From N’Kono and Milla to Armstrong, the revelations of the 1982 World Cup

If few expected Italy was champion in the World Cup in Spain 1982if many were shocked by the eliminations of Brazil and Argentina in Sarriàseveral teams became tournament revelations, including Cameroon and Northern Ireland.

Perhaps, in today’s eyes, one of those revelations was Poland, which with los goles de Zbigniew Boniek y el leaderazgo de Grzegorz Lato She finished third in the 1982 World Cup.

But Poland’s great performance was not so unexpected then, since that was a great team that had already achieved third place eight years earlier, in the 1974 edition of Germany. In 1982, Boniek was the third top scorer in the tournament, with 4 goals, tied with a myth of myths like Zico . The top scorer, Paolo Rossi, with 6, followed by Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, with 5.

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Roger Milla’s Cameroon and Tommy N’Kono (who signed for Espanyol following his great performance in the tournament) It was a big surprise, although, despite not losing a single game, they could not get past the first phase. The Cameroonian team left the World Cup undefeated in which it was integrated into group 1, from which the champion (Italy) and the third (Poland) came out.

N’Kono, the legendary Milla and his teammates drew against Peru (0-0), Poland (0-0) and Italy (1-1). On goal difference, for one goal, Cameroon went home. But he was the pride of Africa and he won them all. Before the ‘Indomitable Lions’, only four African teams, Egypt, Morocco, Zaire and Tunisia, had played a World Cup.

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It was Northern Ireland that struck the blow, beating host Spain 0-1. A goal from the then Mallorca player Gerry Armstrong defeated La Roja against all odds, which, being second in group 5, had to play the second phase against England and Germany. A defeat against the Germans (2-1) and a 0-0 against the ‘pross’ (0-0) kicked Spain out of ‘their’ World Cup.

But back to Northern Ireland. The history of Spain 1982 says that the players directed by Billy Bingham sunbathed by the pool and drank beer at the hotel on the day of the match. lived those who they believed that it would be their last hours in the tournament as if they were on vacation. Bingham managed to make his men believe in themselves and beat the Red, despite playing half an hour with ten on the field after Mal Donaghy was sent off.

Armstrong’s right hand

The Armstrong’s right after a rebound from Arconada He sent the Spanish team to face England and then runner-up Germany. Northern Ireland finished bottom of group D in the second phase (lost 4-1 to France and drew 2-2 against Austria),