Malcolm MacDonald Scores Five Goals - Ee-ay, ee-ay-oh

“I don’t want you here. I wouldn’t have picked you, but the media has made it impossible so here you are.  If you don’t score in this match I won’t be picking you again”

Malcolm MacDonald, for some, was the archetypal English centre-forward.  Big, strong, and good in the air.  Unlike other “big number nines” he was extremely quick on the ground as viewers of the iconic 1970’s Superstars series will confirm.

He first began his career at Fulham, the club he was born just down the road from.  He was one of the kids who used to hang around the ground looking for autographs from players such as Bobby Robson.  It was Robson who signed him at Craven Cottage.  He moved to Luton Town in 1969 and then onto Newastle United in the summer of 1971.  That season he scored twenty-three goals as Newcastle finished mid-table.  He endeared himself to the home supporters by scoring a hat-trick against Liverpool on his home debut.

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January 1972 saw him win England honours for the first time as he was picked for the under-23 side which took on Wales at Swindon.  He lined up alongside Mick Channon, Phil Parkes, Colin Todd, Ray Kennedy and Tony Currie.  He opened the scoring too, in a 2-0 victory.  Two further appearances against Scotland and East Germany were enough to persuade Alf Ramsey to add him to the full squad for the British Home International Championships.  The now defunct competition was between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and took place during May at the end of every season.  Each team played each other once to determine the British champions, with England versus Scotland always being the final fixture.  

Ramsey put MacDonald straight into the starting line-up as England took on Wales at Ninian Park, Cardiff.  England had just been knocked out of the European Championships losing the two-legged Quarter-Final to the eventual winners, West Germany.  MacDonald lined up alongside players such as Gordon Banks, Bobby Moore, Colin Bell, Emlyn Hughes, Norman Hunter and Rodney Marsh.  Hughes, Marsh and Bell scored in a 3-0 win.  A surprise defeat at Wembley to Northern Ireland when future Arsenal manager, and the man who would sign MacDonald to the club, Terry Neill scored the only goal of the game, was then forgotten about when Alan Ball did likewise in a 1-0 win at Hampden against Scotland.

MacDonald seemed to have done enough to impress England’s World Cup winning manager and when he scored a hat-trick against Wales for the under-23’s in November.  But England had plenty of strikers to choose from then with Allan Clarke, Martin Chivers, Mick Channon and Joe Royle being selected ahead of Supermac.  MaDonald didn’t put on another England shirt until he lined up in Moscow for a friendly against Soviet Union where Bobby Moore equalled Bobby Charlton’s appearances world record.  England had just lost a crucial World Cup qualifier in Poland just four days before and were pleased to bounce back with a 2-1 win.

That June appearance was his only cap in 1973 but the summer of 1974 saw him have another run in the team.  England had just suffered the ignominy of failing to qualify for the 1974 World Cup and then lost at home to Italy when Fabio Capello scored.  In April MacDonald was selected for the friendly in Lisbon against Portugal.  Playing up front alongside Mick Channon he was unable to get his first full international goal as the game ended 0-0.  Soon after that Alf Ramsey was sacked.

Ramsey had been a fan of MacDonald and had spoken to him encouraging him to remain patient but assuring him he had a place at this level.

Joe Mercer was the stop-gap caretaker manager for the Home Internationals and ignored MacDonald for the wins over Wales and Northern Ireland but brought him on as a sub for Frank Worthington at Hampden Park where England lost 0-2.  A month later MacDonald was again a replacement for Worthington and goals from Keegan and Channon helped England to a 2-2 draw in Yugoslavia.  Then Don Revie was named as new England manager.

MacDonald never knew why Revie didn’t like him but wondered if it was because he often scored against Leeds when Revie was in charge.

