Month: February 2024

Group F.
11.06.90 (21.00) Cagliari, Stadio Sant’ Elia

ENG – IRL 1:1 (1:0)

(+35000) Schmidhuber GER, Fredriksson SWE, Röthlisberger SUI

ENG: Shilton – G.M.Stevens, Pearce, Walker, Butcher – Robson (c), Waddle,
Gascoigne, Barnes – Lineker (84 Bull), Beardsley (70 McMahon)
IRL: Bonner – Morris, Staunton, McCarthy (c), Moran – McGrath, Houghton,
Townsend, Aldridge (65 McLoughlin) – Cascarino, Sheedy

1:0 Lineker 8, 1:1 Sheedy 72

booked: McMahon

12.06.90 (21.00) Palermo, Stadio Della Favorita

EGY – HOL 1:1 (0:0)

(-34000) Soriano ESP, Codesal MEX, Cardellino URU

EGY: Shobeir – I.Hassan, Yassein, H.Ramzy, A.Ramzy (71 Tolba) – Yakan,
Youssef, Abdelghani, H.Hassan – Abdelhamid (c – 71 Abdelrahman), El Kass
HOL: Van Breukelen – Van Aerle, Rijkaard, R.Koeman, Van Tiggelen – Rutjes,
Wouters, E.Koeman (71 Ri.Witschge), Vanenburg (46 Kieft) – Van Basten,
Gullit (c)

0:1 Kieft 58, 1:1 Abdelghani 83 p

booked: A.Ramzy / Kieft

16.06.90 (17..00) Cagliari, Stadio Sant’ Elia

ENG – HOL 0:0

(+35000) Petrović JUG, Hensal ARG, Codesal MEX

ENG: Shilton – Parker, Pearce, Walker, Butcher – Wright, Robson (c – 71 Platt),
Waddle (65 Bull), Gascoigne – Barnes, Lineker
HOL: Van Breukelen – Van Aerle, Rijkaard, R.Koeman, Van Tiggelen – Wouters,
Ri.Witschge, van’t Schip (81 Kieft), Gillhaus – Van Basten, Gullit (c)

17.06.90 Palermo, Stadio Della Favorita

EGY – IRL 0:0

(+33000) Van Langenhove BEL, Quiniou FRA, Lo Bello ITA

EGY: Shobeir – I.Hassan, Yassein, H.Ramzy, Tolba (61 Aboud Zeid) – Yakan,
Youssef, Abdelghani (c), H.Hassan – Oraby, El Kass (77 Abdelhamid)
IRL: Bonner – Morris, Staunton, McCarthy (c), Moran – McGrath, Houghton,
Townsend, Aldridge (65 McLoughlin) – Cascarino (85 Quinn), Sheedy

booked: Shobeir / Morris

21.06.90 (21.00) Cagliari, Stadio Sant’ Elia

ENG – EGY 1:0 (0:0)

(-35000) Röthlisberger SUI, Codesal MEX, Ulloa COS

ENG: Shilton (c) – Parker, Pearce, Walker, Wright – McMahon, Waddle,
Gascoigne, Barnes – Lineker, Bull (84 Beardsley)
EGY: Shobeir – I.Hassan, Yassein, H.Ramzy, A.Ramzy – Yakan, Youssef,
Abdelghani, H.Hassan – El Kass (78 Soliman), Abdelhamid (c – 78 Abdelrahman)

1:0 Wright 59 h

booked: Beardsley / Abdelghani, I.Hassan

21.06.90 (21.00) Palermo, Stadio Della Favorita

HOL – IRL 1:1 (1:0)

(+33000) Vautrot FRA, Hansal ALG, Lorenc AUS

HOL: Van Breukelen – Van Aerle, Rijkaard, R.Koeman, Van Tiggelen –
Wouters, Ri.Witschge (60 Fräser), Kieft (80 Van Loen) – Gillhaus, Van Basten,
Gullit (c)
IRL: Bonner – Morris, Staunton, McCarthy (c), Moran, McGrath – Houghton,
Townsend, Aldridge (63 Cascarino) – Quinn, Sheedy (63 Whelan)

1:0 Gullit 10, 1:1 Quinn 71

booked: Rijkaard

1. ENG^ 3 1 2 0 4 2-1
2. IRL^ 3 0 3 0 3 2-2
3. HOL^ 3 0 3 0 3 2-2
4. EGY 3 0 2 1 2 1-2

NOTE: IRL awarded second place by lot
What a drama this group was – not that much because some great football was played, but because it was fantastic battle between… equals, ending after all games finished and a lot had to be drawn. Before the last round all teams had equal points and same goal-difference: 2 points each and 1-1. So far every game ended in a tie. At last England managed to extract 1-0 victory against Egypt and was happy. The Irish and the Dutch took different approach… which became known years after the game: when Niall Quinn equalized in the 71st minute the Irish captain approached Ruud Gullit and suggested they just keep the result for the remaining minutes. What was there to risk for? Both teams qualified with 1-1. Gullit agreed and the game ended 1-1. Interesting revelation, if true… for there were about 20 minutes to play not only between Holland and Ireland, but between England and Egypt as well and it was not at all sure England would keep their fragile lead. Nobody was qualified yet, actually the chances were still all teams to finish with same points and goal-difference. A massive problem for FIFA was looming – 4 teams with 3 points and 2-2 goal-difference… what then? Luckily, England preserved its lead and diminished the problem somewhat – first and last places in the group were decided on the field. Second and third position not – and a lot was drawn, which Ireland won and was placed second. If really Gullit agreed on a tie, now it was the moment to bitterly regret the agreement – placed 3rd, Holland was going to play against Germany in the next round. Anyhow, Ireland put very brave performance in the group and although Charlton was mad at his players for the tie with Egypt, it was quite a predictable outcome: the Irish usually played their toughest best against strong teams and against outsiders… well, they had a scoring problem. Holland also disappointed a bit, particularly against Egypt, but still was expected to return to their best against Germany, which was motivational factor for the Dutch on the same level as England spurred to life the Irish. Egypt played very well under the circumstances – they were equal to all others and too bad they had to exit, but they were going home without shame.

Group F. England, Holland, Republic of Ireland, Egypt
England

Head coach: Bobby Robson
No.
Pos.
Player
Date of birth (age)
Caps
Club
1
GK
Peter Shilton
18 September 1949 (aged 40)
118
Derby County
2
DF
Gary Stevens
27 March 1963 (aged 27)
39
Rangers
3
DF
Stuart Pearce
24 April 1962 (aged 28)
24
Nottingham Forest
4
MF
Neil Webb
30 July 1963 (aged 26)
19
Manchester United
5
DF
Des Walker
26 November 1965 (aged 24)
18
Nottingham Forest
6
DF
Terry Butcher
28 December 1958 (aged 31)
72
Rangers
7
MF
Bryan Robson (c)
11 January 1957 (aged 33)
85
Manchester United
8
MF
Chris Waddle
14 December 1960 (aged 29)
52
Marseille
9
FW
Peter Beardsley
18 January 1961 (aged 29)
40
Liverpool
10
FW
Gary Lineker
30 November 1960 (aged 29)
51
Tottenham Hotspur
11
MF
John Barnes
7 November 1963 (aged 26)
53
Liverpool
12
DF
Paul Parker
4 April 1964 (aged 26)
5
Queens Park Rangers
13
GK
Chris Woods
14 November 1959 (aged 30)
16
Rangers
14
DF
Mark Wright
1 August 1963 (aged 26)
24
Derby County
15
DF
Tony Dorigo
31 December 1965 (aged 24)
3
Chelsea
16
MF
Steve McMahon
20 August 1961 (aged 28)
12
Liverpool
17
MF
David Platt
10 June 1966 (aged 23)
5
Aston Villa
18
MF
Steve Hodge
25 October 1962 (aged 27)
22
Nottingham Forest
19
MF
Paul Gascoigne
27 May 1967 (aged 23)
11
Tottenham Hotspur
20
MF
Trevor Steven
21 September 1963 (aged 26)
26
Rangers
21
FW
Steve Bull
28 March 1965 (aged 25)
7
Wolverhampton Wanderers
22
GK
David Seaman*
19 September 1963 (aged 26)
3
Queens Park Rangers
No.
Pos.
Player
Date of birth (age)
Caps
Club

22
GK
Dave Beasant
20 March 1959 (aged 31)
2
Chelsea

* David Seaman was originally selected, but after the first game in Italy, he had to pull out of the squad due to a thumb injury and was replaced by Dave Beasant.
Group F deserved to be called ‘the group of death’ not only because this was not a group with one big favourite, but two, but largely because of the specifics of the participants. England could be seen as the best candidate for top place largely because of the internal frictions in the Dutch team. Bobby Robson was not only coach with massive reputation, but also considered the best man for the job in England and he had all best players at his disposal. The late injury of David Seaman was not a problem – not only because England used the new regulation of FIFA permitting to replace injured player after the team selections were officially submitted, but largely because Seaman was a mere third choice and Shilton, nearing his 41st birthday, was undisputed starter. High expectations in England, but outside it… the English national team lost edge long ago and was not seen as a prime candidate for the title. Opinions were cautious and skeptical and Robson somewhat concurred with his statement that there was never before so many equal teams at the finals and anybody could win, hard to predict.
Netherlands

