The 1982 FIFA World Cup was staged at a then-record 17 venues throughout Spain between June 13 and July 11, 1982. For the first time, the tournament featured 24 teams, rather than 16, but was the third and last to feature two group stages. The first group stage consisted of six groups of four teams, with the top two in each group advancing to the second group stage. The second group stage consisted of four groups of three teams, with the top team in each group advancing to the semi-finals.
Seeded into Group 1, alongside Cameroon, Peru and Poland, eventual Champions Italy drew all three matches in the first group stage, 0-0 with Poland and 1-1 with both Peru and Cameroon, to progress to the second stage as runners-up behind Poland. In the second group stage, at the Sarrià Stadium in Barcelona, Italy both Group C ties, beating Argentina 2-1 and Brazil 3-2. The latter match, later dubbed the ‘Tragédia do Sarrià’ by the Brazilian press, was an all-time classic, in which Italian striker Paolo Rossi scored a hat-trick, and had a profound effect on the future of Brazilian football.
At the semi-final stage, Italy again met Poland, this time at the Camp Nou in Barcelona, and Rossi was once again on the scoresheet, scoring both goals, either side of half-time, in a 2-0 victory for La Nazionale. The other semi-final, the so-called ‘Night of Seville’, between West Germany and France at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán Stadium in Seville was another classic for the ages, which West Germany won 5-4 on penalties after the match finished 3-3 after extra time.
In the final, at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid, eventual Golden Boot and Golden Ball winner Paola Rossi again opened the scoring with a header after 57 minutes, team-mate Antonio Cabrini having missed a penalty in the first half. Marco Tardelli doubled the Italian lead 12 minutes later, prompting arguably the most iconic goal celebration in World Cup history, and Alessandro Altobelli added a third goal nine minutes from time. West German midfielder Paul Broitner scored a consolation goal two minutes later, but the match finished 3-1 in favour of Italy.