Origin
A precursor of "group of death" was Group 4 of the 1958 World Cup, dubbed giganternas kamp (Swedish "battle of giants") by the local press. It featured Brazil, England, the Soviet Union, and Austria.
The term "group of death" was coined (as Spanish grupo de la muerte) by Mexican journalists for Group 3 of the 1970 World Cup. This featured reigning champions England, favourites and eventual champions Brazil, 1962 runners-up Czechoslovakia, and Romania. It was the only group where all the teams came from the traditionally strong regions of Europe and South America.
It was used again in Mexico for the second-phase Group C in the 1982 World Cup in Spain. This grouped defending champions Argentina, the eventual champions Italy, and Brazil with only one to go through to the semi-finals. In 2007, The Guardian called this the deadliest-ever Group of Death.
It was popularized after the draw for the 1986 FIFA World Cup when Uruguay manager Omar Borrás so described Group E, which included Uruguay, West Germany, Denmark, and Scotland. As with the 1970 group, this was the only one with all four teams from Europe and South America. The label was widely repeated by the English-language media. By the 1986 tournament rules, two or three of the four teams in each group would progress to the knockout phase; in the event, Scotland was the only team not to qualify from the prototypical "group of death". Uruguay were criticized for persistent foul play in the decisive match with Scotland; Borrás was suspended for retorting, "The Group of Death? Yes, there was a murderer on the field today. The referee."
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