In the Heat of the Midday Sun

The Indelible Story of the 1986 World Cup

Steven Scragg

• Publisher: Pitch Publishing
• eBook ISBN:
  9781801502634
• Year: 2022

In the Heat of the Midday Sun is a love letter to the 1986 World Cup. A tournament viewed via the shimmering satellite images of an age before the dawn of high-definition coverage - which was introduced four years later, at Italia '90 - it was the last World Cup where the commentaries sounded like they were broadcast from the surface of the moon. Mexico took on the tournament after Colombia failed to deliver on their host candidature, relinquishing the rights in 1983. With a devastating Mexico City earthquake just eight months before the big kick-off, it was a miracle that the Estadio Azteca was still able to be the venue of Diego Maradona's greatest and most infamous hours. As well as Argentina's most gifted son, Mexico '86 was blessed by the presence of Sócrates, Platini, Francescoli, Butragueño, Belanov and Elkjær to name but a few of the icons on display. This is the story of an evocative World Cup that seemed to be held together by Sellotape.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• 1. Colombia ’86
• 2. Paco’s Panini Album
• 3. The Hand of God
• 4. A, B, C, as Easy as 1, 2, 3
• 5. Eastenders
• 6. DEF Jam
• 7. Northern Lights
• 8. The Tragedy of Big Jock and the Unluckiness of the Draw
• 9. We’ve Got the Whole World at Our Feet
• 10. Sweet Last Sixteen?
• 11. The Self-Preservation Society
• 12. The Game that Refreshes the Parts Other Football Can’t Reach
• 13. Los Caballos Oscuros
• 14. One Last Tango
• 15. Totally Mexico
• 16. The Ambassador is Spoiling Us
• 17. Revenge is a Dish Best Served Uneaten
• 18. And in the End
• Afterword
• Photos