The 1990 FIFA World Cup took place in Italy from 8 June to 8 July 1990. Italy became the second country to host the tournament twice, fifty-six years on from their 1934 triumph on home soil. 24 teams from 5 confederations participated in the final tournament: 14 from Europe (UEFA), 4 from South America (CONMEBOL), 2 from North America, Central America and Caribbean (CONCACAF), 2 from Africa (CAF), and 2 from Asia (AFC). Three teams made their first World Cup presentation (Costa Rica, Republic of Ireland, and United Arab Emirates).
Although The 1990 World Cup is widely remembered as one of the poorest World Cups ever, basically due to the record as the lowest-scoring tournament, with just 2.21 goals per game, this was also one of the most watched events in television history. This was a World Cup without inspiration and ruled by physical play and defensive tactics. Many teams, in which Republic of Ireland and Argentina were the leading exponents, preferred play safe for 120 minutes and try their luck in the penalty shoot-out, rather than risk going forward. Republic of Ireland scored only twice in the entire tournament. The Irish tied the first four games and fell on the fifth game against Italy 1-0. Losing finalist Argentina, on the other hand, scored only five goals in the entire tournament. The Argentines became the first team to advance twice on penalty shootouts. To correct this defensive tactic, FIFA introduced the back-pass rule for the 1994 FIFA World Cup.
The first round had some facts worth noting. In Group A, there was no surprise. Italy and Czechoslovakia advance to the next stage. Italy ended with three consecutive wins, while United States ended with three consecutive defeats. Cameroon topped Group B ahead of Romania and reigning champions Argentina. Cameroon, nicknamed The Indomitable Lions, one of the pleasant surprises of the tournament, opened the World Cup with a shock and memorable victory over Argentina. Diego Maradona, much less dominant than four years earlier, had an ankle injury that affected his overall performance throughout the tournament. The Biyik brothers, on the other hand, made headlines in this match. While François Omam scored the downward header that gave Cameroon an historic 1–0 win over defending world champions Argentina in the magnificently revamped San Siro, his brother Andre Kana was sent off for a violent foul. Brazil won all three games to finish first in Group C ahead of Costa Rica. The surprise of this group was the performance of Sweden, who ended up losing all three games. Costa Rica on the other hand, the third most successful team in CONCACAF after Mexico and the United States, did an excellent job on their debut in Italy defeating Scotland and Sweden. In Group G, West Germany, Yugoslavia and Colombia advanced to the next stage. Germany was one of the few teams encouraged to deploying attacking soccer, thanks to their trio of Lothar Matthäus, Rudi Völler and Jürgen Klinsmann. United Arab Emirates, another of the newcomers, ended with three consecutive defeats and eleven goals against. Spain, Belgium and Uruguay advanced in Group E. South Korea continued to show no improvements in World Cups and lost all three games. Group F was one of the tightest groups in World Cup history. England, Republic of Ireland, and the Netherlands progressed to the knockout stages despite only scoring two goals each in three games, while Egypt hat to go home with two draws and a tight loss to England 1-0.
In the round of 16, Czechoslovakia defeated Costa Rica 4-1. Tomáš Skuhravý scored the tournament's second and final hat-trick. The surprising Cameroon continued in winning ways and this time defeated Colombia 2-1 in overtime. Roger Milla scored twice, after the regular time ended goalless. The 38-years-old Milla introduced his trademark goal celebration of running to the corner flag and performing a dance. He was undoubtedly the pioneer of the many unconventional and imaginative goal celebrations seen since then. The all-South American game was won for Argentina 1-0. Brazil dominated most of the game, but an excellent job of goalkeeper Sergio Goycochea, an extraordinary run of Diego Maradona leaving seven Brazilians on the road followed by a perfect through-ball to Claudio Caniggia, and a fabulous definition of “The Bird” settled the game (Enjoy the goal!). West Germany and the Netherlands played another spectacular game that the Germans went on to win 2-1. It is worth noting that both teams featured several notable players from the two Milanese clubs: Germans Andreas Brehme, Lothar Matthäus and Jürgen Klinsmann for Inter Milan, and Dutchmen Marco van Basten (the reigning two-time European player of the year), Ruud Gullit and Frank Rijkaard for AC Milan. The Republic of Ireland's match with Romania remained goalless after extra time, and then the Irish side won 5–4 on penalties. Italy could not figure out Uruguay in Rome, but in the second half Italy went on to win 2-0. Yugoslavia defeated Spain 2-1 after extra time. Dragan Stojković scored twice. In the last match of the round of 16, England overcame Belgium thanks to a David Platt’s stunning volley in the last minute of extra-time.
