As part of the 50 days, 50 Argentina World Cup moments, we will be counting down the top 50 Argentina moments at a World Cup using the daily number.
We are just 26 days until the start of the FIFA World Cup and in spot number 26 we have Diego MARADONA scoring his 26th goal for Argentina at the 1986 FIFA World Cup in a 2-0 win versus Belgium.
After suffering a 1-0 loss versus Belgium in their opening match at the 1982 FIFA World Cup, Argentina were up against them once more, this time in the semi finals of the 1986 FIFA World Cup. Carlos BILARDO’s men were full of confidence following a 2-1 win against England in the quarter finals and they were only 90 minutes away from their third appearance in a final of a FIFA World Cup.
Diego MARADONA scored his 4th and 5th goal of the tournament in the 2-0 win. A lovely toe poke chip finish by the number 10 gave his country the 1-0 lead. But it was the second goal which stole the match. Receiving a pass from midfield, Diego MARADONA picked the ball up and dribble in between several Belgium players (not unlike what he did to the English a match earlier) and scored one of the goals of the tournament. His 26th goal for Argentina meant that the team once more made the final of the World Cup.
Here was Argentina’s starting XI for the match:
18. Nery PUMPIDO
2. Sergio BATISTA
5. Jose BROWN
7. Jorge BURRUCHAGA
9. Jose CUCIUFFO
10. Diego MARADONA
11. Jorge VALDANO
12. Hector ENRIQUE
14. Ricardo GIUSTI
16. Julio OLARTICOECHEA
19. Oscar RUGGERI
If you missed it, here are our 50 World Cup moments:
50: Sergio ROMERO gets 50th cap vs. Switzerland at 2014 FIFA World Cup.
49: Roberto AYALA scores in the 49th minute vs. Germany at 2006 FIFA World Cup.
48: Angel DI MARIA’s 48th cap for Argentina vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina at 2014 FIFA World Cup.
47: Mario KEMPES scores Argentina’s 47th goal all time at the 1978 FIFA World Cup vs. Peru.
46: Jorge VALDANO scores in the 46th minute at the 1986 FIFA World Cup.
45: Javier ZANETTI scores in the 45th minute vs. England at the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
44: Gabriel BATISTUTA scores goal number 44 in his Argentina career at the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
43: Gonzalo HIGUAIN receives cap number 43 for Argentina vs. Germany in the final of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
42: Pedro PASCULLI scores in the 42nd minute for Argentina vs. Uruguay at the 1986 FIFA World Cup.
41: Maxi RODRÍGUEZ scores in the 41st minute for Argentina vs. Serbia & Montenegro at the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
40: Roberto AYALA plays in his 40th match for Argentina vs. Jamaica at the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
39: Pablo ZABALETA plays in his 39th match for Argentina vs. Nigeria at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
38: Javier SAVIOLA scores in the 38th minute for Argentina vs. Ivory Coast at the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
37: Maxi RODRIGUEZ plays in his 37th match for Argentina vs. South Korea at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
36: Mauricio PINEDA scores in the 36th minute for Argentina vs. Croatia at the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
35: Ezequiel LAVEZZI plays in his 35th match for Argentina vs. Netherlands at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
3up4: Diego MARADONA scores his 34th goal for Argentina vs. Greece at the 1994 FIFA World Cup.
33: Gonzalo HIGUAIN scores in the 33rd minute for Argentina vs. Mexico at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
32: Hernan CRESPO scores his 32nd goal for Argentina vs. Mexico at the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
31: Diego MARADONA scoring in Argentina’s 31st FIFA World Cup match vs. Hungary.
30: Argentina loses opening match of 1982 FIFA World Cup vs. Belgium.
29: Argentina are knocked out of the 1982 FIFA World Cup after playing their 29th ever group stage match.
28: Claudio CANIGGIA scores in the 28th minute for Argentina vs. Nigeria at the 1994 FIFA World Cup.
27. Pedro TROGLIO scores in the 27th minute for Argentina vs. the Soviet Union at the 1990 FIFA World Cup.
