Group A of the 1986 FIFA World Cup consisted of defending champions Italy, Argentina with Maradona, Eastern European powerhouse Bulgaria, and South Korea from Asia.
The opening match for this World Cup was also played between italy and Bulgaria, the defending champions of this group. In the 43rd minute of the match, Altobel broke the deadlock for Italy. But in the following game, the Italians did not extend the score, which also cost them a price, Silakov equalized for Bulgaria in the 85th minute, and the two sides finally shook hands 1-1, and Italy continued the slow heat of the group stage.
The other match in the same group was played by Argentina against South Korea. In the face of Argentina, whose strength is many grades higher than his own, especially if there is a Maradona in the opponent's squad, the Koreans have to adopt the tactic of cutting trees, and Maradona has become a key target, and he has been put in again and again.
But the South Korean's attempt to limit Maradona's tactics with fouls was unsuccessful, which allowed them to give Argentina plenty of free-kick opportunities up front. In the 6th minute of the match, Maradona was violated again, Argentina won a free kick, Maradona's free-kick was blocked by the wall and the ball was given to Baldano, who was on the right side of the box, who pulled the arc and scored in the back corner.
In the 19th minute of the match, the South Korean fouled Maradona again, maradona took a free kick directly to Rugeri, who was ambushed in the front of the goal area, and Rugeri's powerful header broke the goal to help Argentina extend the score. In the 46th minute of the game, Maradona again staged a good assist when he received a right-footed cross from the box in front of the box and Valdano at the back post pushed the ball into the empty goal. It wasn't until the 73rd minute of the second half that Park Chang-sun pulled a goal back with a long-range shot. With Maradona's assist hat-trick, Argentina won 3-1 against South Korea to open the scoring.
In the second round of the group stage, Italy and Argentina staged a strong dialogue. Maradona remembers maradona from that last World Cup, and Gialetti's almost perverted defense left Maradona helpless. This time, Gentile is long gone from the Italian squad, and the person responsible for keeping an eye on Maradona is Pietro Verjojo Ward, who is also a difficult guy. It is also a difficult opponent, but Maradona has long been familiar with this kind of defense, after all, at this time he plays for Napoli in Serie A, and the italian art of defense is just a weekly compulsory course for him.
But Argentina still suffered a blow at the beginning of the game, and in the 7th minute of the game, Italy received a penalty and Altobelí scored the ball to give Italy a 1:0 lead. According to Italy's playing pattern, it is undoubtedly extremely dangerous to give them a lead, but this time Maradona did not agree. In the 34th minute of the match, Baldano passed the ball to Maradona, who kept volleying the ball into the net, helping Argentina equalize, and the two teams eventually drew 1-1. In the other match, South Korea also played 1:1 with Bulgaria.
In the final round of the group stage, Argentina welcomed the Bulgarian team. Just four minutes into the game, Baldano helped Argentina make a fantastic start. In the 77th minute of the second half, Maradona put on another brilliant performance, he first split the ball on the left side to get rid of the Bulgarian player, and then sent a beautiful cross in the bottom cross, the unguarded Bruchaga easily pushed the ball in, Argentina won 2:0, won the first place in the group.
The match between Italy and South Korea also started at the same moment, and Aaltoberi still became Italy's firepower output point. In the 18th minute of the first half, Aaltobel opened the scoring for Italy, but Choi Soon-ho's goal in the 61st minute of the match turned the score into a draw. In the critical moment, Altobelli stepped forward, first helping Italy to rebound in the 73rd minute of the game. Then in the 82nd minute of the match, Aaltopelli bounced the ball from the rebels into the net when he bounced into the net on South Korean defender Choi Kwang-wook, giving Italy a two-goal lead. Although Xu Dingmao helped South Korea to pull back another goal in the final moments of the game, he was unable to return to the sky in the end, and Italy jumped to second place in the group with this victory and also successfully qualified. Bulgaria, which scored two points, also became third in the best four groups and also advanced smoothly.