1982 World Cup: European Countries Dominate The Tournament

For Brazilians, only the 1950 tournament is more traumatic than the 1982 World Cup, hosted by Spain.

The FIFA World Cup finals in Brazil went into football history books for coining the expression Maracanazo, or the Maracanã blow, referring to the 2-1 defeat suffered by the hosts to Uruguay in a packed-out Maracana Stadium.

The 1982 edition in Spain was held 32 years later, and it would forever be remembered in Brazil due to the match labeled by the national press as the ‘Sarriá Stadium Tragedy.’

 

1982 World Cup Facts

Date: June 13 – July 11, 1982
1982 World Cup Final Score: Italy – West Germany 3-1
3rd place: Poland – France 3-2
1982 World Cup Teams: 24
Stadiums: 17
Host cities: 14
Matches played: 52
Goals: 146
Attendance: 2,109,723
Top scorer: Paolo Rossi (Italy) 6 goals

1982 FIFA World Cup Background

Back in July 1966, it was announced that Spain would host the 12th FIFA World Cup finals in 1982.

Since the 1978 World Cup was held in South America, it was again Europe’s turn to host the next World Championships. Spain had only one competitor, which was also interested in hosting the international tournament: West Germany.

Both countries, however, made a deal that resulted in the Germans hosting the 1974 World Cup and Spain the 1982 event.

West Germany withdrew their bid for the 1982 tournament, and Spain withdrew their bid for the 1974 tournament.

World Cup 1982 Participants

In total, 109 countries tried to qualify for the 1982 World Cup and had more chances to eventually participate in Spain ’82 compared to the previous soccer tournaments.

Why is that? Because FIFA changed one aspect of the tournament, which caused a great impact format-wise.

Instead of 16 teams, the 1982 event allowed 24 countries to qualify. This meant the amount of 16 qualifiers ended since this has been a consistent amount since the 1954 FIFA tournament.

The increase to 24 qualifiers meant the chance to qualify increased for countries outside South America and Europe, especially for Asian and African countries.

World Cup holders Argentina, and Spain, the 1982 host, were automatically qualified. This meant 22 places had to be filled up.

Thirteen places for Europe, excluding Spain, were allocated to the following countries: Italy, West Germany, England, Austria, Soviet Union, Hungary, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Belgium, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and France.

Northern Ireland qualified for the first time since 1958. England, Czechoslovakia, Belgium, and the Soviet Union qualified for the first time since 1970. Three places for South America, excluding Argentina, were allocated to the following countries: Brazil, Peru, and Chile.

Two places for North/Central America and the Caribbean were allocated to the following countries: Honduras and El Salvador. Honduras qualified for the first time.

Two places for Africa were allocated to the following countries: Cameroon and Algeria, which both qualified for the first time. One place for Asia was allocated to the country Kuwait which qualified for the first time.

One place for Oceania was allocated to the country New Zealand which also qualified for the first time.

On July 6, 1966, in London, not only Spain was announced as a host country for the 1982 World Cup.

West Germany was announced as the host country for the 1974 World Cup, and Argentina as the host country for the 1978 tournament.

1982 World Cup Draw

There was a mishap with one of the rotating drums containing the mini-footballs with the team’s names at the Madrid Palacio de Congresos under the patronage of the Spanish royal family during the draw ceremony that left the South American qualifiers confused in an attempt to keep them apart.

As a result, FIFA has returned to the foolproof system of using men rather than machines to conduct the draw. A seeded team was in each of the six four-team, first-round groups at the 1982 World Cup, which was the first to have 24 finalists.

It took extensive discussions to seed Argentina, Brazil, Germany, France, England, Spain, and the eventual champions, Italy.

1982 World Cup Groups

Since 16 participants have been increased to 24 participants, the format also had to be changed.

The format became unique but resembled the structure of the West Germany 1974 and Argentina 1978 World Cups.

