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World Cup 1982
Spain had been pencilled in to host the 1982 tournament as early as 1966 after they had agreed to pull out of the running for the 1974 tournament in a deal with West Germany. The 12th World Cup finals would see an increase in participants from 16 to 24 nations, resulting in an expansion in the number of 1st round groups to six instead of four and an awkward 2nd round stage of four groups containing just three teams each. A positive change saw the re-introduction of a straightforward semi-finals stage for the first time since 1970.
Spanish television had adopted the same PAL 625-line colour system as the UK back in 1972* and so the pictures, relayed via Eurovision, would appear as clear on British TV sets as those produced back home. Commentary feeds however still had a 'coming from abroad' ambience and the on-screen captions were still generic, therefore (for the third World Cup in four) the team names etc. appeared in Spanish, electronically generated in a then typical basic yellow font, this being the last World Cup with no fancy on-screen computer graphics.
Overall coverage of the finals on British television was noticeably less comprehensive than previous tournaments, neither the BBC or ITV offered daytime round-up programmes or repeats whilst many important 1st round fixtures, even if they did not clash with another televised game, were only served up as highlights. This shortfall also applied to the opening game of the tournament (including the opening ceremony) as well as matches in both England and Scotland's groups. The BBC ended up showing considerably less live games than the two previous World Cups, 13 this time as opposed to 18 in both 1974 and 1978, the excuse being that the BBC were committed to screening other sports during the course of the tournament and were also obliged to consider the needs of non-sporting viewers. The reluctance to fill the schedules with World Cup football may have been partly due to the expansion of the format and the absence of any rest days during the opening phase, though the declining popularity and tarnished reputation of the game in the UK was perhaps the most significant factor of all.

*Colour television in Spain in 1972 was merely the relaying of the Olympic Games in colour as an experiment, a full-time colour service was not introduced until 1978. The landmark Torrespaña communications tower in Madrid was built especially for the World Cup and officially opened on the day the tournament began.

ITV World Cup studio 1982ITV coverage was anchored by Brian Moore in London with Ian St John and Jim Rosenthal reporting from Spain. The commentators were Martin Tyler, Hugh Johns (his last World Cup), John Helm (his first), Gerald Sinstadt (his last for ITV), Gerry Harrison and Nick Owen (his only World Cup). Jock Brown presumably commentated on Scotland's games for STV and Grampian viewers. The co-commentators were Jack Charlton, Ian St John, Denis Law, Ron Atkinson & Brian Clough. Studio pundits included John Bond, Mick Channon, George Best and Jimmy Greaves.
ITV's theme tune was provided by Jeff Wayne (who had also been responsible for the contemporary Big Match theme), "Matador" was released as a single by CBS in a picture sleeve (cat no. A2493, b-side "Henry Higgins") and reached no.57 on the singles chart.
BBC coverage was presented by David Coleman and Jimmy Hill with Bob Wilson reporting. The commentators were John Motson, Barry Davies, Alan Parry (his only World Cup for the BBC), Des Lynam (his only World Cup as a commentator) and Tony Gubba (his first). Archie MacPherson commentated on the Scotland games for BBC viewers north of the border, the co-commentators were Bobby Charlton and Jimmy Hill. Other BBC personal included Billy McNeil, Lou Macari, Garth Crooks, Bobby Robson and Lawrie McMenemy. The BBC's theme tune was "World Cup Grandstand" (based on "Jellicle Ball” from the musical "Cats") composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber and performed by The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, it was released on the BBC's own label (cat no. RESL 116, b-side "Strung 2") and reached no.61 on the charts.

Qualification
The qualifying draw was made in Zurich on 14th October 1979. The European section was divided into seven groups; Groups 1-6 containing five teams, Group 7 just three.
With extra places now up for grabs in the expanded finals, two nations would qualify from each of the European groups instead of one, with the exception of the three-team Group 7 from which only one nation would qualify.

The prospect of now being able to progress as runners-up took a little of the pressure off England who had missed out on the previous two World Cup finals, although in a Radio Times article published during the qualification process, BBC commentator John Motson went as far as to suggest that if England failed to qualify "there is a serious danger that professional football in England, as we have come to know it, may not last much longer". England's chances of making it to Spain had looked very rosy once the draw had been made, they were paired up in Group 4 with Romania and Norway (neither of whom had ever beaten England) plus Hungary and Switzerland (no longer the formidable forces they had once been in the 1950's). Ron Greenwood's side would, ultimately, manage to achieve what superior England squads had failed to do in 1974 and 1978, yet ironically England made it through to the 1982 finals with quite possibly their poorest World Cup qualification campaign of all-time, losing three matches along the way including an embarrassing defeat to Norway, one of Europe's then weakest teams*. England also lost in Romania and Switzerland and failed to beat Romania at home, but a double over group winners Hungary meant that England finished 2nd, one point ahead of Romania who had thrown away their own chance to qualify in their final pair of fixtures against the Swiss.

*England's defeat in Norway is now remembered for one of the most famous commentary sound-bites of all time - Norwegian radio commentator Bjørge Lillelien's emotional over-the-air message (to any Englishmen who might have been tuned in) included references to Lord Nelson, Sir Winston Churchill, Lady Diana and 'Maggie Thatcher'; "Can you hear me? Your boys took one hell of a beating!"

Jock Stein's Scotland and Billy Bingham's Northern Ireland found themselves drawn together in Group 6 alongside Sweden, Israel and a dormant Portugal - Not the most difficult group and one that was expected to deliver at least one British side through to the finals. The prospect of both home nations qualifying looked good after Scotland and Northern Ireland had beaten the Swedes after the Scandanavians had dropped a vital point at home to Israel. Portugal threatened to spoil things but they squandered their chance with defeats to Sweden before crashing 4-1 in Israel. Scotland and the Irish drew their games with eachother and took the necessary points from Israel to go through. It would be Scotland's third successive appearance in the World Cup finals and Northern Ireland's first venture into the final stages since 1958.

Wales, managed by Mike England, faced a much tougher challenge, drawn in Group 3 which included the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia. The other teams in the group posed little threat, indeed both Iceland and Turkey were thrashed 4-0 in Wales' opening fixtures before the Welsh beat Czechoslovakia and won a return match with Turkey to make it four wins out of four. A home draw with the Soviet Union kept Wales on course, but it all began to fall apart with a 2-0 defeat in Czechoslovakia followed by a costly draw at home to Iceland. Wales final match saw them lose 3-0 in the Soviet Union, leaving the Czechs to play out the required draw in their final fixture to move above the Welsh on goal difference.
Elsewhere, the Netherlands and Belgium were paired up yet again in Group 2 along with the Republic of Ireland, France and Cyprus. Belgium were the current Euro's runners-up whilst the Netherlands had been runners-up in both of the previous two World Cups, yet the Irish beat the Dutch in Dublin and earned a draw in Rotterdam. In the final Group 2 reckoning, only two points separated 1st from 4th with Holland in 4th despite a superior goal difference to Belgium in 1st. France snatched 2nd place from the Irish on goal difference, the French double over Ireland proving to be decisive. The Netherlands were the only notable European nation to miss out on the finals, West Germany and Poland both won their respective groups whilst Italy made it through with relative ease as runners-up to Yugoslavia.

Gold Cup
On 21st October 1979 the FA and the Football League agreed to turn down an invitation to England, as former World Cup winners, to take part in a six team tournament in Uruguay from 30th December to 10th January 1980/81 - The World Champions' Gold Cup - designed to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first World Cup being held in Uruguay and involving all of the past winners. Twice runners-up in the last decade The Netherlands took England's place. The six teams were split into two groups of three, the winners of which contested the final, Uruguay beating Brazil 2-1.

ITV Sport 1982ITV World Cup titles 1982Brian Moore, World Cup 1982

British TV coverage of World Cup 82

Sat 16/Jan/1982    "World Cup Draw"
Madrid
ITV LIVE
*ITV showed the draw live at 6:00-6:45pm introduced by Brian Moore alongside the England goalkeeper Ray Clemence in London and a link up with Asa Hartford (of Scotland) and Martin O'Neil (Northern Ireland) who were both sat in a Granada TV studio in Manchester, Jim Rosenthal described the procedings from Madrid. BBC1 also had a live broadcast at 5:55-6:35pm (with a recap on "Match of the Day" at 9:55-10:55pm), Barry Davies was in Madrid (Archie MacPherson for BBC Scotland), Jimmy Hill presented with Tony Gubba (manning the display boards) plus Kevin Keegan (England) and Pat Jennings (N.Ireland) for their reactions whilst Graeme Souness and Kenny Dalglish were in another BBC studio for comment from the Scottish point of view. This draw was memorable for the enormous mechanical revolving drums which were used to select the teams and, at one point, broke down, and also a mix-up at the start of the draw which saw Scotland placed in the wrong group. This proved to be the only time machines rather than people were employed to make the draw.


Screen shots from the World Cup finals draw.
Top right - Ray Clemence and Brian Moore in London.
Bottom left - Sepp Blatter (General Secretary of FIFA) pulls out Scotland from one of the miniature Adidas 'Tango España' footballs.
Bottom centre - The large display board which caused problems early on.
Bottom right - The revolving drums from which the balls would be spat out and collected by one of the Spanish schoolboys.

World Cup Sqaud Songs
All three British World Cup squads released a single for the tournament, two of which appeared on Top of the Pops on BBC1; The England squad video for "This Time (We'll Get it Right)" was shown on the 22nd April 1982 edition presented by Peter Powell, whilst John Gordon Sinclair (of Gregory's Girl fame) fronted the Scotland squad in a performance of "We Have a Dream" written by B.A Robertson on the 6th May edition introduced by Simon Bates. The latter show also featured the England players performing "England, We'll Fly The Flag", this being the flip side of their double A-side which helped the single reach no.2 on the charts, the Scotland disc wasn't far behind in rising to no.5 but the Northern Ireland squad, who backed Dana on "Yer Man", failed to chart.

Format
First Round - Six groups of four, from which the top two teams in each group would qualify.
Second Round - Four groups of three, from which only one team in each group would progress. The three fixtures in each group were not fixed in advanced - The nation that lost the first match would also play in the second match, the winner of the first match would play in the third match. If the first match was a draw, then the team with the best record from the 1st round stage would play in the third match. If two teams finished with identical records, or all three matches in the same group ended in the same scoreline (eg 1-1 or A beat B 1-0, B beat C 1-0 and C beat A 1-0) then lots would be drawn to see who would go through to the straightforward knock-out Semi final.
Semi-finals and Final - Extra time/penalty shoot-outs would decide drawn matches.

