During the FIFA World Cup 1986 in Mexico the USSR were a team to watch. Dynamic Soviet coach Valeri Lobanovsky modeled the Soviet nation side on the club side he had made one of Europe’s most successful, Dinamo Kiev - seven of its players including star player Igor Belanov. The Soviet Union side simply mesmerized Hungary, Canada and halted the then European Champions France in the group stages and were regarded as one the hot favourites of Mexico 1986. But their amazing run in the tournament was stopped in the second round by one of the tournament’s underdogs Belgium who entered into the second round struggling. The Belgians showed such a spirited display through Ceulamens and Enzo Scifo and perished the Soviet’s hopes. Even Igor Belanov’s hat-trick wasn’t enough to dent Belgium’s spirit. Belanov became only the third player in World Cup history, after Ernest Wilimowski of Poland in 1938 against Brazil in the first round and Josef Huegi of Switzerland in 1954 against Austria in the quarterfinals, to score a hat-trick and finish up on the losing side.
Posted on: Thu, 16 Jan 2014 13:08:40 +0000
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