The East German national team set out on their qualifying campaign for the 1986 World Cup hoping to reach what would have been just their second-ever major tournament.

Although ultimately unsuccessful, East Germany did come very close indeed, and their total of ten points was just one adrift of both France and Bulgaria who did travel to Mexico the following summer.

Both these nations were defeated in their away fixtures in the GDR, with the prolific scorers Rainer Ernst and Ralf Minge in fine form in these games and throughout the campaign.