Second Group Round

Poland opened Group A with a 3-0 defeat of Belgium thanks to a Zbigniew Boniek hat-trick. The Soviet Union prevailed 1-0 in the next match over a Belgian side which clearly had peaked too early in the tournament. The Poles edged out the USSR for the semifinal 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 a few months earlier to quash internal dissent and forestall a Soviet invasion.In Group B, a tense yet fair-minded opening match between England and West Germany ended in a goalless draw. West Germany took an option on the semifinal spot in their second match by beating Spain 2-1. The home side salvaged some national pride on the last day by drawing 0-0 against England, denying Ron Greenwood's team a semi-final place.
It was in Group C, a true Group of Death with Brazil, Argentina and Italy, that World Cup history was made. In the opener, the Azzurri prevailed 2-1 over Diego Maradona's side after an ill-tempered, obscure battle in which Italian defenders Gaetano Scirea and Claudio Gentile proved to be able to stop the Argentinian attack. Gentile's dominance of Maradona is still considered one of the best performances of all time for a marking defensive back. Argentina now needed a win over Brazil on the second day, but they were no match as the Seleção attacking game, characterised by nimble, one-touch passing on-the-run, eclipsed the reigning World Champions. The final score of 3-1 — Argentina only scoring in the last minute — could have been much higher had Brazil centre-forward Serginho not wasted a series of near-certain scoring opportunities. Perhaps in frustration at his side's powerlessness, Maradona allowed himself a kick in the groin of Brazil defender Batista and was sent off a few minutes from time.
The third-day match between Brazil and Italy was the tournament shocker. Brazil brought to the game the best and most sophisticated and modern offense in the world, characterized by their precision one-touch passing on the run, Italy their vaunted and smothering defence built around the two central defenders, Claudio Gentile and Gaetano Scirea. The majority of the game, in fact, was played around the Italian area, with the Italian mid-fielders and defenders returning the repeated set volleys of Brazilian shooters such as Zico, Socrates and Falcao. Italian centre back Claudio Gentile was assigned to mark Brazilian striker Zico, and his brutal play earned him a yellow card and a sit-out for the following game against Poland. Enzo Bearzot's opportunistic striker, Paolo Rossi, silent thus far in the tournament, opened the scoring when he stepped past a Brazilian defender who had been screening him, intercepted an ill-advised pass across the Brazilians' own goal, and drilled the shot home. Rossi's opportunism shocked the Brazilians. Twice Italy gained the lead on Paolo Rossi goals, and twice Brazil came back. At 2-2, Brazil would have been through on goal difference, but at 74 minutes, a poor clearance on an Italy corner kick went back to the Brazil six-yard line where Rossi and Francesco Graziani were waiting. Both world-class strikers reflexively aimed at the same shot, Rossi connecting to get a hat trick and sending Italy into the lead for good. At this point, the Italians fell back into their trademark defensive style, and smothered the Brazilians the rest of the way. This great semifinal upset is still considered one of the best all-time matches of World Cup history.
To this day, Brazilian football aficionados consider this a great upset, given the facts that 1) Brazil had a spectacular campaign up to that point, 2) Italy had advanced to the quarter-finals with only a single victory and the rest of their games tied, and 3) that Rossi, who would go on to become the tournament's top scorer and win the Golden Boot, had not scored a single goal in the tournament before this match. The game was also a contest between Brazil's offensive brilliance and Italy's defensive discipline, coupled with a calculated counter-strike strategy in which Italy kept ten men around their area and left only Paolo Rossi high to seize opportune moments. The Italian strategy worked, first, because the Brazilians could never outnumber the Italians in the Italian area, and second because of the standout defensive performances by centre backs Claudio Gentile and Gaetano Scirea.The last group, Group D, paled in comparison, the unexpected second-place finish of Spain in the first round having sent them to another group and cleared a path for the French. Les Bleus dispatched Austria 1-0 in their opener, then strolled 4-1 past Northern Ireland for their first semifinal appearance since 1958.