He wasn’t called up for the first two games of Revie’s reign but got the call when World Champions West Germany were to visit Wembley.  MacDonald was in the middle of another twenty-goal season but when he reported for duty he was greeted by the England manager with a terse

“I don’t want you here. I wouldn’t have picked you, but the media has made it impossible so here you are.  If you don’t score in this match I won’t be picking you again”

Not known for his Shanklyesque powers of motivation so MacDonald had every reason to believe Revie was serious.  Lining up alongside Channon and Keegan, MacDonald finally broke his duck midway through the second half. Mick Channon took a quick free-kick on the right wing to Alan Ball and his accurate cross to the far post saw MacDonald head the ball home for his first ever England goal in his eighth appearance.  A 2-0 win had everyone smiling.  But in the dressing room afterwards, if Supermac was to imagine his manager’s sullen exterior was to be relaxed, he was disappointed.  Revie came in and shook all the players by the hand but when he came to MacDonald he completely blanked him and walked out.

A month later and Cyprus came to Wembley for the European Championship qualifiers.  When MacDonald met up with the squad again he was greeted with the same ‘welcome’ from his manager.

“I don’t want you here. I wouldn’t have picked you, but again the media has made it impossible so here you are.  If you don’t score in this match I won’t be picking you again”.

During the build up to the game Revie was similarly cold towards the Newcastle striker who was convinced he was like this rather than Revie trying some reverse psychology on him.  The day before the match MacDonald was so bothered by this treatment he spoke to the captain, Alan Ball and explained how things were.  Initially Bally dismissed it but when MacDonald told him about Revie’s behaviour in the dressing room afterwards he decided this was not on.  So Ball gathered Colin Bell, Alan Hudson and Kevin Keegan and explained how they were going to make sure MacDonald scored.  Ball said the record number of goals scored in one match for England was five, with Willie Hall in 1938 being the last player to do it.  But no player had done it in a competitive match.  So the plan was to make sure Malcolm beat the record and scored six goals.  MacDonald was stunned at the camaraderie but excited at what the team might be able to create for him.

Just two minutes into the game and Kevin Keegan was brought down on the left wing.  Alan Hudson took the free-kick and MacDonald got his head to the ball just ahead of Dave Watson and England were 1-0 up.  One.   






During the celebration Ball came up to MacDonald and reminded him that was goal number one and five more to go.  Ten minutes before half-time and Colin Bell burst forward to the right edge of the area but his ball into the box missed everyone.  Keegan picked it up on the left, turned a defender and pulled it back from the bye-line where MacDonald scuffed his shot but with enough power to beat the keeper.  Two

Just before the break MacDonald hit a shot against the post and could easily have a first half hat-trick.  2-0 at the break and it wasn’t long before they added to their tally in the second half.  Paul Madeley brought the ball into the Cypriot half and exchanged passes with Bell before floating a ball to the far post where Keegan nodded it down for MacDonald to complete his hat-trick.  Three

Revie then shuffled his pack but instead of taking off MacDonald he chose to take off Channon and replace him with QPR’s Dave Thomas.  Commentator David Coleman informed viewers how Thomas was “one of the best crossers of a ball in the First Division” and immediately we had evidence of this as Ball played him in down the right and his cross to the edge of the six-yard area was powered home by the head of MacDonald.  Four.

Again Ball can be seen encouraging MacDonald to keep going with thirty-five minutes still on the clock.

Within minutes England had the ball in the net again but this was ruled out as Beattie was adjudged to have kicked the ball out of the keeper’s hands after chesting it down in the area.  The challenge was enough to force the visitors to bring on a substitute keeper.  With just three minutes remaining Thomas played a one-two with Ball on the right and his cross into the six-yard box was headed in by MacDonald and he’d become the first England player to score five goals in a competitive international and the first since the War to do it in any match.  Five.

MacDonald did get the ball in the net after his fourth goal but it was ruled out for offside.  He was ecstatic with his performance and especially grateful to Keegan and Ball who’d played such a part in the success.  At the end of the game the electronic scoreboard at Wembley flashed up

“Congratulations – Supermac 5 Cyprus 0”

As MacDonald was leaving the pitch he saw Revie over by the touchline, head down and he shouted over to him 

“Read that and weep, you bastard. Read that and weep”

But Revie didn’t hear him and as everyone was high on the euphoria of it all the manager repeated his performance in the dressing room by not even shaking hands with a player who’d scored five goals in one game.  The only time the manager spoke to the player the whole country was talking about was when he ordered him out of the bath to speak to the press.  