In the quarter-finals, the Argentina’s match with Yugoslavia remained goalless after extra time, and then Argentine won 5–4 on penalties, despite Maradona having his penalty saved. Sergio Goycochea made three extraordinary saves to help the reigning champions escape with the victory. Italy suffered more than necessary but ended up defeating Republic of Ireland 1-0, thanks to a solitary goal of Toto Schillaci. West Germany defeated Czechoslovakia 1-0 thanks to a goal of Matthäus. In the last quarter-final, England was fortunate enough to beat Cameroon 3-2 after extra time. Cameroon came to within seven minutes of reaching the semi-finals, but Gary Lineker converted a penalty-kick to equalize and sent the match to extra time. England were awarded another penalty that Lineker again converted to define the game. Cameroon became the first African team to advance to the quarter-finals.
The first semi-final faced the host nation, Italy, against the world champion, Argentina, in Naples, the house of Diego Maradona. Italy had a tough defense that had not conceded a goal in the entire tournament. The game ended time 1-1 after extra time. Claudio Caniggia was the first player to breach the Italian defense in a World Cup record 517 minutes' play. Argentina ended the hopes of Italy in a dramatic penalty shoot-out (4-3). Sergio Goycochea, who had another outstanding performance, made two saves. The decisive penalty was converted by Diego Maradona. The other semi-final was contested by West Germany and England. The match ended time 1-1 after extra time. The game was decided by penalty kicks, where West Germany won their third straight World Cup shoot-out, 4–3. Germany reached a major achievement, the third successive final. Italy had the consolation prize after beating in the third-place match to England 2-1.
The 1990 FIFA World Cup Final was contested at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, before a crowd of 73,000 followers, for Argentina led by Diego Armando Maradona although in a weakened physical condition, and West Germany, led by Jürgen Klinsmann and Lothar Matthäus. The Argentina star Claudio Caniggia was ruled out for the game, as he picked up his second yellow card in the semi-final. This World Cup Final is remembered as the worst World Cup Final ever. West Germany beat Argentina 1-0 in normal time, thanks to a dubious penalty in the 85th minute awarded to Germany and taken by Andreas Brehme, winning the third World Cup title. Argentina imposed two negative records in the final. Argentina became the first finalists not to score and also the first to have a player sent off in a World Cup Final (Actually had two players sent off: Pedro Monzón and Gustavo Dezotti). This victory gave West Germany their third World Cup success, making them the nation with most World Cup finals at the time (3 titles, 3 second places). Franz Beckenbauer wrote his name in history as the second man to win the World Cup as first a player and then a coach.
The top scorer (Golden Shoe) of the tournament was Salvatore Schillaci of Italy, who would go on to score six goals. Schillaci had also the honor of being elected the best player (Golden Ball) of the tournament. Robert Prosinečki of Yugoslavia was elected Best Young Player. England, on the other hand, received the FIFA Fair Play award. The names that people probably remember from those times are: Franz Beckenbauer (German coach), Carlos Bilardo (Argentine coach), Oscar Tabárez (Uruguayan coach), Bobby Robson (English coach), Leo Beenhakker (Dutch coach), Carlos Alberto Parreira (United Arab Emirates coach), Bora Milutinović (Costa Rican coach), Sebastião Lazaroni (Brazilian coach), Thomas Nkono (Cameroon goalkeeper), Taffarel (Brazilian goalkeeper), Luis Gabelo Conejo (Costa Rican goalkeeper), René Higuita (Colombian goalkeeper), Rinat Dasayev (Soviet goalkeeper), Thomas Ravelli (Swedish goalkeeper), Tony Meola (American goalkeeper), Andoni Zubizarreta (Spanish goalkeeper), Michel Preud’Homme (Belgian goalkeeper), Sergio Goycochea (Argentine goalkeeper), Peter Shilton (English goalkeeper), Walter Zenga (Italian goalkeeper), Andreas Brehme (German defender), Ronald Koeman (Dutch defender), Fernando Hierro (Spanish defender), Oscar Ruggeri (Argentine defender), Paolo Maldini (Italian defender), Giuseppe Bergomi (Italian defender), Franco Baresi (Italian defender), Sergio Batista (Argentine midfielder), Míchel (Spanish midfielder), Enzo Scifo (Belgian midfielder), Tab Ramos (American midfielder), Lothar Matthäus (German midfielder), Paul Gascoigne (English midfielder), Ruud Gullit (Dutch midfielder), Frank Rijkaard (Dutch midfielder), Carlos Valderrama (Colombian midfielder), Diego Maradona (Argentine midfielder), Dunga (Brazilian midfielder), Dragan Stojković (Yugoslav striker), Careca (Brazilian striker), Emilio Butragueño (Spanish striker), Roberto Baggio (Italian striker), Roberto Mancini (Italian striker), Salvatore Schillaci (Italian striker), Toni Polster (Austrian striker), Romário (Brazilian striker), Bebeto (Brazilian striker), Marco Van Basten (Dutch striker), Claudio Caniggia (Argentine striker), Rubén Sosa (Uruguayan striker), Toni Cascarino (Irish striker), Roger Milla (Camerron striker), Hernán Medford (Costa Rican striker), Tomáš Skuhravý (Czech striker), Jürgen Klinsmann (German striker), Rudi Völler (German striker), Paul Caliguri (American striker), Eric Wynalda (American striker), Robert Prosinečki (Yugoslav striker and Best Young Player), Gheorghe Hagi (Romanian striker), Gary Lineker (English striker), and Salvatore Schillaci (Italian striker, Golden Ball, and Golden Shoe).
