-final match in Seville, and another was Italian player
Claudio Gentile
Claudio Gentile (; born 27 September 1953) is an Italian football manager and former player who played as a defender in the 1970s and 1980s.
Gentile appeared for Italy in two World Cup tournaments, and played for the winning Italian team in ...
's intense and often violent match-long fouling and marking of Argentine player
Diego Maradona
Diego Armando Maradona Franco (30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional association football, football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two ...
. FIFA changed the regulations to somewhat prevent this kind of brutality on the pitch for the subsequent tournament in
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
.
Host selection
Spain was chosen as the host nation by FIFA in London on 6 July 1966. Hosting rights for the 1974 and
1978
Events January
* January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213.
* January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...
tournaments were awarded at the same time. West Germany and Spain agreed a deal whereby Spain would support West Germany for the 1974 tournament and West Germany would allow Spain to bid for the 1982 World Cup unopposed.
At the time of Spain being selected, the country was under the dictatorship of
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco Bahamonde (born Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general and dictator who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces i ...
's regime, but his regime had ended before the start of the tournament, and the World Cup had its effects on
Spanish society after the democratic transition
After the restoration of democracy in the late 1970s, the changes in everyday Spanish life were as radical as the political transformation. They are famously known as '' La Movida'' (The Movement). These changes were even more striking when contra ...
.
Qualification
For the first time, the World Cup finals expanded from 16 to 24 teams. This allowed more countries to participate from Africa and Asia.
Teams absent from the finals were
1974
Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...
and
1978
Events January
* January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213.
* January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...
runners-up
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
(eliminated by
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
and
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
),
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
(eliminated by
Honduras
Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...
and
El Salvador
El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...
), and the three times 1970s participants
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
(eliminated by
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
and
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
). Northern Ireland qualified for the first time since 1958. Belgium,
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
,
El Salvador
El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...
,
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
and the
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
were all back in the finals after 12-year absences. England had its first successful World Cup qualifying campaign in 20 years, having qualified automatically as hosts in 1966 and as defending champions in 1970, then failing to qualify in 1974 and 1978.
Yugoslavia
, common_name = Yugoslavia
, life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation
, p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia
, flag_p ...
and
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
were also back after missing the 1978 tournament.
Algeria
Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...
,
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...
,
Honduras
Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...
,
Kuwait
Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...
, and
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
all participated in the World Cup for the first time. As of 2022, this was the last time that
El Salvador
El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...
and
Kuwait
Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...
qualified for a FIFA World Cup finals, as well as the last time that
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
failed to qualify. This is also the last time that Mexico participated in the qualifiers and failed to qualify (they were
banned
A ban is a formal or informal prohibition of something. Bans are formed for the prohibition of activities within a certain political territory. Some bans in commerce are referred to as embargoes. ''Ban'' is also used as a verb similar in meaning ...
from the
1990 FIFA World Cup qualification
The FIFA World Cup qualification, qualification competition for the 1990 FIFA World Cup was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA FIFA#Structure, confederations. Each confederation — the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), Confederat ...
).
This was the first time that all six confederations ( AFC,
CAF
CAF or caf may refer to:
Armed forces
*Canadian Armed Forces (Canadian Forces), the Canadian Air Force, Army, and Navy
*Canadian Air Force, now the Royal Canadian Air Force
*Republic of China Air Force, the air force of the Republic of China (Tai ...
,
CONCACAF
The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football, abbreviated as CONCACAF ( ; typeset for branding purposes since 2018 as Concacaf), is one of FIFA's six continental governing bodies for association football. Its 4 ...
,
CONMEBOL
CONMEBOL ( ) or CSF (; ; ), is the continental governing body of football in South America and it is one of FIFA's six continental confederations. The oldest continental confederation in the world, its headquarters are located in Luque, Parag ...
UEFA
The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...
) sent representative teams to the tournament, which would happen again in
2006
2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification.
Events
January
* January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute.
* January 12 – A stampede during t ...
and
2010
The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
, and will be happening in
2026
Predicted and scheduled events
* January 1 – Bulgaria is expected to adopt the euro and become the 21st member state of the eurozone.
* January 6 – The 2025 Jubilee will end on this day.
* February 5 – The New START Treat ...
:
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
would also participate in the
2010
The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
-
2022
The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
tournaments, but as a representative of the AFC.
There was some consideration given as to whether England, Northern Ireland, and Scotland would withdraw from the tournament because of the
Falklands War
The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...
between Argentina and the United Kingdom. A directive issued by the British sports minister Neil Macfarlane in April, at the start of the conflict, suggested that there should be no contact between British representative teams and Argentina. This directive was not rescinded until August, following the end of the tournament and of the hostilities. Macfarlane reported to
Prime Minister
A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...
that some players and officials were uneasy about participating because of the casualties suffered by British forces, and the strong diplomatic ties between Argentina and Spain. FIFA later advised the British Government that there was no prospect that
Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
(the defending champions) would be asked to withdraw, and it also became apparent that no other countries would withdraw from the tournament. It was decided by
Cabinet Secretary
A cabinet secretary is usually a senior official (typically a civil servant) who provides services and advice to a cabinet of ministers as part of the Cabinet Office. In many countries, the position can have considerably wider functions and powe ...
Robert Armstrong Robert Armstrong may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
*Robert Armstrong (actor) (1890–1973), film actor
*Robert Armstrong (cartoonist) (born 1950), American underground comics artist and musician, coined the term "couch potato"
Fictional charac ...
to allow the British national teams to participate so that Argentina could not use their absence for propaganda purposes, reversing the intended effect of applying political pressure onto Argentina.
List of qualified teams
The following 24 teams qualified for the final tournament.
; AFC (1)
* (debut)
;
CAF
CAF or caf may refer to:
Armed forces
*Canadian Armed Forces (Canadian Forces), the Canadian Air Force, Army, and Navy
*Canadian Air Force, now the Royal Canadian Air Force
*Republic of China Air Force, the air force of the Republic of China (Tai ...
CONCACAF
The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football, abbreviated as CONCACAF ( ; typeset for branding purposes since 2018 as Concacaf), is one of FIFA's six continental governing bodies for association football. Its 4 ...
(2)
* (debut)
*
;
CONMEBOL
CONMEBOL ( ) or CSF (; ; ), is the continental governing body of football in South America and it is one of FIFA's six continental confederations. The oldest continental confederation in the world, its headquarters are located in Luque, Parag ...
(4)
* (holders)
*
*
*
;
UEFA
The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...
(14)
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* (hosts)
*
*
Summary
Format
The first round was a round-robin group stage containing six groups of four teams each. Two points were awarded for a win and one for a draw, with
goal difference
Goal difference, goal differential or points difference is a form of tiebreaker used to rank sport teams which finish on equal points in a league competition. Either "goal difference" or "points difference" is used, depending on whether matches ar ...
used to separate teams equal on points. The top two teams in each group advanced. In the second round, the twelve remaining teams were split into four groups of three teams each, with the winner of each group progressing to the knockout semi-final stage.
The composition of the groups in the second round was determined before the start of the tournament. Groups A and B were to include one team from each of Groups 1 through 6, and Groups C and D included the remaining six teams. The winners of Groups 1 and 3 were in Group A whilst the runners-up were in Group C. The winners of Groups 2 and 4 were in Group B whilst the runners-up were in Group D. The winner of Group 5 was in Group D whilst the runner-up was in Group B. The winner of Group 6 was in Group C whilst the runner-up was in Group A. Thus, Group A mirrored Group C, and Group B mirrored Group D with the winners and runners-up from the first round being placed into opposite groups in the second round.
The second-round groups that mirrored each other (based on the first-round groupings) faced off against each other in the semifinals. Thus, the Group A winner played the Group C winner, and the Group B winner played the Group D winner. This meant that if two teams which played in the same first-round group both emerged from the second round, they would meet for the second time of the tournament in a semifinal match. It also guaranteed that the final match would feature two teams that had not previously played each other in the tournament. As it turned out, Italy and Poland who were both in Group 1 in the first round, each won their second-round groups and played each other in a semifinal match.
First group stage
In Group 1, newcomers
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...
held both
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
and
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
to draws, and were denied a place in the next round on the basis of having scored fewer goals than Italy (the sides had an equal goal difference). Poland and Italy qualified over Cameroon and
Peru
Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
. Italian journalists and
tifosi
''Tifo'' () is the phenomenon whereby ''tifosi'' of a sports team make a visual display of any choreographed flag, sign or banner in the stands of a stadium, mostly as part of an association football match.
