When Peter Beardsley stepped out for England at Mexico ‘86, he was the first Newcastle United player to feature at the World Cup finals since Ivor Broadis back in 1954.
As the 2022 finals in Qatar progress, we're looking back at previous tournaments, recalling any Magpie connections, and remembering what else was going on in those years. So far, we've covered the World Cup finals from 1950 to 1982.
The 25-year-old Beardsley had made his England debut earlier in the year on the back of some eye-catching performances for Newcastle. At St James’ Park, the 1985-86 campaign had started in disarray when manager Jack Charlton suddenly quit - but ended in mid-table consolidation as coach and former United keeper Willie McFaul calmly guided the team to eleventh in the league, while an emerging local teenage talent called Paul Gascoigne made a sizeable impact in his first full season for the club.