Head coach: Leo Beenhakker
No.
Pos.
Player
Date of birth (age)
Caps
Club
1
GK
Hans van Breukelen
4 October 1956 (aged 33)
52
PSV
2
DF
Berry van Aerle
8 December 1962 (aged 27)
22
PSV
3
MF
Frank Rijkaard
30 September 1962 (aged 27)
42
Milan
4
DF
Ronald Koeman
21 March 1963 (aged 27)
43
Barcelona
5
DF
Adri van Tiggelen
16 June 1957 (aged 32)
40
Anderlecht
6
MF
Jan Wouters
17 July 1960 (aged 29)
30
Ajax
7
MF
Erwin Koeman
20 September 1961 (aged 28)
23
Mechelen
8
MF
Gerald Vanenburg
5 March 1964 (aged 26)
36
PSV
9
FW
Marco van Basten
31 October 1964 (aged 25)
35
Milan
10
MF
Ruud Gullit (c)
1 September 1962 (aged 27)
44
Milan
11
MF
Richard Witschge
20 September 1969 (aged 20)
4
Ajax
12
FW
Wim Kieft
12 November 1962 (aged 27)
27
PSV
13
DF
Graeme Rutjes
26 March 1960 (aged 30)
7
Mechelen
14
FW
John van ‘t Schip
30 November 1963 (aged 26)
22
Ajax
15
FW
Bryan Roy
12 February 1970 (aged 20)
2
Ajax
16
GK
Joop Hiele
25 December 1958 (aged 31)
6
Feyenoord
17
FW
Hans Gillhaus
5 November 1963 (aged 26)
2
Aberdeen
18
DF
Henk Fraser
7 July 1966 (aged 23)
2
Roda JC
19
FW
John van Loen
4 February 1965 (aged 25)
6
Roda JC
20
MF
Aron Winter
1 March 1967 (aged 23)
11
Ajax
21
DF
Danny Blind
1 August 1961 (aged 28)
5
Ajax
22
GK
Stanley Menzo
15 October 1963 (aged 26)
1
Ajax
The reasons the reigning European champions were somewhat less likely to top the group were the following: yes, Holland had had the best core of mega-stars among all finalists (Gullit-vanBasten-Rijkard-Ronald Koeman), surrounded by fantasticly talented teammates, but… on one hand, the internal tremors and scandals. The coach was replaced in the last minute, but Beenhakker was not ready-made solution – Gullit had problem with him, which poisoned the atmosphere. Himself, Gullit was not at its best and the same could be said for the other mega-stars, coming tired from grueling Italian and Spanish championships and European tournaments. The opponents in the group were another challenge – the Dutch had traditional respect for British football, seeing themselves as inferior, which made playing against British team always problematic and this time they had not one, but two British opponents. Nobody seriously thought the Dutch could be knocked down in the first round of the finals, but most likely they would finish second and with lots of sweat. However, the ironic words of Cruijff eventually proved prophetic – he said something like ‘they wriggle sensing disastrous failure’, which at first looked like his usual jab at the Dutch Federation, but as the championship progressed…
Republic of Ireland

Head coach:  Jack Charlton
No.
Pos.
Player
Date of birth (age)
Caps
Club
1
GK
Pat Bonner
24 May 1960 (aged 30)
38
Celtic
2
DF
Chris Morris
24 December 1963 (aged 26)
21
Celtic
3
DF
Steve Staunton
19 January 1969 (aged 21)
13
Liverpool
4
DF
Mick McCarthy (c)
7 February 1959 (aged 31)
42
Millwall
5
DF
Kevin Moran
29 April 1956 (aged 34)
55
Blackburn Rovers
6
MF
Ronnie Whelan
25 September 1961 (aged 28)
38
Liverpool
7
DF
Paul McGrath
4 December 1959 (aged 30)
36
Aston Villa
8
MF
Ray Houghton
9 January 1962 (aged 28)
29
Liverpool
9
FW
John Aldridge
18 September 1958 (aged 31)
30
Real Sociedad
10
FW
Tony Cascarino
1 September 1962 (aged 27)
21
Aston Villa
11
MF
Kevin Sheedy
21 October 1959 (aged 30)
28
Everton
12
DF
David O’Leary
2 May 1958 (aged 32)
51
Arsenal
13
MF
Andy Townsend
23 July 1963 (aged 26)
12
Norwich City
14
DF
Chris Hughton
11 December 1958 (aged 31)
50
Tottenham Hotspur
15
FW
Bernie Slaven
13 November 1960 (aged 29)
4
Middlesbrough
16
MF
John Sheridan
1 October 1964 (aged 25)
8
Sheffield Wednesday
17
FW
Niall Quinn*
6 October 1966 (aged 23)
15
Manchester City
18
FW
Frank Stapleton
10 July 1956 (aged 33)
71
Blackburn Rovers
19
FW
David Kelly
25 November 1965 (aged 24)
6
Leicester City
20
FW
John Byrne
1 February 1961 (aged 29)
19
Le Havre
21
MF
Alan McLoughlin
20 April 1967 (aged 23)
1
Swindon Town
22
GK
Gerry Peyton
20 May 1956 (aged 34)
28
Bournemouth
* Niall Quinn was registered as Ireland’s third goalkeeper
A team admired not for skills, but for spirit and after their brave performance at the 1988 European finals, the team was on a roll. It was expected not to disappoint, but to finish third anyway. Jack Charlton repeatedly said that motivation was not his concern – the Irish always gave their best and having England to play against was enough motivation. Skills were also not a concern – Charlton knew very well that he had a team with limited abilities and did not even thing of creating some fancy schemes. He only wanted the boys to do what they could and to press their opponents away from the Irish net. Simple concept, but realistic one. As a curious note, the Irish team was the only one at the finals with 2 goalkeepers – normally, every coach got the fear of some terrible injuries and took three keepers to the finals, but the new FIFA rule permitted late changes in the team lists, so why still keeping three keepers? Colombia listed just 2 keepers, but Charlton went outdid them by listing striker Niall Quinn as eventual third goalie. And why not? He had Irish at his hand – not particularly skillful players, but spirited enough to play at any position.
Egypt

Head coach: Mahmoud Al-Gohari
No.
Pos.
Player
Date of birth (age)
Caps
Club
1
GK
Ahmed Shobair
28 September 1960 (aged 29)
52
Al Ahly
2
DF
Ibrahim Hassan
10 August 1966 (aged 23)
45
Al Ahly
3
DF
Rabie Yassin
7 September 1960 (aged 29)
81
Al Ahly
4
DF
Hany Ramzy
10 March 1969 (aged 21)
28
Al Ahly
5
DF
Hesham Yakan
10 August 1962 (aged 27)
35
Zamalek
6
DF
Ashraf Kasem
25 July 1966 (aged 23)
38
Zamalek
7
MF
Ismail Youssef
28 June 1964 (aged 25)
29
Zamalek
8
MF
Magdi Abdelghani
27 July 1959 (aged 30)
N/A
Beira-Mar
9
FW
Hossam Hassan
10 August 1966 (aged 23)
49
Al Ahly
10
MF
Gamal Abdel-Hamid (c)
24 November 1957 (aged 32)
76
Zamalek
11
MF
Tarek Soliman
24 January 1962 (aged 28)
N/A
Al-Masry
12
MF
Taher Abouzeid
10 April 1962 (aged 28)
57
Al Ahly
13
DF
Ahmed Ramzy
25 October 1965 (aged 24)
27
Zamalek
14
MF
Alaa Maihoub
19 January 1963 (aged 27)
N/A
Al Ahly
15
MF
Saber Eid
1 May 1959 (aged 31)
N/A
Ghazl El-Mehalla
16
MF
Magdy Tolba
24 February 1964 (aged 26)
N/A
PAOK
17
FW
Ayman Shawky
9 December 1962 (aged 27)
N/A
Al Ahly
18
MF
Osama Orabi
22 January 1962 (aged 28)
N/A
Al Ahly
19
FW
Adel Abdel Rahman
11 December 1967 (aged 22)
N/A
Al Ahly
20
FW
Ahmed El-Kass
8 July 1965 (aged 24)
42
El-Olympi Alexandria
21
GK
Ayman Taher
7 January 1966 (aged 24)
N/A
Zamalek
22
GK
Thabet El-Batal
16 September 1953 (aged 36)
87
Al Ahly
The outsiders took the World Cup so seriously, they almost missed it. Long training camps were nothing new when World Cup preparations went and national teams often took precedence over clubs and even domestic schedules, but Egypt outdid everything done to this time: in the interest of the national team the domestic championship was canceled and Egypt decided to withdraw from the African championship finals, taking place in the spring before the World Cup. Algeria, hosting the African finas, took issue with the Egyptian idea and complained to FIFA. FIFA ruled out that if Egypt did not appear at the African finals, they will be expelled from the World Cup finals. Egypt sent its second team to Algeria and continued to prepare its bests for the World Cup. From aside, Egypt was unknown team with unknown coach, but African football vastly developed during the 1980s, so they were not taken as hopeless punchbag for the others – it was considered that team Egypt will put some fight and go home after a brave, but losing first round.

