Bob Mackin
It was the closest Vancouver came to the FIFA World Cup, without the FIFA World Cup coming to the city.
Newspaper ad for the Canada versus England pre-World Cup friendly on May 24, 1986.
It happened 40 years ago on May 24, 1986, across Boundary Road at Swangard Stadium in Burnaby.
Canada and England in their last friendly before traveling to Mexico for the 1986 World Cup.
For England, it would be the eighth trip to the World Cup, 20 years after winning the Jules Rimet Cup at home.
For Canada, the debut in the 24-nation tournament, after winning the North Central American and Caribbean confederation championship.
The Tony Waiters-coached squad contained alumni from the defunct North American Soccer League Vancouver Whitecaps, like Bob Lenarduzzi and Carl Valentine. On the eve of the match, they gathered for a downtown parade and pep rally outside the Eaton’s store, where City Centre Station is today.
Temporary bleachers were erected on the east side of the stadium for the midday Saturday match, broadcast across Canada and the U.K.
Tickets weren’t cheap, by 1986 standards: $21 for the bleachers and $28 for the grandstand.
That works out to $54.36 and $72.48, in 2026 dollars. A bargain compared to what FIFA is charging for the seven 2026 World Cup matches coming to B.C. Place Stadium between June 13 and July 7.
Bryan Adams and Loverboy warmed up the crowd — but not with their guitars and amps. Their Soccer Rockers fell 2-1 to ex-Whitecap Derek Possee’s Pros in the Unicef/SportAid charity match. Could’ve been a different result, had Adams not booted a penalty kick over the crossbar. It cuts like a knife, as they say.
A sort of homecoming for England manager Bobby Robson, who came to Vancouver in 1967 to coach the Vancouver Royals of the United Soccer Association, the precursor to the NASL.
Autographed England page from the official Canadian Soccer Association FIFA World Cup 1986 magazine. (Mackin)
On the other side of the pitch, Waiters was a goalkeeper in the 1960s England program. The coach of the 1979 Soccer Bowl-winning Whitecaps put 20-year-old Paul Dolan in net. In the 61st minute, the game’s only goal, when Glenn Hoddle’s free kick pierced the defensive wall and Mark Hateley took advantage of a Dolan miscue.
Dolan and defender Randy Samuel were the standouts for the home side. Samuel’s tackle on Gary Lineker in the 74th minute sent Lineker to hospital with a left wrist injury. In came Peter Beardsley, the 1981 to 1983 Whitecap.
Attendance was announced at 8,150 — some 6,000 seats went unsold.
A week later, the World Cup kicked-off.
Lineker would recover to lead his squad out of the first round with a hat-trick over Poland, following a loss to Portugal and draw with Morocco. His sixth and last goal, in a quarterfinal against eventual champion Argentina, would earn him the golden boot. Diego Maradona scored twice, including the infamous Hand of God, which would not stand the test of modern soccer’s video assistant referee.
Canada did not score a goal, losing 1-0 to Hungary and 2-0 to both Soviet Union and France.
- Bob Mackin was the press box runner at the May 24, 1986 Canada versus England friendly at Swangard Stadium. He delivered lineups, halftime and full-time statistics sheets and directions to Burnaby Hospital (after Gary Lineker’s injury) to the visiting British tabloid reporters.
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