The six groups with four teams in each group would play a round-robin tournament, meaning the teams played against all the other teams in the group.

One point would be rewarded for a draw and 2 points for a win. When teams have equal points, the goal difference rule would determine who would advance to the next round.

Two teams of each group would advance to the next round, another group stage. Because of the increase in participants, 12 countries entered the second stage.

They were put in 4 groups of 3 teams in each group. Only 1 team of each group would advance to the Semi-Final, the knockout stage.

The six seed countries were Argentina, Brazil, England, Italy, Spain, and the Germans. They were kept apart from each other and were placed in different groups.

The groups were as follows:

Group 1	Group 2	Group 3
Italy	West Germany	Belgium
Poland	Austria	Argentina
Cameroon	Algeria	Hungary
Peru	Chile	El Salvador

Group 4	Group 5	Group 6
England	Spain	Brazil
France	Northern Ireland	Soviet Union
Czechoslovakia	Yugoslavia	Scotland
Kuwait	Honduras	New Zealand

World Cup 1982 Stadiums

Seventeen stadiums were used in 14 cities during the 1982 soccer tournament. 2 stadiums were used in 3 cities: Madrid, Barcelona, and Sevilla.

The total amount of 17 stadiums. But this record has already been beaten by the 2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea and Japan.

The following 14 cities and 17 stadiums were used in Spain:

 

Estadio Santiago Bernabeu

Location: Madrid
Opened: 1947
Capacity: 91,000
Matches: 4
Status: The second largest Spanish stadium is an all-seater renovated in the 1990s and 2011.

Estadio Vicente Calderon

Location: Madrid
Opened: 1966
Capacity: 66,000
Matches: 3
Status: The first stadium to be classified as a 5 Star UEFA Elite stadium.

 

Camp Nou

Location: Barcelona
Opened: 1957
Capacity: 120,000
Matches: 5
Status: Largest European stadium and 11th largest stadium worldwide, renovated in 1995 and 2008.

Estadi de Sarria

Location: Barcelona
Opened: 1923

Capacity: 44,000
Matches: 3
Status: Demolished in 1997 due to financial problems.

 

Estadio de Balaidos

Location: Vigo
Opened: 1928
Capacity: 31,800
Matches: 3
Status: Renovated in 1982 for the World Cup but is now in a poor state.

Estadio Riazor

Location: A Coruna
Opened: 1944
Capacity: 34,600
Matches: 3
Status: Multi-purpose stadium was renovated in 1982 for the World Cup and in the late 90s.

 

Estadio El Molinon

Location: Gijon
Opened: 1908
Capacity: 47,000
Matches: 3
Status: It is the oldest professional football field in Spain and was expanded in 1981 for the World Cup and in 2010.

Estadio Carlos Tartiere

Location: Oviedo
Opened: 1932
Capacity: 23,000
Matches: 3
Status: Demolished in 2003 and replaced with the current Estadio Carlos Tartiere.

 

Nuevo Estadio del Elche C.F

Location: Elche
Opened: 1976
Capacity: 40,000
Matches: 3
Status: It went by the name Estadio Manuel Martinez Valero and was renovated for the first time in 2013.

Estadio José Rico Pérez

Location: Alicante
Opened: 1974
Capacity: 38,000
Matches: 3
Status: It is a multi-purpose stadium with plans to create a new stadium with more capacity.

 

Estadio San Mames

Location: Bilbao
Opened: 1913
Capacity: 47,000
Matches: 3
Status: Demolished in 2013, and a new stadium is currently being built

Estadio Jose Zorrilla

Location: Valladolid
Opened: 1982
Capacity: 30,000
Matches: 3
Status: There are plans to increase the capacity to the stadium that was built for the World Cup.

Estadio Luis Casanova

Location: Valencia
Opened: 1923
Capacity: 55,000
Matches: 3
Status: It is named Estadio de Mestalla with plans to be replaced with the Nou Mestalla.