Group E.
12.06.90 (17.00) Verona, Stadio Marc Antonio Bentegodi

BEL – KOR 2:0 (0:0)

(~33000) Mauro USA, Courtney ENG, Snoddy NIR

BEL: Preud’homme – Gerets (c), Clijsters, Demol, de Wolf – Versavel,
F.van der Elst, Scifo, Degryse – Emmers, Van der Linden (46 Ceulemans)
KOR: Choi In-young – Hong Myung-bo, Gu Sang-bum, Choi Kang-hee, Chung
Young-hwang (c) – Park Kyung-joon, Noh Soo-jin (64 Lee Tae-ho), Kim Joo-sung,
Lee Young-jin (46 Cho Min-kook) – Hwang Seon-hong, Choi Soon-ho

1:0 Degryse 53, 2:0 de Wolf 64

booked: Choi Soon-ho

13.06.90 (17.00) Udine, Stadio Friuli

ESP – URU 0:0

(-36000) Kohl AUT, Spirin ZSR, Kirschen DDR

ESP: Zubizarreta – Chendo, Andrinúa, Sanchis, Jimenez – Michel,
Roberto, Villaroya (79 Rafa Paz), Vazquez – Butragueño (c), Manolo (79
Gorriz)
URU: Alvez – J.O.Herrera, Gutiérrez, de Leon, Dominguez – Perdomo,
Paz, Francescoli (c), Ruben Pereira (68 Correa) – Alzamendi (65 Aguilera),
Sosa

(73 Sosa missed penalty)

booked: Jimenez, Villaroya / Perdomo, Francescoli

17.06.90 (21.00) Udine, Stadio Friuli

ESP – KOR 3:1 (1:1)

(-33000) Jacome ECU, Loustau ARG, Magni ITA

ESP: Zubizarreta – Chendo, Andrinúa, Sanchis, Roberto (81 Bakero) –
Villaroya, Vázquez, Gorris – Butragueño (c – 77 Gómez), Michel, Salinas
KOR: Choi In-young – Hong Myung-bo, Gu Sang-bum, Choi Kang-hee (70
Chung Soo-jin), Yoon Deuk-yeo, Park Kyung-joon, Chong Hae-won (53 Noh Soo-jin),
Kim Joo-sung, Hwang Bo-kwan – Byun Byung-joo, Choi Soon-ho

1:0 Michel 22, 1:1 Hwang Bo-kwan 42, 2:1 Michel 61 f, 3:1 Michel 81

booked: Chung Hae-won, Yoon Deuk-yeo, Hwang Bo-kwan

17.06.90 (21.00) Verona, Stadio Marc Antonio Bentegodi

BEL – URU 3:1 (2:0)

(-34000) Kirschen DDR, Mikkelsen DAN, Spirin ZSR

BEL: Preud’homme – Gerets, Grün, Clijsters (46 Emmers), Demol – de
Wolf, Versavel (68 Vervoort), F.van der Elst, Scifo – Degryse, Ceulemans (c)
URU: Alvez – J.O.Herrera, Gutiérrez, de Leon, Dominguez – Perdomo,
Francescoli (c), Paz, Ostolaza (56 Bengoechea) – Alzamendi (46 Aguilera),
Sosa

1:0 Clijsters 16 h, 2:0 Scifo 22, 3:0 Ceulemans 48, 3:1 Bengoechea 74

booked: Gerets / Sosa
sent off: Gerets (41)

21.06.90 (17.00) Verona, Stadio Marc Antonio Bentegodi

ESP – BEL 2:1 (2:1)

(-36000) Loustau ARG, Macial PAR, Mauro USA

ESP: Zubizarreta – Chendo, Andrinúa, Sanchis, Roberto – Villaroya,
Vázquez, Gorriz – Butragueño (c – 61 Alkorta), Michel, Salinas (89
Pardeza)
BEL: Preud’homme – Staelens (79 Van der Linden), Albert, Emmers
(32 Plovie), Demol – de Wolf, Vervoort, F.van der Elst, Scifo – Degryse,
Ceulemans (c)

1:0 Michel 20 p, 1:1 Vervoort 28 f, 2:1 Gorriz 37 h (59 Scifo missed
penalty)

21.06.90 (17.00) Udine, Stadio Friuli

URU – KOR 1:0 (0:0)

(+29000) Lanese ITA, Diramba GAB, Jonini TUN

URU: Alvez – J.O.Herrera, Gutiérrez, de Leon, Dominguez – Perdomo,
Francescoli (c), Paz, Ostolaza (46 Aguilera), Martinez, Sosa (64 Fonseca)
KOR: Choi In-young – Hong Myung-bo, Choi Kang-hee, Yoon Deuk-yeo, Park
Kyung-joon – Lee Heung-sil, Kim Joo-sung, Chung Jong-soo, Hwang Bo-kwan (83
Chung Hae-won) – Byun Byung-joo (43 Hwang Seon-hong), Choi Soon-ho

1:0 Fonseca 90 h

booked: Ostolaza, Herrera / Lee Heung-sil, Choi Kwang-heo
sent off: Yoon Deuk-yeo (70)

1. ESP^ 3 2 1 0 5 5-2
2. BEL^ 3 2 0 1 4 6-3
3. URU^ 3 1 1 1 3 2-3
4. KOR 3 0 0 3 0 1-6
Expectations fulfilled, including those of the top three teams – they qualified to the next stage. However, there was no team which excelled and looked like going all the way the final of the tournament.

Group E. Spain, Belgium, Uruguay, South Korea.
Spain

Head coach: Luis Suárez
No.
Pos.
Player
Date of birth (age)
Caps
Club
1
GK
Andoni Zubizarreta
23 October 1961 (aged 28)
49
Barcelona
2
DF
Chendo
12 October 1961 (aged 28)
22
Real Madrid
3
DF
Manuel Jiménez
21 January 1964 (aged 26)
13
Sevilla
4
DF
Genar Andrinúa
9 May 1964 (aged 26)
24
Athletic Bilbao
5
DF
Manuel Sanchís
23 May 1965 (aged 25)
30
Real Madrid
6
MF
Rafael Martín Vázquez
25 September 1965 (aged 24)
22
Real Madrid
7
FW
Miguel Pardeza
8 February 1965 (aged 25)
4
Real Zaragoza
8
DF
Quique Sánchez Flores
2 February 1965 (aged 25)
11
Valencia
9
FW
Emilio Butragueño (c)
22 July 1963 (aged 26)
49
Real Madrid
10
MF
Fernando
11 September 1965 (aged 24)
2
Valencia
11
MF
Francisco Villarroya
6 August 1966 (aged 23)
7
Real Zaragoza
12
DF
Rafael Alkorta
16 September 1968 (aged 21)
1
Athletic Bilbao
13
GK
Juan Carlos Ablanedo
2 September 1963 (aged 26)
2
Sporting Gijón
14
DF
Alberto Górriz
16 February 1958 (aged 32)
8
Real Sociedad
15
MF
Roberto
5 July 1962 (aged 27)
22
Barcelona
16
MF
José Mari Bakero
11 February 1963 (aged 27)
11
Barcelona
17
MF
Fernando Hierro
23 March 1968 (aged 22)
2
Real Madrid
18
MF
Rafael Paz
2 August 1965 (aged 24)
3
Sevilla
19
FW
Julio Salinas
11 September 1962 (aged 27)
26
Barcelona
20
FW
Manolo
17 January 1965 (aged 25)
13
Atlético Madrid
21
MF
Míchel
23 March 1963 (aged 27)
44
Real Madrid
22
GK
José Manuel Ochotorena
16 January 1961 (aged 29)
1
Valencia
Hard to predict group, but with some reservations and if anything did not go wrong, Spain was the likeliest candidate for the 1st place. Tough and experienced team, hard to beat and, in a good day, lethal in attack. It was not that some great football was expected by the Spaniards, but the make of the group – every team was a fighter and that was environment suitable to team Spain. Then again, Spain most often failed to fulfill expectations.
Belgium

Head coach: Guy Thys
No.
Pos.
Player
Date of birth (age)
Caps

Club
1
GK
Michel Preud’homme
24 January 1959 (aged 31)
23
Mechelen
2
DF
Eric Gerets
18 May 1954 (aged 36)
80
PSV
3
DF
Philippe Albert
10 August 1967 (aged 22)
7
Mechelen
4
DF
Lei Clijsters
6 November 1956 (aged 33)
36
Mechelen
5
MF
Bruno Versavel
27 August 1967 (aged 22)
14
Mechelen
6
MF
Marc Emmers
25 February 1966 (aged 24)
16
Mechelen
7
DF
Stéphane Demol
11 March 1966 (aged 24)
29
Porto
8
MF
Franky Van der Elst
30 April 1961 (aged 29)
37
Club Brugge
9
FW
Marc Degryse
4 September 1965 (aged 24)
24
Anderlecht
10
MF
Enzo Scifo
19 February 1966 (aged 24)
39
Auxerre
11
MF
Jan Ceulemans (c)
28 February 1957 (aged 33)
88
Club Brugge
12
GK
Gilbert Bodart
2 September 1962 (aged 27)
5
Standard Liège
13
DF
Georges Grün
25 January 1962 (aged 28)
47
Anderlecht
14
FW
Nico Claesen
7 October 1962 (aged 27)
35
Royal Antwerp
15
DF
Jean-François De Sart
18 December 1961 (aged 28)
3
FC Liège
16
DF
Michel De Wolf
19 January 1958 (aged 32)
27
Kortrijk
17
DF
Pascal Plovie
7 May 1965 (aged 25)
2
Club Brugge
18
MF
Lorenzo Staelens
30 April 1964 (aged 26)
1
Club Brugge
19
FW
Marc Van Der Linden
4 February 1964 (aged 26)
17
Anderlecht
20
GK
Filip De Wilde
5 July 1964 (aged 25)
2
Anderlecht
21
MF
Marc Wilmots
22 February 1969 (aged 21)
2
Mechelen
22
MF
Patrick Vervoort
17 January 1965 (aged 25)
27
Anderlecht
Troubles put behind, Belgium had strong points – old master at the helm, well known sturdy stars and plenty of experience. Tradition also favoured them – as a rule, the Belgians played well at finals. However, the strength of the team was also its weakness: the key figures were getting too old and there was no new talent equaling the old feet. Only Enzo Scifo, who was already well known, but he was practically the only great young player. So, Belgium could finish even first, but also third.
Uruguay