''Tifo'' are most commonly seen in ...
criticised their team for their uninspired performances that managed three draws; the squad was reeling from the recent Serie A scandal, where national players were suspended for match fixing and illegal betting.
Group 2 saw one of the great World Cup upsets on the first day with the 2–1 victory of
Algeria
Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...
over reigning European Champions
West Germany
West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
. In the final match in the group, West Germany met
Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
in a match later dubbed as the "
Disgrace of Gijón
The Disgrace of Gijón () is one of many names given in hindsight to the 1982 FIFA World Cup football match played at the El Molinón stadium in Gijón, Spain, on 25 June 1982, with West Germany beating Austria 1-0 and both teams advancing to th ...
". Algeria had already played their final group game on the previous day, and West Germany and Austria knew that a West German win by 1 or 2 goals would qualify them both, while a larger German victory would qualify Algeria over Austria, and a draw or an Austrian win would eliminate the Germans. After 10 minutes of all-out attack, West Germany scored through a goal by
Horst Hrubesch
Horst Hrubesch (; born 17 April 1951) is a German professional football manager and former player who last managed the Germany women's national team. As a player, Hrubesch won three West German championships with his club side, Hamburger SV, as ...
. After that solitary goal was scored, the two teams kicked the ball around aimlessly for the rest of the match. Chants of "''Fuera, fuera''" ("''Out, out''") were screamed by the Spanish crowd, while angry Algerian supporters waved
banknotes
A banknote or bank notealso called a bill (North American English) or simply a noteis a type of paper money that is made and distributed ("issued") by a bank of issue, payable to the bearer on demand. Banknotes were originally issued by commer ...
at the players. This performance was widely deplored, even by the German and Austrian fans. One German fan was so upset by his team's display that he burned his German flag in disgust. Algeria protested to FIFA, who ruled that the result would stand; FIFA introduced a revised qualification system at subsequent World Cups in which the final two games in each group were played simultaneously.
Group 3, where the opening ceremony and first match of the tournament took place, saw
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
beat defending champions
Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
1–0. The
Camp Nou
Camp Nou (), meaning ''New Field'' and often referred to in English as the Nou Camp, is a stadium in Barcelona and the home of La Liga club FC Barcelona since its opening in 1957. It is currently undergoing renovation, and with a planned increa ...
stadium was the home of
Barcelona
Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
, and many fans had wanted to see the club's new signing, Argentinian star
Diego Maradona
Diego Armando Maradona Franco (30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional association football, football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two ...
, who did not perform to expectations. Both Belgium and Argentina ultimately advanced at the expense of
Hungary
Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
and
El Salvador
El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...
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 (equal with Brazil's 6–5 victory over Poland in the 1938 tournament and Hungary's 8–3 victory over West Germany in the 1954 tournament).
Group 4 opened with
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
midfielder
Bryan Robson
Bryan Robson (born 11 January 1957) is an English association football, football manager and former player. He began his career with West Bromwich Albion F.C., West Bromwich Albion in 1972, where he amassed over 200 appearances and was club ca ...
's goal against
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
after only 27 seconds of play. England won 3–1 and qualified along with France over
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
and
Kuwait
Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...
, though the tiny Gulf emirate held Czechoslovakia to a 1–1 draw. In the game between Kuwait and France, with France leading 3–1, France midfielder
Alain Giresse
Alain Jean Giresse (; born 2 August 1952) is a French association football, football coach and former player who last managed Kosovo national football team, Kosovo.
Giresse was French Player of the Year in 1982, 1983 and 1987. Nominally an Midfi ...
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 Miroslav Stupar. Play had not yet resumed when Sheikh
Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah
Sheikh Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah (; 10 August 1945 – 2 August 1990) was a member of the Kuwaiti ruling family, a military officer, and sports administrator. He was the founder of the Asian Handball Federation and Kuwait Olympic Comm ...
Kuwait Football Association
The Kuwait Football Association () is the governing body of association football in Kuwait.
Kuwait has thrice been suspended by FIFA for political interference since 2007 and were allowed to participate in the 2011 Asian Cup qualifying campaign ...
, rushed onto the pitch to remonstrate with the referee. Stupar reversed his initial decision and disallowed the goal to the fury of the French.
Maxime Bossis
Maxime Jean Marcel Bossis (; born 26 June 1955) is a French retired professional association football, footballer who played as a defender (association football), defender.
Bossis spent most of his career playing for FC Nantes, Nantes, a club h ...
scored another valid goal a few minutes later and France won 4–1.
In Group 5,
Honduras
Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...
held hosts
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
to a 1–1 draw.
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
won the group outright, eliminating
Yugoslavia
, common_name = Yugoslavia
, life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation
, p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia
, flag_p ...
and beating hosts Spain 1–0; Northern Ireland had to play the majority of the second half with ten men after
Mal Donaghy
Malachy Martin Donaghy (born 13 September 1957 in Belfast) is a former Northern Ireland international footballer who played for Luton Town and Manchester United.
Career
Club career
Originally from West Belfast, began his football career as a g ...
was dismissed. Spain narrowly avoided elimination due to a huge referee error, securing a contentious 2–1 victory over Yugoslavia, largely attributed to a disputed penalty decision. At 17 years and 41 days, Northern Ireland forward
Norman Whiteside
Norman Whiteside (born 7 May 1965) is a Northern Irish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder and striker.
Whiteside began his career at Manchester United, signing professional forms in 1982 at the age of 17 and quickly be ...
was the youngest player to appear in a World Cup match.
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
Sócrates
Sócrates Brasileiro Sampaio de Souza Vieira de Oliveira (19 February 1954 – 4 December 2011), simply known as Sócrates , was a Brazilian footballer who played as a midfielder. His medical degree and his political awareness, combined with s ...
, Falcão, Éder and others, they boasted an offensive firepower that promised a return to the glory days of
1970
Events
January
* January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC.
* January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...
. They beat the
USSR
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
2–1 thanks to a 20-metre Éder goal two minutes from time, then
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
and
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
with four goals each. The Soviets took the group's other qualifying berth on goal difference at the expense of the Scots.
Second group stage
Poland opened Group A with a 3–0 defeat of Belgium thanks to a
Zbigniew Boniek
Zbigniew Kazimierz Boniek (; born 3 March 1956) is a Polish former association football, footballer and manager as well as a current UEFA vice-president. A former midfielder, who was also capable of playing mostly as a right winger and Forward ( ...
hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three.
Origin
The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...
. The Soviet Union prevailed 1–0 in the next match over Belgium. The Poles edged out the USSR for the semi-final 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
Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...
a few months earlier to quash internal dissent.
In Group B, a match between England and West Germany ended in a goalless draw. West Germany put the pressure on England in their second match by beating Spain 2–1. The home side drew 0–0 against England, denying
Ron Greenwood
Ronald Greenwood (11 November 1921 – 9 February 2006) was an English football player and manager. He is best known for being manager of the England national football team from 1977 until 1982, as well as being manager of West Ham United for ...
's team a semi-final place and putting England in the same position as Cameroon, being eliminated without losing a game.
In Group C, with Brazil, Argentina and Italy, in the opener, Italy prevailed 2–1 over
Diego Maradona
Diego Armando Maradona Franco (30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional association football, football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two ...
and
Mario Kempes
Mario Alberto Kempes Chiodi (, ; born 15 July 1954) is an Argentine former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football)#Striker, striker or Attacking Midfielder, attacking midfielder. A prolific g ...
's side after a game in which Italian defenders
Gaetano Scirea
Gaetano Scirea (; 25 May 1953 – 3 September 1989) was an Italian professional footballer who is considered one of the greatest ever defenders. He spent most of his career with Juventus.
Scirea is one of only six players in European football hi ...
and
Claudio Gentile
Claudio Gentile (; born 27 September 1953) is an Italian football manager and former player who played as a defender in the 1970s and 1980s.
Gentile appeared for Italy in two World Cup tournaments, and played for the winning Italian team in ...
proved themselves equal to the task of stopping the Argentinian attack. Argentina now needed a win over Brazil on the second day, but lost 3–1 – Argentina only scoring in the last minute. Maradona kicked Brazilian player João Batista in the groin and was sent off in the 85th minute.
The match between Brazil and Italy pitted Brazil's attack against Italy's defence, with the majority of the game played around the Italian area, and with the Italian midfielders and defenders returning the repeated set volleys of Brazilian shooters such as Zico,
Sócrates
Sócrates Brasileiro Sampaio de Souza Vieira de Oliveira (19 February 1954 – 4 December 2011), simply known as Sócrates , was a Brazilian footballer who played as a midfielder. His medical degree and his political awareness, combined with s ...
and Falcão. Italian centre back Gentile was assigned to mark Brazilian striker Zico, earning a yellow card and a suspension for the semi-final.
