1985 Wales vs Scotland football match
| Event | 1986 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 7 | ||||||
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| Date | 10 September 1985 | ||||||
| Venue | Ninian Park, Cardiff | ||||||
| Referee | Jan Keizer (Netherlands) | ||||||
| Attendance | 39,500 | ||||||
On 10 September 1985, the Welsh and Scottish national teams played each other during the qualifying stages of the 1986 FIFA World Cup at Ninian Park, the home of Cardiff City. The game was both teams' final match of the qualifying tournament, and both were still able to gain a place at the finals in Mexico; Wales needed to win the game, while Scotland knew that a draw would be enough.
The game was played against the backdrop of escalating football hooliganism; English clubs had been banned from European competition as a result of the Heysel Stadium disaster, and fears were being raised, notably by Scotland's manager Jock Stein, that the British government, led by Margaret Thatcher, was seeking to lead a "crackdown" on football supporters generally, and that trouble at the highly charged game at Ninian Park would give them an excuse to extend this from just England to the other Home Nations.
Despite Scotland having the advantage in the group, thanks to a superior goal difference, they went into the game as underdogs due to a number of their senior players being unavailable due to either injury or suspension, and because they had lost to Wales in the return fixture at Hampden Park in Glasgow the previous March. Despite this, Scotland achieved the draw they needed to go to the next stage of qualifying, while at the same time virtually eliminating Wales from the competition.
Scotland's celebrations at gaining the point they needed from the game were marred by the collapse of Jock Stein moments before the final whistle, and his subsequent death in the treatment room of the stadium.
The World Cup qualifier at Ninian Park was the 101st meeting between Wales and Scotland since 1876, encompassing games in the British Home Championship, FIFA World Cup and Friendly Internationals. Wales had a poor record against Scotland having won only 18 games up to that point, with Scotland successful in 60. The two teams had played each other 22 times at Ninian Park; Scotland had a 9–6 advantage over Wales, with the remaining seven games drawn.
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