Head coach: Óscar Tabárez
No.
Pos.
Player
Date of birth (age)
Caps

Club
1
GK
Fernando Álvez
4 September 1959 (aged 30)
15
Peñarol
2
DF
Nelson Gutiérrez
13 April 1962 (aged 28)
53
Hellas Verona
3
DF
Hugo de León
27 February 1958 (aged 32)
44
River Plate
4
DF
José Oscar Herrera
17 June 1965 (aged 24)
27
Figueres
5
MF
José Perdomo
5 January 1965 (aged 25)
23
Genoa
6
DF
Alfonso Domínguez
24 September 1965 (aged 24)
27
Peñarol
7
FW
Antonio Alzamendi
7 June 1956 (aged 34)
28
Logroñés
8
MF
Santiago Ostolaza
10 July 1962 (aged 27)
25
Cruz Azul
9
MF
Enzo Francescoli (c)
12 November 1961 (aged 28)
42
Marseille
10
MF
Rubén Paz
8 August 1959 (aged 30)
42
Genoa
11
FW
Rubén Sosa
25 April 1966 (aged 24)
27
Lazio
12
GK
Eduardo Pereira
21 March 1954 (aged 36)
10
Independiente
13
DF
Daniel Revelez
30 September 1959 (aged 30)
12
Nacional
14
DF
José Pintos Saldanha
25 March 1964 (aged 26)
9
Nacional
15
MF
Gabriel Correa
13 January 1968 (aged 22)
18
Peñarol
16
MF
Pablo Bengoechea
27 June 1965 (aged 24)
17
Sevilla
17
FW
Sergio Martínez
15 February 1969 (aged 21)
14
Defensor Sporting
18
FW
Carlos Aguilera
21 September 1964 (aged 25)
50
Genoa
19
FW
Daniel Fonseca
13 September 1969 (aged 20)
4
Nacional
20
MF
Ruben Pereira
28 January 1968 (aged 22)
18
Danubio
21
MF
William Castro
22 May 1962 (aged 28)
8
Nacional
22
GK
Javier Zeoli
2 May 1962 (aged 28)
14
Danubio
Uruguay was expected – or rather wished – to finish 3rd and go home. Their ugly performance at the 1986 World Cup was not forgotten at all and it was easy to pile up negative points on such a base: Oscar Tabarez was still unknown coach, so little was expected from him and there were big doubts that he will change Uruguayan attitudes – after all, his promise to make team Uruguay more attractive were hard to trust, for he was talking in the same time of strong defense and fighting spirit and everybody remembered what that meant in 1986. And since the players were pretty much the same… Uruguay had small pool of players, so like it or not, coach’s options were limited, but the big stars were getting old (Francescoli was already 30 years old, Alzamendi – 34, De Leon – 32, Paz – 30) and there was no new exciting talent. With some luck Uruguay may finish second, most likely and wished – third.
South Korea

Head coach:  Lee Hoe-taik
No.
Pos.
Player
Date of birth (age)
Caps
Club
1
GK
Kim Poong-joo
1 October 1961 (aged 28)
N/A
Daewoo Royals
2
DF
Park Kyung-hoon
19 January 1961 (aged 29)
N/A
POSCO Atoms
3
DF
Choi Kang-hee
12 April 1959 (aged 31)
N/A
Hyundai Horangi
4
DF
Yoon Deok-yeo
25 March 1961 (aged 29)
N/A
Hyundai Horangi
5
DF
Chung Yong-hwan (c)
10 February 1960 (aged 30)
N/A
Daewoo Royals
6
FW
Lee Tae-ho
29 January 1961 (aged 29)
N/A
Daewoo Royals
7
MF
Noh Soo-jin
10 February 1962 (aged 28)
N/A
Yukong Elephants
8
FW
Chung Hae-won
1 July 1959 (aged 30)
N/A
Daewoo Royals
9
MF
Hwangbo Kwan
1 March 1965 (aged 25)
N/A
Yukong Elephants
10
FW
Lee Sang-yoon
10 April 1969 (aged 21)
N/A
Ilhwa Chunma
11
FW
Byun Byung-joo
26 April 1961 (aged 29)
N/A
Hyundai Horangi
12
MF
Lee Heung-sil
10 July 1961 (aged 28)
N/A
POSCO Atoms
13
DF
Chung Jong-soo
27 March 1961 (aged 29)
N/A
Hyundai Horangi
14
FW
Choi Soon-ho
10 January 1962 (aged 28)
76
Lucky-Goldstar Hwangso
15
DF
Cho Min-kook
5 July 1963 (aged 26)
N/A
Lucky-Goldstar Hwangso
16
MF
Kim Joo-sung
17 January 1966 (aged 24)
N/A
Daewoo Royals
17
DF
Gu Sang-bum
15 June 1964 (aged 25)
N/A
Lucky-Goldstar Hwangso
18
FW
Hwang Sun-hong
14 July 1968 (aged 21)
N/A
Konkuk University
19
GK
Jeong Gi-dong
13 May 1961 (aged 29)
N/A
POSCO Atoms
20
DF
Hong Myung-bo
12 February 1969 (aged 21)
4
Korea University
21
GK
Choi In-young
5 March 1962 (aged 28)
N/A
Hyundai Horangi
22
MF
Lee Young-jin
27 October 1963 (aged 26)
N/A
Lucky-Goldstar Hwangso
By now South Korea was taken seriously – the strongest Asian team, good developing program, familiarity with World Cup finals, in which the Koreans already became regular participants. It was the make of the group working against them – in a group of physically strong and fearless fighters individual talent seemed decisive and unlike the other teams, South Korea had strong collective, but no outstanding star. Only miracle – collective failure of all other teams – could propel them to higher position. South Koreans were expected to be difficult opponent, to fight every game to the last second, and to finish last.

Group D.

09.06.90 (17.00) Bologna, Stadio Renato Dall’Ara

COL – EMI 2:0 (0:0)

(+30000) Courtney ENG, Snoddy NIR, Takada JAP

COL: Higuita – A.Herrera, Perea, Escobar, Gomez Monsalvez – Alvarez,
Gomez Jaramildo, Valderrama (c), Redin – Iguaran (78 Estrada), Rincon
ZEA: Faraj – E.M.Abdulrahman (52 Ali Sultan), I.M.Abdulrahman, Mohammed,
K.G.Mubarak, Abdullah, N.K.Mubarak, Abbas, Jumaa – F.K.Mubarak (c – 52 Bilal),
Al Talyani

1:0 Redin 50 h, 2:0 Valderrama 86

booked: N.K.Mubarak, Mohammed, I.M.Abdulrahman

10.06.90 (21.00) Milano, Stadio Giuseppe Meazza (San Siro)

GER – JUG 4:1 (2:0)

(~75000) Mikkelsen DAN, Listkiewicz POL, Mandi BHR

GER: Illgner – Reuter, Brehme, Augenthaler, Buchwald – Berthold,
Hässler (75 Möller), Matthäus (c), Bein (75 Littbarski) – Völler, Klinsmann
JUG: Ivković, Spasić, Vulić, Hadžibegić, Jozić, Sušić (56 Prosinečki),
Baljić, Stojković, Katanec, Zl.Vujović, Savičević (56 D.Brnović)

1:0 Matthäus 29, 2:0 Klinsmann 39 h, 2:1 Jozić 55 h, 3:1 Matthäus 65,
4:1 Völler 71

booked: Brehme

14.06.90 (17.00) Bologna, Stadio Renato Dall’Ara

JUG – COL 1:0 (0:0)

(+32000) Agnolin ITA, Diramba GAB, Jonini TUN

JUG: Ivković – Spasić, Stanojković, Hadžibegić, Jozić – Susić,
Stojković, Šabanadžović, Katanec (46 Jarni) – Zl.Vujović (c – 55 Pančev),
D.Brnović
COL: Higuita – A.Herrera, Perea, Escobar, Gómez Monsalvez – Alvarez,
Gómez Jaramillo, Valderrama (c), Redin (81 Estrada) – Iguaran, Rincón
(70 Hernández)