Paolo Rossi
Paolo Rossi (; 23 September 1956 – 9 December 2020) was an Italian professional association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker. He led Italy national football team, Italy to the 1982 FIFA World Cup t ...
opened the scoring when he headed in
Antonio Cabrini
Antonio Cabrini (; born 8 October 1957) is an Italian professional football manager and a former player. He played as a left-back, mainly with Juventus. He won the 1982 FIFA World Cup with the Italy national team. Cabrini was nicknamed ''Bell'A ...
's cross with just five minutes played. Sócrates equalised for Brazil seven minutes later. In the twenty-fifth minute Rossi stepped past Júnior, intercepted a pass from Cerezo across the Brazilians' goal, and drilled the shot home. The Brazilians threw everything in search of another equaliser, while Italy defended bravely. On 68 minutes, Falcão collected a pass from Júnior and as Cerezo's dummy run distracted three defenders, fired home from 20 yards out. Now Italy had gained the lead twice thanks to Rossi's goals, and Brazil had come back twice; at 2–2, Brazil would have been through on goal difference, but in the 74th minute, a poor clearance from an Italian corner kick went back to the Brazilian six-yard line where Rossi and
Francesco Graziani
Francesco "Ciccio" Graziani (; born 16 December 1952) is an Italian football manager and former football player who played as a forward.
He began his career with Arezzo in 1970, and later joined Torino in 1973, where he remained until 1981, wi ...
were waiting. Both aimed at the same shot, Rossi connecting to get a hat trick and sending Italy into the lead for good. In the 86th minute
Giancarlo Antognoni
Giancarlo Antognoni (; born 1 April 1954) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. A skilful and creative offensive playmaker, he played most of his club career with Fiorentina, with whom they won the Coppa Italia ...
scored an apparent fourth goal for Italy, but it was wrongly disallowed for offside. In the dying moments
Dino Zoff
Dino Zoff (; born 28 February 1942) is an Italian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. Regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, he is the oldest ever ...
made a miraculous save to deny
Oscar
Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to:
People and fictional and mythical characters
* Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar
* Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...
a goal, ensuring that Italy advanced to the semi-final.
In the last group, Group D, France dispatched Austria 1–0 with a free kick goal by
Bernard Genghini
Bernard Francis Genghini (born 18 January 1958) is a French former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
International career
Genghini earned twenty-eight caps and scored six goals for the France national team. He played in three ...
, and then defeated Northern Ireland 4–1 to reach their first semi-final since
1958
Events
January
* January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being.
* January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed.
* January 4
** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the thir ...
.
Semi-finals, third-place match and final
In a re-match of the encounter in the first round, Italy beat Poland in the first semi-final through two goals from Paolo Rossi. In the game between France and West Germany, the Germans opened the scoring through a
Pierre Littbarski
Pierre Michael Littbarski (; born 16 April 1960) is a German professional football manager and former player of 1. FC Köln and the West Germany national team. Known for his dribbling abilities, he was mainly used as an attacking midfielder ...
strike in the 17th minute, and the French equalised nine minutes later with a
Michel Platini
Michel François Platini (; born 21 June 1955) is a French association football, football Administrator (business), administrator and former player and manager. Regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, Platini won the Ballon d'O ...
penalty. In the second half a long through ball sent French defender
Patrick Battiston
Patrick Raymond Jean Battiston (born 12 March 1957) is a French former footballer who played as a defender for the France national team in three World Cups and won UEFA Euro 1984. At club level, he played for Metz, Saint-Étienne, Bordeaux, ...
racing clear towards the German goal. With both Battiston and the lone German defender trying to be the first to reach the ball, Battiston flicked it past German keeper
Harald Schumacher
Harald Anton "Toni" Schumacher (born 6 March 1954) is a German former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. At club level, he won a Bundesliga title and three DFB-Pokal titles with 1. FC Köln. At international level, he represen ...
from the edge of the German penalty area and Schumacher reacted by jumping up to block. Schumacher did not seem to go for the ball, however, and clattered straight into the oncoming Battiston – which left the French player unconscious and knocked two of his teeth out. Schumacher's action has been described as "one of history's most shocking fouls". The ball went just wide of the post and Dutch referee
Charles Corver
Charles George Reinier Corver (16 January 1936 – 10 November 2020) was a Dutch football referee.
Career
He was decorated twice by the Queen (Order of Orange-Nassau) and the football association (KNVB-UEFA-FIFA).
He refereed the 1982 World C ...
deemed Schumacher's tackle on Battiston not to be a foul and awarded a
goal kick
A goal kick is a method of restarting the play in a game of association football. Its procedure is dictated by Law 16 of the Laws of the Game (association football), Laws of the Game.
Award
A goal kick is awarded to the defending team when the ...
. Play was interrupted for several minutes while Battiston, still unconscious and with a broken jaw, was carried off the field on a stretcher.
After French defender
Manuel Amoros
Manuel Amoros (born 1 February 1962) is a French former professional Association football, footballer who played as a right-back. He was capped 82 times for France national football team, France, and played in the UEFA European Championships fi ...
had sent a 25-metre drive crashing onto the West German crossbar in the final minute, the match went into extra time. On 92 minutes, France's sweeper
Marius Trésor
Marius Paul Trésor (; born 15 January 1950) is a French former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He is regarded as one of the best defenders of his generation.
Early life and education
Marius Paul TrésorAccess via first d ...
fired a swerving volley under Schumacher's crossbar from ten metres out to make it 2–1. Six minutes later, an unmarked
Alain Giresse
Alain Jean Giresse (; born 2 August 1952) is a French association football, football coach and former player who last managed Kosovo national football team, Kosovo.
Giresse was French Player of the Year in 1982, 1983 and 1987. Nominally an Midfi ...
drove in an 18-metre shot off the inside of the right post to finish off a counter-attack and put France up 3–1. But West Germany would not give up. In the 102nd minute a counter-attack culminated in a cross that recent substitute
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge
Karl-Heinz "Kalle" Rummenigge (; born 25 September 1955) is a German football executive and former professional player. Considered as one of the best players of his generation and one of the greatest German footballers ever, he was also the longt ...
turned in at the near post from a difficult angle with the outside of his foot, reducing France's lead to 3–2. Then in the 108th minute Germany took a short corner and after France failed to clear, the ball was played by Germany to Littbarski whose cross to
Horst Hrubesch
Horst Hrubesch (; born 17 April 1951) is a German professional football manager and former player who last managed the Germany women's national team. As a player, Hrubesch won three West German championships with his club side, Hamburger SV, as ...
was headed back to the centre towards
Klaus Fischer
Klaus Fischer (born 27 December 1949) is a German former professional footballer and coach. He was a key player on the West Germany national team that lost the 1982 World Cup final to Italy. As a forward, he was noted for his bicycle kicks, ...
, who was unmarked but with his back to goal. Fischer in turn volleyed the ball past French keeper
Jean-Luc Ettori
Jean-Luc Ettori (born 29 July 1955) is a French former professional footballer who played as goalkeeper. He spent his entire career with AS Monaco, and had held the record for the most appearances by any player in Ligue 1 or Division 1 with 602 ...
with a
bicycle kick
In association football, a bicycle kick, also known as an overhead kick or scissors kick, is an acrobatic strike where a player kicks an airborne ball rearward in midair. It is achieved by throwing the body backward up into the air and, before ...
, levelling the scores at 3–3.
The resulting
penalty shootout
The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...
was the first at a World Cup finals. Giresse,
Manfred Kaltz
Manfred Kaltz (born 6 January 1953) is a German former football player and manager, who played as a right-back.
Kaltz played in the Bundesliga for Hamburger SV and 13 times (one goal) for FC Mulhouse in Ligue 1 after initially joining Mulhouse ...
,
Manuel Amoros
Manuel Amoros (born 1 February 1962) is a French former professional Association football, footballer who played as a right-back. He was capped 82 times for France national football team, France, and played in the UEFA European Championships fi ...