Estadio de La Romareda

Location: Zaragoza
Opened: 1957
Capacity: 42,000
Matches: 3
Status: It is now an all-seater stadium and was renovated in 1977, 1982, and 1994.

 

Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan

Location: Sevilla
Opened: 1958
Capacity: 70,500
Matches: 2
Status: Renovated in 1982 for the World Cup and in the late 90s.

Estadio Benito Villamarin

Location: Sevilla
Opened: 1929
Capacity: 47,500
Matches: 2
Status: was temporarily called Estadio Manuel Ruiz de Lopera but was changed back.

 

Estadio La Rosaleda

Location: Malaga
Opened: 1941
Capacity: 44,000
Matches: 3
Status: Renovated in 1982 for the World Cup, 2000, and 2010.

1982 FIFA World Cup Memorable Matches

Cameroon – Italy 1-1

Balaidos, Vigo – Attendance: 20,000

Against all expectations, Italy didn’t beat Cameroon, who were playing in their first World Cup. Italian Francesco Graziani scored the first goal, but only one minute later, Grégoire M’BidaM’Bida scored the equalizer. The match ended 1-1.

This was the third match Italy drew. In World Championship history, Italy won no games in the group stage. Cameroon was the other country that drew all three matches. The Cameroonian team also included Roger Milla, who would celebrate his goals with a dance in a FIFA World Cup eight years later.

Italy and Cameroon ended in 2nd place in their group, with the same points and goal difference. This means the number of goals scored decided who would advance. Italy advanced since they scored one more goal than Cameroon. Cameroon was eliminated despite having lost 0 matches.

The only match which was won in this group was Poland against Peru. Poland won 5-1 and advanced in the tournament as the number one seed in Group 1.

West Germany – Algeria 1-2

El Molinon, Gijon – Attendance: 42,000

This match is considered one of the greatest World Cup upsets ever. This was the only time so far in World Championship history that an African country succeeded in defeating West Germany.

Striker Rabah Madjer scored the first goal in the 2nd half. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge scored 15 minutes later the 1-1. Surprisingly, one minute later, midfielder Lakhdar Belloumi scored the winning goal for Algeria. Although Algeria won 2 of the 3 group matches, they failed to advance to the 2nd round.

Since the rule of 2 countries advancing to the 2nd round was introduced in the 1954 tournament, Algeria became and still is the only country in World Cup history that failed to advance while winning 2 group matches.

West Germany – Austria 1-0

El Molinon, Gijon – Attendance: 41,000

This was the last Group 2 match. Algeria already played their final match and defeated Chile by 3-2.

So after that match, West Germany and Austria were aware of the following: If the Germans won by 1 or 2 goals, both countries would qualify. A more significant German victory would qualify Algeria instead of Austria, and a draw or an Austrian win would eliminate Germany.

So 10 minutes after kick-off, German forward Horst Hrubesch scored the only goal. After this goal, it seemed both teams didn’t care anymore.

Like there was an unspoken agreement between both teams. The ball was kicked around with no apparent objective. The match was different from the 1978 World Cup match Miracle of Cordoba.

Spanish supporters were chanting” fuera, fuera” (“out, out”), and angry Algerian supporters waved banknotes at the players. Even German and Austrian fans noticed strange playing behavior and weren’t approving of this either.

Algeria protested to FIFA, but the end score was allowed to stand. Algeria was eliminated, and both West Germany and Austria advanced. The three countries had 4 points, but due to the goal difference rule, Algeria was the eliminated one.

This match contributed highly to FIFA’sFIFA’s new rule introduced in the 1986 World Cup, where the final two games in each group are played simultaneously.

Hungary – El Salvador 10-1

Nuevo Estadio, Elche – Attendance: 23,000

The highest number of goals have been scored in this match of all 1982 World Cup matches 11. Ten by Hungary and a consolation goal by El Salvador.