Fri 11/Jun/1982    "World Cup '82 Preview"
*Both ITV and the BBC showed their World Cup preview programmes on the Friday night before the tournament kicked off on Sunday. BBC1 were first on air at 9:25-10:15pm with a programme presented by David Coleman and Jimmy Hill. ITV's show went out at 10:30-11:30pm with reports from the England, Scotland and Northern Ireland camps, the guests were Brian Clough and Ian St. John.


Brian Moore introducing ITV's preview programme alongside Brian Clough and Ian St. John

Sat 12/Jun/1982    "World Cup Report"
*ITV's "World of Sport" included a World Cup section presented by Ian St.John at 1:00-1:15pm, viewers could then switch over to BBC1 to catch the bulk of a 15 minute "World Cup Football Focus" (as part of "Grandstand") which had begun at 1:10pm.

First Round
Game 1

Sun 13/Jun/1982    Belgium 1 (Vandenbergh) Argentina 0
Group 3 (7pm bst)
*ITV were allotted this game (which kicked off at 8pm local time) and Martin Tyler did a commentary at the stadium, but due to the on-going Falklands war and fear of a public backlash, ITV decided not to show the opening fixture or the opening ceremony. There was no coverage that night on the BBC either, but it turned out to be a bad decision as most British viewers would have thoroughly enjoyed witnessing the holders lose to a Vandenbergh goal on 62 minutes, the Belgian seemingly taking an age to bring under control a long ball into the box before stabbing it past the keeper. It was the first time the opening fixture in a World Cup had produced a goal since 1962! Maradona came closest to netting a reply when his free-kick bounced down from the underside of the bar. RTE1 in Ireland did show the match live with coverage from 6:30-9:00pm, Jimmy Magee was the commentator. John Motson commentated for BBC goal clips to be shown later.

Mon 14/Jun/1982    Italy 0 Poland 0
Group 1 (4:15pm bst)
ITV LIVE
Gerry Harrison & Ian St John
*Brian Moore introduced the first match of the tournament to be shown live on British TV at 3:45-6:15pm, BBC1 included highlights during their coverage of the night match. It was a disappointing performance by Italy who included Paolo Rossi, back in the national team following a two year suspension for alleged involvement in a bribery scandal, and their 40 year old goalkeeper Dino Zoff who was making his 100th international appearance. The Italians came closest to scoring on 80 when Lato cleared Antognoni's header off the line and Tardelli drove the rebound against the crossbar. There had been fears that the game would not go ahead because of a dispute over who should be paying for additional power circuits required at the inadequately refurbished stadium.

Mon 14/Jun/1982    Brazil 2 (Sócrates, Éder) Soviet Union 1 (Bal)
Group 6 (8pm bst)
ITV Highlights
John Helm
*This opening match in Scotland's group was live on BBC1 from 7:30-9:55pm with Barry Davies commentating (Archie MacPherson for BBC Scotland), though coverage was interrupted by Falklands War news flashes to inform viewers that Argentina had surrendered. In sweltering heat, Brazil were fortunate to win this fixture with a late goal after falling behind, the Soviets also had three very good penalty appeals turned down. A long speculative shot from Andrei Bal that slipped through the goalkeeper's hands gave the Soviet Union the lead on 34, a second penalty appeal came shortly before HT for a handling offence, but the referee bizarrely awarded an indirect free-kick inside the area instead. Sócrates sent a superb long range drive into the top corner to equalise on 75, the Soviets had a 3rd penalty appeal turned down when Luizinho handled a cross - The referee stopped, consulted a linesman but waved play on. Éder then netted a spectacular winner for Brazil on 87 by flicking the ball up into the air and volleying in from outside the 'D'. ITV included highlights on a late night programme at 11:15-11:55pm, panelist Mick Channon declared; "If the referee hadn't been bent, the Russians would have beaten the Brazilians".

Tue 15/Jun/1982    Cameroon 0 Peru 0
Group 1 (4:15pm bst)
ITV Highlights
Gerry Harrison
*Neither channel bothered to show this game live, highlights were included on programmes later that night (Des Lynam commentating for the BBC). The South Americans were upstaged by a spirited performance from an African nation making their debut in the World Cup finals, striker Roger Milla struck a post early in the game and also had a goal ruled out for being offside. The Mirror reported that Cameroon arrived in Spain with a witch doctor who immediately requested flies, lizards and garlic for his magic brew, Peru were said to have countered by sending for two wizards.

Tue 15/Jun/1982    Scotland 5 (Dalglish, Wark 2, Robertson, Archibald) New Zealand 2 (Sumner, Wooddin)
Group 6 (8pm bst)
ITV LIVE
John Helm & Denis Law
*ITV had exclusive live coverage of Scotland's opening match at 7:30-10:15pm. The Scots took the lead on 18 when a purposeful run by Gordon Strachan into the box set up Kenny Dalglish to hook in for 1-0, John Wark added the 2nd on 30 by following up after the 'All Whites' keeper had fumbled a shot by Alan Brazil, Wark grabbed another just three minutes later, this time heading in Strachan's cross from the right. 3-0 at HT and Scotland appeared to be crusing, but on 54 New Zealand broke and Danny McGrain made a complete hash of a bouncing ball into the box and Steve Sumner capitalised to pull one back. Nine minutes later, another Scotland move broke down and a long looping ball from John Hill sent Steve Wooddin clear to drive the ball past Alan Rough to make it 2-3. Scotland survived the scare and a free-kick from inside the 'D' taken by John Robertson on 73 sailed into the back of the net for 4-2, Steve Archibald then made the score a respectable 5-2 on 79 with a looping header on the end of a corner. Jock Stein declared "There were one or two self-inflicted wounds out there. We will get destroyed by Brazil and Russia on that defensive form." Aston Villa's Allan Evans had played what turned out to be his 4th and final international for Scotland. Barry Davies was at the game for the BBC who included highlights on a late night round-up programme, in his autobiography Davies recalled having a blazing row with BBC Senior Producer Mike Murphy as he had overrun his half-time wrap to talk to TVNZ viewers where the same commentary was being used for the BBC highlights, Davies said he had received permission to do so but Murphy had "forgotten".  Whatever the case, Davies claimed "If I had any chance of doing the final, it disappeared that night in Malaga".

Tue 15/Jun/1982    Hungary 10 (Nyilasi 2, Pölöskei, Fazekas 2, Tóth, Kiss 3, Szentes) El Salvador 1 (Ramírez)
Group 3 (8pm bst)
ITV Highlights
Nick Owen
*ITV showed the goals at some point during their live coverage of the Scotland match, BBC1 included highlights on "World Cup Report" at 11pm-midnight (Tony Gubba commentating on this match). Hungary became the first team in World Cup finals history to score 10 goals in a single match (they had set a 9 goal record in 1954, equalled by Yugoslavia in 1974), Nyilasi set them on their way with a bullet header from a corner on 4, Pölöskei picked up the ball on the left on 11 and struck a swerving drive that appeared to be bending away from goal, but it found the net just inside the far post for 2-0, then an unchallenged run and shot from outside the box by Fazekas on 23 made it 3-0 for half-time. On 50, Tóth, wide on the left, saw his ball into the box blocked, but he was somehow able to score from the re-bound. Fazekas got his 2nd goal on 54 after El Salvador failed to clear a corner, Luis Ramirez Zapata then pulled one back on 64 from close range, celebrating as if he'd scored in the final rather than pulling it back to 5-1, but it was their first ever goal in a World Cup finals. On 69, a drive by substitute Laszlo Kiss at the end of a corner made it 6-1, it was 7-1 on 71 when Szentes scored from close range and Kiss then scored again on 73 by floating a cool shot over the keeper at the end of a smart build-up. Kiss completed his hat-trick in the space of seven minutes, blasting the 9th goal in off a defender on 76 after the keeper had pushed out a cross from the left. Nyilasi, who had scored the opener, also got the 10th and final Hungary goal with a header from a corner on 83.

Wed 16/Jun/1982    England 3 (Robson 2, Mariner) France 1 (Soler)
Group 4 (4:15pm bst)
ITV Highlights
Martin Tyler & Jack Charlton
*England's opening match was exclusively live on BBC1 from 4:05-6:05pm with John Motson commentating (At one point in the match he also had to double up as radio commentator when that feed was temporarily lost). There was unrest in the French camp over Jean-François Larios who had been having an affair with Michel Platini's wife, yet both players lined up against England (Some French fans had joked that if Larios was selected then at least Platini would know where he was!). England were without star man Kevin Keegan (still unfit due to a back problem incurred whilst taking a bath) but they got off to a dream start when Bryan Robson scored the fastest goal in World Cup history in just 27 seconds (beating a 31 second record set by the French in the previous tournament). From the kick-off, England had forced a throw-in on the right, Steve Coppell's long throw was back-headed by Terry Butcher into the path of an unmarked Robson who scored with a downwards half-volley. France drew level on 24, Giresse sent a super long through ball to Soler whose sure shot beat Peter Shilton for 1-1, and it was the French who looked the stronger team going into HT. Graham Rix was pulled back into midfield for the 2nd half to allow either him, Robson or Coppell to push forward when neccessary and England then began to reassert themselves, Robson restored their lead on 67 - the Manchester United player heading in a cross from Manchester City's Trevor Francis. England sealed the points on 83 when a Francis shot bounced off Tresor and rolled to Paul Mariner who scored an easy goal for 3-1 (his 5th in as many successive international appearances, equalling an England record set by Jimmy Greaves). For those coming home from work, BBC1 had highlights of the game on an early evening "World Cup Report"  following the news at 6:55-7:30pm, ITV then included action from the game in the build up to Spain v Honduras. There was yet another chance to see England's victory on a late night programme on BBC1.

Wed 16/Jun/1982    Algeria 2 (Madjer, Belloumi) West Germany 1 (Rummenigge)
Group 2 (4:15pm bst)
ITV Highlights
Hugh Johns
*This was arguably the biggest shock in World Cup history, yet the current European champions defeat to a nation playing their first ever match in the World Cup finals was not shown live on British TV as it clashed with England's game with France. Alan Parry was at the game for BBC1 who showed clips of the match first during their live broadcast of England v France, highlights were also included in the late night round-up programme. ITV showed highlights during the live coverage of the night match. All three goals came during the 2nd half, Belloumi had a shot saved on 54 but the loose ball fell to Madjer to hook it home. West Germany equalised on 67, a low cross by Felix Magath from the left was tapped into the net by Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, but only a minute later Algeria were back in front - In a carbon-copy of the German's goal, Asssad broke clear on the left and sent in a low centre where Belloumi strode up to tap in from close range. Within minutes of the final whistle, car horns blared and fireworks were set off in Algiers as thousands of people took to the streets to celebrate.