,
Paul Breitner
Paul Breitner (; born 5 September 1951) is a German former professional footballer who played as a midfielder and left-back. Considered one of the best full-backs and midfielders of all time, and one of the best players of his era, Breitner was n ...
and
Dominique Rocheteau
Dominique Claude Rocheteau (born 14 January 1955) is a French former professional footballer who played as a winger. A French international, he played in three FIFA World Cups, scoring at least one goal in each of them, and was part of the team ...
all converted penalties until
Uli Stielike
Ulrich "Uli" Stielike (born 15 November 1954) is a German former footballer and manager. Usually a central midfielder or sweeper, Stielike was well known for his stamina and footballing intelligence.Radnedge, Keir. (2004). The Complete Encyclop ...
was stopped by Ettori, giving France the advantage. But then Schumacher stepped forward, lifted the tearful Stielike from the ground, and saved
Didier Six
Didier Six (born 21 August 1954) is a French football manager and former player, who most recently worked as manager of the Guinea national football team until October 2021.
A gifted but inconsistent winger, Six had a rather nomadic career, pl ...
's shot. With Germany handed the lifeline they needed Littbarski converted his penalty, followed by Platini for France, and then Rummenigge for Germany as the tension mounted. France defender Maxime Bossis then had his kick parried by Schumacher who anticipated it, and Hrubesch stepped up to score and send Germany to the World Cup final yet again with a victory on penalties, 5–4.
In the third-place match, Poland edged the French side 3–2 which matched Poland's best performance at a World Cup previously achieved in 1974. France would go on to win the
European Championship
A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs.
In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...
two years later.
In the final,
Antonio Cabrini
Antonio Cabrini (; born 8 October 1957) is an Italian professional football manager and a former player. He played as a left-back, mainly with Juventus. He won the 1982 FIFA World Cup with the Italy national team. Cabrini was nicknamed ''Bell'A ...
fired a penalty wide of goal in the first half. In the second half, Paolo Rossi scored first for the third straight game by heading home Gentile's bouncing cross at close range. Exploiting the situation, Italy scored twice more on quick counter-strikes, all the while capitalising on their defence to hold the Germans. With Gentile and Gaetano Scirea holding the centre, the Italian strikers were free to counter-punch the weakened German defence.
Marco Tardelli
Marco Tardelli (; born 24 September 1954) is an Italian former football player and manager. At club level, he played as a midfielder for several Italian clubs; he began his career with Pisa, and later played for Como, Juventus, and Internazion ...
's shot from the edge of the area beat Schumacher first, and
Alessandro Altobelli
Alessandro Altobelli (; born 28 November 1955) is a former professional Italian footballer who played as a forward, and who won the 1982 World Cup with Italy. Nicknamed ''Spillo'' ("Needle") for his slender build, Altobelli was a prolific goal ...
, the substitute for injured striker
Francesco Graziani
Francesco "Ciccio" Graziani (; born 16 December 1952) is an Italian football manager and former football player who played as a forward.
He began his career with Arezzo in 1970, and later joined Torino in 1973, where he remained until 1981, wi ...
, made it 3–0 at the end of a solo sprint down the right side by the stand-out winger
Bruno Conti
Bruno Conti (; born 13 March 1955) is an Italian football manager and former player. He is currently head of AS Roma's youth sector.
Throughout his playing career, Conti was usually deployed as a winger, and also previously played for Roma, w ...
. Italy's lead appeared secure, encouraging Italian president
Sandro Pertini
Alessandro Giuseppe Antonio "Sandro" Pertini (; 25 September 1896 – 24 February 1990) was an Italian socialist politician and statesman who served as President of Italy from 1978 to 1985.
Early life
Born in Stella (province of Savona) as t ...
to wag his finger at the cameras in a playful "not going to catch us now" gesture. In the 83rd minute, Paul Breitner scored for West Germany, but it was only a consolation goal as Italy won 3–1 to claim their first World Cup title in 44 years, and their third in total.
Records
Italy became the first team to advance from the first round without winning a game, drawing all three (while
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...
were eliminated in the same way by virtue of having only one goal scored against Italy's two), and also the first of two World Cup winners to draw or lose three matches at the Finals (Argentina matched this by drawing two games and losing one in 2022). By winning, Italy equalled Brazil's record of winning the World Cup three times. Italy's total of twelve goals scored in seven matches set a new low for average goals scored per game by a World Cup winning side (subsequently exceeded by Spain in 2010), while Italy's aggregate goal difference of +6 for the tournament remains a record low for a champion, equalled by Spain.
Italy's 40-year-old captain-goalkeeper
Dino Zoff
Dino Zoff (; born 28 February 1942) is an Italian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. Regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, he is the oldest ever ...
became the oldest player to win the World Cup. This was the first World Cup in which teams from all six continental confederations participated in the finals, something that did not happen again until
2006
2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification.
Events
January
* January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute.
* January 12 – A stampede during t ...
.
Venues
Seventeen stadiums in fourteen cities hosted the tournament, a record that stood until the 2002 tournament, which was played in twenty stadiums in two countries.Stadium capacities, Panini official album to World Cup 1982. The most used venue was
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly known as FC Barcelona and colloquially as Barça (), is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of ...
's
Camp Nou
Camp Nou (), meaning ''New Field'' and often referred to in English as the Nou Camp, is a stadium in Barcelona and the home of La Liga club FC Barcelona since its opening in 1957. It is currently undergoing renovation, and with a planned increa ...
stadium, which hosted five matches, including a semi-final; it was the largest stadium used for this tournament. With
Sarrià Stadium
Sarrià Stadium (in Catalan: Estadi de Sarrià ; in Spanish: Estadio de Sarrià) was a football stadium in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The stadium was the home of RCD Espanyol from 1923 to 1997, and was located in the district of Sarrià.
Begi ...
also hosting three matches, Barcelona was the Spanish city with the most matches in España 1982 with eight; Madrid, the nation's capital, followed with seven.
This particular World Cup was organised in such a way that all of the matches of each of the six groups were assigned stadiums in cities near to each other, in order to reduce the stress of travel on the players and fans. For example, Group 1 matches were played in Vigo and A Coruña, Group 2 in Gijón and Oviedo, Group 3 in Elche and Alicante (except for the first match, which was the opening match of the tournament, which was played at the Camp Nou), Group 4 in Bilbao and Valladolid, Group 5 (which included hosts Spain) in Valencia and Zaragoza, and Group 6 in Seville and Malaga (of the three first-round matches in Seville, the first match between Brazil and the Soviet Union was played in the Pizjuán Stadium, and the other two were played in the Villamarín Stadium). Group stage matches in the milder northern cities like Bilbao or Gijón would start at 17:00, while the matches in the southern cities like Seville or Valencia would start at 21:00, in an attempt to avoid the intense southern Spanish summer heat.
When the tournament went into the round-robin second round matches, all the aforementioned cities excluding Barcelona, Alicante and Seville did not host any more matches in España 1982. Both the Santiago Bernabéu and Vicente Calderón stadiums in Madrid and the Sarrià Stadium in Barcelona were used for the first time for this tournament for the second round matches. Madrid and Barcelona hosted the four second round group matches; Barcelona hosted Groups A and C (Camp Nou hosted all three of Group A's matches, and Sarrià did the same with Group C's matches) and Madrid hosted Groups B and D (
Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...
's Bernabeu Stadium hosted all three of Group B's matches, and
Atlético Madrid
Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...
's Calderon Stadium did the same with the Group D matches)
The two semi final matches were held at Camp Nou and the Pizjuán Stadium in Seville, the third largest stadium used for the tournament (one of only two España 1982 matches it hosted), the third place match was held in Alicante and the final was held at the Bernabeu, the second largest stadium used for this tournament.
Benjamin Dwomoh
Benjamin Dwomoh (1 July 1935 – 2 October 2013) was a Ghanaian football referee. He refereed one match in the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain, between Kuwait and Czechoslovakia in Valladolid
Valladolid ( ; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, munic ...
*
Yousef El-Ghoul
Yousef Muhammad El Ghoul () (June 1, 1936 – December 27, 1997) was a Libyan football referee. He is known for having refereed one match in the 1982 World Cup in Spain, between the USSR and New Zealand in Malaga. He was, and is still, the only L ...
*
Belaid Lacarne Belaid is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include:
Surname
*Chokri Belaid (1964–2013), Tunisian lawyer and politician
*Khaled Belaid (born 1987), Tunisian volleyball player
*Tijani Belaid (born 1987), France born T ...
Luis Paulino Siles
Luis Paulino Siles Calderón (born December 13, 1941, in San José) is a Costa Rican lawyer, civil engineer and former association football referee. He is known for officiating two matches (Brazil vs Scotland and Poland vs Belgium) in the 1982 FI ...
*
David Socha
David Stanley Socha (September 27, 1938 – February 10, 2025) was an American soccer referee. He is best known for supervising two matches in the FIFA World Cup, one in 1982 and one in 1986.FIFA"Match Report - Korea Republic - Italy 2:3 (0: ...
