by Nick Holt
The result in the group’s other opening game, played two days later in Elche on the south-east coast near Alicante, meant Argentina were looking nervously over their shoulders. The group’s weakest team, El Salvador, played Hungary, who had headed England’s group in qualifying. Their manager was Kálmán Mészöly from their exciting 1960s side, and they looked worthy successors here, with expert finishing to some neat buildup play. Nyilasi, the Hungarian captain, powered in the first after only four minutes and left-winger Pölöskei added a second on the break a few minutes later. The veteran Fazekas was allowed the freedom of the pitch to advance and curl in a nice third before half-time.
In the second half the real carnage began. Tóth added a fourth and Fazekas scored again – again with all the room in the world to aim a shot into the corner. Centre-forward Torocsik must have been livid to be taken off but his replacement Laszlo Kiss made history, becoming the first substitute to score a hat-trick in a World Cup Finals match. He remains the only one and his nine-minute triple remains the fastest in the Finals. His second was the pick of Hungary’s goals, a lovely lob after his team-mates had worked him the ball on the left edge of the area. Szentes and Nyilasi (with another thumping header) completed the scoring but the wildest celebrations were for the goal at the other end, scored by Luis Ramirez Zapata – it briefly made the score a mere 5–1.
Argentina needed to beat Hungary – they weren’t going to make up that goal difference – and met them next in Alicante. Kempes, who looked lost against Belgium, played in midfield and looked happier, seeing much more of the ball, and Valdano replaced the disappointing Diaz, just as he had in the opening game – at least, Valdano played until he himself was replaced, injured, after twenty-five minutes. Three minutes later Argentina were two-up, Bertoni scoring from Passarella’s knock-down and Maradona touching in a loose ball. Argentina were completely in control now. Maradona added a typical solo third and Ossie Ardiles scored one of his infrequent goals when he finished off a move he started in his own half.
Belgium only managed a single goal against El Salvador (they lacked the imagination of the Hungarians, and El Salvador played much better), but they got the point they needed against Hungary to clinch their second-round place. Hungary, for all their style and panache, had been exposed by the two better sides and went home. Argentina managed a mere two against El Salvador the following day, for all their attacking potency, and they now faced a horrible second-phase group.
GROUP 4
England’s campaign got off to a sublime start. Maybe the French players were still dwelling on the tabloid tales about Jean-François Larios and Michel Platini’s wife – Larios left the French squad when the papers exposed his affaire du coeur with Mme Platini. Whatever the reason, the French switched off in the early seconds. England kicked off, Wilkins found Coppell, who won a throw-in. Using a ploy that was far from unique, Coppell’s long throw found Terry Butcher, who advanced for just that purpose, and Butcher’s flicked header found Bryan Robson unmarked. The England man did well to get over the volley and guide it past Ettori.
Robson had an excellent game, tackling and running and always prepared to get into the box and get hurt going for crosses. Just as well he did play his best, for England were outgunned elsewhere, where the slick French passing exposed the limitations of the English left-side combination of Sansom and Rix. France came back through Soler, who finished well from Giresse’s wonderful through ball. The French bossed the next thirty minutes either side of half-time but failed to pick Robson up again in the second half and he scored his second with a rampaging header from Trevor Francis’ cross. Towards the end, with France looking a bit weary, Coppell’s long cross found Wilkins, who cleverly cushioned the ball into the path of Francis. Francis miscued his shot but it ricocheted to the unmarked Mariner, who scored with ease. It was a good performance from England against slightly disappointing opposition.
Next up for England were Czechoslovakia, a pale shadow of some of the sides they had sent to past tournaments. The Czechs started with a 1–1 draw against Kuwait, and that form continued into this match. England were criticised at home for a modest performance, but sometimes, in the early stages, if that’s all that is needed then modest is a good way of avoiding expending energy and peaking too soon. A tap-in from Trevor Francis, England’s best player, and an own goal sealed a comfortable, but boring victory.
