England at the FIFA World Cup the first World Cup finals take place in North America and England qualified automatically for the tournament by winning the 1966 FIFA World Cup. England were drawn in a group with Romania, former world champions Brazil and Czechoslovakia. Each of the matches only saw one goal, with England defeating Romania and Czechoslovakia, and losing to Brazil. The quarter-final saw a repeat of the 1966 final, with England playing West Germany. England were hampered by the fact that first-choice goalkeeper Gordon Banks was ill, and Peter Bonetti played instead. England led 2–0 with goals by Alan Mullery and Martin Peters, but
Argentina v England (1986 FIFA World Cup) 'Goal of the Century' as part of the buildup to the 2002 FIFA World Cup tournament on the FIFA website. It beat a goal scored by England's Michael Owen against Argentina in the 1998 FIFA World Cup, which came second, whilst another 1986 FIFA World Cup goal by Maradona, from the semi-final match against Belgium, came fourth. In Spanish-speaking countries, this goal is usually associated with the live commentary by Uruguayan journalist Víctor Hugo Morales (translation from Spanish): Argentina's lead forced England into a double-attacking substitution, bringing on Barnes and Waddle, and it nearly paid off: as the Argentine team