CONMEBOL
*
Gilberto Aristizábal
Gilberto Aristizábal Murcia (born September 8, 1940 in Manizales, Colombia) is a retired Colombian football referee. He is known for having refereed one match in the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a countr ...
Gastón Castro
Gastón Edmundo Castro Makuc (born August 23, 1948) is a retired Chilean association football referee. He is known for having refereed one match in the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain.
He has chaired the Chilean committee of referees and is a FIFA t ...
*
Arnaldo Cézar Coelho
Arnaldo David Cézar Coelho (born 15 January 1943) is a former football referee. He was the first Brazilian, indeed the first non-European, to take charge of the FIFA World Cup final when he officiated in the 1982 final between Italy and West G ...
*
Arturo Ithurralde
Arturo Andrés Ithurralde (March 6, 1934 – June 3, 2017) was an Argentina, Argentine football (soccer), football referee. He was known for having refereed one match in the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain. He also refereed four matches at 1975 Copa A ...
*
Enrique Labo Revoredo
Enrique Labo Revoredo (March 2, 1939 – July 2, 2014) was a Peruvian football referee.
Born in Lima, he is known for having refereed the historic West Germany vs Algeria match at the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain. Labo also refereed at the 1980 S ...
Vojtech Christov
Vojtech Christov (born 16 March 1945 in Vranov nad Topľou) is a former Czechoslovak association football, football referee. He is known for having refereed in two FIFA World Cups, one match in 1982 FIFA World Cup, 1982 (the opening game of the ...
*
Charles Corver
Charles George Reinier Corver (16 January 1936 – 10 November 2020) was a Dutch football referee.
Career
He was decorated twice by the Queen (Order of Orange-Nassau) and the football association (KNVB-UEFA-FIFA).
He refereed the 1982 World C ...
*
Bogdan Dotchev
Bogdan Ganev Dochev (; 26 June 1935 – 29 May 2017) was a Bulgarian footballer and football referee.
He is known for having refereed two matches in the FIFA World Cup, Italy - Cameroon 1-1 in 1982 and Paraguay - Belgium 2-2 in 1986. Dochev wa ...
*
Walter Eschweiler
Walter Eschweiler (born September 20, 1935) is a retired German football referee. He is known for having refereed one match in the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and ...
*
Erik Fredriksson
Erik Fredriksson (born 13 February 1943) is a former Swedish football referee. He officiated four World Cup games: Yugoslavia v Northern Ireland in 1982; Italy v Bulgaria (the tournament opening match) and USSR v Belgium in 1986; and Argentina ...
*
Bruno Galler
Bruno Galler (born 21 October 1946 in Baden) is a retired football referee from Switzerland. He refereed one match in the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain (West Germany vs. Chile, 4–1). He also refereed the Cup Winners final on 9 May 1990, at ...
Alojzy Jarguz
Alojzy Jarguz (born 19 March 1934 – 22 April 2019) was a Polish football referee.
Life and career
Jarguz played football before becoming a football referee. He refereed his first match in 1958.
Jarguz refereed at the 1978 FIFA World Cup. He be ...
*
Augusto Lamo Castillo
Augusto Lamo Castillo (25 September 1938 in Badajoz 10 September 2002) was a Spanish football referee. He is known for having refereed one match in the 1982 FIFA World Cup on his home soil in Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a coun ...
Damir Matovinović
Damir Matovinović (born April 6, 1940) is a Croatian retired football referee. He is mostly known for supervising one match (between Brazil and New Zealand) at the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country i ...
Károly Palotai
Károly Palotai (11 September 1935 – 3 February 2018) was a Hungarian association football player and referee. He was an Olympic Gold winner as a player before turning to refereeing. He was a referee at three World Cup tournaments and offici ...
*
Alexis Ponnet
Alexis Ponnet (born 9 March 1939 in Brussels) is a former Belgian football referee. Ponnet is best known for supervising two matches in the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain and one in the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico. He also refereed the Europea ...
*
Adolf Prokop
Adolf Prokop (2 February 1939) is a retired football referee from East Germany.
He is mostly known for supervising two matches in the FIFA World Cup, one in 1978 and one in 1982. He was also active at the 1976 Olympics, UEFA Euro 1984
The 1 ...
*
Nicolae Rainea
Nicolae Rainea (19 November 1933 – 1 April 2015), nicknamed ''The Locomotive of the Carpathians'', was a Romanian football (soccer), football referee and Football player, player. Among the most highly regarded referees of his generation, he is ...
Michel Vautrot
Michel Jean Maurice Vautrot (born 23 October 1945) is a French former football referee. He is mostly known for officiating five matches in the FIFA World Cup: two in 1982 and three in 1990. He refereed the Club World Cup final in 1983 on National ...
*
Clive White
Clive Bradley White (born 2 May 1940) is a retired English football referee from Harrow, Middlesex.
Career
White made the Football League referees list at the age of thirty three in 1973, after four years as a linesman. He made rapid progress ...
*
Franz Wöhrer
Franz Wöhrer (born 5 June 1939) is a former football referee from Austria. He is best known for supervising one match in the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain, between Cameroon and Peru. On 22 April 1981 he supervised a UEFA Cup Wnners' Cup semifina ...
OFC
*
Tony Boskovic
Anton Boskovic (27 January 1933 – 16 June 2022) was an Australian soccer referee.
Career
Born in Blato, Croatia, Yugoslavia, he emigrated to Australia from the former Yugoslavia in 1955.
Boskovic is known for having refereed two matches in t ...
Squads
For a list of all squads that appeared in the final tournament, see ''
1982 FIFA World Cup squads
The 1982 FIFA World Cup took place in Spain from 13 June to 11 July 1982. Each of the 24 participating nations had to submit a squad of no more than 22 players, three of whom had to be goalkeepers. The El Salvador squad comprised just 20 players.
...
''.
Groups
Seeding
The 24 qualifiers were divided into four groupings which formed the basis of the draw for the group stage. FIFA announced the six seeded teams on the day of the draw and allocated them in advance to the six groups; as had become standard, the host nation and the reigning champions were among the seeds. The seeded teams would play all their group matches at the same venue (with the exception of World Cup holders Argentina who would play in the opening game scheduled for the Camp Nou, the largest of the venues). The remaining 18 teams were split into three pots based on FIFA's assessment of the team's strength, but also taking in account geographic considerations. The seedings and group venues for those teams were tentatively agreed at an informal meeting in December 1981 but not officially confirmed until the day of the draw. FIFA executive
Hermann Neuberger
Hermann Neuberger (12 December 1919 – 27 September 1992) was the seventh president of the German Football Association (''Deutscher Fußball-Bund'', DFB) from 1975 until his death in office in 1992.
Career
Neuberger, son of two teachers, grew ...
told the press that the seeding of England had been challenged by other nations but they were to be seeded as "the Spanish want England to play in Bilbao for security reasons"*. As well as security the footballing grounds that they were winners in 1966 and reached the quarter-final as holders in 1970, as the 1970 in Mexico and 1974 in West Germany tournaments were taken into consideration for seeding with West Germany seeded for their 1980 European Championship win (due to the Netherlands failing to qualify) having won in 1974. However, due to England's seeding for security reasons, if the Netherlands had qualified, West Germany would not have been seeded as West Germany were eliminated in the second group stage in 1978, while the Netherlands were runners up.
Final draw
On 16 January 1982, the draw was conducted at the Palacio de Congresos in Madrid, where the teams were drawn out from the three pots to be placed with the seeded teams in their predetermined groups. Firstly a draw was made to decide the order in which the three drums containing pots A, B and C would be emptied; this resulted in the order being pot B, C and A. The teams were then drawn one-by-one out of the respective pot and entered in the groups in that order. A number was then drawn to determine the team's "position" in the group and hence the fixtures.
The only stipulation of the draw was that no group could feature two South American teams. As a result, Pot B – which contained two South American teams – was initially drawn with only the four Europeans in the pot. These first two European teams drawn from pot B were then to be immediately allocated to Groups 3 and 6 which contained the two South American seeds Argentina and Brazil. Once these two groups had been filled with the entrants from Pot B, Chile and Peru would be added to the pot and the draw would continue as normal. In the event, FIFA executives
Sepp Blatter
Joseph Sepp Blatter (born Josef Blatter; 10 March 1936) is a Swiss former association football, football administrator who served as the list of Presidents of FIFA, eighth president of FIFA from 1998 to 2015. He has been banned from participatin ...
and
Hermann Neuberger
Hermann Neuberger (12 December 1919 – 27 September 1992) was the seventh president of the German Football Association (''Deutscher Fußball-Bund'', DFB) from 1975 until his death in office in 1992.
