Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More - The 1986 World Cup

Episode Date: June 24, 2026

Tell me your favorite episode for the 6th anniversary show!In 1986, the world’s biggest sporting event came to Mexico, producing one of the most memorable tournaments in soccer history.  It featured political tension, high altitudes, dramatic upsets, and the rise of Diego Maradona from superstar to legend.  It also had earthquakes, economic problems, and the Hand of God. Learn more about the 1986 World Cup on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Sponsors Saily Get an exclusive 15% discount on Saily data plans! Use code everythingeverywhere at checkout. Download the Saily app or go to https://saily.com/everythingeverywhere ButcherBox Get your choice between chicken breast or top sirloin for a year OR ground beef for life, PLUS $20 off when you go to ButcherBox.com/everything Quince Go to quince.com/daily for 365-day returns, plus free shipping on your order! Mint Mobile Save 50% on Unlimited premium wireless plans starting at $15/month at MintMobile.com/EED TrueWerk Get 15% off your first order at truewerk.com with code everything DripDrop Go to dripdrop.com and use promo code everything for 20% off your first order! Subscribe to the podcast!  https://everything-everywhere.com/everything-everywhere-daily-podcast/ -------------------------------- Executive Producer: Charles Daniel Associate Producers: Austin Oetken & Cameron Kieffer   Become a supporter on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/everythingeverywhere Discord Server: https://discord.gg/Ds7Rx7jvPJ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everythingeverywhere/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/everythingeverywheredaily Twitter: https://twitter.com/everywheretrip Website: https://everything-everywhere.com/  Disce aliquid novi cotidie Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1986, one of the biggest sporting events came to Mexico, producing one of the most memorable tournaments in soccer history. It featured political tension, high altitudes, dramatic upsets, and the rise of Diego Maradonna from superstar to legend. And it also had earthquakes, economic problems, and the hand of God. Learn more about the 1986 World Cup on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. If you win a $3,000 a month payday for life, what would you feel free to do? Maybe take a long weekend, every weekend, or try a bunch of new hobbies? Would you feel free to upgrade and listen ad-free? Don't worry, we get it.

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to decide the host country. The FIFA policy at that time was to alternate hemispheres for each World Cup. This hasn't been followed as strictly in the modern era as FIFA has expanded its footprint by taking the tournament to places such as South Africa, Japan, South Korea, Russia, and Qatar. But in 1974, Colombia was the only country to submit a bid, and it was a huge national honor when they were selected to host the 1986 World Cup. The nation was transitioning away from a unique, mandatory power-sharing arrangement that alternated the presidency between the two major political parties to settle decades

of political strife. 1974 was also to be Colombia's first free democratic election in its history. Adding to the good news, a dramatic spike in global coffee prices triggered a massive growth spurt in the Colombian economy. But Colombia never ended up holding the tournament. A significant multi-year gap always exists between when a country wins a bid and when the tournament actually takes place, creating challenges for the host country, and massive expectations from FIFA. FIFA provided countries with a very specific list of infrastructure requirements for hosting the World Cup. For example, at that time, the host needed enough stadiums to accommodate the 16-te-team field through both the group and knockout stages, as well as an enormous venue

capable of hosting a World Cup final. The terms of the 1974 bid allowed Columbia to minimize its costs, as the nation already had five acceptable stadiums that required only minor upgrades, so they didn't need to build massive new venues. The five stadiums offered more than enough capacity to accommodate the 38 games of a 16-team field. Columbia also met the minimum expectations for air, rail, and public transit between the five game sites. and Columbia barely met the lighting and broadcasting requirements for the matches, but they did manage to meet them.

Then on the eve of the 1978 World Cup, everything changed when FIFA expanded the tournament field from 16 to 24 teams. Adding eight teams effectively nullified the 1974 agreement as the schedule now ballooned to 52 total games. The new requirements that FIFA presented to Colombia were staggering. The additional matches meant Columbia had to drastically improve its baseline stadium infrastructure as FIFA now expected Columbia to provide 12 stadiums that met international standards. The governing body also added strict new regulations on transportation, lodging, and broadcasting.

