From 90min we want to bring you all the history of the World Cups, in case you haven’t experienced some of them. This tournament is one of the most anticipated events on the planet and always brings anecdotes and stories worth remembering. In this article the turn will be for the 1990 World Cup in Italy, at the height of this sport, and which took place with good football and emotion.
The 1990 World Cup was held between June 8 and July 8, in Italy, which became the second country to hold two World Cups, after having hosted the tournament in 1934. 24 teams participated, divided into 6 groups in which the first two and the best third of the entire tournament would go to the next round.
The mascot was this curious combination of blocks, while the ball chosen for the matches was the Adidas Etrusco Unico.
Olympic Stadium (Rome), San Siro (Milan), San Paolo/Diego Armando Maradona Stadium (Naples), Delle Alpi Stadium (Turin), San Nicola Stadium (Bari), Marcantonio Bentegodi (Verona), Florence (Artemio Franchi), Sant ´Elia (Cagliari), Renato Dall´Ara (Udine), La Favorita (Palermo), Luigi Ferraris (Genoa).
The 24 qualified teams for this edition would play a group stage, as has happened since 1974, but once this stage is over, the knockout rounds will be played. As in the previous World Cup, there would also be a round of 16, due to the increase in participating teams that occurred in the previous World Cup. The four best third parties would also qualify for this elimination stage, along with the first and second of each group, a formula that lasted until the 1994 Soccer World Cup.
In the group stage, only Italy would manage to win all the matches in a group that was not easy, since it was made up of Czechoslovakia, Austria and the United States. However, the group of Argentina, if it seemed affordable, but a surprising Cameroon that would play a great role, would be the leader, while the albiceleste would settle for third place surpassed by Romania. Luckily for the team led by Maradona, in this tournament the best third parties would advance to the round of 16, where the Argentines could redeem themselves. The rest of the qualifiers were England, Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, Uruguay, Brazil, Costa Rica, Colombia, Yugoslavia and West Germany, who managed to beat Yugoslavia and the United Arab Emirates, positioning themselves as a fearsome rival in the tournament.
The round of 16 would leave mostly very even matches, which would be decided by the minimum or even on penalties. The most attractive duel was between Brazil and Argentina, which thanks to Caniggia’s goal would win by the minimum canarinha. Another interesting duel would be the one between Germany and the Netherlands, which would also be decided by the minimum, but this time 2-1 with goals from Klinsmann and Brehme for the Teutons. The rest of those classified for the quarterfinals would be Yugoslavia, Ireland, Italy, Czechoslovakia, England and Cameroon, who achieved the best result so far of an African team in the World Cups after beating Colombia.
Already in the quarterfinals we would find ourselves with exciting duels that would also be decided by details, as is the case of the match between Argentina and Yugoslavia, in which the albiceleste would advance to the semifinals after an agonizing penalty shootout. Italy would narrowly beat Ireland with a solo goal from Schilaci, while Germany would do the same against Czechoslovakia with Matthäus as the scorer. In the duel between England and Cameroon, everything would happen, as the final result was 2-3 for the English, who prevailed in extra time, in a very exciting match.
Four teams that knew what it was like to win the World Cup entered this round, so equality and emotion were guaranteed. The two semi-finals would be decided on penalties, with the winners being Argentina and Germany, who beat Italy and England respectively.
As would happen in the previous edition of the World Cup, in 1986, the final of this tournament would be between Argentina and Germany. Both teams arrived with two Cups to their name, so the winner would make history. However, unlike in the previous edition, the champion would be Germany, who with a solitary goal from Brehme, would give victory to the Teutons and leave the Albiceleste with honey on their lips.
RUNNER-UP: ARGENTINA
THIRD PLACE: ITALY
FOURTH PLACE: ENGLAND
Schillaci (Italy): 6 goals
Skuhravý (Czechoslovakia): 5 goals
roger mile (Cameroon): 4 goals
Michel (Spain): 4 goals
lineker (England): 4 goals
Matthäus (Germany): 4 goals
Goycochea; Baresi, Maldini, Brehme; Matthäus, Gascoigne, Michel, Maradona; Schillaci, Roger Milla, Klinsmann.
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