Italy was chosen to host the 1990 FIFA World Cup, the 14th staging of the FIFA World Cup, at the FIFA Congress in Zürich, Switzerland, on May 19, 1984. Soviet Union had also submitted the bid to host the championship, but Italy was chosen ahead of the only rival bid, the Soviet Union. Italy had 11 votes in the first round of voting, while Soviet Union had 5 votes. Thus, Italy became the second country to organize the World Cup for a second time.
Initially, England and Greece also submitted applications to host the 1990 FIFA World Cup. However, at the beginnings of the 1984, England and Greece withdrew, leaving the way open to only two countries: Italy and Soviet Union. The rest is known.
Qualification
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Participating countries:
116
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Withdrew:
11
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Qualified automatically:
2
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Teams that played at least one qualifying match:
93
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Matches:
314
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Total goals:
735 (2.34 per match)
A total of 116 teams signed up to participate in the 1990 World Cup qualification rounds. Italy, as the hosts, and Argentina, as the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 22 spots open for competition.
The 22 available spots were distributed in continental zones as shown below:
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Europe (UEFA): 13 spots. 32 teams competed for 12 direct places. Italy, as the defending champion, qualified directly.
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South America (CONMEBOL): 2.5 spots. 9 teams competed for 2 direct places. The winner of the 0.5 spot would progress to the international playoff against a team from OFC. Argentina, as the defending champion, qualified directly.
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North America, Central America and Caribbean (CONCACAF): 2 spots. 14 teams competed for 2 direct places. Belize and Mexico rejected.
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Africa (CAF): 2 spots. 21 teams competed for 2 direct places. Mauritius, and Mozambique rejected. Lesotho, Rwanda and Togo withdrew.
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Asia (AFC): 2 spots. 22 teams competed for 2 direct places. Bahrain, India, Maldives, and South Yemen withdrew.
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Oceania (OFC): 0.5 spot. 5 teams (including Israel and Chinese Taipei) competed for 0.5 spot. The winner of the 0.5 spot would progress to the international playoff against a team from UEFA.
Colombia, from CONMEBOL, and Israel, from OFC, advanced to the international play-off. Colombia defeated Israel 1-0 in Barranquilla, Colombia, on 15 October 1989, and then drew with Israel 0-0 in Ramat Gan, Israel on 30 October 1989. Colombia, therefore, qualified for the 1990 FIFA World Cup.
The 1990 FIFA World Cup Qualification had some outstanding incidents. One of them happened in the last game of Group 3, between Brazil and Chile at Rio de Janeiro's Maracanã stadium. The match was halted in the 67th minute with Brazil leading 1-0. A firecracker thrown from the stands by a Brazilian fan supposedly hit goalkeeper Roberto Rojas in the head. Rojas fell to the pitch writhing and holding his forehead, and finally had to be carried off the field. His teammates walked off in protest and then refused to return claiming conditions were unsafe. Chile had a chance to qualify if the incident was confirmed, while Brazil would be out of the 1990 FIFA World Cup. A subsequent FIFA investigation found that Rojas deliberately injured himself in an attempt to avoid a loss by the Chilean national team, using a razor blade hidden in his glove. The match was awarded 2–0 to Brazil. As a consequence, Chile was banned from the 1994 FIFA World Cup and Rojas was banned for life, along with coach Orlando Aravena and team doctor Daniel Rodriguez. Chilean goalkeeper Roberto Rojas was allowed to return to soccer as coach in 2001 after an amnesty.
Mexico, on the other hand, were disqualified during this stage after having been found to have fielded over-aged players during the 1988 Olympic Games qualifiers. In what is known as the cachirules scandal, at least four players of the Mexican youth football team were over the age limit during the qualification tournament.
In another sad and tragic incident, Samuel Okwaraji collapsed and died of congestive heart failure whilst playing for Nigeria in their qualifying match against Angola, thirteen minutes before the end on 12 August 1989. Samuel was also a qualified lawyer who had a master in international law from the University of Rome.
The Golden Boot or Golden Shoe Award is granted to the top goalscorer of the FIFA World Cup. The first time an award was given was in 1982, under the name Golden Shoe.
