England were in group F in the first round of the finals, along with a good Republic of Ireland side (managed by England's 1966 World Cup winner Jack Charlton), a Holland side that had won the European championships two years earlier and Egypt. The results in the group were:

England 1 (Lineker 9), Rep of Ireland 1 (Sheedy 73)
Holland 1 Egypt 1
England 0 Holland 0
Rep of Ireland 0 Egypt 0                                                                      
England 1 (Wright 59) Egypt 0
Rep of Ireland 1 (Gullit 11) Holland 1 (Quinn 71)        

The England team against Rep of Ireland was Peter Shilton, Gary Stevens, Stuart Pearce, Des Walker, Terry Butcher, Bryan Robson (Captain), Chris Waddle, Paul Gascoigne, John Barnes, Peter Beardsley (Steve McMahon), Gary Lineker (Steve Bull).

The England team against Holland was Peter Shilton, Paul Parker, Stuart Pearce, Des Walker, Terry Butcher, Mark Wright, Bryan Robson (Captain, David Platt), Chris Waddle (Steve Bull), Paul Gascoigne, John Barnes, Gary Lineker .

The England team against Egypt was Peter Shilton (Captain), Paul Parker, Stuart Pearce, Des Walker, Mark Wright, Steve McMahon, Chris Waddle (David Platt), Paul Gascoigne, John Barnes, Gary Lineker, Steve Bull (Peter Beardsley).

With only 2 points for a win and 1 for a draw, England came top of their group with 4 points, Rep of Ireland came second with 3 points and Holland qualified third with 3 points too - in this competition the 2 strongest third placed teams also qualified for the second round ( but Ireland and Holland needed a lottery to see who came second and third as both teams had drawn 3 times with 2 goals scored for and against them )..

England scored first against Rep of Ireland with a scrambled goal from Gary Lineker at short range but Rep of Ireland equalised after an error from Steve McMahan just outside the England penalty box. He was robbed of the ball by Sheedy who shot just outside the penalty area and beat Shilton with a low drive at his left hand post.

England had a good game against Holland in the next game with a new 3-5-2 formation with the inclusion of Mark Wright as a sweeper - England put the ball in Holland's net twice (a Lineker strike after a harsh handball decision and a free kick late on) only for both goals to be disallowed.                                        
 

Paul Gascoigne takes the free kick

Mark Wright scored with his head
 

Going into the final game, all teams in the group had 1 goal for and against and 2 points each. England, who had lost their captain Bryan Robson to injury, therefore needed to beat Egypt to be sure to qualify - they scored from a Paul Gascoigne free kick on the left hand side of the pitch - he curled the ball into the box, where Mark Wright rose highest to beat the goalkeeper and head the ball into the net.

The other 5 group's in the first phase finished as (teams in bold went through):

Group A
Italy 6 points (won 3, drew 0, lost 0) - Italy beat Austria 1-0, USA 1-0 and the Czechs 2-0
Czechoslovakia 4 points (won 2, lost 1) - they beat USA 5-1 and Austria 1-0
Austria 2 points (won 1, lost 2) - they beat the USA 2-1
USA 0 points

Group B
Cameroon 4 points (won 2, lost 1) - Cameroon beat Argentina 1-0 and Romania 2-1
Romania 3 points (won 1, drew 1, lost 1)- Romania beat USSR 2-0 and drew 1-1 with Argentina
Argentina 3 points (won 1, drew 1, lost 1)- they beat USSR 2-0 and drew 1-1 with Romania
USSR 2 points (won 1, lost 2) - they beat Cameroon 4-0

Group C
Brazil 6 points (won 3) - beat Sweden 2-1, Costa Rica 1-0 and Scotland 1-0
Costa Rica 4 points (won 2, lost 1) - beat Scotland 1-0 and Sweden 2-1
Scotland 2 points (won 1, lost 2) - beat Sweden 2-1
Sweden 0 points

Group D
W Germany 5 points (won 2, drew 1) - beat Yugoslavia 4-1, UAE 5-1 and drew Columbia 1-1
Yugoslavia 4 points (won 2, lost 1) - beat Columbia 1-0 and UAE 4-1
Columbia 3 points (won 1, drew 1) - beat UAE 2-0, drew with W Germany 1-1
United Arab Emirates 0 points

