How the 1986 Mexico World Cup was almost cancelled after a devastating earthquake

Guardian reports after the disaster told of 5,000 deaths, much of the capital being razed, and doubts about Mexico hosting the finals

Mexico last hosted the World Cup in https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/may/29/mexico-hope-a-month-of-isolation-can-rekindle-the-magic-of-the-1986-world-cup">1986, but the competition was almost cancelled several months before the start when an earthquake struck the capital, Mexico City, leaving at least 5,000 people dead, 30,000 homeless and much of the city flattened, in one of the https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/70168531">worst earthquakes to hit the country.

To this day, the death toll remains disputed, with some estimates putting it as high as https://adst.org/2014/09/the-1985-mexico-city-earthquake/">40,000.