The unfortunate reality was that Columbia could not build the stadium infrastructure to meet FIFA's new expectations. Columbia's political leadership between 1974 and 1982 did nothing beyond forming bureaucratic committees, and the workers never broke round on a single stadium. By 1982, the country finally admitted what was obvious to everyone. Columbia could not host the World Cup. FIFA immediately entered panic mode. To keep the hemisphere alternating rule alive, the Federation quickly sought a new host after Columbia withdrew. The United States, Canada, and Mexico all submitted emergency bids.

Mexico ultimately won the rights to host the tournament, and they were aided by FIFA's restrictions on holding matches at venues that were not controlled by a nation's soccer association. And this rule limited the appeal of stadiums in the United States, which were built for American football. Mexico easily met the core infrastructure requirements because it had already hosted the 1970 World Cup and the 1968 Summer Olympics. When they were granted the 1986 World Cup, they became the first country to host the event twice. Preparations for the World Cup were in high gear until September 19, 1985, won a massive earthquake that measured 8.0 on the Richter scale struck Mexico City, killing an estimated 10,000 people. With only eight months to go before

the opening match, international critics called for Mexico to withdraw as host, putting the event events future in doubt. Voices inside the soccer world even demanded that FIFA cancel or delay the World Cup entirely. The global media harbored serious doubts about Mexico's ability to host the event on the heels of a major catastrophe. Skeptit suggested that FIFA rapidly moved the tournament to places like the United States, West Germany, or France, countries that possess the infrastructure required to accommodate an event of this size on an emergency eight-month deadline. While the earthquake caused billions of dollars in damage across Mexico City, when the dust settled, it turned out that the core stadium infrastructure was virtually untouched.

FIFA and Mexico recognized an unprecedented opportunity and quickly rebranded the tournament as a global celebration of Mexican resilience. When games finally kicked off in June of 1986, FIFA insisted on playing the marquee matches at noon local time to reach primetime television audiences in Europe, creating a very brutal test for players and fans. 1986 was one of Mexico's hottest summers on record, and players struggled on the pitch. Teams played matches in scorching heat, often at altitudes above 2,000 meters, creating incredibly hazardous conditions for the athletes.

Compounding the misery, the stifling midday smog grew progressively worse, the closer you got to the Mexico City Metroplex. Athletes and fans alike complained about the suffocating conditions. Yet, despite the oppressive climate, the tournament delivered several iconic moments that have etched themselves into sporting history. Fans across the world witnessed the global debut of Laola, which was the Mexican version of The Wave. It actually originated in North American College football and spread to Mexico, and from the World

Cup, the wave became an international sensation. Fans also learned a new piece of World Cup vernacular, the group of death, a term that describes a difficult group in the opening stages of the tournament. Commentators use the phrase to describe the brutal collection of nations that FIFA placed in Group E. It included West Germany, which was an established soccer power, who publicly voiced their dissatisfaction with FIFA's decision to place it in such a challenging group. Their frustration stemmed from being drawn alongside Uruguay, a two-time world champion, a disciplined Scotland team, and a really good team from Denmark. The name stuck and commentators and fans continue to use the group of death moniker to this day. Uruguay triggered the tournament's first major controversy.

Famous for its aggressive play style, they drew a red card just 52 seconds into their match against Scotland. Jose Batista flew in with a violent tackle against Scotland's Jordan Strachan, earning the fastest ejection in World Cup history. Referees rarely use the red cards so early, and to see a referee flash won before the stadium announcers have even finished reading the lineups was extremely unprecedented. The now ten-man Uruguayan side retreated into a defensive shell, turning the match into an ugly frustrating slog. They held the Scots to a nil-nill-nill draw, eliminating a Scotland squad that had entered the tournament

with high hopes. But Uruguay's physical approach had already met its match earlier in the opening round, when and the world witnessed the arrival of the legendary Danish dynamite. The Danes played a fast-paced, relentless attacking style that caught Uruguay completely off guard, beating them 6'1 in Uruguay's worst World Cup defeat ever. Denmark had never before qualified for the World Cup, because until 1978, the Danish Football Union embraced a rigid form of amateurism that strictly barred overseas professionals from the national team.