Group E
Spain 5 points (won 2, drew 1) - beat S Korea 3-1, Belgium 2-1 and drew with Uruguay 0-0
Belgium 4 points (won 2) - Belgium beat S Korea 2-0 and Uruguay 3-1
Uruguay 3 points (won 1, drew 1) - beat S Korea 1-0 and drew 0-0 with Spain
S Korea 0 points
 

At the end of the first phase it was widely thought that Italy and West Germany were playing very well and were favourites to meet in the final. The German Inter Milan trio of Matthaus (midfield captain), Brehme (left wing) and Klinsmann (striker) were especially on form. The odds at this stage were Italy 7-4, W Germany 3-1, Brazil 5-1, England 9-1, Holland 10-1, Argentina 14-1 and Rep of Ireland 66-1

In the second phase the results were:
Cameroon 2 Columbia 1
Czechoslovakia 4 Costa Rica 1
Brazil 0 Argentina 1
W Germany 2 Holland 1
Rep of Ireland 0  Romania 0 (Rep of Ireland win 5-4 on penalties)
Italy 2 Uruguay 0
Spain 1 Yugoslavia 2
England 1 (Platt 119) Belgium 0

The England team against Belgium was Peter Shilton, Paul Parker, Stuart Pearce, Des Walker, Terry Butcher (Captain), Mark Wright, Steve McMahon (David Platt), Chris Waddle, Paul Gascoigne, John Barnes (sub Steve Bull), Gary Lineker.

England beat Belgium right at the end of extra time - a free kick was hit towards David Platt who belted it straight in at the far post on the volley with one of the great goals of the tournament.

In the quarter finals the results were:
Argentina 0 Yugoslavia 0 (Argentina won 3-2 on penalties)
Rep of Ireland 0 Italy 1
Czechoslovakia 0 W Germany 1
Cameroon 2 (Kunde pen 25, Ekeke 66) England 3 (Platt 25, Lineker pens 82,104) -after extra time

The England team against Cameroon was Peter Shilton, Paul Parker, Stuart Pearce, Des Walker, Terry Butcher (Captain, sub Trevor Steven), Mark Wright, David Platt, Chris Waddle, Paul Gascoigne, John Barnes (sub Peter Beardsley), Gary Lineker.

This was the first time an African nation had got to the quarter finals of a World Cup - Cameroon gained everyone's attention with a win against the holders Argentina on the opening day of the finals. Against England, Cameroon were 2-1 up with eight minutes to go (with a score-line that they had predicted they would get before the game) but a Linker penalty on 82 minutes and then another one given in extra time got England into the semi-finals.

In the semi finals, Argentina drew with Italy 1-1 but won 4-3 on penalties while W Germany drew 1-1 with England and also won 4-3 on penalties.        
 

                               
Lineker makes space to score with his left foot       His shot goes just inside the post (1-1)

The England team against Germany was Peter Shilton, Paul Parker, Stuart Pearce, Des Walker, Terry Butcher (Captain, sub Trevor Steven), Mark Wright, David Platt, Chris Waddle, Paul Gascoigne, Peter Beardsley, Gary Lineker

Although England lost this game, it was one of their best performances against a very good German team - after 60 minutes through the game, Germany had a free kick outside England's box in a central position - Brehme received a short pass and shot - the ball hit Paul Parker, looped up in the air and over Shilton into the net. England did not deserve to be behind and after 80 minutes England drew level. Lineker received a ball and went to his left across the box - he then hit a hard and accurate shot across the goalkeeper and into the net. The game went to extra time - Chris Waddle hit the bar for England as England ended the game the stronger team. The game went to penalties and Pearce and Waddle missed theirs for England to give West Germany the win. [ Note : this was the game where a young Gascoigne was seen crying after he received a yellow card and therefore would miss the final if England qualified ]

Stuart Peace steps up to miss his penalty
 

In the third place play off Italy beat England 2-1 in a rather depressing match. In the final itself, West Germany beat Argentina 1-0 with a Brehme penalty after 85 minutes (having lost to them in the World Cup final 4 years ago).