The best from 1986:
Mexico is 86 in some seasons to be the last really great World Cup. Featuring prolific players like Emilio Butragueno, Gary Lineker and Careca and fueled by creative geniuses like Enzo Francescoli, Michael Laudrup, Enzo Scifo, Michel Platini and Zico, it was a fantastic tournament full of drama, stories and of course great players.
Here are the top 10 :
10 - Jan Sjoulemans (Belgium)
Belgium was somewhat below the sum of its parts in Mexico, with a backbone of real talent making their way to the quarter-finals of the competition before being knocked out by Diego Maradona. But throughout the tournament, Seulman's awkward, brave, and bone character has emerged as a classic leader of line and goal.
Heading the dive against Spain from a first-class Frankie Verkouterin cross, he was captain of a team that included Frankie Verkouterin, Jean-Marie Pfaff and Eric Gerets.
9 - Emilio Butragueno (Spain)
The Eagle was elevated to the Pantheon with his performance against highly-rated Denmark in the Round of 16, where he scored four goals to take down one of the best teams of the era. The Danes of Preben Elkjaer, Michael Laudrup and Jesper Olsen were leading 1-0 when Butragueno, two minutes before halftime, took advantage of Olsen's disastrous error to level the score.
His work was not done there: the striker then headed in with a corner kick, converted a cross from Eloy, was dropped for two penalty shootouts, turning the second into a 5-1 win. He also scored a penalty kick in the penalty shootout defeat to Belgium in the quarter-finals.
8 - Louis Fernandez (France)
A quarter of the famous French midfielder Le Carrie Magic, Fernandez stepped in as the general with talisman Michel Platini who suffers from tendinitis. While arguably the least creative of the Magic Arena, which also included Jean Tigana, Alain Giresse and Platini, Fernandez was still a talented player whose talents have bestowed stability on France.
Disciplined, clever in positioning, and a wonderful reader of the game, it was his display that put on goal against Canada, and cleared Alain Giresse's pass against the Soviet Union. Fernandez also scored the decisive penalty kick in Brazil's penalty shootout win in the quarter-finals.
7 - Sergio Batista (Argentina)
It is simply not true that Maradona, while undoubtedly the star of Argentina, won the 1986 World Cup alone. The Albiceleste star was taken to a higher level of the field to play striker Jorge Valdano by coach Carlos Bilardo in the quarter-finals, leaving Jorge Burruchaga to play a more creative role in midfield.
This means that the bearded Batista has been left to work at the deepest point in midfield, in front of three test defences. The ball winner was able to get down to the back line when necessary, but he also set the rhythm of Argentina's play with his passes.
5 - Harald Schumacher (West Germany)
German goalkeeper Schumacher is notorious for his attack on Patrice Battiston at the 1982 World Cup in Spain, but when the French defenders didn't lose consciousness, he was actually a formidable goalkeeper.
Schumacher was the star of struggling West Germany to the final in 1986, and even captained the team when Rummenigge missed out through injury.
He put in his best display in yet another semi-final against France, where he ran a series of superb balls to keep the score 1-0 before Rudi Voller added a second late. He also played a key role in West Germany's win over Mexico in the quarter-finals, denying Fernando Querarte and Raul Cervin on penalties.
4 - Carica (Brazil)
Careca's loss at the 1982 World Cup left Brazil and the rest of the world wondering what it could have been. When the striker was fit and healthy in 1986, he was surrounded by aging talent - Zico was 33, Socrates and Falcao 32, Junior and Oscar 31. The rest were inexperienced, with 10 players in the tournament with fewer than 10 caps.
His first goal of the tournament was to score against Algeria, but both strikes against Northern Ireland - a quick shot through Pat Jennings' legs and then a clever shot at his near post - showed a goal at their absolute peak. This was followed by a penalty kick against Poland, before they swept Brazil ahead in the quarter-finals, only for France to fall back and win the match on penalties.
3 - Gary Lineker (England)
England were in serious trouble in the group stage in 1986. They lost to Portugal in their opening match and only managed to equalize with Morocco in the second game, and early pressure from Poland in their last group meeting signaled an early exit from the world. Three Lions Cup.
Lineker's hat-trick calmed nerves and put England on their way to the knockout stage of the tournament - and the striker wasn't done yet. He went on to score six goals in total as the Three Lions reached the quarter-finals, with his late goal against Argentina not enough to counter a Diego Maradona double.
2 - Preben Alkjaar (Denmark)
Denmark's Dynamite was one of the best national teams in the '80s and early '90s, featuring incredibly talented players like Jesper Olsen, Jan Mulby, Soren Lerby and, of course, Michael Laudrup. They made such an impression at the World Cup in Mexico that it's hard to believe they were knocked out in the Round of 16 thanks to a thrilling solo performance by Spanish striker Emilio Butragueno.
Elkjaer was brilliant throughout, striking with his poise, poise, imagination, desire and lung-damaging energy. The goal against Scotland was followed by a hat-trick against Uruguay. But he couldn't help Denmark after the round of 16.
1 - Diego Maradona (Argentina)
1986 was Maradona's second foreplay with the World Cup. The first, which was four years ago in Spain, was a disaster that could not be mitigated. He kicked from pole to pole long, blasted off in the match against Brazil, and a bump planted him in Joao Batista's thigh leading to his ejection.
Maradona's exploits against England in Mexico are well documented, but his heroism was much more than that. He had already put in all three goals against South Korea, scored one against Italy and made the second against Bulgaria, and would go on to score two great goals against Belgium, before setting the winning goal for Jorge Burruchaga in the final.
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