Italy 1990 World Cup Finals

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Rome Olympic Stadium
Stadio Olimpico, Roma by Liam McKay on Unsplash.

Italy 1990

The Ball is Round Football Index: World Cup Finals: Italy 1990.

Italy Flag

In 1990, Italy became the second nation to hold the World Cup Finals for a second time

Italia 90 was a World Cup remembered for it's stalemates and important games decided by penalties; both semi-finals were drawn out through penalty kicks and in the final itself, the only goal came from the spot.

World Cup History - Italy 1990

West Germany played in a World Cup final for the third time in succession and, having lost the last two finals, were determined not to do it again.

A repeat of the previous World Cup final lineup, in Mexico 86, the only thing that separated the two teams this time was Andreas Brehme's penalty.

The dullest World Cup victory of all time meant that West Germany finally joined Brazil and Italy, as an elite member of countries to have won the World cup three times.

The tournament's leading goalscorer was Italy's Salvatore 'Toto' Schillaci although the most remarkable performance probably came from Roger Milla (still going strong and scoring at 38 years old) and his Cameroon team-mates, who beat the World Cup Champions, Argentina (1:0) on the opening day of the tournament.

In the Naples quarter-final, Cameroon came back from (0:1) down at half time to lead England by two goals to one, as the game approached the final ten minutes.

England relieved their large travelling contingent of fans by leveling the scores to take the game into extra-time and end the match as eventual (3:2) winners.

24 Countries Competed at Italy 1990

Argentina Argentina
Group 2 (0:1) (2:0) (1:1); Second Round (1:0); Quarter-finals (0:0 aet) (3:2pens); Semi-finals (1:1 aet) (4:3 pens); Finalist (0:1).

Austria Austria
Group 1 (0:1) (0:1) (2:1).

Belgium Belgium
Group 5 (2:0) (3:1) (1:2); Second Round (0:1 aet).

Brazil Brazil
Group 3 (2:1) (1:0) (1:0); Second Round (0:1).

Cameroon Cameroon
Group 2 (1:0) (2:1) (0:4); Second Round (2:1 aet); Quarter-finals (2:3 aet).

Colombia Colombia
Group 4 (2:0) (0:1) (1:1); Second Round (1:2 aet).

Costa Rica Costa Rica
Group 3 (1:0) (0:1) (2:1); Second Round (1:4).

Czech Republic Czechoslovakia
Group 1 (5:1) (1:0) (0:2); Second Round (4:1); Quarter-finals (0:1).

Egypt Egypt
Group 6 (1:1) (0:0) (0:1).

England England
Group 6 (1:1) (0:0) (1:0); Second Round (1:0 aet); Quarter-finals (3:2 aet); Semi-finals (1:1 aet) (3:4 pens); Third place (1:2).

Holland Holland
Group 6 (1:1) (0:0) (1:1); Second Round (1:2).

Italy Italy
Group 1 (1:0) (1:0) (2:0); Second Round (2:0); Quarter-finals (1:0); Semi-finals (1:1 aet) (3:4 pens); Third place (2:1).

Ireland Rep. of Ireland
Group 6 (1:1) (0:0) (1:1); Second Round (0:0 aet) (5:4 pens); Quarter-finals (0:1).

Romania Romania
Group 2 (2:0) (1:2) (1:1); Second Round (0:0 aet) (4:5 pens).

Scotland Scotland
Group 3 (0:1) (2:1) (0:1).

South Korea South Korea
Group 5 (0:2) (1:3) (0:1).

Spain Spain
Group 5 (0:0) (3:1) (2:1); Second Round (1:2 aet).

Sweden Sweden
Group 3 (1:2) (1:2) (1:2).

United Arab Emirates UAE
Group 4 (0:2) (1:5) (1:4).

USA United States
Group 1 (1:5) (0:1) (1:2).

Uruguay Uruguay
Group 5 (0:0) (1:3) (1:0); Second Round (0:2).

