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| 1990 FIFA World Cup | |
| Italia '90 | |
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| Tournament details | |
| Host country |  Italy |
| Teams | 24 (from 5 confederations) |
| Venue(s) | 12 (in 12 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
Champions  |
 West Germany (3rd title) |
Runners-up  |
 Argentina |
Third place  |
Italy |
| Fourth place |  England |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 52 |
| Goals scored | 115 (2.21 per match) |
| Attendance | 2,516,348 (48,391 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Salvatore Schillaci (6 goals) |
| Best player | Salvatore Schillaci |
The 1990 FIFA World Cup, the 14th staging of the World Cup, was held in Italy from June 8 to July 8. Italy was chosen as hosts by FIFA on May 19, 1984, making it the second country to host the event twice. USSR was the rival of Italy's candidacy to host the event. It was won by West Germany, who beat Argentina 1-0 in the final to win the World Cup for the third time.
Contents |
Qualification
Three teams qualified for the first time: Costa Rica, the Republic of Ireland and the United Arab Emirates. The United States also made it back to the World Cup after a 40-year absence. The draw for the finals took place on 9 December 1989 in Rome. Tenor Luciano Pavarotti performed at the event.
Disqualifications
- Mexico was disqualified after the Federación Mexicana de Fútbol Asociación fielded an overage player in a prior youth tournament.
- Chile was disqualified after their goalkeeper Roberto Rojas faked an injury due to a firework thrown from the stands in a match against Brazil, causing the match to be abandoned. Chile was also banned from qualifying in 1994.
Summary
First round
The format of the 1990 competition remained the same as in 1986: 24 qualified teams were divided into six groups of four. The top two teams and four best third place finishers from the six groups advanced to the knockout stage.
The 1990 World Cup finals got off to a surprising start. In the first match, Cameroon soaked up pressure from Argentina for most of the first half. After a quarter of an hour's play in the second half, Cameroon's Andre Kana was sent off, and it seemed certain that the world champions would now take control. But six minutes later, the ten men took the lead. François Omam Biyik scored when he placed a perfect downward header past Argentine goalkeeper Nery Pumpido. Argentina pressed hard for an equaliser, and Cameroon were reduced to nine men when Benjamin Massing got the red card in the 89th minute - but the African team still held out for a shock 1-0 win. Then, when Cameroon faced Romania in their second game, Roger Milla took centre stage. His inclusion in Cameroon's squad had been controversial. He had been a favourite in the Cameroon team for years, but he was now 38 years old. He was only in Italy because of political intervention: Paul Biya, Cameroon's President, had insisted that Milla be included in the squad.
Against Argentina, Milla only appeared for the last ten minutes. But in the match with Romania, Cameroon coach Valeri Nepomniachi sent him on in the 58th minute, with the score still 0-0. It proved to be an inspired move. Milla scored with 15 minutes left, then added another with five minutes remaining, thus getting two opportunities to demonstrate his trademark hip-shaking goal celebration dance. Gavrila Balint scored for Romania, but it was too little too late. Cameroon held on to win 2-1. Surprisingly, they were beaten 4-0 in their last group game by a Soviet Union side desperately, and unsuccessfully, striving to stay in the tournament on goal difference. Despite the heavy defeat, Cameroon were through to the second round as group winners. Romania came second in Group B, and Argentina just scraped into the second round as one of the best third-placed teams.
Another surprise team emerged from Group C. Costa Rica beat Scotland 1-0 in their first match, held Brazil to another 1-0 scoreline in their second, then saw off Sweden 2-1 to claim a place in the second round. Brazil bore little resemblance to the free-flowing, free scoring Brazilian sides of earlier years, but they still took maximum points from the group. They began with a 2-1 win over Sweden, then beat both Costa Rica and Scotland 1-0. Scotland's 2-1 win over Sweden was not enough to save them from an early return home as one of the two lowest-ranked third-placed teams.
In the six Group F games, featuring the Netherlands, England, the Republic of Ireland and Egypt, no team managed to score more than once in a match. England beat Egypt 1-0, thanks to a 64th minute goal from Mark Wright - and that was enough to win the group.
There were more goals in Group D, but a lot of them were due to the defensive inadequacies of a United Arab Emirates team that lost 2-0 to Colombia, 5-1 to West Germany and 4-1 to Yugoslavia. All three of the UAE's first round opponents reached the last 16, with West Germany topping the group after an impressive 4-1 win over group runners-up Yugoslavia.
Italy won Group A with a 100 per cent record achieved via cautious football. They beat Austria and the United States 1-0, and Czechoslovakia 2-0. Salvatore 'Toto' Schillaci, who had played only one international before the World Cup finals, came on as substitute in the 74th minute against Austria and scored Italy's winner four minutes later. Czechoslovakia defeated the USA 5-1 and claimed the runner-up spot in the group, while the USA's first appearance in a World Cup Finals since 1950 ended abruptly after three consecutive defeats. The winners of Group E were Spain, for who Michel hit a hat-trick as they beat South Korea 3-1. Belgium and Uruguay also reached the last 16 from the same group.
