Argentina's Diego Maradona proved beyond doubt that he was the best player of his generation, and maybe of all time.
He scored one of the finest goals ever seen as he steered the South Americans to the final and, although he was not at his most influential, Argentina still won a thriller 3-2.
However, his glittering tournament also contained one of the most contentious on-pitch moments in World Cup history.
Playing against England in the quarter-finals he punched the ball past Peter Shilton to give Argentina the lead.
Three of the home nations qualified for Mexico, but only England made it through the group stages.
Northern Ireland and Scotland, who failed to beat 10-man Uruguay, both missed out on the last 16.
England struggled initially but a Gary Lineker hat-trick against Poland sent them through to play Paraguay in the second round.
Lineker went on to win the Golden Boot as the tournament's leading scorer with six goals.
England's 3-0 win set up a quarter-final against Argentina, with the memory of the Falklands War still fresh in the minds of people in both countries.
Maradona gave Argentina the lead with his infamous "Hand of God" goal and, before the England defenders could recover their composure, the maverick Argentine ran from his own half to score arguably the greatest World Cup goal of all time.
Lineker pulled one back for England as substitute John Barnes tormented the South Americans' defence, but Argentina held on.
A gifted French team, with Platini, Giresse and Tigana in midfield, beat Brazil on penalties after a marvellous quarter-final, but they lost to West Germany in the last four.
Argentina cruised past Belgium in the other semi to set up a potentially great final, and it turned out to be a classic.
The Germans came back from two goals down to equalise with less than 10 minutes remaining.
However, a defence-splitting pass from Maradona set up Jorge Burruchaga to clinch a 3-2 victory and secure Argentina's second World Cup.
Group 1 results:
Bulgaria 1-1 Italy
Argentina 3-1 South Korea
South Korea 1-1 Bulgaria
Italy 1-1 Argentina
Argentina 2-0 Bulgaria
Italy 3-2 South Korea
Group 2 results:
Mexico 2-1 Belgium
Paraguay 1-0 Iraq
Mexico 1-1 Paraguay
Belgium 2-1 Iraq
Mexico 1-0 Iraq
Paraguay 2-2 Belgium
Group 3 results:
France 1-0 Canada
USSR 6-0 Hungary
France 1-1 USSR
Hungary 2-0 Canada
USSR 2-0 Canada
France 3-0 Hungary
Group 4 results:
Brazil 1-0 Spain
Algeria 1-1 Northern Ireland
Brazil 1-0 Algeria
Spain 2-1 Northern Ireland
Brazil 3-0 Northern Ireland
Spain 3-0 Algeria
Group 5 results:
Denmark 1-0 Scotland
Uruguay 1-1 West Germany
Denmark 6-1 Uruguay
West Germany 2-1 Scotland
Scotland 0-0 Uruguay
Denmark 2-0 West Germany
Group 6 results:
Morocco 0-0 Poland
Portugal 1-0 England
England 0-0 Morocco
Poland 1-0 Portugal
Morocco 3-1 Portugal
England 3-0 Poland
Second Round results:
Belgium 4-3 USSR (aet)
Mexico 2-0 Bulgaria
Brazil 4-0 Poland
Argentina 1-0 Uruguay
France 2-0 Italy
West Germany 1-0 Morocco
England 3-0 Paraguay
Spain 5-1 Denmark
Quarter-finals results:
France 1-1 Brazil (aet)
(France win 4-3 on penalties)
West Germany 0-0 Mexico (aet)
(West Germany win 4-1 on penalties)
Argentina 2-1 England (2-1)
Belgium 1-1 Spain (aet)
(Belgium win 5-4 on penalties)
Semi-finals results:
West Germany 2-0 France
Argentina 2-0 Belgium
3rd/4th place play-off:
France 4-2 Belgium (aet)
World Cup Final:
Argentina 3-2 West Germany