Russia USSR
Group 2 (0:2) (0:2) (4:0).

Germany West Germany
Group 4 (4:1) (5:1) (1:1); Second Round (2:1); Quarter-finals (1:0); Semi-finals (1:1 aet) (4:3 pens); Winner (1:0).

Serbia Yugoslavia
Group 4 (1:4) (1:0) (4:1); Second Round (2:1 aet); Quarter-finals (0:0 aet) (2:3 pens).

First Round - Group Stage

Group 1

9th June
Rome: Italy vs Austria (1:0)

10th June
Florence: Czechoslovakia vs United States (5:1)

14th June
Rome: Italy vs United States (1:0)

15th June
Florence: Czechoslovakia vs Austria (1:0)

19th June
Florence: Austria vs United States (2:1)
Rome: Italy vs Czechoslovakia (2:0)

Italy and Czechoslovakia make it to the Last 16.

Group 2

8th June
Milan: Cameroon vs Argentina (1:0)

9th June
Bari: Romania vs USSR (2:0)

13th June
Naples: Argentina vs USSR (2:0)

14th June
Bari: Cameroon vs Romania (2:1)

18th June
Bari: USSR vs Cameroon (4:0)
Naples: Argentina vs Romania (1:1)

Cameroon, Argentina and Romania make it to the Last 16.

Group 3

10th June
Turin: Brazil vs Sweden (2:1)

11th June
Genoa: Costa Rica vs Scotland (1:0)

16th June
Genoa: Scotland vs Sweden (2:1)
Turin: Brazil vs Costa Rica (1:0)

20th June
Genoa: Costa Rica vs Sweden (2:1)
Turin: Brazil vs Scotland (1:0)

Brazil and Costa Rica make it to the Last 16.

Group 4

9th June
Bologna: Colombia vs UAE (2:0)

10th June
Milan: West Germany vs Yugoslavia (4:1)

14th June
Bologna: Yugoslavia vs Colombia (1:0)

15th June
Milan: West Germany vs UAE (5:1)

19th June
Bologna: Yugoslavia vs UAE (4:1)
Milan: West Germany vs Colombia (1:1)

West Germany, Yugoslavia and Colombia make it to the Last 16.

Group 5

12th June
Verona: Belgium vs South Korea (2:0)

13th June
Udine: Uruguay vs Spain (0:0)

17th June
Udine: Spain vs South Korea (3:1)
Verona: Belgium vs Uruguay (3:1)

21st June
Udine: Uruguay vs South Korea (1:0)
Verona: Spain vs Belgium (2:1)

Spain, Belgium and Uruguay make it to the Last 16.

Group 6

11th June
Cagliari: England vs Rep. of Ireland (1:1)

12th June
Palermo: Holland vs Egypt (1:1)

16th June
Cagliari: England vs Holland (0:0)

17th June
Palermo: Rep. of Ireland vs Egypt (0:0)

21st June
Cagliari: England vs Egypt (1:0)
Palermo: Rep. of Ireland vs Holland (1:1)

England, Holland and Ireland make it to the Last 16.

Second Round - The Last 16

23rd June
Bari: Czechoslovakia vs Costa Rica (4:1)
Naples: Cameroon vs Colombia (2:1 aet)

24th June
Milan: West Germany vs Holland (2:1)
Turin: Argentina vs Brazil (1:0)

25th June
Genoa: Rep. of Ireland vs Romania (0:0 aet) (5:4 pens)
Rome: Italy vs Uruguay (2:0)

26th June
Bologna: England vs Belgium (1:0 aet)
Verona: Yugoslavia vs Spain (2:1 aet)

Quarter-Finals - 30th June & 1st July, 1990

30th June
Florence: Argentina vs Yugoslavia (0:0 aet) (3:2 pens)

Rome: Italy vs Rep. of Ireland (1:0)

1st July
Milan: West Germany vs Czechoslovakia (1:0)

Naples: England vs Cameroon (3:2 aet)

Semi-Finals - 3rd/4th July, 1990

3rd July
Naples: Argentina vs Italy (1:1 aet) (4:3 pens)

4th July
Turin: West Germany vs England (1:1 aet) (4:3 pens)

Third Place - 7th July, 1990

Bari: Italy vs England (2:1)

1990 World Cup Final
8th July:
West Germany vs Argentina (1:0)
Rome.

Appearances:
How many appearances each country has made in the World Cup Finals.