Never in history has a team scored ten goals in one match. Only two games in history contained 11 goals: Hungary – West Germany in World Cup 1954 (8-3) and Brazil – Poland in 1938 (6-5).

The score was 5-0 before El Salvador scored their only goal by Luis Ramírez. This is so far the only goal ever scored in the tournament by El Salvador.

Tibor Nyilasi, Gábor Pölöskei, László Fazekas, József Tóth, and Lázár Szentes were the Hungarian goalscorers. In addition, László Kiss scored a hat-trick in seven minutes, the fastest hat-trick in FIFA World Cup history.

Nevertheless, both countries failed to advance since no victory was gained against Argentina and Belgium. Argentina and Belgium were the countries that advanced.

France – Kuwait 4-1

Estadio Jose Zorrilla, Valladolid – Attendance: 30,043

France needed a win since they lost the first match against England. France ended up winning this match easily. Bernard Genghini, Michel Platini, Didier Six and Maxime Bossis scored for France. Abdullah Al-Buloushi scored the only goal for Kuwait.

The goal that became memorable was the fourth goal against Kuwait by midfielder Alain Giresse, which initially was a clear goal. However, the players from Kuwait complained fiercely.

They thought a whistle coming from the audience was made by the referee. Therefore they stopped running. Even Sheikh Fahad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah intervened!

He was then president of the Kuwaiti Football Association, and his brother was the Emir of Kuwait. He participated in the discussion and threatened to take the players off the soccer field. After these discussions, the referee disallowed the goal!

France would soon score a 4th goal that was allowed. FIFA later suspended the referee, and Sheikh Fahad was fined $14,000. Next to France was England, which advanced as well.

Spain – Yugoslavia 2-1

Estadio Luis Casanova, Valencia – Attendance: 48,000

Spain was the only country that was able to beat Yugoslavia.

Midfielder Ivan Gudelj scored the first goal, but the referee awarded Spain a penalty 4 minutes later. Juanito scored the penalty successfully, and Enrique Saura scored the 3rd and last goal of the match. With Northern Ireland topping the group, Spain advanced to the 2nd round. They did have the same amount of points and goal difference as Yugoslavia.

However, as in Group 1, Spain advanced since it scored more goals than Yugoslavia. Since Northern Ireland defeated Spain in their last match, Northern Ireland became the surprising number one-seeded team in the group.

Brazil – Soviet Union 2-1

Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, Seville – Attendance: 68,000

This was their first 1982 World Cup match. The match almost ended in a draw. Andriy Bal scored the first goal for the Soviet Union, where Brazilian goalkeeper Waldir Peres made a mistake by touching the ball wrongly.

Socrates scored the first goal for Brazil. Then, three minutes before the final whistle, Brazilian forward Eder changed the score to 2-1.

Brazil is the only team in the group that has won all the group matches and consequently topped the group.

They were considered favorites with legendary players such as Zico, Socrates, and Falcao. Both Brazil and the Soviet Union advanced to the next round.

Strangely and coincidentally, Scotland became eliminated for a third time due to the goal difference rule! This was the same reason they were eliminated in the 1974 and 1978 World Cup!

Poland – Belgium 3-0

Camp Nou, Barcelona – Attendance: 65,000

In their pursuit to become 1982 World Cup champions, Poland won 3-0. All the goals were scored by Zbigniew Boniek, who scored a hat-trick. This was ultimately the decisive factor in advancing to the Semi-Final.

The Soviet Union beat Belgium only with a 1-0 score. Since the politically charged match between the Soviet Union against Poland ended in a draw, Poland advanced to the Semi-Final.

West Germany – Spain 2-1

Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid – Attendance: 90,089

This is the only group B second-round match that ended in a win. Pierre Littbarski and Klaus Fischer scored the first two goals for West Germany. Jesus María Zamora scored the goal for Spain in the last 10 minutes of the match. Since the Germans was the only country to win a match in the group, they advanced to the Semi-Final.