1:0 Jozić 75 (81 Higuita saved a penalty by Hadžibegić)

booked: Stojković

15.06.90 (21.00) Milano, Stadio Giuseppe Meazza (San Siro)

GER – EMI 5:1 (2:0)

(+71000) Spirin ZSR, Pairetto ITA, Takada JAP

GER: Illgner – Reuter, Brehme, Augenthaler, Buchwald – Berthold
(46 Littbarski), Hässler, Matthäus (c), Bein, Völler, Klinsmann (73 Riedle)
EMI: Faraj – E.M.Abdulrahman, I.M.Abdulrahman (84 Al Haddan), Y.H.Mohammed,
K.G.Mubarak, Abdullah (c), N.K.Mubarak, Abbas, K.I.Mubarak (81 Hussain) –
Jumaa, Al Talyani

1:0 Völler 35, 2:0 Klinsmann 36 h, 2:1 K.M.Mubarak 46, 3:1 Matthäus 47, 4:1
Bein 59, 5:1 Völler 75 h

booked: Brehme / Mohammed, Abbas

19.06.90 (17.00) Milano, Stadio Giuseppe Meazza (San Siro)

COL – GER 1:1 (0:0)

(+72000) Snoddy NIR, Mandi SRI, Lanese ITA

COL: Higuita – A.Herrera, Perea, Escobar, Gómez Monsalvez, Alvarez,
Gómez Jaramillo, Valderrama (c), Fajardo – Estrada, Rincón
GER: Illgner – Reuter, Pflügler, Augenthaler, Buchwald – Berthold,
Hässler (88 Thon), Matthäus (c), Bein (46 Littbarski) – Völler, Klinsmann

0:1 Littbarski 88, 1:1 Rincón 90
+

booked: Herrera, Gómez Jaramillo, Alvarez / Berthold

19.06.90 (17.00) Bologna, Stadio Renato Dall’Ara

JUG – EMI 4:1 (2:1)

(-28000) Takada JAP, Mikkelsen DAN, Vautrot FRA

JUG: Ivković – Spasić, Stanojković, Hadžibegić, Jozić – Sušić, Stojković,
Pančev, Zl.Vujović (c – 70 Vulić) – D.Brnović, Šabanadžović (79 Prosinečki)
EMI: Faraj – E.M.Abdulrahman, I.M.Abdulrahman, Al Haddad, K.G.Mubarak –
N.K.Mubarak (36 Ali Sultan), Abbas, Abudllah (c) – Jumaa (46 F.K.Mubarak),
Al Talyani, K.I.Mubarak

1:0 Sušić 8 h, 2:0 Pančev 9, 2:1 Jumaa 23 h, 3:1 Pančev 46, 4:1 Prosinečki
90

booked: D.Brnović, Šabadžanović, Pančev / K.G.Mubarak
sent off: K.G.Mubarak (76)

1. GER^ 3 2 1 0 5 10-3
2. JUG^ 3 2 0 1 4 6-5
3. COL^ 3 1 1 1 3 3-2
4. EMI 3 0 0 3 0 2-11
The group ended according to predictions. The Germans won comfortably, but their football was not convincing. If anything, Matthaus was praised as strong leader of the team – particularly by Paul Breitner, now a commentator. It was long wait, though – Matthaus was already 29 years old and compared to earlier leaders, including Breitner, he ‘matured’ very slowly. Yugoslavia had its moments, but that was that… moments. Colombia did well – they finished 3rd, but went ahead with their 3 points, which was practically a success. UAE played well for an outsider and as a typical outsider lost all games.

Group D. West Germany, Yugoslavia, Colombia, United Arab Emirates.
West Germany

Head coach: Franz Beckenbauer
No.
Pos.
Player
Date of birth (age)
Caps
Club
1
GK
Bodo Illgner
7 April 1967 (aged 23)
15
1. FC Köln
2
DF
Stefan Reuter
16 October 1966 (aged 23)
16
Bayern Munich
3
DF
Andreas Brehme
9 November 1960 (aged 29)
51
Internazionale
4
DF
Jürgen Kohler
6 October 1965 (aged 24)
27
Bayern Munich
5
DF
Klaus Augenthaler
26 September 1957 (aged 32)
20
Bayern Munich
6
DF
Guido Buchwald
24 January 1961 (aged 29)
32
VfB Stuttgart
7
MF
Pierre Littbarski
16 April 1960 (aged 30)
67
1. FC Köln
8
MF
Thomas Häßler
30 May 1966 (aged 24)
12
1. FC Köln
9
FW
Rudi Völler
13 April 1960 (aged 30)
63
Roma
10
MF
Lothar Matthäus (c)
21 March 1961 (aged 29)
74
Internazionale
11
FW
Frank Mill
23 July 1958 (aged 31)
17
Borussia Dortmund
12
GK
Raimond Aumann
12 October 1963 (aged 26)
3
Bayern Munich
13
FW
Karl-Heinz Riedle
16 September 1965 (aged 24)
6
Werder Bremen
14
DF
Thomas Berthold
12 November 1964 (aged 25)
35
Roma
15
MF
Uwe Bein
26 September 1960 (aged 29)
6
Eintracht Frankfurt
16
DF
Paul Steiner
23 January 1957 (aged 33)
1
1. FC Köln
17
MF
Andreas Möller
2 September 1967 (aged 22)
10
Borussia Dortmund
18
FW
Jürgen Klinsmann
30 July 1964 (aged 25)
18
Internazionale
19
DF
Hans Pflügler
27 March 1960 (aged 30)
10
Bayern Munich
20
MF
Olaf Thon
1 May 1966 (aged 24)
33
Bayern Munich
21
MF
Günter Hermann
5 December 1960 (aged 29)
2
Werder Bremen
22
GK
Andreas Köpke
12 March 1962 (aged 28)
1
1. FC Nürnberg
Easy group for West Germany, which was also one of the biggest favourites at the finals. The team improved considerably after the 1988 fiasco, although its most formidable line was defense – even Beckenbauer was trumpeting this and there were observers going as far as to claim it the best ever defensive line. Strong and experienced team, but below the surface… first of all, Beckenbauer already announced that he was stepping down after the finals and his assistant Berti Vogts was to become the German head coach. Looked like more as a precaution against failure than anything else – 1988 was not really forgotten and if the team failed again… Which was quite possible, for the selection was practically limited to 16 players and behind the famous stars… one just have to take a look at the reserves: Raymond Aumann, Paul Steiner, Gunter Hermann… it was clear as day that they will never play a minute. And the team was getting older – 12 player over 28 and most interestingly was the already mentioned additions were ancient as well: Steiner was 33 years old, Hermann – 29. Looked like there was no enough young talent in the country and Beckenbauer had to look among the veterans. West Germany, which was not even sure under what name will go after the unification, was favourite as ever, but it was quite doubtful they will win the championship.
Yugoslavia

Head coach: Ivica Osim
No.
Pos.
Player
Date of birth (age)
Caps
Club
1
GK
Tomislav Ivković
11 August 1960 (aged 29)
26
Sporting CP
2
DF
Vujadin Stanojković
10 September 1963 (aged 26)
16
Partizan
3
DF
Predrag Spasić
13 May 1965 (aged 25)
18
Partizan
4
DF
Zoran Vulić
4 October 1961 (aged 28)
15
Mallorca
5
DF
Faruk Hadžibegić
7 October 1957 (aged 32)
45
Sochaux
6
DF
Davor Jozić
22 September 1960 (aged 29)
17
Cesena
7
MF
Dragoljub Brnović
2 November 1963 (aged 26)
20
Metz
8
MF
Safet Sušić
13 April 1955 (aged 35)
47
Paris Saint-Germain
9
FW
Darko Pančev
7 September 1965 (aged 24)
14
Red Star Belgrade
10
MF
Dragan Stojković
3 March 1965 (aged 25)
33
Red Star Belgrade
11
FW
Zlatko Vujović (c)
26 August 1958 (aged 31)
63
Paris Saint-Germain
12
GK
Fahrudin Omerović
26 August 1961 (aged 28)
0
Partizan
13
MF
Srečko Katanec
16 July 1963 (aged 26)
26
Sampdoria
14
FW
Alen Bokšić
21 January 1970 (aged 20)
0
Hajduk Split
15
MF
Robert Prosinečki
12 January 1969 (aged 21)
7
Red Star Belgrade
16
MF
Refik Šabanadžović
2 August 1965 (aged 24)
4
Red Star Belgrade
17
MF
Robert Jarni
26 October 1968 (aged 21)
1
Hajduk Split
18
DF
Mirsad Baljić
4 March 1962 (aged 28)
28
Sion
19
MF
Dejan Savićević
15 September 1966 (aged 23)
13
Red Star Belgrade
20
FW
Davor Šuker
1 January 1968 (aged 22)
0
Dinamo Zagreb
21
DF
Andrej Panadić
9 March 1969 (aged 21)
3
Dinamo Zagreb
22
GK
Dragoje Leković
21 November 1967 (aged 22)
3
Budućnost Titograd
Expected to finish second in the group. Big name coach and solid squad in which starred Dragan Stojkovic. Not exactly well balanced team, especially when compared with squads from the past, but there was fantastic young talent, which Osim did not hesitate to include in his selection: Jarni, Suker, Savicevic, Prosinecki, Boksic. Thus, the absence of the suspended Zvonimir Boban was no big deal, but the new talent was mostly strikers and that was the weakness of the team: too many bright attackers, not enough good defenders. That is, they were good, not great – except Katanec. Yugoslavia was expected to finish second in the group, but there was also caution – traditionally moody team, the Yugoslavs could easily and for no obvious reason fell apart.
Colombia

