Group E of the 1986 FIFA World Cup was one of the groups of nations competing at the 1986 FIFA World Cup. The group's first round of matches began on 4 June and its last matches were played on 13 June. Matches were played at the Estadio La Corregidora in Querétaro and at the Estadio Neza 86 in Nezahualcóyotl. Impressive debutantes Denmark topped the group - surprisingly beating Germany 2-0 despite having a man sent off: they were joined in the second round by West Germany who would go on to reach the final. 3 red cards were handed out in this group, 2 of them against Uruguay who made the second round but were criticized for their physical play, especially in their last group game against Scotland where José Batista was sent off in under a minute. Scotland Manager Sir Alex Ferguson made the surprise decision to leave out captain Souness and passed responsibility on to Strachan and Albiston, a move with which Ferguson would later recall "his biggest mistake in football" and despite being a man up, Scotland were unable to score, the match finishing 0-0, and Uruguay went through in third place instead.
Before the tournament, English-language media reported Uruguay manager Omar Borrás's description of it as the "group of death", popularising a phrase first used in Spanish in the 1970 World Cup.[1][2][3][4][5][6]
^Lacey, David (15 November 1988). "Robson landed with a flight of fancy; David Lacey on England's Concorde trip to Saudi Arabia for a friendly in the Gulf which stretches the credibility gap". The Guardian. p. 18. Omar Borras, who managed the Uruguayans in the 1986 World Cup, went into the tournament remarking that their first-round draw with West Germany, Scotland and Denmark was "the group of death"
^Jenkins, Garry; Pedro Redig; Antonio Pires Soares (1998). The beautiful team: in search of Pelé and the 1970 Brazilians. Simon & Schuster. p. 22. ISBN0-684-81955-4. Saldanha had no argument with the journalists who quickly christened the Group of Death.
^Motson, John; Nick Brownlee (2006). Motson's World Cup Extravaganza. Robson. p. 171. ISBN1-86105-936-1. Group of Death - The term 'Group of Death' was first coined by the Mexican press in 1970 to describe Group 3
^"México 1970" (in Spanish). El Mercurio Online. Associated Press. 2002. Archived from the original on 13 October 2009. Retrieved 3 December 2009. Se puede decir que el primer "Grupo de la Muerte" en la historia lo fue el 3
^"Futbol". Hispano Americano; semanario de la vida y la verdad (in Spanish). Mexico: Tiempo. 57: 66, 103. 1970.
Denmark
West Germany
Uruguay
Scotland
4'
28
56
56
19
1