England became the second country after Cameroon to be eliminated despite losing no matches.

Argentina – Brazil 1-3

Estadio Sarria, Barcelona – Attendance: 43,000

The rivalry between both countries is fierce. Unfortunately, this Battle of the two South American teams ended pretty ugly when Diego Maradona kicked Joao Batista out of frustration 5 minutes before the final whistle.

He was directly sent off. Diego Maradona played his first World Cup in 1982 but did not perform to expectations. Brazil nevertheless won this ”battle” due to 3 goals scored by Zico, Serginho, and Junior.

Ramon Diaz scored a last-minute goal for Argentina but could not prevent Argentina from finishing last.

Italy – Brazil 3-2

Estadio Sarria, Barcelona – Attendance: 44,000

”Brazil was the favorite, and Italy was lucky to have come so far with three draws in the first round.” This was the common thought before they played against each other in this classic match.

This match is considered one of the best World Cup matches ever played. Paolo Rossi became the hero with his hat-trick resulting in the final score of 3-2.

Brazilian legends Socrates and Falcao scored the goals for Brazil. Falcao celebrated the equalizer with pure enjoyment, but this would not remain for long.

If the score remained 2-2, Brazil would have advanced. But it was again Rossi who scored the final goal sixteen minutes before the end of the match, resulting in a ticket to the Semi-Final.

The 1982 Brazilian golden team, which won every match, unexpectedly lost. Brazilians now know this match as ‘A tragédia do Sarriá ‘(Sarrià Stadium tragedy) for losing their final group games.

Northern Ireland – France 1-4

Estadio Vicente Calderon, Madrid – Attendance: 37,000

France was the only country that won two matches in Group C. Austria and England drew against each other and ended below France with one point.

In the 2nd match for France and Northern Ireland, France won with an impressive 1-4. Both Alain Giresse and Dominique Rocheteau scored two goals.

Gerry Armstrong scored the only goal for Northern Ireland. As a result, Austria and Northern Ireland were eliminated, and France advanced to the Semi-Final after winning their final group games.

1982 World Cup Semi-Finals

Poland – Italy 0-2

Camp Nou, Barcelona – Attendance: 50,000

This was the second time Poland and Italy encountered each other in this World Cup. They played against each other as Group 1 team members and ended the match with a 0-0 score.

This time there had to be a winner. It was Paolo Rossi who scored two goals for Italy. As a result, Italy advanced, and Poland had to play the match for third place.

West Germany – France 3-3 (5-4)

Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, Seville – Attendance: 70,000

This was a memorable Semi-Final match for several reasons. First, to start with the 1-1 score after 90 minutes. Both goals were scored by German Pierre Littbarski and French Michel Platini (penalty).

In the 2nd half, an ugly event occurred. French defender Patrick Battiston was running towards the German goal to accept a long ball but collided dangerously with German goalkeeper Harald Schumacher.

Battiston was knocked out with two knocked teeth and a broken jaw. He had to be carried off the field on a stretcher. Michel Platini later stated he thought he was dead since he had no pulse and looked pale!

The referee didn’t send the goalkeeper off and awarded a goal kick. Schumacher’sSchumacher’s action has been described as “one of history’s most shocking fouls.” He did apologize later in person to Battiston.

After 90 minutes, the match entered extra time. Four goals in total were scored in those additional 30 minutes! France started first with two goals in six minutes by Marius Tresor and Alain Giresse.

Giresse celebrated memorably, thinking the Final was a fact for France. The score was 1-3, but West Germany wasn’t giving up. As many times before, they managed to come back impressively.

Four minutes after Giresse’s goal, Germany stroke back. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Klaus Fischer both scored within six minutes of each other.

Fischer’sFischer’s goal is considered one of the most incredible German goals in football history. After extra time the score was 3-3.