Career
Neuberger, son of two teachers, grew ...
conducting the draw initially forgot this stipulation and therefore immediately placed the first team drawn from this pot (Belgium) into Group 1, rather than Group 3 as planned, before then placing the second team drawn out (Scotland) into Group 3; they then had to correct this by moving Belgium to Group 3 and Scotland into Group 6. The ceremony suffered further embarrassment when one of the revolving drums containing the teams broke down.
Results
''All times are
Central European Summer Time
Central European Summer Time (CEST, UTC+02:00), sometimes referred to as Central European Daylight Time (CEDT), is the standard clock time observed during the period of summer daylight-saving in those European countries which observe Central E ...
(
UTC+2
UTC+02:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +02:00. In ISO 8601, the associated time would be written as 2020-11-08T23:41:45+02:00.
As standard time (year-round)
Principal cities: Pretoria, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban, Por ...
)''
First group stage
The group winners and runners-up advanced to the second round.
Teams were ranked on the following criteria:
:# Greater number of points in all group matches
:# Goal difference in all group matches
:# Greater number of goals scored in all group matches
:# Drawing of lots
Group 1
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Group 2
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Group 3
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Group 4
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Group 5
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Group 6
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Second group stage
The second round of the tournament consisted of four groups of three teams, each played at one stadium in one of Spain's two largest cities: two in Madrid and two in Barcelona. The winners of each group progressed to the semi-finals.
Teams were ranked on the following criteria:
# Greater number of points in all group matches
# Goal difference in all group matches
# Greater number of goals scored in all group matches
# Whether the team finished first or second in their first round group
# Drawing of lots
Although the fixtures were provisionally determined in advance, the teams competing in each fixture depended on the result of the opening match in each group: Should a team lose their opening game of the group, that team would then have to play in the second fixture against the third team in the group and the winner would, by contrast, be rewarded by not needing to play again until the final fixture of the group and therefore gained extra recovery time. If the opening game was a draw, the predetermined order of games would proceed as planned. These regulations helped ensure that the final group games were of importance as no team could already have progressed to the semi-finals by the end of the second fixtures.
The 43,000-capacity Sarria Stadium in Barcelona, used for the Group C round-robin matches between Italy, Argentina and Brazil was, unlike any of the other matches (except 1) in the other groups, severely overcrowded for all three matches. The venue was then heavily criticised for its lack of space and inability to handle such rampant crowds; although no one had foreseen such crowds at all; the Group A matches held at the nearby and much larger 121,401-capacity Camp Nou stadium never went past 65,000 and hosted all European teams; it was anticipated there would be larger crowds for the Camp Nou-hosted second round matches between Belgium, the Soviet Union and Poland.
Group A
Group B
Group C
Group D
Knockout stage
Semi-finals
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Third place play-off
Final
Statistics
Goalscorers
Paolo Rossi received the Golden Boot for scoring six goals. In total, 146 goals were scored by 100 players, with only one of them credited as own goal.
6 goals
*
Paolo Rossi
Paolo Rossi (; 23 September 1956 – 9 December 2020) was an Italian professional association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker. He led Italy national football team, Italy to the 1982 FIFA World Cup t ...
5 goals
*
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge
Karl-Heinz "Kalle" Rummenigge (; born 25 September 1955) is a German football executive and former professional player. Considered as one of the best players of his generation and one of the greatest German footballers ever, he was also the longt ...
Zbigniew Boniek
Zbigniew Kazimierz Boniek (; born 3 March 1956) is a Polish former association football, footballer and manager as well as a current UEFA vice-president. A former midfielder, who was also capable of playing mostly as a right winger and Forward ( ...
Alain Giresse
Alain Jean Giresse (; born 2 August 1952) is a French association football, football coach and former player who last managed Kosovo national football team, Kosovo.
Giresse was French Player of the Year in 1982, 1983 and 1987. Nominally an Midfi ...
Salah Assad
Salah Assad (; born 13 March 1958) is an Algerian former football player and manager who played as a forward.
Assad was born in Larbaâ Nath Irathen. He played for RC Kouba, where he won an Algerian championship in 1981, and in France for FC Mu ...
*
Daniel Bertoni
Ricardo Daniel Bertoni (born 14 March 1955) is an Argentine former Association football, footballer who played as a Midfielder#Winger, right or left winger. In Argentina, he had a successful career at Club Atlético Independiente, where he won th ...
*
Diego Maradona
Diego Armando Maradona Franco (30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional association football, football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two ...
*
Daniel Passarella
Daniel Alberto Passarella (born 25 May 1953) is an Argentine former Association football, footballer and Manager (association football), manager, who is considered one of the greatest Defender (association football), defenders of all time. As a ...
*
Walter Schachner
Walter "Schoko" Schachner (born 1 February 1957) is a football manager and former player, who played as a forward. He made 64 appearances scoring 23 goals for the Austria national team.
As he always brought chocolate to the games when he was ...
Sócrates
Sócrates Brasileiro Sampaio de Souza Vieira de Oliveira (19 February 1954 – 4 December 2011), simply known as Sócrates , was a Brazilian footballer who played as a midfielder. His medical degree and his political awareness, combined with s ...
*
Antonín Panenka
Antonín Panenka (born 2 December 1948) is a Czech former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He spent most of his career at Czechoslovak club Bohemians Prague before having spells with various Austrian clubs includi ...
*
Trevor Francis
Trevor John Francis (19 April 1954 – 24 July 2023) was an English footballer who played as a forward for a number of clubs in England, the United States, Italy, Scotland and Australia. In 1979 he became Britain's first £1 million pla ...
*
Bryan Robson
Bryan Robson (born 11 January 1957) is an English association football, football manager and former player. He began his career with West Bromwich Albion F.C., West Bromwich Albion in 1972, where he amassed over 200 appearances and was club ca ...
*
Bernard Genghini
Bernard Francis Genghini (born 18 January 1958) is a French former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
International career
Genghini earned twenty-eight caps and scored six goals for the France national team. He played in three ...
*
Michel Platini
Michel François Platini (; born 21 June 1955) is a French association football, football Administrator (business), administrator and former player and manager. Regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, Platini won the Ballon d'O ...
*
Dominique Rocheteau
Dominique Claude Rocheteau (born 14 January 1955) is a French former professional footballer who played as a winger. A French international, he played in three FIFA World Cups, scoring at least one goal in each of them, and was part of the team ...
*
Didier Six
Didier Six (born 21 August 1954) is a French football manager and former player, who most recently worked as manager of the Guinea national football team until October 2021.
A gifted but inconsistent winger, Six had a rather nomadic career, pl ...
*
László Fazekas
László Fazekas (born 15 October 1947) is a Hungarian former Football (soccer), football player who played the third most international games for the Hungary national football team, Hungary national team. Fazekas played in the Football World ...
*
Tibor Nyilasi
Tibor Nyilasi (born 18 January 1955) is a retired Hungarian football player and manager. A midfielder, he signed with Ferencváros in 1972 and played there until transferring to Austria Wien in 1983. He made 70 appearances for the Hungary natio ...
Marco Tardelli
Marco Tardelli (; born 24 September 1954) is an Italian former football player and manager. At club level, he played as a midfielder for several Italian clubs; he began his career with Pisa, and later played for Como, Juventus, and Internazion ...
John Wark
John Wark (born 4 August 1957) is a Scottish former footballer who spent most of his playing time with Ipswich Town. He won a record four Player of the Year awards before becoming one of the four inaugural members of the club's Hall of Fame. ...
*
Klaus Fischer
Klaus Fischer (born 27 December 1949) is a German former professional footballer and coach. He was a key player on the West Germany national team that lost the 1982 World Cup final to Italy. As a forward, he was noted for his bicycle kicks, ...
*
Pierre Littbarski
Pierre Michael Littbarski (; born 16 April 1960) is a German professional football manager and former player of 1. FC Köln and the West Germany national team. Known for his dribbling abilities, he was mainly used as an attacking midfielder ...
1 goal
*
Lakhdar Belloumi
Lakhdar Belloumi (; born on 29 December 1958) is an Algerian former football player and manager. A former attacking midfielder, he is widely considered the best Algerian player of all time and one of the best players in Africa. He is said to hav ...
*
Tedj Bensaoula
Tedj Bensaoula () (born 1 December 1954) is an Algerian football manager and former footballer who played as a forward. He currently manages CR Témouchent in the Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 2.
Biography Early years
Tedj Bensaoula was born ...