Later in his autobiography MacDonald would explain how the press seemed strangely cool towards him afterwards and he couldn’t understand why.  Back then players or their agents received £25 for post-match interviews and a year later when MacDonald met the BBC football producer and gently suggested his agent hadn’t received the fee, he was abruptly told Revie had demanded £200.  It appeared this was raised via a collection from some of the production staff, camera, sound and lighting engineers and yet Revie had trousered the lot.

MacDonald kept his place in the team for the return against Cyprus where Keegan scored the only goal of the game and then in the goalless draw in Belfast against Northern Ireland.  But he was dropped for the Wales and Scotland matches as his replacement, David Johnson scored in both games.

Supermac would win just three more caps with just two more starting appearances as his international career ended in Lisbon in November 1975.  Six goals from fourteen appearances was a decent return but he only scored in two games and after the Cyprus success he never played at Wembley for England again.  Revie certainly wasn’t interested in him despite his big money move (£333,333) to Arsenal in 1976.

A serious knee injury forced the early termination of MacDonald’s playing career at the age of 29 in 1979 and although he perhaps didn’t achieve the success at international level that his fame at club level suggested, he can at least claim a record which may stand for a while yet.

1988 - European Championships - Qualifying

After the 1984 tournament was considered a success, UEFA decided to keep the format the same.  West Germany were chosen as hosts and so they qualified automatically.  The other seven qualifiers would come from the Group winners of the qualifying stage.

QUALIFICATION

For the qualification stage, thirty-two teams were put into seven groups, four of five teams, and three of four teams.

Group One had Spain, losing finalists four years earlier, up against Romania, Austria and Albania.  Romania were expected to be Spain’s challengers and they were Spain’s first opponents in Seville.  Real Madrid’s Michel scored the only goal of the game.  Romania had already beaten Austria, 4-0.  Spain then travelled to Albania and found themselves 0-1 down, but bounced back to win 2-1.  They then needed a goal 2 minutes from time to win in Vienna, but then lost their advantage as Romania beat them 1-3 in Bucharest.  The final games of the group saw Spain thrash Albania, 5-0, but Romania couldn’t beat Austria, as the game ended goalless and Spain had won the group by just 1pt.

Italy were drawn in Group 2.  They had missed out on qualification for the 1984 tournament after one of their worst campaigns ever.  They were up against Sweden, Switzerland, Portugal and Malta.  Italy were going through a difficult period.  They had won the 1982 World Cup, but didn’t qualify for the 1984 Euros and then only reached the Second Round of the 1986 World Cup.  Their opening match saw them beat Switzerland, 3-2.  Sweden began with two wins and a draw against Switzerland, Portugal and Malta.  Italy then had back-to-back games against Malta, which they won 2-0 and 5-0.  By this time, Alessandro Altobelli had scored in every game and he followed this with the only goal of the game in Portugal.  Portugal were then stunned to be held at home 2-2 by Malta, which probably put paid to their hopes.  Sweden looked to offer Italy with the toughest opposition, especially when they beat Italy, 1-0 in Solna.  But the nature of this group was that few teams could mount a determined challenge, evidenced by Sweden then drawing in Switzerland and then losing at home to Portugal.  Italy then also dropped points in Switzerland, but two goals from Gianluca Vialli saw them beat Sweden in Naples, which secured first place in the group.  Italy eventually won the group by 3pts from Sweden.

Group 3 looked to be a tough group as European Championship holders, France were up against USSR.  France had finished 3^rd in Mexico ’86 and were looking forward to defending their Euro title, they worked so hard to earn 4 years previously.  Things didn’t start well as they were held to a 0-0 draw in Iceland.  But then USSR were also held in Iceland so that evened things up.  The first big clash between the two was in Paris in October 1986.  Goals from Belanov and Rats gave the visitors a 2-0 win.  France then travelled to East Germany and were again held to a 0-0 draw.  Three matches into their defence of the trophy and they had yet to score a goal.  USSR beat Norway, 4-0 and 1-0, then East Germany, 2-0 and were clearly in good form.  France finally found the net when they beat Iceland, 2-0, but then ruined it all by losing 0-2 to Norway.  The 2^nd big meeting between USSR and France ended in a 1-1 draw, and so USSR retained the advantage.  Then USSR dropped points away to East Germany, but then 4 days later France were held at home by Norway.  USSR had now qualified for the finals and the holders were out.  France’s final act of a thoroughly miserable campaign saw them lose to a last minute goal at home to East Germany.  They’d won one of their eight games, scoring just four goals.