France’s second game featured one of the more bizarre incidents in World Cup history. Kuwait were enterprising against Czechoslovakia, and deserved at least their draw, but here they were outclassed. France brought in a pair of Bernards (not an insult, they were both called Bernard!), Lacombe and Genghini for Larios and René Girard. All the impetus came from the midfield, as usual, and Genghini and Platini provided the goals that gave France a comfortable half-time lead. When Didier Six was put in by Platini for a third three minutes after the interval, it seemed to be the end of it. Kuwait scored a consolation goal when the French defence lost concentration, but Alain Giresse scored a fourth and . . . utter chaos ensued. The Kuwaiti defence appeared to stop on hearing a whistle from the crowd and they mobbed the referee in protest when Giresse carried on and scored. The brother of the Kuwaiti ruler and President of their FA, Sheikh Fahad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, in full formal robes, called his players off. There were huddles and hugger-mugger and confusion and lots of posturing and lots of dithering from the Soviet referee before the game was resumed. Thankfully the outrageous decision (play to the whistle, fellers) to chalk off the goal didn’t affect the outcome; both sides scored one more and it finished 4–1. Michel Hidalgo, the French manager, was apoplectic (he had every right to be) and had to be removed from the pitch by the Spanish police, who were never the most subtle presence. Mr Stupar wasn’t asked to referee another game. The Sheikh met a sad end, murdered by invading Iraqi troops as he defended the Royal Palace after the Emir and most of his family had fled. A man of some presumption, but also a man of enormous personal courage.
France needed a point against Czechoslovakia to qualify alongside England. Didier Six scored after a huge mix-up in the Czech penalty area, and the penalty that drew the Czechs level was a debatable one. Amoros headed off the line in the closing moments, but it would have been sad for the tournament if Czechoslovakia had progressed at France’s expense – only one team looked as if there was more in their locker. England headed the group comfortably after a 1–0 in another tedious match against Kuwait. Glenn Hoddle came in for Bryan Robson, but did little to support the extravagant claims for his inclusion from his many admirers; it was the injured Keegan’s buzz and energy around the opposition penalty area that was missed most.
GROUP 5
Spain’s group, on paper, contained the weakest side in each of the top three seeding groups, plus an unknown quantity in Honduras. Spain were expected to qualify – they would have struggled to do so from any other section. The hosts were unfortunate in that their turn to hold the tournament on home soil coincided with a dearth of quality players. Only the goalkeeper and full-backs can in any way be counted as greats of Spanish football.
Honduras provided stiffer opposition than anticipated in Spain’s first game, taking the lead after eight minutes. A number of the Hondurans won contracts with Spanish clubs (mostly at a level below the big teams) after their performances here – the central defender Anthony Costly and midfielder Héctor Zelaya, who scored that early goal, were amongst those who impressed watching scouts, as did Gilberto Yearwood, who was already playing in Spain, with Valladolid.
Like Spain, Yugoslavia didn’t bring a vintage crop of players, and they were held to a 0–0 draw with Northern Ireland, well organised and prepared to graft, as always. Yugoslavia were better against Spain; they started positively and took the lead when Gudelj headed home a free-kick. With Spain in trouble the home bias factor kicked in. Not the Simpsons patriarch, but the World Cup factor that dictates that for the sake of the coffers the home nation must be given every chance to reach the latter
stages. It has worked in every World Cup except South Africa, and it worked here when Sørensen, the Danish referee, gave a penalty for a foul that was clearly a foot outside the area. The defender stayed completely still and was clearly standing out of the penalty area; the most charitable explanation is that Mr Sørensen was feeling the pressure from the partisan crowd in the Luis Casanova stadium (Valencia). Sørensen even compounded his error and ordered the kick re-taken when López Ufarte missed with the first attempt. In fairness the goalkeeper clearly left his line, but plenty of other instances of the same offence went unpunished. Spain changed kicker and Juanito scored. Dodgy, dodgy stuff.