When those professional athletes finally returned to play for Denmark, the team became a powerhouse. However, what most people think of when they think of the 1986 World Cup has to be Argentina's Diego Maradona. While his overall play defined the tournament, serious fans instantly point to the legendary quarterfinal match against England on June 22nd. The game was deeply personal for Argentina, because just four years earlier, Argentina and and Britain had fought a 74-day war over the Falkland Islands, also known as the Malvinas Islands, which resulted in over 900 deaths and a British victory. Despite claiming before the match that the war meant little to his personal motivation, Maradona later admitted the truth in his autobiography, writing, quote,

It was like beating a country, not a football team. Although we said before the game that football had nothing to do with the Malvinas War, we knew that a lot of Argentine kids had died there, and that they had mowed us down like little birds. This was our revenge it was, recovering a part of the Melvinus. We said beforehand that we shouldn't mix the two things, but that was a lie. A lie. We didn't think of anything except that, like hell it was going to be just another game.

End quote. England had their own demons to face. They had underachieved on the global stage ever since winning the World Cup in 1966. They desperately wanted to reassert their position among soccer's global elite. and the English had a highly talented roster led by scoring sensation Gary Leinker. Leinker would leave Mexico with the golden boot as the tournament's top goal score, but few remember his individual accolades because Maradonna completely stole the show. In the 51st minute, Maradona chased a deflected ball into the box challenging England's goldkeeper Peter Shildon.

Maradona was six inches shorter than the goalkeeper, yet he leapt in the air with incredible timing to attempt a header. The next split second became one of the most famous moments in sports history. Maradonna punched the ball past the goalkeeper with his left fist, and despite furious English protests, the official allowed the goal to stand. As Maradonna later described it, the ball went in, quote, a little with the head of Maradonna and a little with the hand of God. But just four minutes later, Maradona scored what is often considered the greatest goal in World Cup history. He took the ball in Argentina's own side of the field, turned away from two English players,

and dribbled more than half the field, beating Peter Beardsley, Peter Reed, Terry Butcher, Terry Fenwick, and finally the goalkeeper Shilton before putting the ball into the net. In contrast to the first goal, the second was Peer Brilliance. It was later voted the goal of the century in a FIFA poll. But Maradonna wasn't done yet. This was his tournament. Facing off against a remarkably talented West German squad in the final, Maradonna carried Argentina to a thrilling three to two victory.

German manager and legend Franz Beckenbauer refused to let Maradona beat him single-handedly. So the West Germans focused an incredible amount of defensive energy on keeping him completely neutralized. And the strategy worked until it didn't. The Germans covered Maradona relentlessly, but he just used the vacuum created by the extra defenders to help his teammates. When West Germany staged a late comeback to tie the match 2-2-2, Maradonna delivered the game's deciding moment in the 84th minute, with a brilliant pass through a cluster of defenders to a sprinting Jorge Barachata who secured the 3-2 victory.

While Gary Leinker won the Golden Boot for most goals scored, Maradona commanded the focus of every defense he faced, leaving absolutely no doubt that he was the world's best player. What started out as Columbia's attempt to host an event that would put them on the world stage, resulted in Mexico stepping up at the last minute to host the tournament. An earthquake, scorching heat, and smog didn't stop what many people consider to be one of the greatest World Cups in history. The executive producer of Everything Everywhere Daily is Charles Daniel.

The associate producers are Austin Otkin and Cameron Kiefer. Research in writing for this episode was provided by Joel Hermanson. My big thanks go to everyone who supports the show of on Patreon. Your support helps make this podcast possible. And I also want to remind everyone about the community groups on Facebook and Discord, as this is where everything happens outside of the podcast. As always, if you leave a review on any of the major podcast apps, you too can have it run in the show.