Group 4 had England up against Northern Ireland, as well as Turkey and Yugoslavia.  England had missed the 1984 tournament, but reached the Quarter-Finals of the 1986 World Cup.  Their opening game was a 3-0 win over the Irish at Wembley with two goals from Gary Lineker.  Yugoslavia then beat Turkey, 4-0 before Northern Ireland travelled to Turkey and earned a 0-0 draw.  England were at home again for their second game when Yugoslavia were the visitors, and they kept up their winning run with a 2-0 victory.  They then travelled to Windsor Park and goals from Steve Hodge and Chris Waddle gave them another 2-0 win.  They dropped their first points in Turkey when they played out a 0-0 draw.  The Irish were then 1-0 up at home to Yugoslavia, but then lost 1-2 and then were also beaten in Sarajevo, 0-3.  England then played host to Turkey and had one of their biggest wins in history.  Lineker scored a hat-trick, John Barnes got two and goals from Bryan Robson, Peter Beardsley and Neil Webb gave England an 8-0 win to confirm qualification for the finals.  England continued the goal-fest with a 4-1 win in Yugoslavia.  England scored all their goals in the opening twenty-five minutes too!

England won the group, unbeaten winning five of their six matches and conceding just one goal.  They had high hopes for the finals.

Group 5 contained Netherlands who had missed the last Championships as well as the ’86 World Cup.  They were drawn against Greece, Hungary, Poland and Cyprus.  Poland were the favourites having finished 3^rd in the ’82 World Cup and competing in the ’86 World Cup too.

Poland were first up as they beat Greece, 2-1, then the Dutch won in Hungary before they met Poland in Amsterdam.  The game ended 0-0, a result that suited Poland more than Netherlands.  The Dutch then won in Cyprus, before they were held at home by Greece.  Poland were then held at home by Cyprus and then went to Athens and were beaten 0-1 by Greece.  Goals from Gullit and Muhren saw the Dutch win 2-0 at home to Hungary, before Hungary bounced back to beat Poland in Budapest, 5-3.  The return fixture also contained goals but this time Poland won 3-2.  So October 1987 in Warsaw and the Dutch were the visitors.  Ruud Gullit scored another two goals and Netherlands had qualified for the finals.  They finished up beating Cyprus, 4-0 and then Greece 3-0.  Netherlands had won the group, going through unbeaten conceding one goal

Group 6 saw Denmark, who many people thought were good enough to win in 1984, up against Czechoslovakia, Wales and Finland.

Finland were involved in five of the first six matches, although they only picked up 1pt when they drew with Wales in Helsinki.  Wales were able to get the better of them when they played at Wrexham as they won 4-0.  Denmark had beaten Finland home and away, 1-0 and then drew away to the Czechs.  When the Czechs arrived in Wrexham, Ian Rush’s goal eight minutes from time gained a 1-1 draw and the advantage was now with Denmark.  Jan Molby put Denmark in front at home to Czechoslovakia to then be held to a 1-1 draw.  But the Czechs then blew their chances when they lost 0-3 in Finland.  Denmark just needed 2pts from their back-to-back meetings with Wales.  In Cardiff, Mark Hughes scored the only goal of the game, but in Copenhagen Preben Elkjaer did likewise for Denmark and the 1-0 win was enough to see them qualify.  The Czechs then beat Wales, but it was their defeat to Finland which did for them, and Denmark won the group, despite only winning 50% of their matches