Wed 16/Jun/1982    Spain 1 (López Ufarte(pen)) Honduras 1 (Zelaya)
Group 5 (8pm bst)
ITV LIVE
Gerald Sinstadt & Ron Atkinson
*If one shock wasn't enough for the day, another first time nation popped up to upset the hosts (and King Juan Carlos watching in the stands) by holding them to a draw after being in front for almost an hour. ITV coverage began at 7:30pm and ran through until 10:15pm. Zelaya gave Honduras the shock lead as early as the 8th minute with an angled drive following a one-two on the edge of the area. Arzu, the Honduras goalkeeper, played superbly and it took a penalty on 65 to beat him, awarded for a silly challenge on a Spanish player not posing any immediate danger, López Ufarte took the spot kick, Arzu guessed the right way but the penalty was too well placed. Panelist Jimmy Greaves commented "We knew he had to give it. In the end he would have given it against the goalkeeper for handball!!!" BBC1 rounded up a terrific day of action with a "World Cup Report" at 11:25-11:55pm.

Thu 17/Jun/1982    Czechoslovakia 1 (Panenka(pen)) Kuwait 1 (Al-Dakhil)
Group 4 (4:15pm bst)
ITV Highlights
Martin Tyler
*Despite this fixture being in England's group, there was no live coverage on either channel. The BBC, who were committed to showing Royal Ascot, Wimbledon and Test cricket, were worried about a negative response from non-sport fans, whilst ITV had the Northern Ireland match in the evening. Kuwait brought along a live camel to act as their mascot and it was issued with its' own security pass! (It was later gifted to Madrid Zoo). The Czechs took the lead on 21 when they were awarded a penalty for a blatant body check offence, Antonin Panenka duly despatched the spot kick to make it 1-0, but Kuwait equalised with an absolute screamer fired into the roof of the net from 30 yards out by Falsal Al-dakhil on 57. BBC1 included highlights on "World Cup Report" from 6:50-7:30pm and again on the late night round-up (Barry Davies commentating). The result was good news for England, but there was bad news too as Kevin Keegan once again broke down with his back problem in training and was ruled out for the next match and possibly the whole tournament.

Thu 17/Jun/1982    Austria 1 (Schachner) Chile 0
Group 2 (4:15pm bst)
ITV Highlights
Hugh Johns
*Played on a rain soaked pitch, Walter Schachner's long range glancing header from a cross on the right on 21 proved to be enough to take the points for Austria, Chile missed a golden opportunity 5 minutes later when they were awarded a penalty but Caszeley failed to convert it. Des Lynam commentated for BBC1 with footage included on both of the day's highlights packages. ITV included action from the afternoon games during their live coverage of the evening match.

Thu 17/Jun/1982    Northern Ireland 0 Yugoslavia 0
Group 5 (8pm bst)
ITV LIVE
Gerald Sinstadt & Ron Atkinson
*Live coverage on ITV from 7:30-10:15pm. Northern Ireland fielded the youngest player in World Cup history, Norman Whiteside was just 17 years and 41 days old when he lined up in the starting 11 in his country's opening match - he received a yellow card in the 2nd half. The Yugoslav manager said afterwards; "This was the best play I have seen from Northern Ireland. Their strong defence made it difficult for us. They stopped us playing our normal game." Alan Parry covered the match for the late night BBC1 round-up show at 11:30pm-12:05am.

Game 2

Referee knocked over, Italy v Peru 1982Fri 18/Jun/1982    Italy 1 (Conti) Peru 1 (Díaz)
Group 1 (4:15pm bst)
ITV LIVE
Gerry Harrison & Ian St.John
*Live coverage on ITV from 3:45-6:15pm. Another disappointing afternoon for the Italians who tried to protect an early lead rather than build on it. A  move along the edge of the box from the left on 18 saw Bruno Conti lose his marker with a nice 180 degree turn and then pick his spot with a fine strike into the top corner to put the Italians ahead. There was also a comedy moment in the 1st half when the West German referee collided with Peru's Velásquez (see screen grab), the man in black was knocked to the ground and almost flipped over backwards - losing his cards in the process, the Spanish TV director deemed it worthy of an instant action replay. The referee appeared to get his own back in the 2nd half, turning down a cast iron penalty when Oblitas was clearly tripped in the box following a delightful build-up. The incensed Spanish crowd were now right behind Peru and Diaz had a super direct free-kick effort tipped over the bar by Dino Zoff. The Italian veteran goalkeeper was soon involved again, but the ball broke loose and La Rosa missed a virtually open goal. The equaliser finally came on 83 when Peru were awarded a free-kick on the right, the ball was laid off into the middle for Díaz to strike a low and seemingly tepid effort at goal, but it took a wicked deflection and rolled into the net for 1-1. Italy manager Enso Bearzot admitted afterwards that "Peru deserved to win". Alan Parry voiced the match for the BBC who showed highlights during the build up to the Scotland v Brazil night match.

Fri 18/Jun/1982    Brazil 4 (Zico, Oscar, Éder, Falcão) Scotland 1 (Narey)
Group 6 (8pm bst)
ITV Highlights
John Helm
*BBC1 showed this match live from 7:30-10:00pm introduced by David Coleman. John Motson and Jimmy Hill were the commentators. Scotland took the lead on 18 with a cracking goal by David Narey who toe-poked a blistering shot into the top corner of the net from inside the 'D' after taking a nod down from John Wark. Brazil levelled before half time however when Zico floated a direct free-kick in off the top of the far post on 33. On 49, Junior centred a corner on the left and Oscar's downward header found the net for 2-1, Éder made it 3-1 with a delightful chip that sailed over Alan Rough from wide on the left on 65, Falcão got Brazil's 4th on 87 with a grass cutting drive which, like the equaliser, went in off the post. Asa Hartford made his 50th and final appearance for Scotland in this match before being subbed. Scotland boss Jock Stein said "It will be good for soccer if they [Brazil] win it. It is never easy to accept defeat, but this one is different." Brazil manager Tele Santana declared "We cannot play better than we did in the second half."

Fri 18/Jun/1982    Argentina 4 (Bertoni, Maradona 2, Ardiles) Hungary 1 (Pölöskei)
Group 3 (8pm bst)
ITV Highlights
Nick Owen
*Given their opening day defeat and Hungary's 10-1 thrashing of El Salvador, this was a game Argentina had to win, though their manger admitted that moral in the camp had been badly effected by the surrender of Argentine forces on the Falkland Islands just four days earlier. Jimmy Greaves had commented that if Argentina failed to win a game of dominoes, even that would make him happy and he also suggested that Maradona could be the next Olympic springboard champion on the strength of his diving, but Argentina's star man was at his very best in this fixture and twice went close early in the game, there was very nearly an own goal too when a Hungarian defender back headed a corner on to the face of his own upright. Argentina finally did go ahead on 26 when Bertoni hooked in from Passerella's knock down at the end of long free-kick. Within two minutes, Argentina had scored again, Ossie Ardiles set up Bertoni whose goal bound effort was only half intercepted by keeper Ferenc Meszaros and Maradona made absolutely sure by hurling himself forward to nod the ball over the line. Maradona forced further saves out of Meszaros whilst Bertoni had a goal ruled out for offside before Maradona made it 3-0 on 57, exchanging passes with Kempes and then delivering a fierce drive from wide on the left which Meszaros could only parry onto his near post and into the back of the net. Olgin fired in another fierce drive on 60, this time from the right which the keeper blocked, but Ardiles was there to force the ball in for number 4. Pölöskei netted a consolation on 76, cutting inside from the left and shooting in from the edge of the box. BBC1 showed clips described by Barry Davies during their coverage of the Scotland game. ITV had a late night round-up programme of the day's action at 11:00-11:40pm.

Sat 19/Jun/1982    Poland 0 Cameroon 0
Group 1 (4:15pm bst)
ITV LIVE
Gerry Harrison & Ian St.John
*ITV's live broadcast of this game was part of "World of Sport" which included "World Cup '82 Report" at 1:00-1:15pm, coverage of the match began at 4pm and ran through to 6pm, comedian Eric Morecambe made an unscheduled appearance as guest summariser. This was the 4th match in Group 1 and the 4th to end in a draw, leaving the outcome wide open. Cameroon created more chances than the Poles, Roger Milla had a great opportunity to win it for the Africans in injury time but shot wide with only the keeper to beat.

Sat 19/Jun/1982    Soviet Union 3 (Gavrilov, Blokhin, Baltacha) New Zealand 0
Group 6 (8pm bst)
ITV Highlights
John Helm
*There was no live coverage of the night matches on either channel, though both had highlights programmes (John Motson covering this match for the BBC). Gavrilov set the Soviets on their way with a goal on 25, scoring from close range after a patient build up. Blokhin made it 2-0 shortly after HT on 48, slotting home at the end of an impressive series of passes inside the area, Baltacha added the 3rd from inside the six-yard box on 69 after New Zealand had failed to clear a corner.The result meant that Scotland would now have to win their final group match against the Soviet Union in order to progress.

Sat 19/Jun/1982    Belgium 1 (Coeck) El Salvador 0
Group 3 (8pm bst)
ITV Highlights
Nick Owen
*Since their opening match, Belgium's keeper Jean Marie Pfaff was reported to have nearly drowned in the team hotel swimming pool, "Death stared me in the face" he said. Coeck scored the only goal of the game on 19, shooting from a long way out after receiving the ball from a short free-kick just outside the centre circle, El Salvador's goalkeeper Mora made no attempt to stop the shot which found the net just inside the post. Tony Gubba covered this match for BBC1 who were first on air with a Saturday night round-up show at 10:05-10:45pm, ITV's programme went out at 11:00-11:40pm.

Sun 20/Jun/1982    England 2 (Francis, Barmoš(og)) Czechoslovakia 0
Group 4 (4:15pm bst)
ITV LIVE
Martin Tyler & Jack Charlton
*ITV had live coverage of England's 2nd group match from 3:45-6:30pm. ITV had also boasted something of an England exclusive earlier in the week when they showed Bryan Robson watching a film of his wife and new daughter who had been born after Robson had scored his brace in the opening game v France, but - having twice gone close to scoring again - Robson limped off injured in this afternoon's game and was replaced by Glenn Hoddle at half-time. Ray Wilkins had also gone close to giving England a deserved lead with a spectacular volleyed effort on the end of a clearance from a corner, but the Czech keeper Stanislav Seman blocked and Paul Mariner couldn't reach the re-bound in time. Trevor Francis put England ahead on 62 when Seman clumsily allowed a corner to slip through his reach and an unmarked Francis was left with the simple task of hooking the ball into a gaping net, the 2nd was an own goal by Barmoš when he stuck out a leg on 66 to intercept a through ball from Mariner. Ron Greenwood remarked afterwards "When we qualified it was said we came in by the back door. At the time I said we might still climb the front steps. Now we're halfway up those steps." Barry Davies commentated for highlights on BBC1.