Second round and quarter-finals
The second round featured some intriguing fixtures. Two of the ties - Argentina vs Brazil and Italy vs Uruguay - pitted former champion countries against each other, and West Germany met the Netherlands in a rematch of the 1974 World Cup final. The all-South American game turned out to be a tight, edgy affair, won for Argentina by a goal from Claudio Caniggia with ten minutes remaining from a magical run of Diego Maradona through the Brazilian defense and an outstanding performance from their goalkeeper Sergio Goycochea. A strong second half showing from Italy saw them beat Uruguay 2-0, thanks to another goal from Schillaci and one from Aldo Serena. The West Germany-Netherlands clash produced a repeat of the Euro 88 semifinal. The match turned ugly after 22 minutes when Rudi Völler and Frank Rijkaard, in an infamous moment, were dismissed after a bizarre spitting incident. Early in the second half, Jürgen Klinsmann put the West Germans ahead and Andreas Brehme added a second with eight minutes left. A Ronald Koeman penalty for Holland in the 89th minute narrowed the score to 2-1 but that was close as the Dutch would come and West Germany went through.
Meanwhile, the heroics of Cameroon and Roger Milla continued. In Cameroon's game with Colombia, Milla was introduced in the 49th minute with the score still at 0-0. The scoreline stayed that way after 90 minutes, and after the first period of extra time. But then, as those around him tired, the veteran shone. Milla scored twice in four minutes in the second period of extra time. Bernardo Redin reduced the deficit for Colombia with five minutes left, but the 'Indomitable Lions' held out to win 2-1. For the first time ever, an African team was in the quarter-finals of the World Cup.
The other first-round giant-killers fared less well. Costa Rica were comfortably beaten 4-1 by Czechoslovakia, for whom Tomas Skuhravy scored a hat-trick. Yugoslavia beat Spain 2-1 after extra time, with Dragan Stojkovic scoring both the Yugoslavs' goals. The Republic of Ireland's match with Romania remained goalless after extra time, and the Irish side won through 5-4 on penalties. David O'Leary converted the penalty that clinched Ireland's place in the quarter-finals. The Republic of Ireland thus achieved the remarkable feat of reaching the last eight in a World Cup finals tournament without actually winning a match outright. England were the final qualifier after an uneventful game against Belgium, midfielder David Platt scoring the only goal in the final minute of extra-time.
The most intriguing and controversial match of the quarter-finals was between England and Cameroon. Apart from anything else, it was the only quarter-final to produce more than one goal. Despite Cameroon's heroics earlier in the tournament, David Platt put England ahead in the 25th minute. At half-time, Milla was brought on, and the game was turned on its head in the space of five second half minutes. First, Cameroon were awarded a penalty, from which Emmanuel Kunde scored the equaliser. Then, in the 65th minute, Eugene Ekeke put Cameroon ahead. The African team came within eight minutes of reaching the semi-finals, but conceded a penalty, which Gary Lineker gratefully converted. Midway through extra time, England were awarded another penalty, and Lineker again scored from the spot. England were through to the semi-finals.
The Republic of Ireland's World Cup run was brought to an end by a single goal from Schillaci in the first half of their quarter-final with Italy. Another dull match saw West Germany beat Czechoslovakia with a 25th minute Lothar Matthäus penalty. Argentina and Yugoslavia played out a stalemate that stayed at 0-0 after extra time, despite the fact that Yugoslavia were reduced to ten men after half an hour when Refik Sabanadzovic, assigned with the task of marking Maradona, was sent off. Argentina reached the semi-finals after winning the penalty shoot-out 3-2. Tomislav Ivković achieved national fame by saving Maradona's kick and restoring parity to the penalty scoreline. Pedro Troglio then hit the post, and the World champions looked to be on their way out of the tournament until Sergio Goycochea rescued his side by stopping the Yugoslavs' final two penalty kicks.
Semi-finals, the third-place match, and the final
The first semi-final featured the host nation, Italy, and the world champion, Argentina. 'Toto' Schillaci scored yet again to put Italy ahead in the 17th minute, but Claudio Caniggia equalised midway through the second half. There were no more goals in the 90 minutes or in extra time, but there was a sending-off: Ricardo Giusti of Argentina was shown the red card in the 13th minute of extra time. Argentina went through on penalties, winning the shoot-out 4-3 . The semi-final between West Germany and England was goalless at half-time. Then, in the 60th minute, a shot from Andreas Brehme was deflected by Paul Parker, resulting in a goal. But then, with 10 minutes left, Gary Lineker equalised for England. The game ended 1-1, and West Germany won the penalty shoot-out 4-3. Italy and England played an uninspiring game for third place, with Roberto Baggio and Schillaci scoring to give the hosts a 2-1 win and the bronze medal.
