1986 Hockey World Cup

Tournament details
Host country	England
City	London
Dates	4–19 October 1986
Teams	12
Venue(s)	Willesden Sports Centre
Tournament statistics
Matches played	42
Goals scored	146 (3.48 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Richard Charlesworth (7 goals)
Best player	Mohammed Shahid
← 1982 (previous) (next) 1990 →

The 1986 Hockey World Cup was the sixth Hockey World Cup men's field hockey tournament. It was held in London, England. The competition was won by Australia, who defeated host nation England 2–1 in the final.^[1] West Germany finished third after defeating the Soviet Union.

England, as hosts – and also as Olympic bronze medallists – were viewed as having quite a tough group, containing Olympic champions Pakistan, and a highly fancied Dutch side, with the Soviet Union seen as potential dark-horse outsiders. But in the event Pakistan failed badly, winning only a single group match against minnows New Zealand – blaming their poor play on failure to adjust to the AstroTurf surface, used in a major hockey tournament for the first time instead of grass. The Soviets scored surprise victories over both Pakistan and England, leaving England in danger of going out of their own tournament in the group stages: however they recovered to win their final match, against the Dutch. This left England, the USSR and the Netherlands all level on points with four wins and one loss each. England and the Soviets were equal on goal difference as well as points, England being ahead on goals scored: the Dutch unfortunate to be in third thanks to an inferior goal difference to both.

In the other group, things were expected to be more straightforward, with West Germany and Australia (Olympic silver medallists and fourth place respectively) being the two favourites. Australia duly topped the group by defeating everybody except the Germans, with whom they drew: the Germans also finished the group undefeated to qualify comfortably in second place, though they also drew with Spain and India. The latter, hockey giants of the past, were nowhere near the same force in the present: in the play-offs for the minor places, India ended up losing both matches, including the 11th–12th place play-off to the otherwise hapless Pakistan.

The first semi-final, between England and West Germany, was an absolute classic. A replay of the semi-final of the 1984 Olympic tournament, won 1-0 by the Germans, meant that the English had a score to settle. England dominated most of the first half, but in the end had only one goal to show for it, scored by star centre-forward Sean Kerly. In the second half, the Germans found their form, equalising from a penalty corner, and then going into the lead with a smart strike from their captain, Heiner Dopp. The remainder of the match was end-to-end stuff as England pressed hard for an equaliser. Several times they came close from both open play and penalty corners: shots whizzed past the post, crosses were desperately intercepted, the keeper himself made a few useful saves – but the Germans were themselves dangerous on the breakaway. Fischer thought he had scored a German third from a penalty corner, but it was disallowed as the ball flew dangerously high off his stick: Dopp, too, nearly scored another, but was denied by a last-ditch deflection from England's own captain, Richard Dodds. Finally, in the last minute, with England on the verge of going out, they were awarded a penalty corner, from which Paul Barber scored an equalizer – almost blocked by a German stick, but it deflected into the roof of the net, forcing extra time. The extra period was as thrilling as the last minutes of the main game, both sides going for all-out attack: the game was finally settled by another English penalty corner, from which Barber scored an action-replay of his earlier goal to send England into the final.

The second semi-final, after all that, was an anti-climax, Australia hammering the Soviet Union by 5–0. The Soviets made a slightly better fist of the third-place play-off against the Germans, but in the end it was the Germans who clinched third place.

The final was also a rematch of sorts – England having defeated Australia in the Olympic third-place play-off, the Aussies were out for revenge. England started slowly, and Terry Walsh scored an early goal to put Australia into a deserved lead. England soon began to find their feet, with some typically mazy dribbles by Imran Sherwani threatening the Australian lines: but another goal soon followed for the Australians, this time against the run of play, from a penalty corner. This goal was in fact briefly disputed by England, who claimed that the shot had flown too high, above the back board of the net: but the referee ruled that it had brushed the goalkeeper's glove on the way, so the "too high" was counted as a deflection off an English player rather than a straight hit from the Australian scorer, and England were 2-0 behind at half-time. The second half was a more scrappy affair – England by and large having the greater amount of possession, but unable to create any significant chances against a well-drilled Australian defensive line. Late on in the game, a defensive error finally allowed Jon Potter in to score, but it was too little, too late: Australia hung on for a 2–1 victory.

