Former forward of Kyiv’s Dynamo, Igor Belanov, reminisced about the performance of the USSR national team in the 1986 World Cup, which took place in Mexico.
Igor Belanov. Photo — R. Porodko“We could have gone far in the 1986 World Cup, but we overdid it. We overdid the pressing as well. In 40-degree heat, you can’t press in every match. We were constantly attacking, and our midfielders bent a little. And the situation became more complicated.
We needed to start the championship more calmly, like Germany does. The national team starts slowly, slowly, slowly, but gradually picks up pace to reach the finals.
I think the referee in the match against Belgium (3:4, Round of 16, — ed.) was also very at fault. Otherwise, we could have gone far. Believe me, because our players were better than the others,” Belanov’s words are quoted by the Bulgarian publication “Tema Sport”.