Head coach: Francisco Maturana
No.
Pos.
Player
Date of birth (age)
Caps
Club
1
GK
René Higuita
27 August 1966 (aged 23)
33
Atlético Nacional
2
DF
Andrés Escobar
13 March 1967 (aged 23)
N/A
Young Boys
3
DF
Gildardo Gómez
13 October 1963 (aged 26)
N/A
Atlético Nacional
4
DF
Luis Fernando Herrera
12 June 1962 (aged 27)
N/A
Atlético Nacional
5
MF
León Villa
12 January 1960 (aged 30)
N/A
Atlético Nacional
6
DF
José Ricardo Pérez
24 October 1963 (aged 26)
N/A
Atlético Nacional
7
FW
Carlos Estrada
1 November 1961 (aged 28)
N/A
Millonarios
8
MF
Gabriel Gómez
8 December 1959 (aged 30)
N/A
Independiente Medellín
9
FW
Miguel Guerrero
7 September 1967 (aged 22)
N/A
América de Cali
10
MF
Carlos Valderrama (c)
2 September 1961 (aged 28)
26
Montpellier
11
MF
Bernardo Redín
26 February 1963 (aged 27)
N/A
Deportivo Cali
12
GK
Eduardo Niño
8 August 1967 (aged 22)
N/A
Independiente Santa Fe
13
DF
Carlos Hoyos
28 February 1962 (aged 28)
24
Atlético Junior
14
MF
Leonel Álvarez
29 July 1965 (aged 24)
35
Atlético Nacional
15
DF
Luis Carlos Perea
29 December 1963 (aged 26)
33
Atlético Nacional
16
FW
Arnoldo Iguarán
18 January 1957 (aged 33)
58
Millonarios
17
DF
Geovanis Cassiani
10 January 1970 (aged 20)
N/A
Atlético Nacional
18
DF
Wílmer Cabrera
15 September 1967 (aged 22)
N/A
América de Cali
19
MF
Freddy Rincón
14 August 1966 (aged 23)
9
América de Cali
20
MF
Luis Fajardo
18 August 1963 (aged 26)
N/A
Atlético Nacional
21
DF
Alexis Mendoza
8 November 1961 (aged 28)
N/A
Atlético Junior
22
FW
Rubén Darío Hernández
19 February 1965 (aged 25)
N/A
Millonarios
Up and coming coach and team, but still unknown – except Valderrama and Higuita. It was just the second time Colombia reached World Cup finals and since the first time was well back in 1962, no wonder nobody was taking them very seriously: yes, they most likely will try their best and Valderrama was great force, but look at the others – all play in Colombia, except Valderrama and Escobar and even they were hardly much looked after players, but playing for small French and Swiss clubs. If Colombia finished second in the group, that could most likely be due to German and Yugoslav failures.
United Arab Emirates

Head coach:  Carlos Alberto Parreira

No.
Pos.
Player
Date of birth (age)
Caps
Club
1
GK
Abdullah Musa
2 March 1958 (aged 32)
N/A
Al-Ahli
2
DF
Khalil Ghanim
12 November 1964 (aged 25)
N/A
Al Khaleej Club
3
MF
Ali Thani Jumaa
18 August 1968 (aged 21)
N/A
Sharjah
4
DF
Mubarak Ghanim
3 September 1963 (aged 26)
N/A
Al Khaleej Club
5
MF
Abdualla Sultan
1 October 1963 (aged 26)
N/A
Al Khaleej Club
6
DF
Abdulrahman Mohamed
1 October 1963 (aged 26)
N/A
Al-Nasr
7
FW
Fahad Khamees (c)
24 January 1962 (aged 28)
N/A
Al-Wasl
8
MF
Khalid Ismaïl
7 July 1965 (aged 24)
N/A
Al-Nasr
9
FW
Abdulaziz Mohamed
12 December 1965 (aged 24)
N/A
Sharjah
10
FW
Adnan Al Talyani
30 October 1964 (aged 25)
N/A
Al Shaab
11
FW
Zuhair Bakheet
13 July 1967 (aged 22)
N/A
Al-Wasl
12
FW
Hussain Ghuloum
24 September 1969 (aged 20)
N/A
Sharjah
13
MF
Hassan Mohamed
23 August 1962 (aged 27)
N/A
Al-Wasl
14
MF
Nasir Khamees
2 August 1965 (aged 24)
N/A
Al-Wasl
15
DF
Ibrahim Meer
16 July 1967 (aged 22)
N/A
Sharjah
16
DF
Mohamed Salim
13 January 1968 (aged 22)
N/A
Al-Ahli
17
GK
Muhsin Musabah
1 October 1964 (aged 25)
N/A
Sharjah
18
MF
Fahad Abdulrahman
10 October 1962 (aged 27)
N/A
Al-Wasl
19
DF
Eissa Meer
16 July 1967 (aged 22)
N/A
Sharjah
20
DF
Yousuf Hussain
8 July 1965 (aged 24)
N/A
Sharjah
21
DF
Abdulrahman Al-Haddad
23 March 1966 (aged 24)
N/A
Sharjah
22
GK
Abdulqadir Hassan
15 April 1962 (aged 28)
N/A
Al Shabab
This was the weakest team among the finalists by consensus – perhaps not entirely incompetent and hopeless punchbag, but very weak. Yes, their coach was at his second World Cup finals and after coaching Kuwait he coached Brazil, but that was all. If another team decided to took it easy, UAE could get a point, but generally they were supposed to put a brave fight and lose.

Group C.
10.06.90 (21.00) Turin, Stadio Delle Alpi

BRA – SWE 2:1 (1:0)

(+62000) Lanese ITA, Jonini TUN, Vautrot FRA

BRA: Taffarel – Jorginho, Ricardo Gomes (c), Branco, Mozer – Mauro Galvão,
Dunga, Alemão, Valdo (88 Silas) – Careca, Müller
SWE: Ravelli – R.Nilsson (c), Larsson, Ljung (70 Strömberg), Schwarz –
Ingesson, Limpar, J.Nilsson, Thern – Brolin, Magnusson (46 Pettersson)

1:0 Careca 40, 2:0 Careca 63, 2:1 Brolin 79

booked: Mozer, Branco, Dunga / J.Nilsson

11.06.90 (17.00) Genoa, Stadio Luigi Ferraris

COS – SCO 1:0 (0:0)

(-31000) Loustau ARG, Jacome ECU, Mactet FRA

COS: Conejo – Flores (c), Gonzalez, Montero, Chavez – Chavarria, Ramirez,
Gómez, Cayasso – Marchena, C.Jara (87 Medford)
SCO: Leighton – Gough (46 McKimmie), McLeish, McPherson, Malpas – Aitken (c),
McStay, Bett (74 McCoist), McCall – Johnston, McInally

1:0 Cayasso 49

16.06.90 (17.00) Turin, Stadio Delle Alpi

BRA – COS 1:0 (1:0)

(+58000)
Jouini TUN, Mandi BHR, Diramba GAB

BRA: Taffarel – Jorginho, Ricardo Gomes (c), Branco, Mozer – Mauro Galvão,
Dunga, Alemão, Valdo (87 Silas) – Careca (84 Bebeto), Müller
COS: Conejo – Flores (c), Gonzalez, Montero, Chavez – Chavarria, Ramirez,
Gómez, Cayasso (78 Guimaráes) – Marchena, C.Jara (71 Myers)

1:0 Müller 33

booked: Jorginho, Mozer / C.Jara, Gómez

16.06.90 (21.00) Genoa, Stadio Luigi Ferraris

SCO – SWE 2:1 (1:0)

(-32000) Maciel PAR, Listkiewicz POL, Mauro USA

SCO: Leighton – Levein, MacLeod, McLeish, McPherson – Malpas, Aitken (c),
Durie (76 McStay), McCall – Johnston, Fleck (85 McCoist)
SWE: Ravelli – R.Nilsson, Larsson (76 Strömberg), Hysen (c), Schwarz –
Ingesson, Limpar, J.Nilsson, Thern – Brolin, Pettersson (53 Ekström)

1:0 McCall 10, 2:0 Johnston 80 p, 2:1 Strömberg 86

booked: McPherson / Thern

20.06.90 (21.00) Genoa, Stadio Luigi Ferraris

COS – SWE 2:1 (0:1)

(~30233) Petrović JUG, Courtney ENG, Snoddy NIR

COS: Conejo – Flores (c), González, Montero, Chavez – Chavarria
(76 Guimaráes), Ramirez, Gómez (60 Medford), Cayasso – Marchena, C.Jara
SWE: Ravelli – R.Nilsson, Larsson, Hysen (c) – Schwarz, Strömberg
(83 Enqvist), Ingesson, J.Nilsson, Pettersson – Brolin (34 Gren), Ekström