The first penalty shootout in World Cup history had to take place. Manfred Kaltz, Paul Breitner, Pierre Littbarski, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, and Horst Hrubesch scored their penalty for Germany. Uli Stielike missed.

Alain Giresse, Manuel Amoros, Dominique Rocheteau, and Michel Platini scored their penalty for France. Didier Six and Maxime Bossis missed. The penalty score ended in 5-4, so Germany advanced to the Final.

1982 FIFA World Cup Final

Both Italy and the Germans have won the World Cup twice. For Italy, it was a very long time ago. They won both the 1934 and 1938 tournaments. Since 1938 they only had the chance to become FIFA World Cup champions in 1970. But their opponent Brazil won the Final.

The Federal Republic of Germany has a very different story. After their win in 1954, they played the England 1966 and West Germany 1974 World Cup Finals. Next to the 1954 Final, they managed to win the 1974 edition.

The Germans and Italy have played against each other: 3 times. In 1962 and 1978, the match ended in a draw, but Italy won in 1970.

The Germans were shocked at the beginning of this tournament due to the loss against Algeria in their first match. However, they recuperated on time and won all games except against England in the 2nd round (0-0).

The West German team caused lots of excitement again in the Semi-Final, where they won the first penalty shootout against France before reaching the 1982 World Cup Final.

Italy started to impress the world only from the second round. Paolo Rossi wasn’t at his best, and the media even criticized Italian trainer Enzo Bearzot for giving Paolo Rossi a chance.

However, this mindset changed drastically with his first three goals against Brazil. Since this match, Rossi was on a roll and maintained his excellent performance.

He scored two more goals against Poland in the Semi-Final, resulting in a safe passage for Italy to the Final.

On July 11, the Final was held between the two giants in Estadio Santiago Bernabeu. Ninety thousand people were watching this unique match in the stadium.

In the first 45 minutes of the match, no goals were scored. Italy was awarded a penalty, but Antonio Cabrini missed.

The real action started in the 2nd half. It began with Italian Paolo Rossi, who scored the first goal (57′). Then, within 15 minutes, the second goal was scored by Italian Marco Tardelli (69′). He celebrated his goal with such emotion it became an instantly memorable image.

Alessandro Altobelli scored the third goal twelve minutes later (81′). However, West Germany, known for never giving up, managed to score the final goal of the match by Paul Breitner (83′), resulting in the end score of 3-1.

Italy were the 1982 World Cup winners. They finally won another World Cup after forty-four years which no one would expect at the start of the tournament. They were now on the same level as Brazil, winning three trophies.

Dino Zoff, the goalkeeper and captain of Italy, is the oldest player to have won a World Championship. He was 40 years old.

Italy would return to a World Cup Final in the 1990s and 2000s. However, when it comes to the Federal Republic of Germany, World Cup fans were unable to ignore this team for eight more years. As a result, West Germany would appear in 2 successive Finals.

Sarria Stadium Tragedy

On 5 July 1982, at the Sarriá Stadium in Barcelona, over forty thousand people watched Italy’s 3-2 victory over Brazil of Zico, Falcão, Sócrates, Junior, Cerezo, Éder, and so many others.

Brazil, managed by Tele Santana, by that point, was the tournament’s sensation. They had beaten the Soviet Union, Scotland, New Zealand, and Maradona’s Argentina, always employing an offensive, attacking style.

Against the Italians, a draw would suffice to get the Brazilians through to the semi-final. However, no one counted on Paolo Rossi’s redemption. In 1980, the Italian sports court prosecuted the center forward for match-fixing and illegal betting as a result of the so-called Totonero scandal.

He got a three-year suspension, which was reduced to two months before the World Cup, meaning Rossi was allowed to return just in time for the World Championship.

Italy only managed some uninspiring performances in the first round of the 1982 World Cup in Spain: three draws against Poland, Peru, and Cameroon. The Azzurra only qualified for the next round because they scored one more goal than Cameroon.