Group 7 promised to be a tight one.  Belgium, runners-up in ’80, were drawn with Bulgaria, Republic of Ireland, Scotland and Luxembourg.  With Luxembourg expected to be the whipping boys, results between the other could prove crucial.  Belgium were up first at home to Ireland.  Twice they lead, but twice the Irish pulled them back and then game ended 2-2.  On the same night, Scotland then drew 0-0 at home to Bulgaria.  Belgium did their goal difference no harm winning 6-0 in Luxembourg as Nico Claesen hit a hat-trick.  Ireland and Scotland then met in Dublin and the Scots played out another 0-0 draw.  But then Scotland beat Luxembourg, 3-0 at Hampden Park, before Belgium dropped more points as they were held 1-1 at home to Bulgaria.  In February 1987 Republic of Ireland visited Hampden Park, and Mark Lawrenson scored the only goal of the game.  But then two weeks later, the Irish ruined that good work by losing in Sofia and then being held 0-0 at home to Belgium.  Between those games, Belgium had thumped Scotland, 4-1 as Nico Claesen continued his goalscoring form with another hat-trick.  The Irish and the Belgians then played out a 0-0 draw in Dublin.  Twenty four hours later and Bulgaria won in Luxembourg to go top of the group.  The Irish also won in Luxembourg although only by 2-0 and there were concerns goal difference could decide the group.  When Ireland then beat Luxembourg in Dublin, 2-1 and they went to the top of the group.

Bulgaria then beat Belgium, 2-0 to go back on top.  October 1987, Bulgaria arrived at Lansdowne Road, on the same night as Scotland entertained Belgium.  Paul McGrath and Kevin Moran scored the goals that gave Ireland a 2-0 win over Bulgaria and Ally McCoist and Paul McStay scored the goals was gave Scotland a 2-0 win over Belgium.  Ireland had now finished their matches and lead Bulgaria by 1pt.  The Bulgarians had just 1 game left, at home to Scotland.  Belgium’s defeat in Glasgow put paid to their qualification hopes and Scotland couldn’t go through either.  November 1987 and Bulgaria were at home to Scotland, knowing a draw would be enough to see them progress.  For 86 minutes the game was goalless and as the Irish were beginning to feel their dream had gone, Hearts midfielder, Gary Mackay stepped up to score the only goal of the game, and the only international goal of his career.  Scotland had pulled off an unlikely 1-0 win and the Republic of Ireland had won the group.  Just 2pts separated 4 countries, and the Irish had qualified for a major tournament for the first time in their history.

After 14 months of competition, we now had our 7 qualifiers to join West Germany.

Denmark, England, Italy, Netherlands, Republic of Ireland, Spain, USSR.

1984 - European Championships - Qualifying

UEFA decided the expanded format of eight teams for the final stages was a success after 1980.  But this time they also decided to restore the Semi-Final stage, rather than just two group winners contesting the Final.  France was given the tournament to host.  The first time they had hosted a tournament since 1938 when they hosted the 3^rd World Cup Finals.

QUALIFICATION

For the qualification stage, thirty-two teams were put into seven groups, four of five teams, and three of four teams.

GROUP ONE: Belgium, East Germany, Scotland, Switzerland

GROUP TWO: Finland, Poland, Portugal, USSR

GROUP THREE: Denmark, England, Greece, Hungary, Luxembourg

GROUP FOUR: Bulgaria, Norway, Wales, Yugoslavia

GROUP FIVE: Cyprus, Czechoslovakia, Italy, Romania, Sweden

GROUP SIX: Albania, Austria, Northern Ireland, Turkey, West Germany

GROUP SEVEN: Iceland, Malta, Netherlands, Republic of Ireland

Group 1 saw Scotland come up against the 1980 losing finalists, Belgium.  Both countries had competed in the 1982 World Cup in Spain, which Belgium had advanced to the 2^nd phase, beating Argentina, the holders, in their opening match.  The other two teams were East Germany and Switzerland.  Scotland began well with a 2-0 win over East Germany at Hampden Park.   They then suffered defeat in Berne against Switzerland and then two Kenny Dalglish goals saw them lead 2-1 in Belgium, only to eventually lose, 2-3.   Switzerland then arrived in Glasgow and came away with a 2-2 draw. With Belgium winning every game so far, and only the group winners to qualify, it was all over for the Scots.  They were the first team to take points off the Belgians when a Charlie Nicholas goal levelled things at Hampden.  Belgium then lost to Switzerland, but they’d already won the group.  Scotland’s disappointing campaign finished with a poor 1-2 defeat to East Germany, and they finished bottom of the group.