Sun 20/Jun/1982    West Germany 4 (Rummenigge 3, Reinders) Chile 1 (Moscoso)
Group 2 (4:15pm bst)
ITV Highlights
Hugh Johns
*Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, the European footballer of the year, netted the opening goal for West Germany on 9 when Chile keeper Onsben allowed a low drive to slip under his body. On 57 Littbarski centred from the right and Rummenigge's downward header went in off the keeper and post for number 2, Rummenigge then completed his hat-trick on 66 by exchanging a neat one-two with Magath before placing a shot into the corner of the net. The West German captain came close to scoring his 4th goal when a speculative looping effort hit the crossbar. Sub Reinders was on the end of a swift break on 81 to cut in from the right and fire in a low strike for 4-0, Moscoso grabbed a late consolation goal for Chile on 90 by nutmegging the defender and firing in past the on-rushing keeper. ITV showed clips during their coverage of the England match, Des Lynam commentated for BBC1 highlights shown at night.

Sun 20/Jun/1982    Spain 2 (Juanito(pen), Saura) Yugoslavia 1 (Gudelj)
Group 5 (8pm bst)
ITV Highlights
Gerald Sinstadt
*Tragically, there was no live coverage of this terrific match played in a highly charged atmosphere, UK football fans had to wait until BBC1 showed highlights of the day's matches at 9:20-11:30pm (John Motson covering this match). Officials had been alerted that Yugoslavia had been played a truncated anthem by mistake ahead their opening match with N.Ireland - Before tonight's game, the same thing happened again! The error didn't appear to upset them too much however as they went ahead after only 10 minutes, Gudelj with a diving header at the far post on the end of a free-kick from wide right. Spain were gifted a golden opportunity to equalise minutes later when they were awarded a penalty for a foul on Alonso which had clearly been committed outside the box, Ufarte shot wide but the referee ordered a re-take because the keeper was way off his line as it was struck, Juanito then stepped up to send the keeper the wrong way to make it 1-1. Back at the other end, Arconada made a great block from a sizzling volley by Petrovic and Susic followed up to juggle the ball skilfully before striking the underside of the crossbar. Ufarte also hit the crossbar for Spain with a dipping free kick in the 2nd half and Yugoslavia twice went agonisingly close before substitute Enrique Saura bundled in an untidy winner for Spain on 66 which went in off a defender at the far post from a corner on the right. The Yugoslavia team were said to have been forced to spend the interval on a staircase because of a foul smell in their dressing room. ITV had a late night World Cup round up presented by Brian Moore at 11:00-11:40pm.

President of the Kuwait FA intervenesMon 21/Jun/1982    France 4 (Genghini, Platini, Six, Bossis) Kuwait 1 (Al-Buloushi)
Group 4 (4:15pm bst)
ITV Highlights
Martin Tyler
*Didier Six had an early headed goal for France ruled out for offside but Genghini put them ahead legitimately on 31 by curling in a direct free-kick into the top corner. Platini made it 2-0 on 43, latching onto a through ball and coolly slipping it past the keeper. Six got the 3rd early in the 2nd half by breaking the offside trap on 48 and taking a long ball onto his chest before lashing in for a superb goal on the volley. Bossis had another goal ruled out for offside and Kuwait then scored from a quickly taken free kick on 75 which saw Al-Buloushi race clear on the right and beat the keeper at his near post, France immediately found the net at the other end from the re-start but yet again it was ruled out for offside. On 80, Alan Giresse was set up to score goal number 4 for France and this time the officials seemed happy to allow it to stand. The TV score caption confirmed "France 4 Kuwait 1", but the replay showed that the Kuwait defence had stopped for a whistle which had been clearly audible on the TV broadcast. A TV camera then caught Sheikh Fahid Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, who was president of the Kuwait Football Association, gesturing from the stand to his team who had all come to the touchline, he then went down onto the pitch himself where he apparently convinced the Russian referee to disallow the goal and a fight threatened to break out between rival players. The French manager appeared to be man handled by police and was surrounded by cameramen, one of which he slapped, but order was restored and the match finally resumed after a 7 minute delay with a drop ball and Spanish TV put up a revised score caption with the number '3' now flashing under 'France'. There was still time for another disallowed goal - for Kuwait this time which resulted in sub Marzouq being booked for pushing the referee in protest - before Bossis finally did get a 4th goal for France on 89 from a very tight angle inside the six yard box, by which time Kuwait were playing with 10 men after Jasem Sultan had been carried off on a stretcher after a very heavy tackle. Sadly this extraordinary encounter was not seen live in the UK, the first action any British viewers saw of today's play was highlights of the afternoon games on BBC1 at 6:45-7:15pm (with John Motson voicing France/Kuwait). The following day FIFA fined Kuwait for the hold up to the game and the referee was suspended.

Mon 21/Jun/1982    Austria 2 (Schachner, Krankl) Algeria 0
Group 2 (4:15pm bst)
ITV Highlights
Hugh Johns
*Austria had a good penalty appeal turned down in the 1st half, but Algeria had the better chances including one which came down off the crossbar. The 2nd half saw Schachner put Austria ahead on 55 with a snap shot in-off the post after a blocked effort by Welzl had pinballed kindly into his path, a 2nd Austrian goal came on 67 as a result of a swift break which found Krankl on the edge of the box and his first-time drive flew past the keeper and in. Austria had another effort cleared off the line whilst at the other end Assao missed a great chance to pull one back from point blank range. Highlights were included on both BBC round-up programmes as well as during ITV's coverage of the Northern Ireland game.

Mon 21/Jun/1982    Northern Ireland 1 (Armstrong) Honduras 1 (Laing)
Group 5 (8pm bst)
ITV LIVE
Gerald Sinstadt & Ron Atkinson
*ITV showed live coverage from 7:30-10:15pm. Despite Honduras holding the hosts to a draw in their opening match, Northern Ireland were expected to win this game and win by a healthy margin. They looked set to do just that when they took an early lead on 10, Sammy McIlroy curled in a free-kick from wide on the left which came back off the crossbar, a follow up header by Chris Nicholl also came back off the bar before Gerry Armstrong finally forced the ball in with his head from point blank range. There was however a warning shot in return when a corner found its way to Betancourt who thundered a strike against the upright and Jennings later had to turn over a fierce long range free-kick. The Irish were unlucky not to go in two goals to the good at half-time after Armstrong had dummied a defender to make space to fire in a low drive which came back off the post and into the grateful hands of the keeper. An offside decision in the 2nd half denied Northern Ireland daylight and Jennings was in action again on 59 to make a spectacular save from a Betancourt header on the end of a corner, but the follow up corner found Eduardo Laing whose unstoppable header made it 1-1, prompting a pile-on from his teammates. Honduras finished strongly and the Irish were now left most likely needing a seemingly impossible victory against the hosts in the final group fixture. The Honduras president went on national television after his team's 1-1 draw; "I have faith and confidence we will beat Yugoslavia and qualify. Onward, my fellow countrymen.". BBC1 rounded up the day's action with a late show at 11:00-11:55pm with Alan Parry commentating on the Northern Ireland match.

Game 3

Tue 22/Jun/1982    Poland 5 (Smolarek, Lato, Boniek, Buncol, Ciolek) Peru 1 (La Rosa)
Group 1 (4:15pm bst)
ITV LIVE
Gerry Harrison & Ian St John
*Live on ITV from 3:45-6:15pm. All of the opening four matches in Group 3 had ended in draws, three of them goalless, and that trend looked set to continue with the score 0-0 at HT, but the floodgates finally opened for Poland when Smolarek ended nearly 4 hours of frustration with their opening goal of the tournament on 55, bursting into the box to score from an angle after Peru had given the ball away in defence. Lato got the 2nd just three minutes later, slipping the ball past Peru keeper Quiroga who had come out of his area to meet him. Boniek made it 3-0 on 61 with a tap-in at the end of a free-kick played out to the right wing. Boniek set up the 4th goal with a cheeky back heel into the path of Buncol to fire into the roof of the net on 68, Lato then crossed from the right for sub Ciolek to strike a precise drive into the far corner for 5-0 on 76 with his very first touch of the ball. La Rosa grabbed a late consolation on 83 with a strike from the edge of the box after breaking clear of a group of defenders in the 'D'. Alan Parry called the match for highlights on BBC1 shown during their coverage of the Scotland match.

Tue 22/Jun/1982    Scotland 2 (Jordan, Souness) Soviet Union 2 (Chivadze, Shengelia)
Group 6 (8pm bst)
ITV Highlights
John Helm
*Live on BBC1 from 7:40-10:05pm with Barry Davies commentating. This was a match that Scotland had to win, a draw would be enough for the Soviet Union to go through with Brazil. Joe Jordan forced a cracking save from the Soviet keeper in the opening minutes with a diving header, Alan Rough was also called into action at the other end to block a shot by Blokhin. An up and under hoof up field on 15 was not properly dealt with by the Soviet defence and Jordan broke clear to slot home for 1-0. Scotland threatened to go further ahead early in the 2nd half, but an equaliser came on 60 after Gabrilov had danced through the defence and saw his shot blocked, only for it to run into the path of Chivadze whose miss-hit bounced over Rough for 1-1. A terrible mix up between Miller and Hansen on 84 allowed Shengelia to race clear and put the Soviets 2-1 ahead. A run by Graeme Souness on 87 opened up space for a shot which found its way in-off the post, his first ever goal for Scotland for 2-2. A frantic assualt on the Soviet goal in the final moments failed to yield a winning goal and it was heartbreak at the end for the Scots who had missed out on qualifying for the 2nd stage on goal difference for the 3rd successive tournament. Jock Stein made an angry attack on the Romanian referee for his failure to award a penalty for a foul on John Wark; "I would be wrong not to speak out for myself and my players and say that the referee gave a totally wrong decision at a vital time." Danny McGrain (on 62 caps) and Joe Jordan (52) both made their final appearance in the dark blue jersey.

