Group F of the 1986 FIFA World Cup was one of the groups of the

1986 FIFA World Cup The 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-team format. Colombia ha ...

. The group's first round of matches began on 2 June and its last matches were played on 11 June. Most matches were played at the Estadio Universitario and the

Estadio Tecnológico The Estadio Tecnológico was a multi-purpose stadium located in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico, located on the campus of the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM). It hosted association football, football and American fo ...

Monterrey Monterrey ( , ) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León, Mexico, and the third largest city in Mexico behind Guadalajara and Mexico City. Located at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the city is anchor ...

. After the first four matches yielded just two goals, locals dubbed it the "Group of Sleep".

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

surprisingly topped the group, joined in the second round by

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

were the other team in this group, making their first appearance since 1966. Morocco drew their first two matches 0–0 against Poland and England, while Portugal defeated England in their opening match 1–0, but were themselves beaten by Poland by the same scoreline. England's match against Morocco featured their first sending-off in a World Cup, when

Ray Wilkins Ray may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin Science and mathematics * Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point * Ray (gra ...

was shown a red card after throwing the ball which struck the referee when an offside decision went against England. Thus, Poland led the group after two games, with Portugal in second place on goals scored. However, England defeated Poland 3–0 with a first half hat-trick from

Gary Lineker Gary Winston Lineker (; born 30 November 1960) is an English former professional footballer and current sports broadcaster. He is regarded as having been one of the greatest English strikers. His media career began with the BBC, where he has p ...

to take second place behind Morocco, who beat Portugal 3–1 with goals from

Abderrazak Khairi Abderrazak Khairi (born 20 November 1962) is a Moroccan former association football, football player and coach who played as a midfielder. Career Born in Rabat, Khairi played for the local club FAR Rabat. He scored goals in the 1985 and 1986 Cou ...

and

Abdelkrim Merry Abdelkrim Merry (born 13 January 1955), nicknamed Krimau, is a Moroccan former professional footballer who played as a striker. Club career Born in Casablanca, Morocco, Krimau spent his entire professional career in France, reaching the 1978 U ...

. Poland, in third, only qualified for the second round as one of the four best third-place finishers.

Standings

Matches

Morocco vs Poland

Portugal vs England

England vs Morocco

Poland vs Portugal

England vs Poland

Portugal vs Morocco

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Group F

Group F Group F may refer to: * A set of international motor racing regulations used in touring car racing * One of six or eight groups of four teams competing at the FIFA World Cup ** 2022 FIFA World Cup Group F ** 2018 FIFA World Cup Group F ** 2014 FIF ...

group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic iden ...

Poland at the 1986 FIFA World Cup

Group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic iden ...

Portugal at the 1986 FIFA World Cup