0:1 Ekström 32, 1:1 Flores 75 h, 2:1 Medford 88

booked: Gómez, Marchena / Strömberg, Schwarz

20.06.90 (21.00) Turin, Stadio Delle Alpi

BRA – SCO 1:0 (0:0)

(+62000) Kohl AUT, Kirschen GER, Listkiewicz POL

BRA: Taffarel – Jorginho, Ricardo Gomes (c), Branco, Ricardo Rocha – Mauro
Galvão, Dunga, Alemão, Valdo – Careca, Romario (66 Müller)
SCO: Leighton – McKimmie, MacLeod (39 Gillespie), McLeish, McPherson –
Malpas, Aitken (c), McStay, McCall – Johnston, McCoist (79 Fleck)

1:0 Müller 82

booked: Johnston, McLeod

1. BRA^ 3 3 0 0 6 4-1
2. COS^ 3 2 0 1 4 3-2
3. SCO 3 1 0 2 2 2-3
4. SWE 3 0 0 3 0 3-6
As expected, Brazil won the group. They won all games and compared to other teams played quite well, yet… not just at home the team was criticized and rightly so. The match against Costa Rica was particularly alarming: the outsider was pretty much equal to to mighty Brazil. Brazil struggled in all group games. Costa Rica was a big surprise – journalists practically laughed at the optimistic words of Bora Milutinovic at first, but his team played competent football, making life difficult even for Brazil. The debutantes already achieved more than hoping for and nobody laughed at Milutinovic any more, when cautiously he said that who knows, his may go even beyond the next round. Scotland missed the boat as usual… the game against Costa Rica was largely blamed for the failure: the team seemingly underestimated the outsiders. After that… it was too late. Scotland fought well and went home early, as usual. Sweden lost all their games and ended last, but it is difficult to consider them a big failure – true, the team considered by many the best ever Swedish selection was unable to get even one point, but it played quite well. May be unlucky… there were some players which made good impression. At least back at home nobody was going crazy over the early exit and even the coach was not fired.

Group C. Brazil, Sweden, Scotland, Costa Rica

Brazil
Against Sweden – Top, left to right: Cláudio André Mergen  ‘Taffarel’, Mauro Geraldo Galvão,  ‘Ricardo’ Raimundo Gomes , José Carlos Nepomuceno ‘Mozer’,  Jorge de Amorim Campos  ‘Jorginho’ , Cláudio Ibrahim Vaz Leal ‘Branco’ ,   Bottom, left to right:  Luís Antônio Corrêa da Costa ‘Müller’, Ricardo Rogério de Brito ‘Alemão’, Antônio de Oliveira Filho ‘Careca’  , Carlos Caetano Bledorn Verri  ‘Dunga’, ’Valdo’
Head coach: Sebastião Lazaroni
No.
Pos.
Player
Date of birth (age)
Caps
Club
1
GK
Cláudio Taffarel
8 May 1966 (aged 24)
26
Internacional
2
DF
Jorginho
17 August 1964 (aged 25)
22
Bayer Leverkusen
3
DF
Ricardo Gomes (c)
13 December 1964 (aged 25)
30
Benfica
4
MF
Dunga
31 October 1963 (aged 26)
21
Fiorentina
5
MF
Alemão
22 November 1961 (aged 28)
32
Napoli
6
DF
Branco
4 April 1964 (aged 26)
34
Porto
7
MF
Bismarck
11 September 1969 (aged 20)
10
Vasco da Gama
8
MF
Valdo
12 January 1964 (aged 26)
38
Benfica
9
FW
Careca
5 October 1960 (aged 29)
46
Napoli
10
MF
Paulo Silas
27 August 1965 (aged 24)
29
Sporting CP
11
FW
Romário
29 January 1966 (aged 24)
24
PSV
12
GK
Acácio
20 January 1959 (aged 31)
6
Vasco da Gama
13
DF
Carlos Mozer
19 September 1960 (aged 29)
27
Marseille
14
DF
Aldair
30 November 1965 (aged 24)
18
Benfica
15
FW
Müller
31 January 1966 (aged 24)
31
Torino
16
FW
Bebeto
16 February 1964 (aged 26)
26
Vasco da Gama
17
FW
Renato Gaúcho
9 September 1962 (aged 27)
23
Flamengo
18
DF
Mazinho
8 April 1966 (aged 24)
17
Vasco da Gama
19
DF
Ricardo Rocha
11 September 1962 (aged 27)
14
São Paulo
20
MF
Tita
1 April 1958 (aged 32)
31
Vasco da Gama
21
DF
Mauro Galvão
19 December 1961 (aged 28)
20
Botafogo
22
GK
Zé Carlos
7 February 1962 (aged 28)
3
Flamengo
Eternal favourite and naturally expected to win the group. There was optimism about Lazaroni’s team – nice additions came from the bright 1988 Olympic team and Brazil won Copa America in 1989. More than solid names, playing largely in Europe – a big sign of recognized stardom, but also a matter of concern, for players were often unavailable. Brazil made its customary tour of Europe as a part of World Cup preparations and then the team was blasted by heavy criticism: the team did not play good, especially in attack. The battle raged for many years – to play like Europeans or like Brazilians. Lazaponi’s emphasis on defense was more than questionable and with that – his choices. The last friendly unleashed a fury: Brazil ended 3-3 at home against DDR. So, that’s the defense? And not everything was fine in the team itself – stars are not easy to handle anyway, but this time big mouths vented their pretenses and ultimatums. Notably, Muller – he went very public, demanding guaranteed starting position. Just leave him on the bench and you will see! Quite a rotten internal climate, but still Brazil was expected to win the group – and more.
Sweden

Head coach: Olle Nordin
No.
Pos.
Player
Date of birth (age)
Caps
Club
1
GK
Sven Andersson
6 October 1963 (aged 26)
1
Örgryte
2
DF
Jan Eriksson
24 August 1967 (aged 22)
1
AIK
3
DF
Glenn Hysén (c)
30 October 1959 (aged 30)
64
Liverpool
4
DF
Peter Larsson
8 March 1961 (aged 29)
36
Ajax
5
DF
Roger Ljung
8 January 1966 (aged 24)
19
Young Boys
6
DF
Roland Nilsson
27 November 1963 (aged 26)
32
Sheffield Wednesday
7
MF
Niklas Nyhlén
21 March 1966 (aged 24)
8
Malmö FF
8
MF
Stefan Schwarz
18 April 1969 (aged 21)
6
Malmö FF
9
MF
Leif Engqvist
30 July 1962 (aged 27)
15
Malmö FF
10
MF
Klas Ingesson
20 August 1968 (aged 21)
11
IFK Göteborg
11
MF
Ulrik Jansson
2 February 1968 (aged 22)
0
Östers IF
12
GK
Lars Eriksson
21 September 1965 (aged 24)
3
IFK Norrköping
13
MF
Anders Limpar
24 September 1965 (aged 24)
21
Cremonese
14
MF
Joakim Nilsson
31 March 1966 (aged 24)
19
Malmö FF
15
MF
Glenn Strömberg
5 January 1960 (aged 30)
49
Atalanta
16
MF
Jonas Thern
20 March 1967 (aged 23)
21
Benfica
17
FW
Tomas Brolin
29 November 1969 (aged 20)
2
IFK Norrköping
18
FW
Johnny Ekström
5 March 1965 (aged 25)
32
Cannes
19
DF
Mats Gren
20 December 1963 (aged 26)
10
Grasshopper
20
FW
Mats Magnusson
10 July 1963 (aged 26)
29
Benfica
21
FW
Stefan Pettersson
22 March 1963 (aged 27)
19
Ajax
22
GK
Thomas Ravelli
13 August 1959 (aged 30)
72
IFK Göteborg
Sweden was most likely to finish second – the qualifications went smoothly and perhaps for the first time since 1974 Sweden had so talented and well balanced team. Good coach, relaxed atmosphere, and also Sweden had a tradition of playing very well at finals. Traditionally, a pleasant and dependable team. No big egos, plenty of talent and seriousness.
Scotland
Against Sweden: Top, left to right:  Maurice Daniel Robert Malpas, Craig William Levein, James Leighton, David McPherson, Alexander McLeish, Bottom, left to right: Andrew Stuart Murray ‘Stuart’ McCall, Robert Sime ‘Roy’ Aitken, Gordon Scott Durie, Murdo Davidson MacLeod , Maurice Johnston,  Robert William Fleck
Head coach: Andy Roxburgh
No.
Pos.
Player
Date of birth (age)
Caps
Club
1
GK
Jim Leighton
24 July 1958 (aged 31)
55
Manchester United
2
DF
Alex McLeish
21 January 1959 (aged 31)
69
Aberdeen
3
DF
Roy Aitken (c)
24 November 1958 (aged 31)
53
Newcastle United
4
DF
Richard Gough
5 April 1962 (aged 28)
49
Rangers
5
MF
Paul McStay
22 October 1964 (aged 25)
46
Celtic
6
DF
Maurice Malpas
3 August 1962 (aged 27)
34
Dundee United
7
FW
Mo Johnston
13 April 1963 (aged 27)
33
Rangers
8
MF
Jim Bett
25 November 1959 (aged 30)
24
Aberdeen
9
FW
Ally McCoist
24 September 1962 (aged 27)
23
Rangers
10
MF
Murdo MacLeod
24 September 1958 (aged 31)
14
Borussia Dortmund
11
DF
Gary Gillespie
5 July 1960 (aged 29)
11
Liverpool
12
GK
Andy Goram
13 April 1964 (aged 26)
9
Hibernian
13
FW
Gordon Durie
6 December 1965 (aged 24)
6
Chelsea
14
FW
Alan McInally
10 February 1963 (aged 27)
7
Bayern Munich
15
DF
Craig Levein
22 October 1964 (aged 25)
5
Heart of Midlothian
16
MF
Stuart McCall
10 June 1964 (aged 25)
5
Everton
17
DF
Stewart McKimmie
27 October 1962 (aged 27)
4
Aberdeen
18
MF
John Collins
31 January 1968 (aged 22)
4
Hibernian
19
DF
David McPherson
28 January 1964 (aged 26)
4
Heart of Midlothian
20
MF
Gary McAllister
25 December 1964 (aged 25)
3
Leicester City
21
FW
Robert Fleck
11 August 1965 (aged 24)
1
Norwich City
22
GK
Bryan Gunn
22 December 1963 (aged 26)
1
Norwich City
The Scotland squad was numbered according to the number of caps that each player had won at the time. The exception to this was Goalkeeper Jim Leighton who was given the traditional number 1 jersey.
With some luck, Scotland could end second, most likely – third and may be chance could take them to the next stage. Scottish talent was getting thinner with time – compared to 1974, this vintage was just a poor relation: what had been a well balanced and competitive squad, eventually came to the current of point of having only a handful of real stars. Yet, it was spirited team, always giving a good fight and difficult to beat. So, it was possible finish above Sweden. Possible… under the right circumstances.
Costa Rica

