1986 FIFA World Cup Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
1986 FIFA World Cup
Tournament details
Host country	Mexico
Dates	31 May – 29 June
Teams	24 (from 5 confederations)
Venue(s)	12 (in 9 host cities)
Final positions
Champions	Argentina (2nd title)
Runners-up	West Germany
Third place	France
Fourth place	Belgium
Tournament statistics
Matches played	52
Goals scored	132 (2.54 per match)
Attendance	2,393,031 (46,020 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Gary Lineker (6 goals)
Best player	Diego Maradona
← 1982 1990 →

Diego Maradona holding the World Cup trophy in 1986.

The 1986 FIFA World Cup was a huge international football tournament. It took place in Mexico from May 31 to June 29, 1986. This was the second time Mexico hosted the World Cup.

Twenty-four national teams from around the world competed for the famous trophy. After many exciting matches, Argentina won the tournament. They beat Germany in the final game. The amazing Diego Maradona from Argentina was named the best player of the tournament.

Teams That Played
How the Tournament Worked
- Group Stage
- Knockout Stage
Images for kids
See also

Teams That Played

Teams from five different parts of the world came to Mexico to compete. Here are the countries that took part:

Africa

Asia

Europe

North and Central America

South America

How the Tournament Worked

The tournament had two main parts: the group stage and the knockout stage.

Group Stage

The 24 teams were first divided into six groups, from Group A to Group F. Each group had four teams. Teams in a group played against each other once.

Teams got 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, and 0 points for a loss.
The top two teams from each group moved on to the next stage.
Also, the four best third-place teams from all groups got to move on. This made the competition very exciting!

Here are the teams that made it out of their groups:

Group A: Argentina and Italy moved on. Bulgaria also qualified as a best third-place team.
Group B: Mexico and Paraguay advanced. Belgium qualified as a best third-place team.
Group C: Soviet Union and France made it through.
Group D: Brazil and Spain went to the next round.
Group E: Denmark and West Germany qualified. Uruguay also qualified as a best third-place team.
Group F: Morocco and England moved on. Poland qualified as a best third-place team.

Knockout Stage

The knockout stage was a series of single-elimination matches. If a team lost, they were out of the tournament. This stage included the Round of 16, Quarterfinals, Semifinals, a match for third place, and the Final.

Round of 16

In this round, 16 teams played. Some of the big games included:

Mexico beat Bulgaria 2-0.
Belgium won a thrilling game against the Soviet Union 4-3 after extra time.
Brazil defeated Poland 4-0.
Argentina won against Uruguay 1-0.
France beat Italy 2-0.
West Germany won a close match against Morocco 1-0.
England defeated Paraguay 3-0.
Spain had a big win over Denmark 5-1.

Quarterfinals

Eight teams played in the Quarterfinals:

France won against Brazil in a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw.
West Germany also won in a penalty shootout against host nation Mexico after a 0-0 draw.
Argentina beat England 2-1 in a very famous match where Diego Maradona scored two memorable goals.
Belgium won against Spain in a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw.

Semifinals

Only four teams remained:

West Germany defeated France 2-0.
Argentina beat Belgium 2-0, with both goals scored by Diego Maradona.

Third Place Match

The teams that lost in the semifinals played for third place:

France won against Belgium 4-2 after extra time, taking third place.

Final Match

The big final was played between Argentina and West Germany.

Argentina won the World Cup by beating West Germany 3-2 in a very exciting game.
José Luis Brown, Jorge Valdano, and Jorge Burruchaga scored for Argentina.
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Rudi Völler scored for West Germany.
This was Argentina's second World Cup title!

Images for kids

Pique, the official mascot of the 1986 FIFA World Cup.
Countries qualified for World Cup Country did not qualify Countries that did not enter World Cup Country not a FIFA member
Map of results
Mexican fans celebrating at Zocalo main square on June 7, 1986.
Cruz and Cabañas going for the ball in Mexico vs Paraguay match.
Antonio Alzamendi scoring a goal for Uruguay against West Germany.