*
Rabah Madjer
Rabah Mustapha Madjer (; born 15 December 1958) is an Algerian former professional footballer who played as a striker.
He reached stardom as a Porto
Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Po ...
*
Osvaldo Ardiles
Osvaldo César Ardiles (born 3 August 1952), more commonly known as Ossie Ardiles, is an Argentine football manager, pundit and former player.
A competitive and skilled midfielder, Ardiles became a cult hero in England, along with Glenn Hoddl ...
*
Ramón Díaz
Ramón Ángel Díaz (; born 29 August 1959) is an Argentine Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player.
Díaz notably played for Club Atlético River Plate, River Plate as a Forward (association fo ...
*
Reinhold Hintermaier
Reinhold Hintermaier (born 14 February 1956) is an Austrian former footballer who played as a midfielder.
Club career
Hintermaier was born in Altheim. He started his professional career with SK VÖEST Linz and won the Austrian Football Bundesl ...
*
Hans Krankl
Johann "Hans" Krankl (; born 14 February 1953) is an Austrian former professional footballer. A prolific striker, he is regarded by many as one of Austria's greatest players.
Club career
Krankl started his professional career at Rapid Wien a ...
*
Bruno Pezzey
Bruno Edmund Pezzey (3 February 1955 – 31 December 1994) was an Austrian professional footballer who played as a defender.
Club career
Regarded as one of Austria's greatest defenders of all time, Pezzey started his professional career at loc ...
*
Ludo Coeck
Ludo Coeck (25 September 1955 – 9 October 1985) was a Belgian footballer who played as left winger or central midfielder. His clubs included Berchem Sport, Anderlecht, Inter Milan and Ascoli Calcio.
First capped for the Belgium national ...
*
Alexandre Czerniatynski
Alexandre "Alex" Czerniatynski (born 28 July 1960) is a Belgian former footballer who played as a striker.
Club career
Czerniatynski played for Charleroi, Antwerp, Anderlecht, Standard, Antwerp again, KV Mechelen, Germinal Ekeren and Tilleu ...
*
Erwin Vandenbergh
Erwin Vandenbergh (; born 26 January 1959) is a Belgian retired professional footballer who played as a forward. Between 1979 and 1991, he finished six times as topscorer of the Belgian First Division (a still standing record), with three clu ...
Oscar
Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to:
People and fictional and mythical characters
* Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar
* Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...
Juan Carlos Letelier
Juan Carlos Letelier Pizarro (born 20 May 1959 in Valparaíso) is a former football striker from Chile, who was nicknamed "Pato" and/or "Lete". He played for his native country at the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain. He played 57 times for hi ...
Miguel Ángel Neira
Miguel Ángel Neira Pincheira (born October 9, 1952) is a retired football midfielder from Chile, who represented his native country at the 1982 FIFA World Cup, wearing the number twenty jersey.
He played club football for O'Higgins, Unión ...
*
Luis Ramírez Zapata
Luis Baltazar Ramírez Zapata (born 6 January 1954) is a retired Salvadoran football forward, who played for the El Salvador national team for nearly two decades.
Club career
Nicknamed ''El Pelé'', he spent nearly 20 years playing for Salv ...
*
Paul Mariner
Paul Mariner (22 May 1953 – 9 July 2021) was an English Association football, football player and Coach (sport), coach.
A centre forward during his playing days, Mariner began his career with Chorley F.C., Chorley. He became a professional p ...
*
Maxime Bossis
Maxime Jean Marcel Bossis (; born 26 June 1955) is a French retired professional association football, footballer who played as a defender (association football), defender.
Bossis spent most of his career playing for FC Nantes, Nantes, a club h ...
*
Alain Couriol
Alain Couriol (born 24 October 1958) is a French former professional footballer who played as a striker.
Club career
During his club career, Couriol played for INF Vichy (1978–1979), Monaco (1979–1983), Paris Saint-Germain (1983–1989), ...
*
René Girard
René Noël Théophile Girard (; ; 25 December 1923 – 4 November 2015) was a French-American historian, literary critic, and philosopher of social science whose work belongs to the tradition of philosophical anthropology. Girard was the a ...
Marius Trésor
Marius Paul Trésor (; born 15 January 1950) is a French former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He is regarded as one of the best defenders of his generation.
Early life and education
Marius Paul TrésorAccess via first d ...
Héctor Zelaya
Héctor Ramón Zelaya Rivera (born 12 August 1958) is a retired Honduran football player.
Club career
Nicknamed ''Pecho de Águila'' (Eagle chest), he started as a forward but later played in defense or midfield for F.C. Motagua. He made his ...
*
Lázár Szentes
Lázár Szentes (born 12 December 1955) is a former Hungarian football player of the 1970s and 1980s. He appeared at the 1982 FIFA World Cup with the Hungary national team.József Tóth
* József Varga
*
Alessandro Altobelli
Alessandro Altobelli (; born 28 November 1955) is a former professional Italian footballer who played as a forward, and who won the 1982 World Cup with Italy. Nicknamed ''Spillo'' ("Needle") for his slender build, Altobelli was a prolific goal ...
*
Antonio Cabrini
Antonio Cabrini (; born 8 October 1957) is an Italian professional football manager and a former player. He played as a left-back, mainly with Juventus. He won the 1982 FIFA World Cup with the Italy national team. Cabrini was nicknamed ''Bell'A ...
*
Bruno Conti
Bruno Conti (; born 13 March 1955) is an Italian football manager and former player. He is currently head of AS Roma's youth sector.
Throughout his playing career, Conti was usually deployed as a winger, and also previously played for Roma, w ...
*
Francesco Graziani
Francesco "Ciccio" Graziani (; born 16 December 1952) is an Italian football manager and former football player who played as a forward.
He began his career with Arezzo in 1970, and later joined Torino in 1973, where he remained until 1981, wi ...
Faisal Al-Dakhil
Faisal Ali Al-Dakhil (), also spelled Al-Dakheel () (born 13 August 1957) is a Kuwaiti retired footballer.
Al-Dakhil was among the Kuwaiti players who won the 1980 Asian Cup. He played four matches for Kuwait at the 1980 Summer Olympics with t ...
*
Steve Sumner
Steven Paul Sumner (2 April 1955 – 8 February 2017) was an English-born, New Zealand footballer who played as a midfielder. He was captain of the national team during the country's first successful campaign to qualify for the World Cup, in ...
*
Steve Wooddin
Stephen Wooddin (born 16 January 1955) is a New Zealand former association football player who was a striker during the country's successful campaign to qualify for the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain.
Club career
Born in Birkenhead England, Woo ...
*
Rubén Toribio Díaz
Rubén Toribio Díaz Rivas (born 17 April 1952 in Lima) is a retired professional footballer from Peru who played as a defender.
Club career
Díaz played for Deportivo Municipal, Universitario de Deportes and Sporting Cristal in Peru. During his ...
*
Guillermo La Rosa
Guillermo Claudio La Rosa Laguna (born June 6, 1952) is a Peruvian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a forward (association football), forward.
He competed for the Peru national football team at the 1978 FIFA Wo ...
*
Andrzej Buncol
Andrzej Bernard Buncol (born 21 September 1959) is a Polish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
Club career
He played for clubs such as Ruch Chorzów and Legia Warsaw in Poland. In the (West) German top-flight he made ...
*
Włodzimierz Ciołek
Włodzimierz Ciołek (born 24 March 1956) is a Polish former professional footballer who played as a striker.
He played for clubs such as Górnik Wałbrzych and Stal Mielec. In the 1983–84 season, when playing for Górnik, he became the top ...
*
Janusz Kupcewicz
Janusz Bogdan Kupcewicz (9 December 1955 – 4 July 2022) was a Polish professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
Widely regarded as one of the best Polish players of his era, he most notably won the bronze with the national team at 1 ...
*
Grzegorz Lato
Grzegorz Bolesław Lato (Polish pronunciation: ; born 8 April 1950) is a Polish former professional association football, football player and manager who played as a winger (association football), winger. He was a member of Poland's golden gene ...
*
Stefan Majewski
Stefan Majewski (born 31 January 1956) is a Polish professional football manager and former player who was most recently the sporting director of Ekstraklasa club Cracovia.
Club career
Majewski was born in Bydgoszcz. He played for clubs such as ...
*
Włodzimierz Smolarek
Włodzimierz Wojciech Smolarek (16 July 1957 – 7 March 2012) was a Polish footballer who played as a winger or an attacking midfielder.
He played most of his 20-year professional career with Widzew Łódź and Utrecht, appearing in more than ...