Off the pace, as he had not played for a while, Paolo Rossi did not score in the first three games. After that, however, their performance would improve, and they would win the tournament.

1982 World Cup New Format

The 12th edition of the FIFA World Cup had a new format. Instead of 16 teams, the tournament had expanded to 24 teams. In addition, the first round consisted of a round-robin group stage, with six groups with four teams.

The top two teams in each group would qualify. In the second round, the twelve teams were divided into four groups of three. The top team would allow for the semi-finals.

In addition, six teams took part for the first time: Algeria, Cameroon, El Salvador, Honduras, Kuwait, and New Zealand. Algeria surprised everyone in the first match by beating Euro holders West Germany 2-1.

1982 World Cup Conspiracy

The Algerians also beat Chile but ended up being eliminated on goal difference the next day, when West Germany beat Austria 1-0 in a very controversial match, as a result, qualified both neighboring countries.

The match was so controversial that in the following tournaments, the last matches in the group stage started being played simultaneously.

Cameroon lacked luck. Despite being undefeated, the Africans were eliminated in the first round on goal difference. Honduras also surprised by drawing with hosts Spain, whose performance at the 1982 tournament was rather disappointing.

El Salvador was the first country to concede ten goals in a FIFA World Cup match, losing 10-1 to Hungary.

World Cup 1982 Mascot

After using human beings (young boys) as a mascot for three consecutive World Cups since 1970, it was now time to introduce something different.

Since FIFA wants to introduce a mascot that represents the host country’s culture, the typical Spanish orange as a character was chosen.

His name is Naranjito, derived from the word Naranja, which means orange in Spanish. As with Juanito and Gauchito, the 1970 and 1978 mascots, Naranjito also contains the diminutive suffix ”ito”.

In other words, Naranjito means little Naranja. He wears the Spanish kit and holds a football which is the Adidas Telstar used in Mexico 1970 and West Germany 1974 tournaments.

Naranjito is considered one of the most popular World Cup mascots. In Spain, he even had his cartoon in 1982, which was called Fútbol en Acción. There exist 26 episodes that have a duration of 20 minutes.

World Cup 1982 Song

Eeeeeeeel Mundial! With the 1982 World Cup, a song was introduced which is more lyrical than the anthem of the 1978 song.

The name is Mundial 82 and is considered as 1 of the better FIFA World Cup songs. The Spanish song is very catchy and traditional. Good luck getting that rhythm of the song out of your head!

Mundial 82 is sung by famous Spanish tenor and conductor Placido Domingo. He would later perform with Jose Carreras and Luciano Pavarotti as The Three Tenors in the 1994, 1998, and 2002 World Cup Finals.

At the 2006 Final, he appeared with Russian operatic soprano Anna Netrebko and Mexican tenor Rolando Villazon.

World Cup 1982 Records

• Five countries qualified for the first time: Algeria, Cameroon, Honduras, Kuwait, and New Zealand
• First World Cup to contain 24 participants instead of 16
• Italy won the World Championships for the 3rd time after 44 years.
• First World Cup in which countries from each continent qualified (except Antarctica).
• Golden Ball is awarded for the first time.
• The FIFA Fair Play Trophy included a golden trophy for the first time.
• First time since 1966, all 4 Semi-Finalists are European teams.
• New Zealander Steve Sumner scores the first World Cup goal scored by an Oceanian country in the match against Scotland (2-5).
• German midfielder Paul Breitner is the 3rd player to have scored a goal in two Finals (1974, 1982).

• The first penalty shootout in WC history was in the Semi-Final match between West Germany against France. The Germans won 5-4.
• Italian Antonio Cabrini missed a FIFA World Cup Final penalty for the first time.
• Italy, who won the FIFA World Cup 1982, became the first country to advance from the first round without winning any matches, drawing all three matches.
• Italy became the first country to have won after having played three matches that ended in a draw.
• Italian goalkeeper and captain Dino Zoff is the oldest player (40 years old) to have won the famous trophy
• Hungary’s win over El Salvador (10-1) is the biggest victory ever in World Cup history.
• Hungarian substitute Laszlo Kiss scored the fastest hat-trick in history: in 7 minutes (70, 74, and 77 minutes) against El Salvador.
• Laszlo Kiss is the only substitute in WC history to have scored a hat-trick.

