World Cup 1982 - Day Twelve

DAY TWELVE

Thursday 24^th June 1982

GROUP TWO, Estadio Carlos Tartiere, Oviedo. (17:15)

ALGERIA   (3)   3   (Assad 8, 30, Bensaoula 34)

CHILE   (0)   2   (Neira pen 59, Letelier 74)

Algeria: Cerbah; Guendouz, Merzekane, Larbes, Kourichi; Mansouri (Dahleb), Fergani; Assad, Bensaoula, Madjer, Bourebbou (Yahi)

Chile: Osben; Galindo, Bigorra, Figueroa, Valenzuela; Dubo, Bonvallet (Soto), Moscoso, Neira; Caszely (Letelier), Yanez

In their first ever World Cup, Algeria had been a revelation.  Beating West Germany in their first match they then lost to Austria, but victory against Chile could see them get through to the second phase, something which would’ve seemed remarkable when they arrived in Spain.  But they’d have to try and do it without Belloumi who was injured.  Chile had been disappointing, although a good win here could still see them go through.

Algeria were attacking from the start and it was hardly a surprise when they scored after 8 minutes from yet another move down the right.  Madjer crossed, Bensaoula layed it back for Assad to fire them in front.  Madjer then hit the post when he cut inside on the left and floated a shot with his right foot which hit the far post and he was unlucky not to double their lead.  Bensaoula then also hit woodwork with a drive from 25 yards.  But Algeria were soon to score again.  Assad was put in and his left foot ‘poke’ was deflected in.  Just 4 minutes later they’d made it 3-0.  Bensaoula fired another shot from 25 yards out but this time it beat Osben.  3-0 up at half-time and they had one foot in the second phase.  Chile, to their credit, came back into it in the second half.  On the hour, Yanez was tripped in the box and Neira stepped up and scored to get them a goal back.  With 15 minutes still remaining, Letelier scored a good individual goal, rounding the keeper and beating three men on the line with a left foot shot.  In the end Algeria were deserved winners and now had to wait for tomorrow’s game between Austria and West Germany.  An Austrian win or draw would see Algeria through.

GROUP FOUR, Estadio Jose Zorrilla, Valladolid. (17:15)

CZECHOSLOVAKIA   (0)   1   (Panenka pen 84)

FRANCE   (0)   1   (Six 66)

Czechoslovakia: Stromsik; Fiala, Barmos, Vojacek, Radimec; Bicovsky, Stambacher, Vizek; Janecka (Panenka), Kriz (Masny), Nehoda

France: Ettori; Amoros, Janvion, Tresor, Bossis; Genghini, Platini, Giresse; Lacombe (Couriol), Six, Soler (Girard)

In Group Four, France had bounced back from their opening game defeat to England when they comfortably beat Kuwait.  But with Czechoslovakia being held by Kuwait the French only needed a draw from this one.  Czechoslovakia had been disappointing up to now and didn’t really get any better in this match.  France had the better of the chances in the first half with Lacombe and Giresse going closest.  In the 66^th minute the Czechs failed to clear in their defence and Lacombe went through, with the keeper coming out and only half-stopping the shot and Six was there to walk the ball into the empty net.  France should’ve made the game certain when Soler hit the post and Giresse fired over.  But with 6 minutes to go, Bossis brought Vizek down in the box and Panenka was calm under pressure when scoring from the spot, despite the referee re-spotting the ball and Platini walking in front of him at the start of his run.  The game ended 1-1 and the Czechs ended with 10 men as Vizek was sent-off for retaliating to some niggly challenge from Soler, and that probably summed up their tournament.  France were almost through to join England from this group, but a 4-goal win for Kuwait would put them out.

GROUP FIVE, Estadio La Romareda, Zaragoza. (21:00)

HONDURAS   (0)   0

YUGOSLAVIA   (0)   1   (Petrovic pen 87)

Honduras: Arzu; Villegas, Costly, Drummond, Bulnes; Maradiaga, Cruz (Laing), Zelaya, Yearwood; Betancourt, Figueroa

Yugoslavia: Pantelic; Gudelj, Stojkovic, Jovanovic, (Halilhodzic) Krmpotic, Zajec; Petrovic, Sljivo; Vujovic (Sestic), Susic, Surjak

This was the tightest group of them all.  2pts separating all 4 sides.  Honduras, like Algeria and Cameroon, had been a revelation.  Whereas the Yugoslavs could consider themselves unlucky to lose to the hosts, yet a win here could put pressure on Spain when they take on Northern Ireland the next night.  The game was goalless at half-time with Yugoslavia having the better of the chances, with Petrovic hitting the bar from a free-kick.  The game was entering the final minutes when substitute, Sestic beat a couple of Hondurans on the right wing, but as he weaved his way into the area, Villegas brought him down.  The referee had no hesitation in awarding the penalty and Gilberto Yearwood protested so much he was sent-off.  Petrovic took the penalty and scored.  It was the third penalty of the day and gave Yugoslavia a crucial win but they had a nervous 24-hour wait to see if they were going through.  They would if Spain won.