*
Andrzej Szarmach
Andrzej Szarmach (; born 3 October 1950) is a Polish former professional footballer who played as a striker.
Prior to the 1974 FIFA World Cup, he was virtually unknown. He played in the Poland national team during its "golden age" in the 1970 ...
*
Steve Archibald
Steven Archibald (born 27 September 1956) is a Scottish former professional footballer and manager. He played prominently as a forward for Aberdeen, winning the Scottish league in 1980, Tottenham Hotspur, winning two FA Cups and a UEFA Cup, an ...
*
Kenny Dalglish
Sir Kenneth Mathieson Dalglish (born 4 March 1951) is a Scottish former association football, football player and manager (association football), manager. He is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time as well as one of Celtic's, Liv ...
David Narey
David Narey (born 12 June 1956) is a former Scottish international footballer who played as a defender. Narey spent 21 years with Dundee United, winning the Scottish championship once and the league cup twice. He also played in numerous cup ...
*
John Robertson John, Jon, or Jonathan Robertson may refer to:
Politicians United Kingdom politicians
*J. M. Robertson (John Mackinnon Robertson, 1856–1933), British journalist and Liberal MP for Tyneside 1906–1918
*John Robertson (Bothwell MP) (1867–1926), ...
*
Graeme Souness
Graeme James Souness (; born 6 May 1953) is a Scottish former professional football player, manager and television pundit.
A midfielder, Souness achieved his greatest period of success as an integral part of the Liverpool team of the late 19 ...
*
Andriy Bal
Andriy Mykhaylovych Bal (; 16 February 1958 – 9 August 2014) was a Soviet and Ukrainian professional footballer who played as a midfielder and football manager.
Club career
Born in Rozdil, Ukrainian SSR, Bal was a product of the Lviv you ...
Oleh Blokhin
Oleg Vladimirovich Blokhin, or Oleh Volodymyrovych Blokhin (, ; born 5 November 1952), is a Ukrainian former association football, football player and manager. Regarded as one of the greatest footballers of his generation, Blokhin was a stando ...
*
Aleksandre Chivadze
Aleksandre Chivadze ( ka, ალექსანდრე გაბრიელის ძე ჩივაძე; ; born 8 April 1955) is a Georgian former football player and coach.
Chivadze was born in Klukhori. He spent his entire club career ...
*
Yuri Gavrilov Yuri Gavrilov may refer to:
* Yuri Gavrilov (handballer) (1967–2021), a Ukrainian handball player
* Yuri Gavrilov (footballer, born 1953), a Russian football manager
* Yuri Gavrilov (footballer, born 2002), a Russian football player
{{hndis, ...
*
Khoren Oganesian
Khoren Oganesian (; born 10 January 1955), also known as Khoren Hovhannisyan, is a former Armenian and Soviet football player who played as a midfielder and currently a football manager and coach. He was awarded the Master of Sport of the USSR, I ...
*
Ramaz Shengelia
Ramaz Shengelia ( ka, რამაზ შენგელია; 1 January 1957 – 21 June 2012) was a Georgian and Soviet footballer who played as a striker.
Club career
Born in Kutaisi, Shengelia started career in his hometown club Torpedo K ...
*
Juanito
Juanito is a given name or nickname, meaning "Little Juan" or Johnny. Notable people with the name include:
Professional footballers
* Juan Ignacio Gomez Taleb (born 1985), Argentinian forward
* Juan Díaz Sánchez (1948–2013), Spanish forw ...
*
Roberto López Ufarte
Roberto López Ufarte (born 19 April 1958) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a forward.
Nicknamed ''The little devil'', most of his 15-year career was spent at Real Sociedad where he remained 12 seasons, winning four maj ...
*
Enrique Saura
Enrique Saura Gil (born 2 August 1954) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as an attacking midfielder.
In his career, he played mainly for Castellón and Valencia, appearing in more than 400 official games with the latter and winning th ...
*
Jesús María Zamora
Jesús María Zamora Ansorena (born 1 January 1955) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
Club career
Born in Errenteria, Gipuzkoa, Zamora spent his entire career with local club Real Sociedad. After a slow 19 ...
*
Paul Breitner
Paul Breitner (; born 5 September 1951) is a German former professional footballer who played as a midfielder and left-back. Considered one of the best full-backs and midfielders of all time, and one of the best players of his era, Breitner was n ...
*
Horst Hrubesch
Horst Hrubesch (; born 17 April 1951) is a German professional football manager and former player who last managed the Germany women's national team. As a player, Hrubesch won three West German championships with his club side, Hamburger SV, as ...
*
Uwe Reinders
Uwe Reinders (born 19 January 1955) is a German former footballer and manager.
A former forward, Reinders played 206 times and scored 67 goals for Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga between 1977 and 1985. Abroad he played for Girondins de Bordeaux ...
*
Ivan Gudelj
Ivan Gudelj (born 21 September 1960) is a Croatian retired football midfielder who represented Yugoslavia. A full international, his career was cut short at age 25 after collapsing during a match against Red Star Belgrade. It turned out to be a ...
*
Vladimir Petrović
Vladimir Petrović ( sr-Cyrl, Владимир Петровић, ; born 1 July 1955) is a Serbian football manager and former player.
He is widely known domestically by his nickname Pižon (), after the French for ''pigeon''.
Club career
Dur ...
Own goals
*
Jozef Barmoš
Jozef Barmoš (born 28 August 1954) is a Slovak former football coach and former player. He played in defence for Czechoslovakia, and won 52 international caps.
Barmoš played club football in Czechoslovakia, making 343 appearances in the Czec ...
(against England)
Red cards
*
Américo Gallego
Américo Rubén "El Tolo" Gallego (born 25 April 1955) is an Argentine football coach and former player. As a midfielder, he played 73 times for the Argentina national team during his playing career.
Playing career and Information
Gallego s ...
*
Diego Maradona
Diego Armando Maradona Franco (30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional association football, football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two ...
*
Ladislav Vízek
Ladislav Vízek (born 22 January 1955 in Chlumec nad Cidlinou) is a Czech football player. He played 55 matches for Czechoslovakia and scored 13 goals.
He played in the 1982 FIFA World Cup, and was sent off in Czechoslovakia's final game, ...
*
Gilberto Yearwood
Gilberto Jerónimo Yearwood (born 15 March 1956) is a Honduran former football player who currently is an Assistant coach of the El Salvador national football team. He is by many regarded as one of Honduras' best players of all time.
Club care ...
*
Mal Donaghy
Malachy Martin Donaghy (born 13 September 1957 in Belfast) is a former Northern Ireland international footballer who played for Luton Town and Manchester United.
Career
Club career
Originally from West Belfast, began his football career as a g ...
Awards
Source:
FIFA retrospective ranking
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. The rankings for the 1982 tournament were as follows:
Branding
Mascot
The official mascot of this World Cup was , a male anthropomorphised
orange
Orange most often refers to:
*Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis''
** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower
** Orange juice
*Orange (colour), the color of an orange fruit, occurs between red and yellow in the vi ...
, a typical fruit in Spain, wearing the kit of the host's
national team
A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport.
The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...
. It was designed by José María Martín and María Dolores Salto from the marketing agency . Its name comes from ''naranja'', the Spanish word for orange, and the diminutive suffix "-ito".
Television series
''
Football in Action
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' generally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
'' () is an educational animated television series about football produced by
BRB Internacional
BRB Internacional S.A.U was a Spanish licensing and production company of animated television series such as '' Around the World with Willy Fog'', ''Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds'' and '' The World of David the Gnome''. At the end of January ...
and (TVE). The main character is a twelve-year-old Naranjito, who is accompanied on his adventures by his friends: (a mandarin orange), Citronio (a lemon), and Imarchi (a robot). The series talks about the rules of football and the history of the World Cup. Its 26 episodes of 25 minutes each were first aired in 1981–82 on
TVE 1
(, ''The One'') is a Spanish free-to-air television channel owned and operated by (TVE), the television division of state-owned public broadcaster (RTVE). It is the corporation's flagship television channel and is known for broadcasting mains ...
.
Poster
The official poster was designed by
Joan Miró
Joan Miró i Ferrà ( , ; ; 20 April 1893 – 25 December 1983) was a Catalan Spanish painter, sculptor and Ceramic art, ceramist. A museum dedicated to his work, the Fundació Joan Miró, was established in his native city of Barcelona ...
.
Match ball
The match ball for 1982 World Cup, manufactured by
Adidas
Adidas AG (; stylized in all lowercase since 1949) is a German athletic apparel and footwear corporation headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the ...
World Cup
A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...