The final between West Germany and Argentina, described by veteran football writer Brian Glanville as "probably the worst, most tedious, bad-tempered Final in the history of the World Cup",[1] produced several football firsts. In the 65th minute, Argentina's Pedro Monzon was sent off for a foul on Klinsmann, becoming the first player ever to be sent off in a World Cup final. It has been said that Klinsmann exaggerated his reaction to the foul, causing the referee to perhaps have been more severe with the punishment. Team-mate Gustavo Dezotti received the second red card of the game with four minutes left after he hauled Jürgen Kohler to the ground during a stoppage in play. Shortly before Dezotti's departure, referee Edgardo Codesal Mendez of Mexico awarded a penalty to West Germany, from which Andreas Brehme scored the only goal of the game. The 1-0 scoreline provided another first: Argentina were the first team ever to take part in a World Cup final without scoring.
With its third title (and three second place finishes) West Germany became the most successful World Cup nation for four years, until Brazil won their fourth title in 1994. West German team manager Franz Beckenbauer became the second footballer, after Mário Zagallo of Brazil, to win the World Cup as a player (in 1974) and as team manager. In doing so, Beckenbauer also became the first captain of a winning team to later manage a winning squad. Italy's Salvatore Schillaci won both the Golden Boot as the tournament's top goalscorer, with six goals, and the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player.
The 1990 World Cup is widely regarded as one of the poorest World Cups ever.[2] It generated a record low goals-per-game average and then-record of 16 red cards were handed out. Most teams relied heavily on defensive play and hard tackling, as well as aggressive intimidation of the referee. In the knockout stage, many teams would "play it safe" for 120 minutes and try their luck in the penalty shoot-out, rather than risk going forward. Ireland and Argentina were prime examples of this trend of cagey, defensive play; the Irish made it to the quarter-finals after scoring just twice in five games and drawing all their matches until their defeat to Italy. Argentina, meanwhile, scored only five times en route to the final. Cameroon were one of the few teams to choose and attacking style. Eventual champions West Germany also concentrated on offense-oriented play, but they too became more defensive as the tournament progressed.
Mascot
The official mascot of this World Cup was Ciao, a stick figure player with a football head and an Italian tricolor body. Its name is an Italian greeting. This World Cup saw The Three Tenors begin their tradition of performing on the eve of the final.
Venues
| Rome | Milan | Naples | Turin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stadio Olimpico | Stadio San Siro | Stadio San Paolo | Stadio delle Alpi |
| Capacity: 81,000 | Capacity: 85,700 | Capacity: 74,000 | Capacity: 68,000 |
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| Bari | Verona | ||
| Stadio San Nicola | Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi | ||
| Capacity: 56,000 | Capacity: 42,000 | ||
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| Florence | Cagliari | ||
| Stadio Artemio Franchi | Stadio Sant'Elia | ||
| Capacity: 41,000 | Capacity: 40,000 | ||
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| Bologna | Udine | Palermo | Genoa |
| Stadio Renato Dall'Ara | Stadio Friuli | Stadio La Favorita | Stadio Luigi Ferraris |
| Capacity: 39,000 | Capacity: 38,000 | Capacity: 36,000 | Capacity: 36,000 |
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Match officials
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Squads
For a list of all squads that appeared in the final tournament, see 1990 FIFA World Cup squads.