World Cup 1982 - Day Eleven

DAY ELEVEN

Wednesday 23^rd June 1982

GROUP ONE, Estadio Balaidos, Vigo. (17:15)

ITALY   (0)   1   (Graziani 60)

CAMEROON   (0)   1   (M’Bida 61)

Italy: Zoff; Gentile, Scirea, Collovati, Cabrini; Conti, Tardelli, Oriali, Antognoni; Rossi, Graziani

Cameroon: N’Kono; Kaham, Onana, M’Bom, Aoudou, N’Djeya; Kunde, M’Bida, Abega; Milla, Tokoto

The final game in Group One was finely balanced.  In theory, Italy should’ve thumped Cameroon, but this Italy side had not found their touch in this World Cup up to now and had struggled in both their matches.  Cameroon knew they needed to win to get through to the second phase, and for Italy a draw would be enough to go through with Poland from this group.  Italy’s abject performance in the group phase so far was illustrated by Bruno Conti putting his shot wide from 6 yards out with only the keeper to beat.  Italy created plenty of chances, they just weren’t able to get any of them on target.  Then on the hour, Paolo Rossi crossed right-footed from the left wing and Graziani got up highest to loop his header over N’Kono.  It was the first goal Cameroon had conceded in the competition so far, but they fought back immediately as M’Bida hooked a shot in from close range barely a minute after going behind.  The Africans just couldn’t push for a winner and so Italy went through by virtue of having scored one more goal than Cameroon.  For Cameroon, they could be proud of their performance in remaining unbeaten.

GROUP THREE, Estadio Jose Rico Perez, Alicante. (21:00)

ARGENTINA   (1)   2   (Passarella 23, Bertoni 52)

EL SALVADOR   (0)   0

Argentina: Fillol; Olguin, Passarella, Tarantini, Galvan; Bertoni (Diaz), Gallego, Ardiles, Calderon (Santamaria), Maradona; Kempes

El Salvador: Mora; Jovel, Osorto (Diaz), Rodriguez, Recinos; Ventura (Alfaro), Rugamas, Huezo; Gonzalez, Rivas, Ramirez

With Belgium and Hungary drawing in Elche the day before, Argentina knew anything other than a win would see them bow out after just three matches of their first ever defence of the World Cup.  El Salvador had regained some pride by only losing 0-1 to Belgium having conceded 10 in their opening match, although this was the game they really feared.  But Argentina were still not into their stride in this tournament, evidenced by Kempes hitting the bar from 6 yards early on.  In the 19^th minute, Calderon was brought down in the box and Argentina had a penalty.  The contact had seemed minimal but Passarella blasted the kick down the middle and Argentina lead 1-0. 

Argentina should’ve added to that goal before the break but early into the second half they did when a well worked goal when Daniel Bertoni curled a lovely shot left-footed into the far corner having beaten three tackles.  Argentina were comfortable winners and went through in 2^nd place behind Belgium.  Hungary’s record score proving irrelevant.

GROUP SIX, Estadio Benito Villamarin, Seville. (21:00)

BRAZIL   (2)   4   (Zico 28, 31, Falcao 64, Serginho 70)

NEW ZEALAND   (0)   0

Brazil: Waldir; Leandro, Luizinho, Oscar (Edinho), Junior; Socrates, Cerezo, Falcao, Eder; Serginho (Paulo Isidoro), Zico

New Zealand: van Hattum; Dods, Almond, Elrick, Herbert; MacKay, Cresswell (Turner), Sumner, Boath; Rufer (Cole), Wooddin

The qualifiers from this group had already been decided after USSR draw with Scotland saw them join Brazil.  New Zealand, in their first ever World Cup appearance, were just hoping to keep the score down.  Brazil were soon into their lovely passing football and one move cut open the defence only for Cerezo to fire over.  Zico then tried a nonchalant back heel which went just wide.  But in the 28^th minute, Leandro crossed from the right and with it curling away from him, Zico acrobatically volleyed the ball in for the opening goal.  Within minutes they were at it again as Socrates again found Leandro as the overlap on the right and his cross was again turned in by Zico, although less acrobatically.

Falcao got in on the act in the second half as he was able to run far too far and beat the keeper on his near post.  Six minutes later a patient build-up saw Junior clip the ball over the defence to Zico on the left-hand side of the area and he played it inside for Serginho to score.  The Brazilian number 9 often looked out of place with this technically brilliant team, but he had at last opened his account for the tournament.  Brazil were through with 100% record.