• This was the 3rd time and last time Scotland didn’t advance due to the goal difference rule (this coincidentally happened in 1974,1978, and 1982).
• Northern Ireland player Norman Whiteside is the youngest player to have ever played in a World Cup; he was 17 years and 41 days and surpassed Pelé’s 1958 record.
• Czechoslovakia became the second and Belgium the third country to play all three goalkeepers in one tournament.
• Italian striker Paolo Rossi is the third player to have won the Golden Boot, Golden Ball, and the tournament (after the Golden Ball was retrospectively awarded).
• Paolo Rossi is the 2nd player to have won a Golden Ball (1982) and a Silver Ball (1978) (after the Golden/ Silver Ball were retrospectively awarded).
• Since the rule of 2 countries advancing to the 2nd round was introduced in the 1954 World Cup, Algeria became and still is the only country in history that failed to advance while winning two group matches.
• A record 17 stadiums were used for this World Championships. This record was broken in 2002.

Did You Know

• Cameroon and England were eliminated without losing a match.
• Last tournament where the final two matches in each group of the opening round were played at separate times.
• The term’ group of death’ was used for the second time, referring to the 2nd round of Group C, including Italy, World Cup holders Argentina, and Brazil, where only 1 team would advance to the Semi-Final (Italy).
• The opening match of Argentina – Belgium is the first match not to end in 0-0 since the 1962 FIFA World Cup opening match.
• The Netherlands, which made it to the Final in West Germany in 1974 and Argentina 1978, would only qualify for 1990 again.
• Italian midfielder Marco Tardelli celebrated Italy’s second goal in the Final, famously full of emotion: he moved his arms and head wildly while screaming ‘gol’. His celebration is also called l’urlo di Tardelli (Tardelli’s scream).
• Although Paolo Rossi won the Golden Boot, he scored zero goals in the first round.
• Brazil’s Golden Team is among the few greatest teams to have never won a World Cup.
• Tango España match ball is very similar to the ball Tango used in Argentina ’78.
• The Tango España match ball is the first World Cup ball made of genuine leather and synthetic material: polyurethane coating to provide a more efficient water repellent.
• Although the Tango España match ball had water-resistant qualities, the rubber started to wear off quickly, which resulted in replacing the ball various times during a match.

World Cup 1982 Finals Awards

Golden Ball: Paolo Rossi (Italy)
Silver Ball: Falcão (Brazil)
Bronze Ball: Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (West Germany)
Golden Boot: Paolo Rossi (Italy) (6 goals)
Silver Boot: Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (West Germany) (5 goals)
Bronze Boot: Zico (Brazil), Zbigniew Boniek (Poland) (4 goals)
Best Young Player Award: Manuel Amoros (21 years old) (France)
FIFA Fair Play Trophy: Brazil

World Cup 1982 FIFA All-Star Team

After being included in the previous All-Star Team, Italian player Paolo Rossi was included again for the second time in the 1982 All-Star Team.

French player Michel Platini, who is making his first appearance in an All-Star Team, would also be included in the next one. This is Poland’s last time to be part of a FIFA All-Star Team.

Goalkeeper

• Dino Zoff (Italy)

Defenders

• Luizinho (Brazil
• Júnior (Brazil)
• Claudio Gentile (Italy)
• Fulvio Collovati (Italy)

Midfielders

• Zbigniew Boniek (Poland)
• Falcão (Brazil)
• Michel Platini (France)
• Zico (Brazil)

Forwards

• Paolo Rossi (Italy)
• Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (West Germany)