Topic summary
1986 FIFA World Cup final
The final match of the 1986 FIFA World Cup, the thirteenth edition of FIFA's football competition for men's national teams, was played at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City on 29 June 1986, and was contested between Argentina and West Germany. The tournament featured host Mexico and defending champions Italy, as well as 22 other teams that emerged from the qualification phase, organized by the six FIFA confederations.
The 24 teams competed in a group stage, where 16 teams qualified for the knockout stage. En route to the final, Argentina finished atop Group A with two wins over South Korea and Bulgaria and one draw against Italy. They then defeated Uruguay in the round of 16, England in the quarter-final, and Belgium in the semi-final. Germany finished second in Group E, drawing against Uruguay, winning over Scotland, and losing to Denmark. They then defeated Morocco in the round of 16, Mexico via a penalty shoot-out in the quarter-final, and France in the semi-final.
The final took place in front of 114,600 supporters, and was referred by Romualdo Arppi Filho from Brazil. In the first half of the match, José Luis Brown opened the scoring with a header for Argentina. Jorge Valdano scored from a low drive shot in the second half to double Argentina's lead before Karl-Heinz Rummenigge pulled a goal back for West Germany in the 74th minute. After West Germany equalised in the 81st minute with a header by Rudi Völler, Jorge Burruchaga netted the ball into the corner three minutes later to seal a 3–2 victory for Argentina.