Tue 22/Jun/1982    Belgium 1 (Czerniatynski) Hungary 1 (Varga)
Group 3 (8pm bst)
ITV Highlights
Nick Owen
*A draw would be enough for Belgium to progress, Hungary had to win. Left back Jossef Varga put Hungary ahead on 27 with a tremendous burst into the box through a crowd of defenders and a thundering drive into the roof of the net, Belgium then struck a post from a free-kick and were 1-0 behind at the break, but Alex Czerniatynski netted a crucial equalising goal on 76 after good determination by Jan Ceulemans who rode a tackle and supplied the centre from the right for Czerniatynski to roll the ball beyond the keeper's reach and into the corner of the net. Hungary were left needing Argentina to lose to El Salvador in the final Group 3 match the following day. Tony Gubba voiced the action for BBC1 which was shown at HT and FT of the Scotland match, ITV had a round up of all the day's action at 11:00-11:40pm.

Wed 23/Jun/1982    Italy 1 (Graziani) Cameroon 1 (M'bida)
Group 1 (4:15pm bst)
ITV Highlights
Gerry Harrison
*No live coverage of the final match in Group 1 which Cameroon had to win in order to join Poland in the next phase. Bruno Conti missed an incredible chance for Italy (wearing white) in the first half, seemingly having all day to pick his spot with the entire defence stood like statues and staring at the linesman, but Conti somehow managed to poke the ball wide. Fulvio Collovati then had a header from a corner kept out by a combination of keeper and cross-bar and the re-bound was headed over by Rossi. Italy finally went ahead on 60 through a looping header by Francesco Graziani on the end of Rossi's cross from the left, yet Cameroon came back immediately with their first ever goal in the finals scored by M'bida on 61, hooking the ball in after Aoudou had failed to get his head to Milla's lob into the area. With three draws apiece, the two teams finished level on points and level on goal difference, but Italy took 2nd spot by virtue of scoring two goals to Cameroon's one. ITV were first to show footage of the match during their coverage of the Brazil/New Zealand fixture. Des Lynam was at the game for BBC1 who included highlights in their late night round-up.

Group 1 Final Table
1. Poland       +4  4
2. Italy         0  3
3. Cameroon      0  3
4. Peru         -4  2

Wed 23/Jun/1982    Brazil 4 (Zico 2, Falcão, Serginho) New Zealand 0
Group 6 (8pm bst)
ITV LIVE
John Helm & Denis Law
*In spite of this fixture being totally meaningless in terms of final Group 6 standings, ITV opted to show it live rather than Argentina's must win Group 3 clash with El Salvador. Coverage ran from 7:30-10:15pm. Zico opened the scoring on 28 with an acrobatic volley at the end of a Leandro cross from the right, Zico soon netted another on 31 - this time a simple finish after Socrates had made a purposeful run forward before laying off to Leandro on the right who in turn set up Zico to place the ball home for 2-0. Falcão got the 3rd on 55, taking a pass from Zico to run into the box from the right and, under a challenge, slipping the ball past the keeper at his near post. Zico was also involved in the 4th goal, cleverly bringing a looping ball into the box under control on the left before prodding through to Serginho who scored from close range to make it 4-0 on 69. John Motson commentated for late night highlights on BBC1.

Group 6 Final Table
1. Brazil       +8  6
2. Soviet Union +2  3
3. Scotland     0  3
4. New Zealand -10  0

Wed 23/Jun/1982    Argentina 2 (Passarella(pen), Bertoni) El Salvador 0
Group 3 (8pm bst)
ITV Highlights
Nick Owen
*Argentina had to win this game to snatch 2nd spot from Hungary. El Salvador massed players in defence and it took a penalty on 22 to break the deadlock after Calderon was brought down in the area close to the byline, El Salvador's protests held up the spot kick for 2 minutes but the replay showed it was clearly a foul and Passarella held his nerve to blast the ball in for 1-0. Argentina had to wait until the 52nd minute to feel safe when Bertoni scored a terrific solo goal, cutting in from the right and drifting past three defenders before delivering a sweet left foot finish which flew into the far corner for 2-0. ITV showed highlights during coverage of the Brazil match, Alan Parry was at the game to call the highlights on BBC1's "World Cup Report" which went out at 11pm-midnight.

Group 3 Final Table
1. Belgium      +2  5
2. Argentina    +4  4
3. Hungary      +6  3
4. El Salvador -12  0

Thu 24/Jun/1982    Algeria 3 (Assad 2, Bensaoula) Chile 2 (Neira(pen), Letelier)
Group 2 (4:15pm bst)
ITV Highlights
Hugh Johns
*No live coverage of either of the afternoon fixtures. Algeria needed to win by 4 goals to be certain of progress (or by 3 to look likely to go through), whilst Chile had no realistic hope. Assad netted an early opener for Algeria on 7, slotting in from close range after being unselfishly set up by Bensaoula who was on the end of a cross from the left. Both sides then hit the woodwork before Assad poked in his 2nd goal on 31, although it took a significant deflection off a defender. Algeria were seemingly well on course to become the first African nation to qualify for the 2nd stage on 35 when Bensaoula made it 3-0 with a low drive from outside the area, but on 59 Chile won a penalty when Yáñez was hacked down in the area and Neira's spot kick pulled the score back to 3-1, Letelier then netted a 2nd goal for Chile on 73 with a solo effort which saw him cleverly cut in from the right, round the keeper and blast in off a defender's head on the line. Algeria still had time to hit the woodwork again but, come the final whistle, they were left hoping that West Germany would fail to beat Austria, or if they did, that it would be by 3 goals. Des Lynam commentated for BBC1 who were first to show the action during an early evening highlights programme.

Thu 24/Jun/1982    France 1 (Six) Czechoslovakia 1 (Panenka(pen))
Group 4 (4:15pm bst)
ITV Highlights
Martin Tyler
*A must win for Czechoslovakia, whilst a draw would almost certainly be enough to see France join England in going through to the next stage. After a scoreless first half, France went ahead on 66 when the Czech defence failed to clear an awkward bouncing ball in the box which was eventually squeezed between keeper and defender by Lacombe and, as it bobbled slowly towards goal, Didier Six followed up to make sure. Soler made a chance for himself to make it 2-0 but struck the inside of the post, then at the other end Bossis ran into the back of Vizek in the area and Antonin Panenka stepped up to convert the penalty to make it 1-1 on 84. The first sending off of the tournament came in the dying minutes when Vizek appeared to floor Soler in retaliation for a foul moments earlier. The 10 men Czechs had one last attempt at goal which saw Amoros head off the line. Barry Davies covered the match for BBC1 who included highlights on "World Cup Report" at 6:50-7:30pm.

Thu 24/Jun/1982    Yugoslavia 1 (Petrovic(pen)) Honduras 0
Group 5 (8pm bst)
ITV LIVE
Gerald Sinstadt & Ron Atkinson
*Live on ITV from 7:30-10:15pm including highlights of the afternoon games. The ideal result for Northern Ireland would have been a goalless draw, Honduras would have settled for that too and they were close to getting it - Both sides had numerous chances throughout the game, but the breakthrough did not come until 88 minutes when sub Miloš Šestic set out on a thrilling run, beating 3 defenders and going on into the box where he was upended by a late lunging tackle, Vladimir Petrovic stepped up to take the resulting penalty kick and scored, Gilberto Yearwood was then sent off for an off-camera incident in which he apparently kicked a Yugoslav player and then became involved in a heated argument with the referee. Yugoslavia now looked set to qualify unless Northern Ireland could conjure either an odd goal win or a score draw against the hosts. BBC included highlights on their 2nd "World Cup Report" of the day at 11:20pm-12:05am.

Fri 25/Jun/1982    England 1 (Francis) Kuwait 0
Group 4 (4:15pm bst)
ITV LIVE
Martin Tyler & Jack Charlton
*Live coverage on ITV ran from 3:45-6:15pm. England were already guaranteed top spot whilst Kuwait required a 5-0 win to take the other qualifying position from France, the Kuwait squad had been given special dispensation from fasting during the month of Ramadan which had begun on Tuesday 22nd. The only goal came on 27 when Paul Mariner's back-heel found Trevor Francis in midfield who then broke away from a challenge and finished with a low drive which beat the keeper. It was a poor performance from England and captain Mick Mills admitted as much; "It was important to keep the standard of performance going. We didn't and our confidence has been dented". Brighton's Steve Foster made his 3rd and final appearance in an England shirt today (there had been a minor controversy surrounding his Adidas sponsored headband). As well as live coverage, ITV were also first to offer highlights of the game at 7:00-7:30pm, BBC1 showed highlights during their coverage of the night match with Barry Davies commentating.

Group 4 Final Table
1. England      +5  6
2. France       +1  3
3. Czechoslvkia -2  2
4. Kuwait       -4  1

Fri 25/Jun/1982    West Germany 1 (Hrubesch) Austria 0
Group 2 (4:15pm bst)
ITV Highlights
Hugh Johns
*A must win for West Germany and they scored in the 10th minute when Hrubesch forced in a left wing cross from Littbarski at point blank range at the near post. Austria only needed to avoid a three goal defeat and from the 11th minute onwards, somewhat understandably, the two teams came to an unspoken agreement to cease playing with any meaningful purpose, thus guaranteeing both nations a passage into the next phase at the expense of Algeria, but spectators reacted angrily - there were whistles of derision, hankerchiefs were waved and there were shouts of "Surrender" and "Cowards". At the final whistle, some Algerian fans in the crowd had to be stopped by police from storming the pitch and their football president called on FIFA to kick West Germany and Austria out of the tournament; "They violated the principle of sportsmanship by their lack of ambition and spirit, their scandalous behaviour was an insult". Yet it has to be remembered that Algeria had thrown away a three goal advantage in their match against Chile the previous day - which would have made for a very different approach from Austria - and the problem was really down to FIFA's ill thought out organization, it wouldn't have taken a mathematical genius to realise that such a scenario could have occurred and - with other fixtures scheduled to be played at the same time - was there really any good reason why the final pair of matches in each group had to be played on separate days? 'Highlights' of West Germany v Austria were included on ITV's coverage of the England game, Alan Parry commentated for BBC1 who showed clips of the debacle during coverage of the night match.

