1986: the most tricolour cup ever | OneFootball

Forty years ago, fans witnessed the most São Paulo-filled World Cup of all time. The club was represented by no fewer than six players: Oscar, Falcão, Müller, Careca, and Silas for Brazil, plus Darío Pereyra for Uruguay.

And more than that, it was the World Cup with the highest number of goals scored by a Tricolor player, who finished as the tournament’s runner-up top scorer and even won an important award. Check it out!

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Careca’s World Cup

Striker Careca scored five goals in that World Cup (against Algeria; Northern Ireland, twice; Poland; and France), finishing as Brazil’s top scorer in the tournament with an average of one goal per game.

Wearing the number nine shirt, he received the Silver Ball as the tournament’s overall runner-up top scorer, behind England’s Gary Lineker, who scored six goals. For Tricolor, from 1983 to 1987, Careca scored 115 goals in 191 matches, winning the 1986 Brazilian Championship and the 1985 and 1987 Paulista Championship.

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Relive the great striker’s goals at the 1986 World Cup:

06/06/1986 Brazil 1–0 Algeria

Photo: Rudi Schrader

For Careca’s first World Cup goal for Brazil, Müller sent a cross into the box without much intent or precision, but the defender made a terrible mistake and the ball fell kindly to the finisher, who only had to tap it into the net, scoring Brazil’s only goal in a match that proved far more difficult than expected.

12/06/1986 Brazil 3–0 Northern Ireland – twice

Photo by Max Colin

Careca’s second World Cup goal came from a move very similar to the previous one, curiously enough. Müller once again started the play down the right and, this time with far more awareness and quality, drilled a low cross toward the number 9 in the middle of the Northern Irish box. Taking advantage of the pace on the ball, Careca smashed it first time, leaving the goalkeeper no chance and barely any time to react.

But in that match, that still wasn’t enough. His second goal came from a spectacular attacking move: he played a one-two with Zico inside the box and this time finished left-footed straight into the net. On top of everything, he was two-footed. A phenomenal player.

16/06/1986 Brazil 4–0 Poland

Photo: Bob Thomas

Against Poland, his teammates had already done the job, but it fell to the top scorer to get his from the penalty spot. With more luck than judgment, Careca struck it at mid-height and not particularly hard; the goalkeeper got the slightest touch with his fingertips, and the ball teasingly kissed the right post before slowly, bounce after bounce, crossing the goal line.

21/06/1986 Brazil 1–1 France

Photo: Jean-Yves Ruszniewski

In the World Cup quarterfinals, Brazil came out on the front foot against France, and after a sequence of quick passes and one-twos between Müller and Júnior, the latter found Careca alone at the edge of the box. True to form, the center-forward fired into the goalkeeper’s left corner, and he never even saw the ball go by. It was a shame that France later equalized and then came out on top in the penalty shootout — one that Careca never even got to take part in…

So many São Paulo players

Another Tricolor player who appeared in all five of Brazil’s matches was forward Müller. Wearing the number seven shirt, he started on the bench in the team’s first two games but earned a starting spot against Northern Ireland (providing the assist for one of Careca’s goals), Poland, and France. Across three spells at Morumbi, Müller scored 160 goals in 386 matches and won practically everything he competed for with the club.

Falcão, the King of Rome, was signed by São Paulo for a fortune in 1985. At the 1986 World Cup, however, the number five only played in two matches, against Spain and Algeria, coming on during the game. For São Paulo, he recorded 1 goal in 15 appearances and won the 1985 Paulista Championship.

Also with two appearances at the World Cup, Silas, wearing number 20, was on the field against Poland and France, replacing Müller and Júnior. His record for Tricolor stands at 35 goals in 170 matches, along with the 1986 Brazilian Championship and the 1985 and 1987 Paulista titles.

The only São Paulo player who did not get the chance to play in that World Cup was center-back Oscar, then wearing the number three shirt. At Tricolor, Oscar was captain and made 294 appearances, scoring 13 goals, in addition to winning the 1986 Brazilian Championship and the Paulista Championship in 1980, 1981, 1985, and 1987.

It is also worth noting that Tricolor could still have had goalkeeper Gilmar and forward Sidney in the Brazil squad, but both players were cut due to injury before the final call-up.

Also in Uruguay

The last Tricolor player at that World Cup was Darío Pereyra. The versatile player (who played as an attacking midfielder, defensive midfielder, and center-back), who formed an unforgettable partnership with Oscar in Tricolor’s defense, reached the round of 16. La Celeste earned an excellent 1–1 draw with West Germany, but then suffered a heavy 6–1 defeat to the Danish Dynamite. The aftermath was a 0–0 draw with Scotland. Darío, wearing number 14, only played in that first-phase match.

Having qualified in third place in the group, Uruguay then faced Argentina in the knockout round. The team from the other side of the Río de la Plata came out on top and won 1–0. Darío was on the field, but there was nothing he could do to stop Pasculli’s goal and his country’s elimination. Pereyra played for Tricolor until 1988, scoring 37 goals in 453 matches. He was a two-time Brazilian champion, in 1977 and 1986, and a four-time Paulista champion in 1980, 1981, 1985, and 1987.

Photo: Bob Thomas

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.