Editing 1982 FIFA World Cup (section)

===Second group stage===
[[File:Mundial82coruña.jpg|thumb|upright|A statue commemorating the 1982 FIFA World Cup at the [[Estadio Riazor]] in [[A Coruña]].]]

Poland opened Group A with a 3–0 defeat of Belgium thanks to a [[Zbigniew Boniek]] [[Perfect Hat-Trick|hat-trick]]. The Soviet Union prevailed 1–0 in the next match over Belgium. The Poles edged out the USSR for the semi-final spot on the final day on goal difference thanks to a 0–0 draw in a politically charged match, as Poland's then-Communist government had imposed a [[Martial law in Poland|martial law]] a few months earlier to quash internal dissent.

In Group B, a match between England and West Germany ended in a goalless draw. West Germany put the pressure on England in their second match by beating Spain 2–1. The home side drew 0–0 against England, denying [[Ron Greenwood]]'s team a semi-final place and putting England in the same position as Cameroon, being eliminated without losing a game.

In Group C, with Brazil, Argentina and Italy, in the opener, Italy prevailed 2–1 over [[Diego Maradona]] and [[Mario Kempes]]'s side after a game in which Italian defenders [[Gaetano Scirea]] and [[Claudio Gentile]] proved themselves equal to the task of stopping the Argentinian attack. Argentina now needed a win over Brazil on the second day, but lost 3–1 – Argentina only scoring in the last minute. Maradona kicked Brazilian player [[João Batista da Silva|João Batista]] in the groin and was sent off in the 85th minute.

The [[Brazil vs Italy (1982)|match between Brazil and Italy]] pitted Brazil's attack against Italy's defence, with the majority of the game played around the Italian area, and with the Italian midfielders and defenders returning the repeated set volleys of Brazilian shooters such as [[Zico (footballer)|Zico]], [[Sócrates]] and [[Paulo Roberto Falcão|Falcão]]. Italian centre back Gentile was assigned to mark Brazilian striker Zico, earning a yellow card and a suspension for the semi-final. [[Paolo Rossi]] opened the scoring when he headed in [[Antonio Cabrini]]'s cross with just five minutes played. Sócrates equalised for Brazil seven minutes later. In the twenty-fifth minute Rossi stepped past [[Leovegildo Lins da Gama Júnior|Júnior]], intercepted a pass from [[Toninho Cerezo|Cerezo]] across the Brazilians' goal, and drilled the shot home. The Brazilians threw everything in search of another equaliser, while Italy defended bravely. On 68 minutes, Falcão collected a pass from Júnior and as Cerezo's dummy run distracted three defenders, fired home from 20 yards out. Now Italy had gained the lead twice thanks to Rossi's goals, and Brazil had come back twice; at 2–2, Brazil would have been through on goal difference, but in the 74th minute, a poor clearance from an Italian corner kick went back to the Brazilian six-yard line where Rossi and [[Francesco Graziani]] were waiting. Both aimed at the same shot, Rossi connecting to get a hat trick and sending Italy into the lead for good. In the 86th minute [[Giancarlo Antognoni]] scored an apparent fourth goal for Italy, but it was wrongly disallowed for offside. In the dying moments [[Dino Zoff]] made a miraculous save to deny [[Oscar (footballer, born 1954)|Oscar]] a goal, ensuring that Italy advanced to the semi-final.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.esquire.co.uk/culture/sport/6396/1982-why-brazil-v-italy-was-one-of-footballs-greatest-ever-matches/|title=1982: Why Brazil V Italy Was One Of Football's Greatest Ever Matches|publisher=Esquire.co.uk|date=30 May 2014|access-date=1 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150927181154/http://www.esquire.co.uk/culture/sport/6396/1982-why-brazil-v-italy-was-one-of-footballs-greatest-ever-matches/|archive-date=27 September 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|first=John|last=Foot|author-link=John Foot (historian)|title=Winning at All Costs: A Scandalous History of Italian Soccer|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NBufCsXpkVkC&pg=PA470 |page=470|access-date=1 July 2014|isbn=978-1-56858-652-6|date=24 August 2007|publisher=PublicAffairs }}</ref>

In the last group, Group D, France dispatched Austria 1–0 with a free kick goal by [[Bernard Genghini]], and then defeated Northern Ireland 4–1 to reach their first semi-final since [[1958 FIFA World Cup|1958]].