Group 2 Final Table
1. West Germany +3  4
2. Austria      +2  4
3. Algeria       0  4
4. Chile        -5  0

Gerry Armstrong & Billy Bingham, World Cup 1982Fri 25/Jun/1982    Northern Ireland 1 (Armstrong) Spain 0
Group 5 (8pm bst)
ITV Highlights
Gerald Sinstadt
*Live on BBC1 from 7:30-10:10pm with John Motson commentating. Northern Ireland took a shock lead on 47, Gerry Armstrong made a long run into the Spanish half and found Billy Hamilton on the right wing who beat a defender and crossed, Spanish keeper Luis Arconada stretched to meet it but could only palm away the ball into the path of Armstrong who hit a clean first-time strike through a defender's legs and into the back of the net for 1-0. With 30 minutes still remaining, Mal Donaghy received a harsh straight red for pushing Jose Camacho against the perimeter fencing after the pair had ran into eachother as Donaghy tried to shield the ball out of play. Spain pushed hard for an equaliser against the 10 men and there was a heart stopping moment in injury time when Pat Jennings appeared to have mis-judged a high ball into the box which almost bounced over him, but he recovered to catch at a stretch. Incredibly, when the final whistle came, Northern Ireland had won the group, whilst the hosts would now find themselves placed in a very tough 2nd phase pool with England and West Germany. Billy Bingham said afterwards; "It is absolutely fantastic... The decisions by the referee were quite harsh against us, there was a lot of physical contact and the referee seemed to take it out on us, but we did marvellously well, particularly when we were down to ten men." Gerry Armstrong said; "We were always in with a chance of getting one, but they were trying to intimidate us and it made us more determined." Pat Jennings added; "It is one of the most fantastic nights I've ever had. The Spaniards only troubled me in the first few minutes and we knew if we could brave the storm in the first few minutes, we could hold on. Donaghy was sent off for nothing and after that I thought we had had it, but I have never seen a bunch of players battle so hard." ITV included highlights on their late night "World Cup '82" round-up programme at 11:00-11:40pm.

Group 5 Final Table
1. N.Ireland    +1  4
2. Spain         0  3
3. Yugoslavia    0  3
4. Honduras     -1  2

Sat 26/Jun/1982   "World Cup '82 Report"
*After 13 successive days of action, there was now a two day rest - and of all the days for FIFA to schedule a break between stage one and two, it came at a weekend! ITV had a brief World Cup report during "World of Sport" at 1:00-1:10pm, BBC1 then had a longer "World Cup Football Focus" from 1:10-1:40pm.

Sun 27/Jun/1982  "World Cup '82 Roundup"
*Brian Moore and panellists looked back at the opening fortnight, highlighting some of the funnier moments, and looked ahead to the second stage in a late night show at 11:00pm-midnight. BBC1 also had a late Sunday night "World Cup Report", but this was a shorter programme going out at 11:05-11:35pm.


Examples of the graphics used for the 1982 World Cup, always in Spanish,
no matter which part of the globe you were watching from.
Action replays of goals were shown twice, the first from behind the goal whilst
the 2nd was a straight repeat from the original angle.

Second Round
Game 4

Mon 28/Jun/1982    France 1 (Genghini) Austria 0
Group D (4:15pm bst)
Estadio Vicente Calderón, Madrid
ITV Highlights
Gerald Sinstadt
*Live on BBC1 with Barry Davies commentating from 4:05-6:05pm. Both sides created chances in the first half and Genghini went close with a dipping long range effort which smacked off the foot of the upright and out. Genghini struck the woodwork again on 39 with a free-kick effort, but this time it rebounded in rather than out to put France 1-0 ahead. The French dominated the match overall and deserved the victory, but it was not an ideal result for Northern Ireland who were hoping for a draw. Highlights were shown on BBC1 only 50 minutes after their live broadcast had finished (6:55-7:45pm). ITV showed footage during their coverage of the night match.

Zbigniew Boniek, Poland 1982Mon 28/Jun/1982    Poland 3 (Boniek 3) Belgium 0
Group A (8pm bst)
Camp Nou, Barcelona
ITV LIVE
Gerry Harrison & Ian St John
*Live on ITV from 7:30-10:15pm. The Belgium manager dropped goalkeeper Jean-Marie Pfaff ahead of this game because of his "childish" behaviour around the team hotel, but it would have made no difference who was in goal 4 minutes into this game when Zbigniew Boniek blasted an unstoppable first-time thunderbolt into the roof of the net following a pull back from the byline by Lato. Boniek scored his 2nd on 26 at the end of a move which saw Poland switch play from right to left before a headed ball into the box saw Boniek leap to meet it and nod over the keeper for 2-0. The hat-trick came on 53 when Boniek found himself clean through with the Belgium defence unsuccessfully attempting to play him offside and Poland's hero rounded the keeper and slotted home. Alan Parry was at the game to commentate for BBC1 who showed highlights of both of today's games at 11:05pm-12:05am introduced by David Coleman.

Tue 29/Jun/1982    Italy 2 (Tardelli, Cabrini) Argentina 1 (Passarella)
Group C (4:15pm bst)
Estadio Sarriá, Barcelona
ITV LIVE
John Helm & Denis Law
*British viewers finally got see the holders play live on this ITV broadcast at 3:45-6:15pm. With only one nation from each group able to progress, neither Italy or Argentina were expected to make the semi-finals ahead of Brazil - Indeed, Italy appeared to be in complete disarray having scraped through their qualifying group on goal difference without even winning a match and having arrived in Spain on the back of a match fixing scandal that resulted in national players being suspended, whilst an ageing Argentina team, demoralized by the Falklands War, had lost the opening game of the tournament and were unconvincing in their win over El Salvador. Both sides had to look for the win and both had speculative efforts at goal in a bruising cyncical first half that saw 5 players booked. Studio panellist John Bond summed up the opening 45 as a disgrace and added that the sooner both teams were knocked out, the better it would be for football. In a much better 2nd half, Tardelli gave Italy the lead on 55, placing the ball neatly into the corner of the net having been on the end of a sweeping move upfield which found Tardelli in space on the left. Back at the other end, Dino Zoff had to make a save from a header at point blank range and then push away a free-kick, but he could only stand and watch a Maradona free-kick cannoned off the upright. Yet another Argentina free-kick on 66 saw Zoff brilliantly turn away a header destined to dip under the bar, Italy immediately launched a counter attack and Rossi ought to have scored in a one on one, but the loose ball was eventually worked back to Cabrini who lashed it past the despairing dive of the keeper and into the roof of the net for 2-0. Argentina finally did manage to score from a free-kick on 83 when Passarella blasted in a direct effort from well outside the 'D'. Argentina were then down to 10 men when Gallego was sent off for an off the ball push right in front of the referee. BBC1 included highlights in their build up to the England match.

Tue 29/Jun/1982    England 0 West Germany 0
Group C (8pm bst)
Bernabéu, Madrid
ITV Highlights
Martin Tyler
*Live on BBC1 from 7:10-9:55pm (John Motson). England came into this match on the back of nine consecutive victories and Steve Coppell almost scored early on with a cross-come shot which Harald Schumacher did well to turn over, the West German keeper also had to tip over a Bryan Robson header whilst at the other end, Peter Shilton did well to block a vicious swerving drive from Paul Breitner who had set up the chance himself with a brilliant 180 degree turn on the left wing. The closest anybody came to scoring was late in the 2nd half when the West German's star man Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (who had battled to recover from an injury to play) saw his fierce strike beat Shilton and come back off the crossbar. The final whistle was greeted with boos and whistles from the disappointed locals, Ron Greenwood summed up; "It was a very tight battle between two sides who showed respect for each other. It takes two teams to make a game. If you are going to have one side who don't come at you it is rather hard to break down." With England having the better First Round record, they would now play Spain in the 3rd and final group match which meant they would know exactly what result they would need in order to progress to the Semi-finals. ITV had a highlights programme at 11:00-11:40pm. Argentinean TV apparently refused to mention England during their coverage of the match, using instead the term "The red shirted team".

Wed 30/Jun/1982   "World Cup '82 Preview"
*A rest day, but both BBC1 and ITV had late night preview shows - ITV's went out at 11:00-11:40pm, BBC1's at the earlier time of 10:35-11:03pm.

Game 4/5

Thu 01/Jul/1982    Northern Ireland 2 (Hamilton 2) Austria 2 (Pezzey, Hintermaier)
Group D (4:15pm bst)
Estadio Vicente Calderón, Madrid
ITV Highlights
Gerald Sinstadt
*Live on BBC1 at 4:05-6:05pm with John Motson & Jimmy Hill commentating. Northern Ireland had not enjoyed the best preparation since winning Group 5, goalkeeper Pat Jennings was injured with a groin strain, the players were unhappy with their new hotel and a training session was interrupted by a local claiming that a member of the squad had hit his child for refusing to return the ball. The Irish were hoping for a 2-0 or 2-1 victory to leave them needing a draw v France to make it through to the Semi-finals (where they would meet the winners of England's group), they went ahead on 27 thanks to good work by Gerry Armstrong on the right who accelerated past two defenders to reach the byline and send in the perfect cross for Billy Hamilton to head in at the far post. Austria hit the post 5 minutes into the 2nd half when McClelland made a hash of a headed clearance and Schachner prodded against the inside of the post and out, but from the resulting corner the equaliser came through Bruno Pezzey who deliberately deflected Baumeister's shot past stand-in keeper Jim Platt. Austria went ahead on 68, Hintermaier blasting in an indirect free-kick through the breaking wall, but Burnley striker Billy Hamilton netted his 2nd goal on 75 with a diving header on the end of a Chris Nicholl lob over the keeper after the pair had chased the ball to the right byline. The draw meant that Austria were now out of the competition, Billy Bingham said; "France were the favourites from the start in our group, but we've not been beaten in four games, even though we were outsiders all the way. We flagged a bit early in the second half, when the heat got to us, but we never gave up. If the game had gone on another five minutes, we would have won, I'm sure of that." BBC1 had a "World Cup Report and Wimbledon 82" programme at 6:50-7:40pm, ITV showed highlights ahead of their coverage of the night match.

Thu 01/Jul/1982    Soviet Union 1 (Oganesian) Belgium 0
Group A (8pm bst)
Camp Nou, Barcelona
ITV LIVE
Gerry Harrison & Ian St John
*Live on ITV from 7:30-10:15pm. A cross from Gavrilov on the left, met by an acrobatic volley by Oganesian on 48 near the penalty spot was enough to beat Belgium who had no hope of progressing after their 3-0 defeat to Poland in the opening Group A match, yet it was Belgium who showed more enterprise and they ought to have been ahead at half-time against a laboured Soviet display. Alan Parry described the match for BBC1 who had a late night round up at 11:05pm-12:05am.