World Cup Finals

Uruguay 1930:
Uruguay trailed Argentina at half-time (1:2) but replied with three goals in the second half; to win the first ever World Cup Final (4-2) on July 30th, 1930.

Italy 1934:
Italy were one of the countries who missed out on the vote to host the first World Cup but managed to win the prestigious golden trophy for the home fans.

France 1938:
The third World Cup was held in Europe for a second time, although Germany had annexed Austria, and Spain was in civil turmoil.

Brazil 1950:
Although no cup-final as such, Uruguay and Brazil went into their final game with the winner guaranteed to be champions; a draw would be enough for Brazil.

Switzerland 1954:
The fifth World Cup tournament produced a record number of goals, including a 7:5 encounter between Austria and Switzerland in Lausanne.

Sweden 1958:
Brazil presented a 17 year-old Pele to the world; who went on to claim a hat-trick in Brazil's 5:2 semi-final win over France and bag another two in the final.

Chile 1962:
Czechoslovakia overcame Hungary in the quarter-finals and Yugoslavia in the semis, while Brazil took care of England and the host nation, Chile.

England 1966:
Geoff Hurst scored a hat-trick, in the final against West Germany, as England triumphed in a thrilling game watched by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II.

Mexico 1970:
1970 belonged to Pelé, who earned his third World Cup winners' medal when Brazil got their hands on the Jules Rimet Cup.... for keeps.

W. Germany 1974:
Johan Cruyff was the player of the tournament as total football became the buzzword of the day, even though Holland lost to West Germany in the 1974 final.

Argentina 1978:
Holland contested the 1978 World Cup Final, in Argentina, for the second time in a row. As in West Germany, they again finished runners-up; to the hosts.

Spain 1982:
The Spain 82 World Cup finals increased to 24 teams and the format was changed to have two group stages, with four second-round groups of three.

Mexico 1986:
In 1986, Mexico became the first nation to stage the World Cup Finals for a second time; having only staged the competition sixteen years previously.

Italy 1990:
In 1990, Italy became the World Cup of stalemates. Both semi-finals were drawn out through penalty kicks. In the final itself, the only goal came from the spot.

USA 1994:
Once Team US had played a few games most of the nation began to understand they were hosting the greatest show on earth and how the game was played.

France 1998:
France became the sixth nation to win the World Cup on home soil. Thirty-two teams competed in the 16th World Cup; better known as France 98.

Korea-Japan 2002:
The 17th World Cup, held in Korea and Japan, was the first World Cup finals to be shared by two hosts and the first to be held in Asia.

Germany 2006:
The 2006 World Cup Finals ran from 9th June to 9th July; the opening match in Munich and the final in Berlin. Munich and Dortmund hosted the semi-finals.

South Africa 2010:
Eighty years after the First World Cup Finals in Uruguay, the world's most prestigious football competition was finally hosted on the African continent.

Brazil 2014:
Five times World Cup Champions, Brazil, get a second chance to hold the prestigious World Cup Finals; 64 years after they last hosted the tournament.

Russia 2018:
VAR made its World Cup debut and set out to change the course of a game with some crucial rule infringement watching and vital on the spot decisions.

Qatar 2022:
When FIFA executives met in Zurich to decide on who would host the 2018 and 2022 World Cup Finals, Qatar was probably the biggest surprise to many.

United 2026:
The 2026 FIFA World Cup Finals will be jointly hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States. The United Bid won the hosting rights ahead of Morocco.

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