Group 2 included Poland, who finished 3^rd in the 1982 World Cup and USSR, who reached the 2^nd phase in Spain, losing to Poland.  Portugal and Finland made up the group.  Poland started off away to Finland and were 3-0 up before two late goals gave them a scare.  Portugal then also turned up in Finland and came away with a victory.  Portugal hadn’t qualified for a major tournament since they finished 3^rd in 1966.  They pulled off a surprise by beating Poland, 2-1.  Poland then dropped points at home to Finland, and with USSR beating both Finland and Portugal, it looked tough for the Poles.

USSR then drew in Poland and won in Finland, and then completed the Poles misery by winning in Moscow.  With two matches remaining, Portugal travelled to Poland needing to win.  Carlos Manuel got the only goal of the game and Portugal won, 1-0, leaving things finely poised for the final game of the group in Lisbon, between Portugal and USSR.  A draw and USSR were through.  One minute before half-time and Rui Jordao converted the penalty for the only goal of the game.  Portugal had dramatically won the group.

Group 3 saw England drawn against Denmark, Greece, Hungary and Luxembourg.  England had a new manager, Bobby Robson and he shook things up by refusing to include England's talisman of the past eight years, Kevin Keegan.  They started nervously with a 2-2 draw in Copenhagen.  Trevor Francis two goals looked to have won it, until Jesper Olsen grabbed a late equaliser.   
Luxembourg were the whipping boys as both Greece and Denmark beat them, before England’s tricky visit to Greece.  Goals from Tony Woodock (2) and Sammy Lee gave England an impressive, 3-0 win.   They followed this with a thumping of Luxembourg, 9-0 when Luther Blissett scored a hat-trick on his debut.   Hungary, who England had met in the qualifying group for the 1982 World Cup, then beat Luxembourg, 6-2 both at home and away.  In between this, England dropped crucial points as Greece came to Wembley and walked off with a 0-0 draw.   England then beat Hungary, 2-0 at Wembley.   When Greece won in Hungary and then Denmark beat them too, it all came down to the match at Wembley between England and Denmark.  England were wasteful and Allan Simonsen converted a penalty that proved to be the only goal.  Denmark had beaten England for the first time and now held control of the group.

England’s hopes were raised when Denmark lost, 0-1 in Hungary, but they needed Greece to beat them too.  Goals from Preben Elkjaer and Simonsen gave Denmark a 2-0 win and they’d won the group.  Not even a 4-0 win for England in Luxembourg was enough and having qualified for the last two major international tournaments, England would again have a summer off.  Denmark had qualified, for only their 2^nd major tournament, having finished 4^th in the Euros in 1964.

Group 4 contained Wales who were drawn against Bulgaria, Norway and Yugoslavia.  They began with an Ian Rush goal winning the game at home to Norway.  Norway then beat Yugoslavia, and drew in Bulgaria.  Yugoslavia then won in Bulgaria before hosting the Welsh.  A cracking game saw Brian Flynn put Wales in front early on, but then 2 goals in 3 minutes saw the Yugoslavs lead 2-1.  When Niko Kranjcar’s Dad extended the lead just before half-time the Welsh had cause to be concerned.  But then Ian Rush got a goal back almost immediately, and they trailed 2-3 at the break.  Jesic then added a 4^th for the Yugoslavs, before Joey Jones and Robbie James levelled things for Wales.  The game ended 4-4, one to be remembered for a long time.   Jeremy Charles scored the only goal to be Bulgaria and then Wales gained a good 0-0 draw in Oslo. 

At this point, Wales were top of the group, 2pts clear of Norway and 3pts clear of Yugoslavia and Bulgaria.  Yugoslavia then beat Norway to move into 2^nd.  Wales then travelled to Sofia, knowing victory would go a long way to qualifying them.  Unfortunately, Rusi Gochev got the only goal and Wales suffered their first and only defeat of the campaign.  They could redeem themselves if they beat Yugoslavia at Cardiff.   Robbie James gave them a first-half lead, and they held it until the last 10 minutes when Bazdarevic grabbed a late equaliser and Wales had missed another opportunity.  The final game in the group was in Split as Yugoslavia took on Bulgaria.  The Yugoslavs had to win as their goal difference was inferior to Wales and so a draw would see the Welsh go through.

