Peter Shilton World Cup. England accomplished going through the whole qualifying campaign undefeated. By the time they played Mexico in an acclimatisation match prior to the competition, Shilton was 80 games into his England career, having beaten Banks' record for a goalkeeper of 73 caps the previous year against Turkey. At the World Cup itself, England started slowly, losing the opening group match to Portugal and then drawing against outsiders Morocco, during which time Robson was led off injured and Wilkins was sent off. In their absences, Shilton was handed the captaincy as England found their form to defeat Poland 3–0 in
Peter Shilton first World Cup for a dozen years, with Shilton appearing in the finals for the first time at the comparatively mature age of 32. Clemence had played in the friendlies building up to the competition, but it was Shilton who was selected for the opening group game against France in Bilbao. England won 3–1 and Shilton stayed in goal for the two remaining group games. That was sufficient to advance to the second phase. With Bobby Robson now running the England team, Shilton's international career flourished, playing in Robson's first ten matches and even captaining the side in seven of