Yugoslavia still created chances – Arconada made a fantastic double save from Petrovic and Susic, while Slijvo skimmed the outside of the post from twenty-five yards. Spain did slightly better in the second half, and López Ufarte clipped the top of the bar with a free-kick, but it was still Yugoslavia who created the best chances; Vujovic put a header an inch wide of the post with Arconada beaten and Susic fired hard into the side netting when clear. Even Spain’s winning goal had an element of fortune; Quini, on for the limp Satrústegui, made a hash of a shot from López Ufarte’s corner, but the ball spun through to Saura, who scored at the far post. The goal seemed to take the stuffing out of Yugoslavia and the game subsided.
Over in Zaragoza the Northern Ireland squad expected to pick up their first win against Honduras, but, like Spain, found the debutants hard to break down. Newspaper reports of the Irish squad partying all night were laughed off by Billy Bingham, and there were no hangovers apparent as the Irish started on top. Martin O’Neill should have scored with a free header, but it wasn’t his strong point and his effort sailed over the bar. Sammy McIlroy’s free-kick hit the bar, and so did Chris Nicholl’s followup header, but Gerry Armstrong put the third attempt in the back of the net – he headed a queue of three players waiting to knock the ball in. Honduras looked tidy on the ball and created an opening for Betancourt to hit the post with a left-foot volley, but Northern Ireland dominated the midfield and pushed Honduras deeper. Whiteside and Hamilton went close, and Armstrong hit the post after making room for a shot.
Whiteside had the ball in the net early in the second half, but Armstrong, who provided the knock-back, was wrongly penalised for a foul. Honduras were still in the game, and Jennings made an incredibly agile one-handed save from Betancourt’s header – remarkable reflexes for a thirty-seven year old. The resultant corner did produce a goal, Laing’s header came from a sharper angle and Jennings had no chance. Northern Ireland pressed – they didn’t fancy having to beat Spain – and Armstrong’s fantastic turn created a chance which was denied by a good save from Arzu. Jennings still had one more save to make, tipping Figueroa’s fierce free-kick around the post – the referee wasn’t impressed, he gave a goal-kick!
Honduras could still make the second phase if they beat Yugoslavia and they came close. Yugoslavia needed Pantelic to make two good one-on-one saves, and their late goal was fortunate. Sestic cut in off the right-hand touchline, beating three men in an exciting run, then spoiled it by diving over the next challenge and rolling around as if shot. He got up smartly enough – as the cheats invariably do – when he realised the referee had given a penalty. Gilberto was sent off shortly afterwards for venting his frustration. For the Irish the goal was irrelevant – they still needed to beat Spain.
WORLD CUP SHOCK No.5
25 June 1982, Luis Casanova, Valencia; 49,562
Referee: Héctor Ortiz (Paraguay)
Coaches: José Santamaria (Spain) & Billy Bingham (Northern Ireland)
Spain (4–4–2): Luis Arkonada (Cpt, Real Sociedad); José Camacho (Real Madrid), Miguel Tendillo (Valencia), José Alexanko (Barcelona), Rafa Gordillo (Real Betis); José Sánchez (Barcelona), Miguelo Alonso (Real Sociedad), Roberto López Ufarte (Sociedad), Enrique Saura (Valencia); Jesús Satrústegui (Sociedad), Juan Gomez, known as Juanito (Real Madrid).
Subs: Enrique Castro, known as Quini (Barcelona) 45m for Satrústegui; Ricardo Gallego (Real Madrid) 78m for López Ufarte
Northern Ireland (4–4–2): Pat Jennings (Arsenal); Jimmy Nicholl (Toronto Blizzard), Chris Nicholl (Southampton), John McClelland (Glasgow Rangers), Mal Donaghy (Luton Town); Martin O’Neill (Cpt, Norwich City), David McCreery (Tulsa Roughnecks), Sammy McIlroy (Stoke City), Norman Whiteside (Manchester United); Gerry Armstrong (Watford), Billy Hamilton (Burnley). Subs: Tommy Cassidy (Burnley) 50m for McIlroy; Sammy Nelson (Brighton & Hove Albion) 73m for Whiteside
Cautioned: Juanito (Spa) 20m, Hamilton (NIre) 41m, McIlroy (NIre) 42m
Dismissed: Donaghy (NIre) 61m
I had to include this game because it was one of the great backs-to-the-wall performances. Whether it was that much of a shock is debatable – Spain had a poor tournament and the Irish were a decent side who, at the risk of repeating myself, were much better than the talent of the component parts. World-class players – one, the goalkeeper; international standard players – five, and that’s being generous to both Nicholls; players prepared to give their last breath in the cause – eleven plus another eleven on the bench. It constitutes a shock because they didn’t just beat Spain, they beat Spain + massively partisan Valencia crowd + weak referee (who spoke Spanish but not English, surely not a coincidence). It was joyous and unexpected; Northern Ireland’s buildup included 4–0 hammerings by England and France and a 3–0 defeat by Wales.