Results

Preliminary round

Pool A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	England	5	4	0	1	9	4	+5	8	Advanced to Semi-finals
2	Soviet Union	5	4	0	1	6	1	+5	8
3	Netherlands	5	4	0	1	5	2	+3	8
4	Argentina	5	1	1	3	5	7	−2	3
5	Pakistan	5	1	0	4	8	13	−5	2
6	New Zealand	5	0	1	4	5	11	−6	1

Source: FIH
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) goals scored; 4) head-to-head result.^[2]

4 October 1986 11:00 Pakistan  1–3  Argentina Iqbal (1 Goal) Report Mascheroni (1 Goal) Garraffo (1 Goal) Verga (1 Goal)

4 October 1986 13:30 England  3–1  New Zealand Kerly (2 Goals) Batchelor (1 Goal) Report Daji (1 Goal)

4 October 1986 16:00 Netherlands  1–0  Soviet Union Heijn (1 Goal) Report

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6 October 1986 11:00 Soviet Union  1–0  New Zealand Deputatov (1 Goal) Report

6 October 1986 13:30 England  2–1  Argentina Barber (1 Goal) Sherwani (1 Goal) Report Mascheroni (1 Goal)

6 October 1986 16:00 Pakistan  1–2  Netherlands Mohib (1 Goal) Report Van Grimbergen (1 Goal) Schlattman (1 Goal)

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8 October 1986 11:00 New Zealand  3–5  Pakistan Daji (2 Goals) Wilson (1 Goal) Report Zia (3 Goals) Ali (1 Goal) Sardar (1 Goal)

8 October 1986 13:30 Soviet Union  1–0  England Goncharov (1 Goal) Report

8 October 1986 16:00 Argentina  0–1  Netherlands Report Van 't Hek (1 Goal)

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11 October 1986 11:00 England  3–1  Pakistan Potter (2 Goals) Kerly (1 Goal) Report Khan (1 Goal)

11 October 1986 13:30 Argentina  0–2  Soviet Union Report Zigangirov (2 Goals)

11 October 1986 16:00 Netherlands  1–0  New Zealand Kruize (1 Goal) Report

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13 October 1986 11:00 New Zealand  1–1  Argentina Wilson (1 Goal) Report Siri (1 Goal)

13 October 1986 13:30 Pakistan  0–2  Soviet Union Report Deputatov (1 Goal) Pleshakov (1 Goal)

13 October 1986 16:00 Netherlands  0–1  England Report Sherwani (1 Goal)

Pool B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Australia	5	4	1	0	24	6	+18	9	Advanced to Semi-finals
2	West Germany	5	2	3	0	9	4	+5	7
3	Poland	5	2	1	2	8	9	−1	5
4	Spain	5	2	1	2	7	13	−6	5
5	India	5	1	1	3	5	11	−6	3
6	Canada	5	0	1	4	3	13	−10	1

Source: FIH
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) goals scored; 4) head-to-head result.^[2]

5 October 1986 11:00 Australia  6–2  Canada Charlesworth  12', 16' Hawgood (2 Goals) Bestall (1 Goal) Walsh (1 Goal) Report Grimmer (1 Goal) Sandhu (1 Goal)

5 October 1986 13:30 India  0–1  Poland Report Myśliwiec (1 Goal)

5 October 1986 16:00 West Germany  0–0  Spain Report

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7 October 1986 11:00 Spain  2–1  India I. Escudé (1 Goal) X. Escudé (1 Goal) Report Somaya (1 Goal)

7 October 1986 13:30 West Germany  2–2  Australia Fischer (1 Goal) Reck (1 Goal) Report Birmingham (1 Goal) Mitton (1 Goal)

7 October 1986 16:00 Canada  0–0  Poland Report

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10 October 1986 11:00 India  2–0  Canada Balwinder (1 Goal) Thoiba (1 Goal) Report

10 October 1986 13:30 Spain  0–6  Australia Report Batch (2 Goals) Charlesworth (2 Goals) Hager (1 Goal) Hawgood (1 Goal)

10 October 1986 16:00 Poland  0–3  West Germany Report Fischer (1 Goal) Hilgers (1 Goal) Reck (1 Goal)

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12 October 1986 11:00 Poland  5–2  Spain Podzorski (4 Goals) Mirosław  44' Report X. Escudé  61' Roca  41'

12 October 1986 13:30 Australia  6–0  India Mitton  13', 52' Birmingham  28' Batch  31' Walsh  56' Davies  67' Report

12 October 1986 16:00 West Germany  2–0  Canada Fischer (1 Goal) Hilgers (1 Goal) Report

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14 October 1986 11:00 Canada  1–3  Spain Rutledge  59' Report Malgosa  14' X. Escudé  20', 48'

14 October 1986 11:00 India  2–2  West Germany Carvalho  8' Shahid  ?' Report Dopp  21' Fischer  44'

14 October 1986 16:00 Australia  4–2  Poland Charlesworth (1 Goal) Davies (1 Goal) Haselhurst (1 Goal) Hawgood (1 Goal) Report Kubisiak (1 Goal) Myśliwiec (1 Goal)

