Nigeria won the group on goal difference, Bulgaria finished second, and Argentina qualified as one of the best third-placed teams (Bulgaria defeated Argentina in the group stage, thus their higher rank).
Bulgaria and Argentina had also met in 1986, both teams advanced to the knockout stage.
Maradona, who was Argentina's captain and star player, was found to contain ephedrine, a performance-enhancing stimulant, in his system after being subjected to an anti-doping test held during their match with Nigeria.
[1] In his absence, Argentina would lose their final group match against Bulgaria, and were eliminated by Romania 3–2 at the Round of 16.
All times local (EDT/UTC–4, CDT/UTC–5, PDT/UTC–7) Assistant referees: Park Hae-yong (South Korea) Jan Dolstra (Netherlands) Fourth official: Mario van der Ende (Netherlands) Assistant referees: Gordon Dunster (Australia) Eugene Brazzale (Australia) Fourth official: Ali Bujsaim (United Arab Emirates) Assistant referees: Mikael Erik Everstig (Sweden) Luc Matthys (Belgium) Fourth official: Leslie Mottram (Scotland) Assistant referees: Abdulla Al Ghattan (Bahrain) Raimundo Calix Garcia (Honduras) Fourth official: Arturo Angeles (United States) Assistant referees: Tapio Yli-Karro (Finland) El Jilali Rharib (Morocco) Fourth official: Lim Kee Chong (Mauritius) Assistant referees: Park Hae-yong (South Korea) Paulo Jorge Alves (Brazil) Fourth official: José Torres Cadena (Colombia)