World Cup 1982 - Day Ten

DAY TEN

 

Tuesday 22^nd June 1982

GROUP ONE, Estadio Riazor, La Coruna. (17:15)

POLAND   (0)   5   (Smolarek 55, Lato 58, Boniek 61, Buncol 68, Ciolek 76)

PERU   (0)   1   (La Rosa 83)

Poland: Mlynarczyk; Kupcewicz, Janas, Majewski, Zmuda; Jalocha (Dziuba), Matysik, Buncol, Boniek; Lato, Smolarek (Ciolek)

Peru: Quiroga; Duarte, Diaz, Olaechea, Salguero; Leguia, Velasquez, Cueto, Cubillas (Uribe); La Rosa, Oblitas (Barbadillo)

With just one goal between these two teams from four matches, didn’t bode well and after a goalless first half it looked as if things would remain the same.  But in the second half, suddenly it all came alive.  Smolarek, who’d had a goal ruled out in the first half, tucked the ball past Qurioga in the 55^th minute to get Poland’s first goal of this World Cup.  Three minutes later, Lato broke clear of the defence and as the keeper came out, he calmly slid it under him for a 2-0 lead.  They added another, just three minutes after that as a free-kick found Buncol unmarked on the right of the area and his ball across the area found Boniek who put it away.  Three goals in six minutes killed off Peru, yet Poland weren’t finished, as in the 68^th minute, Boniek’s back-heel allowed Buncol to burst into the area and fire into the roof of the net for the 4^th goal.  When Ciolek scored Poland’s 5^th in the 76^th minute, they’d scored 5 goals in a 21 minute period.  To their credit, Peru didn’t give up and they were rewarded with a goal from La Rosa in the 83^rd minute after some intricate footwork on the edge of the area.  This win, so out of character with everything else in Group One, put Poland through.

GROUP THREE, Estadio Nuevo, Elche. (21:00)

BELGIUM   (0)   1   (Czerniatynski 76)

HUNGARY   (1)   1   (Varga 28)

Belgium: Pfaff; Gerets (Plessers), Meeuws, Baecke, Millecamps; Vercauteren, Coeck, Vandersmissen (van Moer), Cuelemans; Vandenbergh, Czerniatynski

Hungary: Meszaros; Martos, Kerekes, Varga, Garaba; Muller (Sallai), Nyilasi; Fazekas, Torocsik, Kiss (Csongradi), Poloskei

In Group Three, Hungary knew if they could beat Belgium, their superior goal difference would see them go through.  Belgium knew a draw would be enough for them.  Kiss should’ve done better with his header when unmarked in the area, but eventually Hungary took the lead.  Torocsik played the ball back from the edge of the area and Varga burst through from the back and fired the ball past Pfaff for a 1-0 lead.  With 15 minutes to go, Hungary were still in front and still going through and with Argentina not playing until tomorrow, Belgium weren’t certain whether they would still be in or not.  But then a fantastic run down the right from Cuelemans and he squared to Czerniatynski who hooked the ball in past Meszaros and Belgium were back in charge.  It ended 1-1 and Belgium had qualified.  Hungary had the despair of realising that a 10-1 win in their first game may not enough to see them get through.  They had to hope for El Salvador to get an unlikely draw against Argentina tomorrow.

GROUP SIX, Estadio La Rosaleda, Malaga. (21:00)

USSR   (0)   2   (Chivadze 59, Shengelia 84)

SCOTLAND   (1)   2   (Jordan 15, Souness 87)

USSR: Dasaev; Sulakvelidze, Baltacha, Demianenko, Borovsky, Chivadze; Bessonov, Gavrilov, Bal; Shengelia (Andreyev), Blokhin

Scotland: Rough; Narey, Hansen, Miller, Gray; Strachan (McGrain), Wark, Souness; Archibald, Jordan (Brazil), Robertson

Scotland had gone out at the group stage in the two previous World Cups and were keen to avoid the same ignominy, but knew USSR would be tough opponents.  Probably unlucky to lose to Brazil, the Soviets had a better goal difference so a draw would suit them. 

Scotland started brightly and Joe Jordan thought he’d scored until Dasaev threw himself to just tip his header round the post.  At the other end, Alan Rough was called upon to thwart Blokhin.  But then in the 15^th minute a long ball from the back by Narey found Sulakvelidze hesitant at the back and Jordan pounced to slide the ball past Dasaev and Scotland were 1-0 up.  Both teams had chances to add to the goal tally, yet found both keepers in good form.  Then on the hour, Gavrilov made a burst forward and exchanged passes to get into the penalty area.  His shot hit Narey, with Rough committed and the rebound fell to Chivadze who lifted it into the empty net.  It looked a fairly soft goal and slightly unfair to the Scots, but they now knew they were fighting for their continuation in this tournament.

It got worse, though.  Demianenko went close with a shot from about 25 yard, and then the same man fired a free-kick from just outside the left-hand edge of the area which Rough almost let through his hands.  Then with six minutes remaining, USSR had a throw-in down near their left corner flag.  Chivadze lofted the ball forward down the wing where Alan Hansen misjudged his header on the halfway line, nodding the ball behind him.  He turned, to try and retrieve the situation as Willie Miller came across to also deal with it.  Inexplicably, the two simply combined to get in each other’s way and the ball fell kindly for Shengelia who went on and rounded Rough to slot the ball home.  It was a poor goal to concede and looked a horrible way to go out.  Captain Graeme Souness then took it upon himself to get them back into with a fine dribble and finish, but the damage was done, the game drawn and Scotland were on their way home.