Zico, Brazil 1982Fri 02/Jul/1982    Brazil 3 (Zico, Serginho, Júnior) Argentina 1 (Díaz)
Group C (4:15pm bst)
Estadio Sarriá, Barcelona
ITV LIVE
John Helm & Denis Law
*Live on ITV from 3:45-6:15pm. Nothing less than a win would do for Argentina who had not beaten Brazil (now hot favourites to win the tournament) since 1969. Brazil took an early lead on 11 minutes when Eder struck a direct free-kick which Fillol touched onto the crossbar, but only for it to bounce down for Zico to prod in on the line. Argentina came more into the game as the match wore on and Maradona should have been awarded a penalty in the 2nd half before Serginho made it 2-0 on 66, heading in from close range after a good move which saw Brazil sweep the ball from left to right and back again with Zico slipping a nice ball to Falcao who delivered a perfect ball onto the head of Serginho (whose wife had just filed a charge of assault against him). Zico then set up Júnior on 75 with a beautiful defence splitting pass which Júnior placed first time from the edge of the box into the net for 3-0. A frustrated Maradona was sent off in the closing stages for a disgraceful kick to Batista's groin, albeit in retaliation for Batista's dangerous high kick to a colleague's head. Ramon Díaz netted a late consolation on 89 with a cracking strike into the top corner, but with a World Cup '82 finals record of 3 defeats in 5 matches played, the holders were out. John Motson commentated for BBC1 who showed highlights ahead of the night match.

Fri 02/Jul/1982    West Germany 2 (Littbarski, Fischer) Spain 1 (Zamora)
Group B (8pm bst)
Bernabéu, Madrid
ITV Highlights
Martin Tyler
*Live on BBC1 with Barry Davies commentating, coverage ran from 7:00-10:10pm although part of the build up would have been handed over to Tennis. The hosts were now under great pressure to perform after two very disappointing displays against Honduras and Northern Ireland in the opening phase, but West Germany were the better side in the first half and eventually took the lead on 50 when Spain keeper Arconada failed to hang on to Dremmler's long range low drive and Pierre Littbarski was first to the loose ball to slip it under the keeper and in for 1-0. A 2nd German goal came on 75, Breitner found Littbarski in the box who turned brilliantly away from a defender and as Arconada came out to meet him, Littbarski prodded the ball square to Klaus Fischer who had the relatively simple task of placing the ball past a lone defender standing on the line. Spain pulled one back on 82 when a ball into the box from Sanchez on the right was met with a towering header by Zamora which found the top corner. The result meant that Spain, who still had to play England, could no longer reach the Semi-finals. ITV had a late night round-up programme at 11:15-11:55pm.

Sat 03/Jul/1982   "World Cup '82 Report"
*No fixtures for the 2nd Saturday running and ITV only had a 15 minute football spot during "World of Sport" at 1:00-1:15pm. "Football Focus" on BBC1 was equally short from 1:15-1:30pm, but the BBC did have a late "World Cup Report" at 10:45-11:15pm.

Game 5

Sun 04/Jul/1982    France 4 (Giresse 2, Rocheteau 2) Northern Ireland 1 (Armstrong)
Group D (4:15pm bst)
Estadio Vicente Calderón, Madrid
ITV LIVE
Gerald Sinstadt & Ron Atkinson / Jackie Fullerton
*Live on ITV from 3:45-6:30pm. For the only time in this World Cup, viewers in the Ulster region had their own commentator (Jackie Fullerton). Northern Ireland had to win to go through to the Semi-finals and, mid-way through the 1st half, Martin O'Neill had a goal wrongly ruled out for offside after playing a one-two with Armstrong on the edge of the box. France - who only a required a draw - took the lead on 33 after brilliant work by Platini who made his way to the right byline before pulling the ball back for Alan Giresse to stab home. The 2nd French goal came just after half-time on 46 when an Irish attack broke down and the ball was played to Dominique Rocheteau who turned well and set off on a long run, finishing with an angled drive. Next, a surprise short free-kick wide on the left on 68 was laid off to Rocheteau who danced through two challenges in the box before sliding the ball into the back of the net for 3-0. Gerry Armstrong pulled one back on 75 after a nice build up which saw the ball sprayed out to Whiteside on the left whose cross was parried into the path of Armstrong who finished from the far corner of the 6 yard box, but France had the last word on 80 - Tigana crossing first-time from the right for Giresse to head in for 4-1. Billy Bingham summed up; "I think for a country of our size, it was a tremendous achievement to get within one match of the semi-finals, I am proud of every one of them." Ironically it was France who had knocked out Northern Ireland in the QF's when the Irish had last made an appearance in the World Cup finals in 1958. Alan Parry called highlights for BBC1.

Group D Final Table
1. France       +4  4
2. Austria      -1  1
3. N.Ireland    -3  1

Sun 04/Jul/1982    Poland 0 Soviet Union 0
Group A (8pm bst)
Camp Nou, Barcelona
ITV Highlights
Gerry Harrison
*Live on BBC1 at 7:45-10:20pm (Barry Davies). This was something of a political grudge match after the Soviet aligned communist government in Poland had introduced martial law the previous December in an attempt to crush the pro-democracy "Solidarity" trade-union movement, many of whose banners and flags were unveiled in the stands tonight, Barry Davies became rather outraged at the police and stadium officials trying to remove the banners after complaints from Soviet TV. Both sides had beaten Belgium, but Poland by the bigger margin and they could therefore settle for a draw. A dour physical first half saw Poland's star man Boniek booked and he would miss the semi-final if they were to progress. The Poles - who had the backing of the locals - came more into the match in the 2nd half and almost scored from thrilling runs by both Matysik and Boniek, but the goalless draw was enough to see them through. ITV had a late night highlights show at 11:15-11:55pm.

Group A Final Table
1. Poland       +3  3
2. Soviet Union +1  3
3. Belgium      -4  0

Paulo Rossi, Italy 1982Mon 05/Jul/1982    Italy 3 (Rossi 3) Brazil 2 (Sócrates, Falcão)
Group C (4:15pm bst)
Estadio Sarriá, Barcelona
ITV Highlights
John Helm & Brian Clough
*Live on BBC1 from 4:05-6:05pm with John Motson and Bobby Charlton commentating. Italy had to win to finish above Brazil in Group C and Paulo Rossi gave them a great start 5 minutes into the game, heading in a Cabrini ball swung into the box from the left for his first goal of the tournament. Serginho almost immediately missed a sitter to equalise with only Zoff to beat from close range before Sócrates did manage to level the score on 12, set up by an exquisite manoeuvre from Zico and squeezing a low finish under Zoff at his near post  from a narrow angle on the right. Rossi soon restored Italy's lead however on 25 with an opportunist's goal after he had latched on to Cerezo's careless ball across the face of the penalty area, Rossi burst through on goal and scored with a clinical finish. Brazil equalised again on 68, Falcão with a blistering strike that flew in from the edge of the box, yet Italy were to regain the lead once more on 74 and again through Rossi - Their only corner of the entire game dropped to Tardelli who miss-hit the ball first time with little power, but Rossi was on the edge of the six-yard area to re-direct it past goalkeeper Peres and in for his hat-trick, 3-2. Italy thought they'd got a 4th when Antognoni finished off a move across the goalmouth from right to left, but the flag was raised at some point during the build-up. At the other end, a free-kick was met by Oscar's head, Zoff saved but almost lost the ball on the goal-line. Brazil forced two corners in the dying seconds, but Italy held on and the hot favourites were out. Italian fans back home took to the streets to sing the praises of their new hero who had once been accused of throwing a match and banned from playing for two years. As well as showing the game live, BBC1 were also first to show highlights (together with a preview of the big night match) at 7:00-7:30pm. ITV highlights were included during the build up to their exclusive live coverage of the England v Spain game.

Group C Final Table
1. Italy        +2  4
2. Brazil       +1  2
3. Argentina    -3  0

Kevin Keegan misses against Spain, 1982Mon 05/Jul/1982    England 0 Spain 0
Group B (8pm bst)
Bernabéu, Madrid
ITV LIVE
Martin Tyler & Jack Charlton
*Live on ITV only, from 7:30-10:15pm. Spain now had nothing to play for other than the pride whilst England needed to better West Germany's 2-1 win against Spain 3 days earlier - a 1-0 win would not be sufficient, a 2-1 victory would result in lots being drawn. Outside the ground prior to the match, many English fans were on the receiving end of some disgraceful behaviour by the Spanish police, the hostility of the locals apparently being fuelled by sympathy for Argentina in the Falklands crisis. 80,000 made it inside the ground in humid heat to see England create a number of chances in the first half, with Bryan Robson and Paul Mariner squandering the best openings with close range headers, Tony Woodcock also had a shot tipped over the bar. The 2nd half saw the 1978 and 1979 European Footballer of the Year Kevin Keegan make his first ever appearance in the World Cup finals at the age of 31, having made a determined effort to overcome his recent back problem. As one of a double substitution on 62, Trevor Brooking (aged 33) also came on for his first appearance in a World Cup and almost scored on 65, turning in the box and beating a defender before forcing a save out of Arconada. Keegan was gifted a golden opportunity to score on 69 when Mariner played a clever ball to Robson who was near the left byline and his cross was perfect for Keegan who had a virtually empty net at his mercy, but he somehow headed wide. The goalless draw meant that England were out without losing a single match (and only conceding one goal) and it was also the end of Ron Greenwood's reign as manager (having already made his decision to retire from football ahead of the tournament). Sadly, this would mark the end of Kevin Keegan's international career too (on 63 caps) as well as Trevor Brooking (on 47 caps) and Mick Mills (42). Barry Davies commentated for BBC1 who showed highlights of the day's matches at 11:15pm-12:10am.

Group B Final Table
1. West Germany +1  3
2. England       0  2
3. Spain        -1  1

Tue 06/Jul/1982
*No World Cup programme on ITV today, whilst BBC1 had a brief "World Cup Report" at 11:05-11:20pm.

Wed 07/Jul/1982
*Again, no World Cup slot on ITV whilst BBC1 had a "World Cup Report" previewing the Semi-finals at 11:20-11:45pm. After much speculation, Ipswich Town's Bobby Robson was finally confirmed as Ron Greenwood's successor as England manager today, Robson had made 20 appearances for England and had played in the 1958 World Cup. Meanwhile, the USA had joined Brazil, Canada and Mexico in offering to stage the 1986 World Cup finals should official choice Columbia decide to back out.

Semi-finals

Thu 08/Jul/1982    Italy 2 (Rossi 2) Poland 0
Camp Nou, Barcelona, 4:15pm bst
ITV Highlights
Gerry Harrison
*Live on BBC1 at 4:05-6:05pm with John Motson & Jimmy Hill commentating, David Coleman presented alongside Garth Crooks, Lou Macari and Lawrie McMenemy. The two teams had played out a goalless draw in the opening Group 1 match on the 2nd day of the tournament, but Poland were now missing their star man Boniek through suspension. Italy took the lead on 22, Antognoni floated in a free-kick from wide on the right and Paulo Rossi got a faint touch at the near post to help direct it into the net. Antognoni was carried off injured 7 minutes later after a tackle by Majewski, Kupcewicz came closest to a first-half equaliser with a long range free-kick effort which struck the outside of the upright. A 2nd goal for Italy came on 73, Altobelli set Conti away on the left wing and his precise chip into the box over the last defender and keeper found Rossi who was left with the simple task of nodding the ball into an inviting net. BBC1 had a "World Cup Report" to show highlights shortly afterwards at 6:55-7:30pm. ITV showed highlights during their build-up to the 2nd semi-final.