Classification round

Ninth to twelfth place classification

	Crossover				Ninth Place
	16 October 1986
	Pakistan	1
					17 October 1986
	Canada	2
					Canada	1
	16 October 1986
					New Zealand	2
	India	1
	New Zealand	2
					Eleventh Place
					17 October 1986
					Pakistan (a.e.t)	3
					India	2

Crossover

16 October 1986 11:00 Pakistan  1–2  Canada Ali (1 Goal) Report Rutledge (2 Goals)

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16 October 1986 16:00 India  1–2  New Zealand Shahid (1 Goal) Report Daji (1 Goal) McLeod (1 Goal)

Eleventh and twelfth place

17 October 1986 13:30 Pakistan  3–2 (a.e.t.)  India Ali (1 Goal) Khan (1 Goal) Mohib (1 Goal) Report Mohinder Pal (2 Goals)

Ninth and tenth place

17 October 1986 11:00 Canada  1–2  New Zealand Porritt (1 Goal) Report McLeod (1 Goal) Pierce (1 Goal)

Fifth to eighth place classification

	Crossover				Fifth Place
	17 October 1986
	Netherlands	1
					19 October 1986
	Spain	4
					Spain	3
	16 October 1986
					Argentina	2
	Poland	0
	Argentina	1
					Seventh Place
					18 October 1986
					Netherlands	7
					Poland	2

Crossover

16 October 1986 13:30 Poland  0–1  Argentina Report Verga (1 Goal)

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17 October 1986 16:00 Netherlands  1–4  Spain Bovelander (1 Goal) Report J. Escudé (2 Goals) X. Escudé (1 Goal) Oliva (1 Goal)

Seventh and eighth place

18 October 1986 13:30 Netherlands  7–2  Poland Schlatmann (2 Goals) Bovelander (1 Goal) Delissen (1 Goal) Diepeveen (1 Goal) Klaassen (1 Goal) H. Kruize (1 Goal) Report Klatt (1 Goal) Podzorksi (1 Goal)

Fifth and sixth place

19 October 1986 11:00 Spain  3–2  Argentina J. Escudé (3 Goals) Report Geneyro (1 Goal) Siri (1 Goal)

First to fourth place classification

	Semi-finals				Final
	18 October 1986
	England (a.e.t)	3
					19 October 1986
	West Germany	2
					England	1
	18 October 1986
					Australia	2
	Australia	5
	Soviet Union	0
					Third place
					19 October 1986
					West Germany (a.e.t)	3
					Soviet Union	2

Semi-finals

18 October 1986 11:00 England  3–2 (a.e.t.)  West Germany Kerly  34' Barber  69', 78' Report Hürter  18' Dopp  44'

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18 October 1986 16:00 Australia  5–0  Soviet Union Charlesworth  21', 57' Mitton  29' Bestall  43' Haselhurst  65' Report

Third and fourth place

19 October 1986 13:30 West Germany  3–2 (a.e.t.)  Soviet Union Dopp  18' Blocher  53' Reck  74' Report Nichepurenko  3' Deputatov  21'

Final

19 October 1986 16:00 England  1–2  Australia Potter  42' Report Walsh  15' Bestall  24' Umpires: Santiago Deo (ESP) Alain Renaud (FRA)

Australia
Neil Snowden, John Bestall, Craig Davies, David Bell (capt), Warren Birmingham, Treva King, Grant Mitton (sub Dean Evans), Colin Batch, Terry Walsh, Ric Charlesworth, Neil Hawgood (sub Peter Haselhurst)

England
Ian Taylor, David Faulkner, Paul Barber, Jon Potter, Richard Dodds (capt), Martyn Grimley, Stephen Batchelor (sub Kulbir Bhaura), Richard Leman (sub John Shaw), Sean Kerly, Norman Hughes, Imran Sherwani

1986 Hockey World Cup winner
Australia First title

Statistics

Final standings

As per statistical convention in field hockey, matches decided in extra time are counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by penalty shoot-outs are counted as draws.

Pos	Grp	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Final result
	B	Australia	7	6	1	0	31	7	+24	13	Gold Medal
	A	England	7	5	0	2	13	8	+5	10	Silver Medal
	B	West Germany	7	3	3	1	14	9	+5	9	Bronze Medal
4	A	Soviet Union	7	4	0	3	8	9	−1	8	Fourth place
5	B	Spain	7	4	1	2	14	16	−2	9	Eliminated in group stage
6	A	Argentina	7	2	1	4	8	10	−2	5
7	A	Netherlands	7	5	0	2	13	8	+5	10
8	B	Poland	7	2	1	4	10	17	−7	5
9	A	New Zealand	7	2	1	4	9	13	−4	5
10	B	Canada	7	1	1	5	6	16	−10	3
11	A	Pakistan	7	2	0	5	12	17	−5	4
12	B	India	7	1	1	5	8	16	−8	3

Source: FIH

References

External links

• Official page at FIH
• Rediff page