Results
First round
All kick-off times local (CEST/UTC+2)
Group A
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Italy |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | +4 | 6 |
 Czechoslovakia |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 4 |
 Austria |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 2 |
 United States |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 8 | -6 | 0 |
| 1990-06-09 21:00 |
Italy |
1 – 0 | Austria |
Stadio Olimpico, Rome Attendance: 73,303 Referee: José Roberto Wright (Brazil) |
Schillaci  78' |
(Report) |
| 1990-06-10 17:00 |
United States |
1 – 5 | Czechoslovakia |
Stadio Comunale, Florence Attendance: 33,266 Referee: Kurt Röthlisberger (Switzerland) |
| Caligiuri 61' |
(Report) | Skuhravý 25' 78' Bílek 39' (pen.)Hašek 50'Luhový 90' |
| 1990-06-14 21:00 |
Italy |
1 – 0 | United States |
Stadio Olimpico, Rome Attendance: 73,423 Referee: Edgardo Codesal (Mexico) |
| Giannini 11' |
(Report) |
| 1990-06-15 17:00 |
Austria |
0 – 1 | Czechoslovakia |
Stadio Comunale, Florence Attendance: 38,962 Referee: George Smith (Scotland) |
| (Report) | Bílek 30' (pen.) |
| 1990-06-19 21:00 |
Austria |
2 – 1 | United States |
Stadio Comunale, Florence Attendance: 34,857 Referee: Jamal Al Sharif (Syria) |
| Ogris 52' Rodax 65' |
(Report) | Murray 85' |
| 1990-06-19 21:00 |
Italy |
2 – 0 | Czechoslovakia |
Stadio Olimpico, Rome Attendance: 73,303 Referee: Joël Quiniou (France) |
| Schillaci 9' Baggio 78' |
(Report) |
Group B
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Cameroon |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | -2 | 4 |
 Romania |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 3 |
| Argentina |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 3 |
 USSR |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2 |
| 1990-06-08 18:00 |
Argentina |
0 – 1 | Cameroon |
Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, Milan Attendance: 73,780 Referee: Michel Vautrot (France) |
| (Report) | Omam-Biyik 67' |
| 1990-06-09 17:00 |
USSR |
0 – 2 | Romania |
Stadio San Nicola, Bari Attendance: 42,907 Referee: Juan Daniel Cardellino (Uruguay) |
| (Report) | Lăcătuş 42' 57' (pen.) |
| 1990-06-13 21:00 |
Argentina |
2 – 0 | USSR |
Stadio San Paolo, Naples Attendance: 55,759 Referee: Erik Fredriksson (Sweden) |
| Troglio 27' Burruchaga 79' |
(Report) |
| 1990-06-14 17:00 |
Cameroon |
2 – 1 | Romania |
Stadio San Nicola, Bari Attendance: 38,687 Referee: Hernán Silva (Chile) |
| Milla 76' 86' |
(Report) | Balint 88' |
| 1990-06-18 21:00 |
Argentina |
1 – 1 | Romania |
Stadio San Paolo, Naples Attendance: 52,733 Referee: Carlos Silva Valente (Portugal) |
| Monzón 63' |
(Report) | Balint 68' |
| 1990-06-18 21:00 |
Cameroon |
0 – 4 | USSR |
Stadio San Nicola, Bari Attendance: 37,307 Referee: José Roberto Wright (Brazil) |
| (Report) | Protasov 20' Zygmantovich 29'Zavarov 55'Dobrovolski 63' |
Group C
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
.svg.html){kind=small} Brazil |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 6 |
 Costa Rica |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 4 |
 Scotland |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 2 |
 Sweden |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | -3 | 0 |
| 1990-06-10 21:00 |
Brazil |
2 – 1 | Sweden |
Stadio Delle Alpi, Turin Attendance: 62,628 Referee: Tullio Lanese (Italy) |
| Careca 40' 63' |
(Report) | Brolin 79' |
| 1990-06-11 17:00 |
Costa Rica |
1 – 0 | Scotland |
Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Genoa Attendance: 30,867 Referee: Juan Carlos Loustau (Argentina) |
| Cayasso 49' |
(Report) |
| 1990-06-16 17:00 |
Brazil |
1 – 0 | Costa Rica |
Stadio Delle Alpi, Turin Attendance: 58,007 Referee: Naji Jouini (Tunisia) |
| Müller 33' |
(Report) |
| 1990-06-16 21:00 |
Scotland |
2 – 1 | Sweden |
Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Genoa Attendance: 31,823 Referee: Carlos Maciel (Paraguay) |
| McCall 10' Johnston 80' (pen.) |
(Report) | Strömberg 86' |
| 1990-06-20 21:00 |
Brazil |
1 – 0 | Scotland |
Stadio Delle Alpi, Turin Attendance: 62,502 Referee: Helmut Kohl (Austria) |
| Müller 82' |
(Report) |
| 1990-06-20 21:00 |
Sweden |
1 – 2 | Costa Rica |
Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Genoa Attendance: 30,223 Referee: Zoran Petrović (Yugoslavia) |
| Ekström 32' |
(Report) | Flores 75' Medford 88' |
Group D
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Germany |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 3 | +7 | 5 |
 Yugoslavia |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 4 |
 Colombia |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 3 |
 United Arab Emirates |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 11 | -9 | 0 |
| 1990-06-09 17:00 |
United Arab Emirates |
0 – 2 | Colombia |
Stadio Renato Dall'Ara, Bologna Attendance: 30,791 Referee: George Courtney (England) |
| (Report) | Redín 50' Valderrama 85' |
| 1990-06-10 21:00 |
West Germany |
4 – 1 | Yugoslavia |
Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, Milan Attendance: 74,765 Referee: Peter Mikkelsen (Denmark) |
| Matthäus 28' 65' Klinsmann 39'Völler 71' |
(Report) | Jozić 55' |
| 1990-06-14 17:00 |
Yugoslavia |
1 – 0 | Colombia |
Stadio Renato Dall'Ara, Bologna Attendance: 32,257 Referee: Luigi Agnolin (Italy) |
| Jozić |