The Schumacher and Battiston incident, 1982Thu 08/Jul/1982    West Germany 3 (Littbarski, Rummenigge, Fischer) France 3 (Platini(pen), Trésor, Giresse) [W.Germany won on pens AET]
Seville, 8pm bst
ITV LIVE
Gerald Sinstadt & Ron Atkinson
*A strong contender for the most memorable World Cup finals matches ever seen on television was exclusively live on ITV from 7:30pm with coverage overrunning past 10:15pm due to extra time and penalties. Pierre Littbarski hit the crossbar early on with a free-kick effort, but he scored the opening goal for West Germany on 17 with a low first time drive through a crowd of players after the ball had ran loose into his path from a clash between Klaus Fischer and French keeper Jean-Luc Ettori. On 26 France were awarded a penalty against Bernd Förster who was clearly holding Dominique Rocheteau in the area, Michel Platini stepped up and sent Harald Schumacher the wrong way for 1-1. The 2nd half saw one of the most infamous incidents in World Cup history, recent substitute Patrick Battiston raced onto a through ball from Platini as Schumacher came flying out of his goal, Battiston got there first and shot past the keeper, but as the ball travelled wide Schumacher didn't stop, he jumped up in the air, twisting slightly as he did so, and smacked into Battiston's head with his right hip/buttock area (see grab), the force of which was enough to leave the Frenchmen flat-out unconscious on the ground with damaged vertebrae and two broken teeth. Platini had thought that his team-mate had died, claiming that Battiston had no pulse and looked pale as he was stretchered off. Later in hospital, Battiston slipped into a coma, yet no foul was given against Schumacher by the Dutch referee who saw it as a 50/50 accident and the match resumed with a goalkick. France - now forced to use their 2nd and final substitute - came close to a winner when a super Manuel Amoros strike hit the underside of the crossbar, whilst at the other end, deep into injury time, Ettori only just managed to scramble the ball away from the feet of Fischer after partially saving a strike from Paul Breitner. With the score still 1-1 after 90 minutes, the game went into extra-time.

On 92, a harshly awarded free-kick against the West Germans on the right flank taken by Giresse found an unmarked Marios Trésor who volleyed France into a spectacular lead. 6 minutes later, on 98 minutes, France appeared to be heading for the final as a counter attack with a quickly taken free-kick in their own half led to Six setting up little Alan Giresse to drive in a shot from the edge of the box which went in-off the post for 3-1, commentator Gerald Sinstadt declared "Germany, caught on the break and they won't come back from that!". Yet - before the teams would change ends again, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (still nursing an injury and coming on as a late substitute) bundled in a Littbarski centre from the left to pull it back to 2-3 on 102. The 2nd period of extra-time brought another spectacular goal, France gave away a needless corner and then failed to clear the danger properly, the ball was worked to Littbarski who crossed from the left, Hrubesch climbed at the far post to nod back into the centre and Klaus Fischer finished with an acrobatic overhead kick on 108, 3-3. After 120 minutes, the score was still level and so, for the first time ever, a World Cup finals tie would be decided on a penalty shoot-out. France won the toss and kicked first - Both sides netted their opening pair of penalties, Rocheteau took the 3rd French kick and scored, Uli Stielike then stepped up and saw his kick saved by Ettori, Stielike collapsed into a tight ball on the ground and was clearly in a great deal of distress as he was pulled back to his feet by Schumacher. The TV replays showed that the French keeper was miles off his line before the kick had been taken, but the save counted and the TV director then decided to stay focussed on Stielike who was now weeping onto Littbarski's shoulder, suddenly there was a huge cheer and the pictures flashed back to show the ball being collected by Schumacher who had apparently blocked France's 4th penalty taken by Didier Six, an attempt by Spanish TV to replay what had just happened had to be aborted as the action-replay machine froze and viewers then saw Pierre Littbarski slot his spot-kick into the top right corner for 3-3 on pens. Next, Platini for France, 4-3, then Rummenigge for West Germany, 4-4. Now sudden death, Maxime Bosis volunteered for France, Schumacher guessed right (albeit a touch early in moving off his line) and saved before nonchalantly walking away from the penalty area with one gloved hand raised in true villain style. Horst Hrubesch (who had almost been sent home from the tournament for calling his manager a coward) now had the chance to win the tie, which he took and West Germany were in the final. BBC1 had late night highlights at 11:05pm-12:10am with Barry Davies & Bobby Charlton commentating, Davies making no attempt to disguise his bias against the Germans at the end.

Fri 09/Jul/1982
*No World Cup TV shows today.

3rd/4th place play off

Sat 10/Jul/1982    Poland 3 (Szarmach, Majewski, Kupcewicz) France 2 (Girard, Couriol)
Alicante, 7pm bst
ITV Highlights
John Helm
*Both channels had World Cup preview/round-up spots on their respective Saturday afternoon sports programmes, ITV during "World of Sport" at 1:00-1:15pm and BBC1 on "Grandstand" at 1:25-1:40pm. Neither channel opted to show live coverage of the play-off in the evening and ITV were the only station to broadcast highlights at 11:15pm-midnight. On 13 minutes, Girard moved forward into space and drove a grass cutting effort in-off the far post to give France the lead. At the other end, Szarmach hit the post from point blank range but made amends with an terrific equaliser on 40, half-volleying in-off the post from an angle on the left. Poland turned the game on its' head before HT, Majewski had a free header at goal on 44 after the keeper had flapped at a corner, 2-1. The Poles went further ahead at the start of the 2nd half on 46 when Kupcewicz had a surprise pop at goal from a free-kick wide on the left which beat Castaneda at his near post. Couriol pulled one back on 72 by poking the ball past the keeper with a suspicion of offside after he had been found unmarked in the area, but Poland hung on to claim 3rd place for the 2nd time in three World Cup tournaments. The BBC apparently included brief highlights (with Alan Parry commentating) as part of the build up to the final the following day.

The Final

Sun 11/Jul/1982    Italy 3 (Rossi, Tardelli, Altobelli) West Germany 1 (Breitner)
Bernabéu, Madrid, 7pm bst
ITV LIVE
Martin Tyler & Ian St John
*Both ITV and BBC1 showed the final live, ITV coverage began at the earlier time of 6:15pm and ran through until to 9:15pm, BBC1 coverage was at 6:30-9:10pm. Brian Moore presented ITV's coverage from the studio in London with Jimmy Greaves, Jack Charlton and John Bond on the panel. John Motson & Jimmy Hill commentated for the BBC who had the added attraction of the new England manager Bobby Robson on their panel. It was feared that the West Germans would be emotionally and psychologically drained after their epic Semi-final three days earlier, but it was the Italians who were forced into making an early substitution after only 7 minutes - Francesco Graziani injured a shoulder as he fell heavily after a fair tackle by Dremmler and was replaced by Alessandro Altobelli. The best chance of a scoreless and often cynical first-half fell to Italy when they were awarded a penalty on 24 minutes, Hans-Peter Briegel's arm hauling down Bruno Conti near right edge of the six yard area after the Italian had looked the more likely to get a head to a ball played into the box by the sub Altobelli. As Antonio Cabrini prepared to take the kick, a small firework was thrown from the crowd and landed near the penalty spot, Cabrini waited a few more seconds and then rolled the ball wide of the right hand post, the first penalty ever to be missed in a World Cup final.

The breakthrough came on 57 minutes, Claudio Gentile floated a ball across the penalty area from the right, a defender and attacker both lunged for it and missed leaving three more players next in-line - Rossi, Cabrini and a defender of whom Paulo Rossi managed to get the touch with his head to bundle the ball in from inside the six yard area, it was Rossi's sixth goal of the tournament, earning him the golden boot award. West Germany almost equalised in a scramble in the six-yard area at the other end - Briegel's cross pushed away by Dino Zoff which Fulvio Collovati then attempted to control with two German forwards converging on it, but the Italian was somehow able to keep it from them until Zoff smothered the danger. On 69 Italy broke through Gaetano Scirea, he laid it off to Conti on the half-way line who set off on a penetrating run until forced to check, at which point Rossi took over and played the ball wide to Scirera near the right byline, he backhealed to the 19 year old Giuseppe Bergomi who played the one-two, Scirera then patiently held on before laying off to Marco Tardelli on the edge of the 'D', the ball flicked away off his boot to the left as he set himself up to shoot, forcing him to stretch to get in a left footed angled strike; "They've almost had too much time" called Tyler, "Until it comes to Tardelli..." and the ball whistled in-off the post with Schumacher stood watching, Tardelli's celebration remains one of the most iconic moments in World Cup history, screaming an open mouthed roar of total ecstasy with his head shaking from side to side as he ran in the general direction of the touchline camera towards the Italian bench; "Marco Tardelli expressing what it's like to score in a World Cup final.", 2-0 Italy. On 81, the West Germans had a penalty appeal turned down and an Italian break then saw Conti making strides into acres of space on the right, he found Altobelli near the penalty area, Schumacher came racing out to meet him but Altobelli side-stepped the German keeper and slipped the ball past the defenders on the line for number three; "3-0! How calmly he took his moment. And now there is no doubt that Italy are the champions" declared Tyler. Two minutes later, West Germany pulled one back, sub Hansi Müller swung in a free-kick from wide left, the ball then pinged around the box before falling to Paul Breitner whose downward volley beat Zoff and found the far corner (it was Breitner's 2nd goal in a World Cup final having previously scored in 1974), but it had come too late.

At full time, the referee scooped up the ball and held it above his head with both hands as if he was lifting the trophy himself as he blew the whistle already placed in his mouth. The 40 year old veteran goalkeeper Dino Zoff lifted the World Cup for Italy, the oldest player to have ever won the trophy having previously collected a Euro's winners medal in only his 4th international appearance way back in 1968. It was Italy's 3rd World Cup success, equalling the record of Brazil. Italy manager manager Enzo Bearzot said afterwards; "I think the match against Argentina was the key which opened the way for us. The final is mainly a question of keeping calm."


The famous 'Tardelli Cry' (left) in celebration of Italy's 2nd goal in the final, Italy's World Cup role of honour displayed
at the end of the game by Spanish TV with a flashing "Madrid 1982" (centre) and Dino Zoff lifting the FIFA World Cup trophy.

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04.05.2022

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