Second Round and Quarterfinals

The match of the second round was the seven-goal thriller between Belgium and the Soviet Union, in which the Soviets' Igor Belanov scored a hat-trick and still ended up on the losing side. The game was tied at 2-2 after 90 minutes, and in extra time Stephane Demol and Nico Claesen put Belgium 4-2 up. Belanov scored from the penalty spot with nine minutes remaining, but neither he nor any of his team-mates could find a fourth goal for the Soviet Union. Two of Europe's great football nations met in Mexico City, where France, the European Champions, ended Italy's reign as World Champions with a 2-0 victory thanks to goals from Michel Platini and Yannick Stopyra. In the rematch of the 1930 World Cup final, Argentina just edged out South American champions Uruguay in Puebla thanks to a 42nd minute strike from Pedro Pasculli. The all-South American affair was notable for a Diego Maradona's disallowed goal.
Perhaps the most surprising scoreline of the second round came from Queretaro, where Denmark, who were billed as dark horses for the tournament, were eliminated although there was nothing gracious about their exit as they went from a 1-0 lead to a 5-1 battering against Spain; key player Frank Arnesen was suspended for the game after being sent off against West Germany in their last group match, for taking a swipe at German playmaker Lothar Matthäus. The Danes scored first, with a Jesper Olsen penalty, but they were then taken apart by a devastating performance from Butragueño of Spain, who scored four of his team's five goals. The other maulings of the second round came from England and Brazil. England progressed to the quarter-finals fairly comfortably when they saw off Paraguay 3-0 while Brazil brushed aside Poland 4-0. West Germany had a much harder time getting past Morocco, for whom goalkeeper Ezaki Zaki had an outstanding game in goal. Morocco held out until the 87th minute, when Lothar Matthaeus finally managed to score the only goal of the game. Mexico kept the home supporters happy with a 2-0 win over Bulgaria.
The most memorable quarter-final match saw France face the other three-time world champion, Brazil in Guadalajara. Brazil were well on top in the early stages, and Careca put them one up after 18 minutes. But then, five minutes before half-time, France drew level when Michel Platini scored his 41st goal on his 31st birthday after converting a cross from Dominique Rocheteau. Brazil had a great chance to regain the lead in the second half when Branco was fouled by French 'keeper Joël Bats in the penalty area. Zico got up to take the kick, but Bats made amends for his foul by saving Zico's penalty.
The match went to extra time, and France had the better of the extra half-hour. But no more goals were scored, and so it was time for a penalty shoot-out. Surprisingly, Socrates failed with the first kick for Brazil. The next six penalties were all converted, and then Platini fired over the bar. Brazil were back on level terms - but not for long. Julio Cesar struck the post with his penalty, and Luis Fernández then scored to put France through 4-3 on penalties.
Two other quarter-finals were also decided on penalties. Jan Ceulemans put Belgium ahead against Spain in the 35th minute, but Spanish substitute Senor equalised with five minutes to go. No more goals were scored in extra time, and Belgium won the shoot-out 5-4. West Germany and Mexico drew 0-0 after extra time, and the West Germans eliminated the hosts 4-1 on penalties.
The quarter-final between Argentina, the last South American representative left, and England was unforgettable because of the two totally different goals scored by Diego Maradona: the first was scored illegally, as he punched the ball into the goal past England goalkeeper Peter Shilton. The referee did not see the foul and the goal was given as valid. After the game, Maradona claimed the goal was scored "A bit with the head of Maradona and another bit with the hand of God"; it was known as the "The Hand of God" goal. For his second goal, voted "Goal of the Century" in 2002 on the FIFA website, Maradona dribbled half the length of the field past five English players before scoring. In Argentina, the game was not just seen as revenge for the Falklands War but mostly for what they still see as the unfair game in the 1966 FIFA World Cup.