All Time World Cup!
Ceulemans 36, Maradona 56, Batistuta 61, Kempes 89
ROME - Olimpico
Belgium needed only a point to qualify, at least as one of the best third-placed teams, while Argentina wanted a win to top the group. Despite Belgium having beaten holders Argentina in the opening game of the 1982 World Cup, Menotti felt confident enough to rest several first choice players.
Rattin replaced Monti, Orsi replaced Maradona, and Omar Sivori came in for Di Stefano. Labruna and Kempes were the new pairing up front. Daniel Passarella remained, and took over as captain, now with 1978 colleagues Tarantini and Olguin alongside him in defence and 1986 champion Nery Pumpido between the sticks.
This reshuffled pack gave confidence to Belgium, who, after a cagey opening half hour, realised they could afford to attack themselves. Franky Van der Elst, who appeared in four World Cups including Belgium’s run to the 1986 semi-final, demonstrated his wonderful long passing by picking out Franky Vercauteren.
Belgium has a history of nippy left footed attackers, such as Luc Nilis and Marc Degryse, but Vercauteren was probably the best. He controlled the pass and cut inside Olguin before driving in a cross. Jan Ceulemans muscled his way past the centre backs to hurl himself into a diving header which flew in low to Pumpido’s right.
On the bench, Maradona was instantly on his feet, gesticulating wildly and berating the defenders, the referee and the gods.
At half time, Menotti decided an increasingly agitated Maradona was more trouble than he was worth on the sidelines and threw him into the action. El Diego went at the Belgians like a man possessed.
Just as in the 1986 semi final, he terrified them every time he got the ball. For all his great play, he had not yet scored in this tournament, and was determined to rectify that. After a couple of near misses, he broke his duck in stunning fashion. The ball was bouncing around halfway between the Belgian box and the centre circle. As Staelens, Grun and Sivori waited for it to come down, Mardona nipped in to steal it away from all of them.
His first touch lifted the ball up over Staelens, and Maradona was instantly past him and trapping the ball on his left foot. His next touch knocked it through the legs of Meeuws and he was charging at the last line of defenders. As he reached the edge of the box, he could see the defenders were still backing off so in one movement he stopped the ball, set himself, and clipped a curling shot into the top left hand corner, almost as if he was taking a quick free kick before the wall had set itself.
The momentum was now all with the South Americans and within five minutes they were in front. Maradona again scampered into the box. He tried to pull the ball back for Sivori, but Gerets reacted well to block the pass. Unfortunately the ball deflected straight to the expertly positioned Batistuta, who gleefully knocked it in.
For the next half hour Maradona switched from dribbling to passing, staying mainly in midfield and stroking the ball around, long and short, to his willing runners. Van Himst tried his best to lead his troops by example, but the physical attentions of Rattin prevented him making much impact.
Instead, it was Argentina who scored again, when Mario Kempes bustled his way through in the area to poke the ball under Pfaff just before the final whistle.
Maradona had been just unstoppable, proving that even a team of reserves could be competitive with him to bolster them. Belgium were chastened, but they were still in a strong position to qualify.
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