Football World Cup – Italy 1990

The 1990 FIFA 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. It was won by West Germany, who beat Argentina 1 - 0 to win the World Cup for the third time.

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 December 9th 1989 at 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 1990 World Cup finals got off to a surprising start. In the first match, Cameroon won 1-0 against Argentina. Cameroon held on to win 2-1 Romania. They were beaten 4-0 by a Soviet Union,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, having lost goalkeeper Pumpido for the rest of the tournament to a broken leg sustained early in their win over the USSR.

In 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 began with a 2-1 win over Sweden, then beat both Costa Rica and Scotland 1-0. Scotland’s 2-1 win over Sweden wasn’t enough to save them from an early return home as they were one of the two lowest-ranked third placed teams.

In Group F England beat Egypt 1-0. Egypt faced Netherlands, at the time Netherlands was crowned European Champions in 1988. Egypt won a convincing draw against the Dutch (1-1). In a dismal game, Egypt drew with Ireland 0-0, in a very uneventful game. Sources cite that the Egyptian coach played as defensive as a game could be and as a result, the Irish coach (Jack Charlton) refused to shake hands with his Egyptian counterpart. Egypt’s luck would run out in the third match against England, who proved too strong for the African squad. England sealed the game with a 1-0 victory coming in the second half. Despite its failure to advance from the group stage, Egypt’s team playing football was a signal that African football was on the rise, a trend strongly enforced by Cameroon and Nigeria in the 1990 World Cup and beyond.

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. Colombia needed a late equaliser against West Germany to secure their place.

Italy won Group A, they beat Austria and the United States 1-0, and Czechoslovakia 2-0. Czechoslovakia thrashed 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. Belgium and Uruguay also reached the last 16 from the same group.

Second round and quarter-finals

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. Italy beat Uruguay 2-0. The West Germany-Netherlands clash produced a repeat of the Euro 88 semifinal. West Germany held on for a 2-1 win against Netherlands.

Meanwhile, the run of Cameroon and Roger Milla continued. In Cameroon’s game with Colombia, Milla was introduced in the 49th minute with the score 0-0. The scoreline stayed that way after 90 minutes, and after the first period of extra time. And 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.

Costa Rica were comfortably beaten 4-1 by Czechoslovakia. Yugoslavia beat Spain 2-1 after extra time. The Republic of Ireland’s match with Romania remained goalless after extra time, and the Irish side won through 5-4 on penalties. 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 match of the quarter-finals was between England and Cameroon. England a 3-2 won and a placed in the semi-finals.

Argentina reached the semi-finals after winning the penalty shoot-out 3-2 Yugoslavia.

Semi-finals, the third-place match, and the final

The first semi-final featured the host nation, Italy, and the world champion, Argentina. Argentina went through on penalties, winning the shoot-out 4-3 after more heroics from Goycochea, who saved two spot kicks again. The semi-final between West Germany and England was goalless at half-time. 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 was  bad-tempered Final in the history of the World Cup, produced several football firsts. The 1-0 scoreline provided another first: Argentina were the first team ever to take part in a World Cup final without scoring.

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 -Stadio Olimpico Capacity: 81,000
• Milan -Stadio San Siro Capacity: 85,700
• Naples -Stadio San Paolo Capacity: 74,000
• Turin -Stadio delle Alpi Capacity: 68,000
• Bari - Stadio San Nicola Capacity: 56,000
• Verona – Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi Capacity: 42,000
• Florence – Stadio Artemio Franchi Capacity: 41,000
• Cagliari – Stadio Sant’Elia   Capacity: 40,000
• Bologna – Stadio Renato Dall’Ara Capacity: 39,000
• Udine – Stadio Friuli Capacity: 38,000
• Palermo – Stadio La Favorita Capacity: 36,000
• Genoa - Stadio Luigi Ferraris     Capacity: 36,000