The game was tight throughout; Spain were conspicuously more comfortable on the ball but also conspicuously nervous about the height and strength of the Northern Ireland forwards. Spain kept possession well early on, with the hardworking Miguel Alonso the platform for their best work. He is the father of Xabi Alonso, later of Liverpool and Real Madrid, and played a similar deep role, but without his son’s fantastic passing ability. Alonso was one of four players from Real Sociedad, who were enjoying their best-ever spell in La Liga and had just won a second consecutive title, the only occasion they won the league. The statistic is perhaps more a comment on the relative weakness of Real Madrid and Barcelona, normally the source of over half a Spanish squad – here they supplied only two each of the starting line-up and nine within the squad.
López Ufarte came close twice, one run between the central defenders thwarted by Pat Jennings and another curling effort hit with too little power to trouble the Northern Ireland goalkeeper. Jennings was an immense comfort to the Irish under pressure. As he got older he eradicated the errors to which he was prone, and became a goalkeeper of the very highest quality. He ate crosses (another weakness he worked hard to improve), was extremely agile and had superb positional sense, working principally from the edge of the six-yard box in the manner of all the great British ’keepers of that era.
The biggest threat to the Irish came not from the weak Spanish forwards, but from the centre-halves Tendillo and Alexanko, both of whom went close with headers before half-time. Northern Ireland hung on until the break, but more was needed. More came two minutes into the second half when Armstrong got the ball in his own half and ran at the heart of the Spanish defence. The midfield, shorn of Zamora (out injured), parted like the Red Sea and Armstrong made forty yards before finding Hamilton to his right. The Burnley man did superbly well, taking the ball past Tendillo before the Spaniard got his balance right, and whipping in a good cross. Armstrong hadn’t quite the energy to get on the end of it, so Arconada inexplicably gave him a helping hand, palming the ball out instead of catching it. Armstrong didn’t panic, he just slotted the ball calmly back past the goalkeeper and two despairing defenders. If they could hang on the Northern Irish were through, and both sides knew the top-placed team avoided a nasty second-round group containing England and West Germany.
Spain, with the assistance of Señor Ortiz of Paraguay, the referee, went in search of an equaliser. Free-kick after free-kick went against the Irish rearguard, some genuine, some sought. Northern Ireland, marshalled wonderfully by Jennings and the vastly experienced Chris Nicholl, stayed on th
eir feet and repelled everything that was thrown at them, at first with some ease. Their task was made difficult when Mal Donaghy’s shove on Camacho was followed by the teensiest little reaction from both players and the officials leapt at the chance to give the home side an edge. Watch the video now and we think, “oh maybe, he sort of raised his hand” – but in the context of some of the marking and tackling in the tournament as a whole it was barely a booking.
Out of their comfort zone now, Northern Ireland merely stepped up their efforts. The left hand side of the defence was under pressure without Donaghy, so Billy Bingham turned to the experience of Sammy Nelson, now thirty-three and winning his fiftieth cap. Billy Hamilton dropped into midfield and worked tirelessly, while Armstrong stayed up on his own, and never gave the Spanish defence a moment’s peace.
The atmosphere inside the stadium was electrifying, and the performance of the Northern Ireland side under the most intense pressure was little short of heroic. It was their greatest-ever night.
GROUP 6
If Scotland were full of hubris and got their come-uppance in the 1978 World Cup, here they were unlucky from the start. The draw, so kind to Spain (and England) found them grouped with arguably the strongest teams in the top two seeded pools, Brazil and the Soviet Union.