Bulgaria scored first, but then Safet Susic grabbed an equaliser immediately.  Susic scored again early in the second half but then Georgi Dimitrov equalised.  The 90 minutes were up and Wales were getting ready to celebrate, but then Radanovic headed a very late winner and Yugoslavia had pipped the Welsh for qualification.

Group 5 contained the World Champions, Italy, along with Czechoslovakia, Romania, Sweden and Cyprus.  Italy were expected to cruise through as only the Czechs had competed in the ’82 World Cup and the ’80 Euros.  Romania got off to a great start beating Cyprus and Sweden.  Czechoslovakia and Sweden played out a 2-2 as Sweden scored 2 goals in the last 3 minutes to gain a point.  Italy’s first outing was in Milan against the Czechs, but they were disappointing in a 2-2 draw.  Italy were at home again, in Florence when Romania were the opponents, but were again disappointing in a 0-0 draw.  In February 1983, Italy travelled to Cyprus to gain their first victory of the campaign.  It didn’t turn out that way as they needed an equaliser from Graziani to gain a point.  Three games, three draws for the World Champions.  Cyprus then took points off the Czechs as well and the group was wide open.  In the return, Czechoslovakia thumped Cyprus, 6-0.  On the same day, Italy travelled to Bucharest, but Boloni scored the only goal of the game and Romania won, 1-0.  Italy were still winless from 4 matches, and 4pts behind the leaders, Romania.

The Czechs then swung things their way by beating Romania in Bucharest.  At the end of May 1983, Italy were in Stockholm to try and get their campaign going.  Eriksson and Corneliusson scored for the home side and Italy had lost again.  They would now need to win their last three matches, and that still might not be enough.  The group continued to ebb and flow as Romania beat Sweden, who then beat Czechoslovakia.  Sweden topped the group from Romania on goal difference, with Czechoslovakia 2pts behind.  Both Romania and the Czechs had a game in hand.

Sweden’s final match was in Naples.  Italy needed to win, and overturn a goal difference of -9.  After 20 minutes Glenn Stromberg put the visitors in front, and when he doubled the lead 7 minutes later the home fans were distraught.  Italy would now need a miracle.  It didn’t happen and Sunesson gave Sweden a famous 3-0 win.   Italy, the World Champions, were eliminated.  They had not won in their six matches.  Romania then won in Cyprus to move level on points with Sweden.  The Czechs, who would need to win their last 2 matches, then met Italy in Prague.  Petr Rada scored twice to heap more embarrassment on Italy as they won, 2-0.  The game between Romania and Czechoslovakia would decide the group.  The Czechs needed to win, the Romanians just needed a draw.  Geolgau gave Romania the lead, eight minutes from the end, Luhovy equalised but it wasn’t enough for the home side and Romania had won the group.  Italy finally picked up a win when they beat Cyprus, 3-1, but this was one of their worst ever qualification campaigns.

Group 6 had Northern Ireland up against European Champions, West Germany, along with Austria, Albania and Turkey.  Northern Ireland had reached the 2^nd phase in Spain ’82, as had Austria.  West Germany were losing finalists in Spain.  The Austrians flew out of the blocks with wins over Albania (5-0) and Turkey (4-0).  They also beat the Irish, 2-0 in Vienna with two goals from Walter Schachner.  In November 1982, West Germany arrived at Windsor Park.  18 minutes in and Ian Stewart scored, and this proved to be the only goal of the game.   A famous win and Northern Ireland’s bid was now back on track.  All that good work was then ruined when they couldn’t beat Albania in Tirana (0-0). 

Into 1983 and the Irish beat Turkey, 2-1, and Albania, 1-0 at home.  The Germans had recovered their form against the same opponents, but then were held to a 0-0 draw in Vienna.  Northern Ireland then welcomed group leaders, Austria to Windsor Park.  Goals from Billy Hamilton, Norman Whiteside and Martin O’Neill, gave them a 3-1 win.  Austria still lead the group, but only on goal difference from the Irish.  Austria were then beaten in Germany too.  Northern Ireland then missed their chance to take a real hold on the group as they lost 0-1 in Turkey.  Two goals each from Rudi Voller and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge helped the Germans see off Turkey, 5-1.  That win took the Germans to the top of the group for the first time, with 3 teams on 9pts.  16^th November 1983 was a significant day for the group.  Austria were in Turkey and Northern Ireland travelled to Hamburg.  In Istanbul, Turkey put paid to Austria’s chances with a 3-1 win.  Norman Whiteside scored the only goal in Hamburg and the Irish had beaten West Germany, 1-0 to pull off a famous double.  The group all hinged on the final game as West Germany were at home to Albania.  The Germans just needed to win, as their goal difference was far superior to Northern Ireland’s.  Remarkably, Tomori gave Albania the lead in the first half, but within a minute, Rummenigge had scored his 7^th goal of the campaign.  Things stayed like that going into the final 10 minutes as the Irish hoped and prayed for no more goals.  Gerhard Strack broke Irish hearts with a late winner for the Germans.  It proved to be his only international goal, and West Germany won 2-1 to win the group on goal difference.

Group 7 contained Spain, Netherlands, Republic of Ireland, Iceland and Malta.  Spain had disappointed in the ’82 World Cup, and none of the other countries qualified.  The Dutch were surprisingly held to a draw in Iceland.  They then got their campaign underway by beating the Irish, 2-1.  Both Ireland and Spain beat Iceland, before the two met in Dublin.  Ashley Grimes put the Irish in front after just 2 minutes, but by the hour Spain were 3-1 up.  Frank Stapleton then scored twice and Ireland had gained an impressive draw.  After the Dutch thrashed Malta, 6-0 the big game of the group came in February 1983 in Seville as Spain took on Netherlands.  The only goal of the game came just before the break when Senor converted a penalty and the Spanish had the advantage.

Spain then beat Ireland at home and then won away at the two minnows of the group, Iceland and Malta.  Although, they only beat them by one goal each time and that could be significant if goal difference determines the winner.  To illustrate this, Netherlands then beat Iceland, 3-0.  In October in Dublin, the Dutch turned up and Ireland raced to a 2-0 lead in the first 35 minutes.  Gary Waddock and a Liam Brady penalty gave the Irish a dream start.  But in the second half, the Dutch came out a different side and two goals from Ruud Gullit and one from Marco Van Basten gave Netherlands a valuable 3-2 win.  Netherlands and Spain then met in Rotterdam.  After this game both countries had Malta to play, so a win for Spain would ensure their qualification, but a win for Netherlands and they could win the group on goal difference.  Peter Houtman put the home side in front midway through the first half.  Carlos Santillana then equalised just before half-time.  Midway through the second half and Ruud Gullit scored, what proved to be, the winner.   Now it would be down to how many goals each side could score against Malta.  The Irish then beat Malta, 8-0 when Mark Lawrenson helped himself to 2 goals.  Netherlands were first up, beating Malta 5-0.  Frank Rijjkaard scored twice, with his 2^nd coming in injury time and could prove significant.  Netherlands looked to have done more than enough to qualify, they had a goal difference of +16, scoring 24 goals.  Spain’s goal difference was just +5, so for Spain to overhaul them, they needed to win by 11 goals.  Only 25,000 turned up in Seville, a measure of how slim the Spanish public thought their chances were. 

Santillana scored after 16 minutes.  But then Degiorgio equalised for Malta and this spelt disaster.  Two minutes later, Santillana scored again and then completed his hat-trick inside the opening half-hour.  3-1 to Spain was the half-time score and qualification seemed a world away.  Poli Rincon then made it 4-1 early in the second half.  6 minutes later and Rincon scored again.  Then during a crazy three minutes, Maceda scored twice and Rincon completed his hat-trick.  25 minutes to go and Spain lead 8-1.  Into the last 15 minutes and Santillana popped up with his 4^th goal of the night, which was matched 2 minutes later as Rincon scored his 4^th.  10-1 and Spain still needed to score twice more.  Manuel Sarabia then scored with 10 minutes to go, and then Senor scored the magic 12^th goal.  Spain had pulled off the unbelievable and won 12-1.  They had matched Netherlands goal difference but went through by virtue of having scored more goals.  

So qualification was complete.  France, Belgium, Portugal, Denmark, Yugoslavia, Romania, West Germany and Spain.

Would the finals be all that good, though, without World Champions, Italy, or Poland, who were 3^rd in Spain?  Not to mention England or Netherlands?