Head coach:  Bora Milutinović
No.
Pos.
Player
Date of birth (age)
Caps
Club
1
GK
Luis Gabelo Conejo
1 January 1960 (aged 30)
N/A
AD Ramonense
2
DF
Vladimir Quesada
12 May 1966 (aged 24)
N/A
Deportivo Saprissa
3
DF
Róger Flores (c)
26 May 1959 (aged 31)
N/A
Deportivo Saprissa
4
DF
Rónald González Brenes
8 August 1970 (aged 19)
4
Deportivo Saprissa
5
DF
Marvin Obando
4 April 1960 (aged 30)
N/A
CS Herediano
6
MF
José Carlos Chaves
3 September 1958 (aged 31)
N/A
L.D. Alajuelense
7
FW
Hernán Medford
23 May 1968 (aged 22)
18
Deportivo Saprissa
8
MF
Germán Chavarría
19 March 1958 (aged 32)
N/A
CS Herediano
9
MF
Alexandre Guimarães
7 November 1959 (aged 30)
N/A
Deportivo Saprissa
10
MF
Oscar Ramírez
8 December 1964 (aged 25)
25
L.D. Alajuelense
11
FW
Claudio Jara
6 May 1959 (aged 31)
N/A
CS Herediano
12
MF
Róger Gómez
7 February 1965 (aged 25)
N/A
CS Cartaginés
13
MF
Miguel Davis
18 June 1966 (aged 23)
N/A
L.D. Alajuelense
14
MF
Juan Cayasso
24 June 1961 (aged 28)
N/A
Deportivo Saprissa
15
DF
Rónald Marín
2 November 1962 (aged 27)
3
CS Herediano
16
FW
José Jaikel
3 April 1966 (aged 24)
N/A
Deportivo Saprissa
17
MF
Roy Myers
13 April 1969 (aged 21)
0
AD Limonense
18
DF
Geovanny Jara
20 July 1967 (aged 22)
N/A
CS Herediano
19
DF
Héctor Marchena
4 January 1965 (aged 25)
N/A
CS Cartaginés
20
DF
Mauricio Montero
19 October 1963 (aged 26)
21
L.D. Alajuelense
21
GK
Hermidio Barrantes
2 September 1964 (aged 25)
N/A
AD Municipal Puntarenas
22
GK
Miguel Segura
2 September 1963 (aged 26)
N/A
Deportivo Saprissa
Anonymous debutantes, expected to lose all games and go home. The usual exotica… the most famous name in the team was the coach, but even Bora Milutinovic was not a major star. His second World Cup, well respected name, but his reputation was largely built in Mexico, he was not some world-famous coach. Wise, though – seeing the poisonous atmosphere in the Costarican football, he moved the national team quite early to finish preparation in Europe – not only to get his players used to Italy, but also to keep the team away from domestic ‘influences’. At least, this was easy – all players were domestic, so they were at hand and compact, nobody to wait until the last minute to come from foreign club. Yet, Costa Rica was an outsider, surely to finish last.

Group B. Argentina, USSR, Romania, Cameroon.

08.06.90 (18.00) Milano, Stadio Giuseppe Meazza (San Siro)

CAM – ARG 1:0 (0:0)

(-74000) Vautrot FRA, Listkiewicz POL, Mauro USA

CAM: N’Kono – Ebwelle, Massing, Kunde, N’Dip – Tataw (c), M’Bouh, Kana-Biyik,
Makanaky (69 Milla) – M’Fede (70 Libiih), Omam-Biyik
ARG: Pumpido – Simon, Ruggeri (46 Caniggia), Fabbri – Sensini (70 Calderón),
Lorenzo, Batista, Burruchaga – Basualdo, Maradona (c), Balbo

1:0 Omam Biyik 67

booked: Sensini / Massing, N’Dip, M’Bouh
sent off: Kana Biyik (61), Massing (87)

NOTE: Match preceded by WC opening ceremony
This match must be noted for it set the tone of the whole championship – it was a disgrace. Right after the festive opening ceremony the teams displayed an ugly battle in which the reigning world champions lost against 9 men. The sensational result showed one important thing: the ‘outsiders’ improved a lot and were no longer a punching bag, but in the same time the leaders lost ground. There was leveling, but in general it was leveling on higher notch: a team led by Maradona was unable even to equalize against a bunch of unknowns. Those unknowns, though, showed no fear and played tough, physical, calculated game with all current dirty tricks, leaving the general feeling that if the teams exchanged jerseys, one cannot tell the difference. Cameroonians were fearless big burly physically fit and tactically well prepared professionals, entirely matching the leading European and South American teams and following the same dominant football philosophy of the 1980s: the pitch is a battle ground and the only objective is to destroy the opponent and extract victory no matter how. If in the past outsiders received cards because of clumsiness and frustration, now they did it professionally and coldly – you attack the opposition and vicious tackles as a matter of course and eventually you could get some punishment, but it is understandable and part of the general scheme. Cameroon hunted Maradona with brutality, kicked and pushed the other Argentines – and, mind you, Argentina was no spring chicken, well versed in dirty tricks and quite vicious as well. Left with 10 men Cameroon did not fall apart, just the opposite – they scored a goal. And left with 9 men, they still held their ground as nothing happened. That was new. Alas, it was a triumph of brutality and the whole championship came to be a show of ugly, brutal fighting and very little football – from start to end. It was pleasing to see the outsider matching and prevailing over reigning champions, but still with bitter taste… Argentina was not outplayed, it was mostly outkicked and outpushed. That was the new competence, the new football, the development of African and Asian football entirely in terms of the modern game. Nothing enjoyable about it… nobody played football anymore, everybody just fought, armies of undistinguishable soldiers, all of them similar and replaceable with others just like them. It was awful, already well known, and now – this was the whole football, the crème of the crème of it. The only question after watching a game was looming ‘why did I waste my time?’

09.06.90 (17.00) Bari, Stadio San Nicola

ROM – ZSR 2:0 (0:0)

(~43000) Cardellino URU, Sordiano ESP, Silva CHI

ROM: Lung (c) – Rednic, Klein, Andone, Gh.Popescu – Rotariu, Sabău,
D.Timofte, Lupescu – Lăcătuş (87 Dumitrescu), Răducioiu (80 Balint)
ZSR: Dassajev (c) – Bessonov, Khidiatullin, Kuznetsov, Gorlukovich –
Rats, Aleinikov, Litovchenko (64 Yaremchuk), Zavarov – Protasov, Dobrovolsky
(72 Borodyuk)

1:0 Lăcătuş 42, 2:0 Lăcătuş 57 p

booked: Lăcătuş / Khidjatullin

13.06.90 (21.00) Napoli, Stadio San Paolo

ARG – ZSR 2:0 (1:0)

(-56000) Fredriksson SWE, Wright BRA, Al-Sharif SYR

ARG: Pumpido (11 Goycoechea) – Simon, Olarticoechea, Serrizuela, Monzón
(79 Lorenzo) – Batista, Burruchaga, Caniggia, Basualdo – Maradona (c),
Troglio
ZSR: Uvarov – Bessonov, Khidiatullin, Kuznetsov (c), Gorlukovich –
Aleinikov, Zygmantovich, Shalimov, Zavarov (81 Liuty) – Protasov (76
Litovchenko), Dobrovolsky

1:0 Trioglio 27 h, 2:0 Burruchaga 79

booked: Batista, Serrizuela, Caniggia, Maradona, Olarticoechea / Zygmantovich
sent off: Bessonov (46)

14.06.90 (17.00) Bari, Stadio San Nicola

CAM – ROM 2:1 (0:0)

(-39000) Silva CHI, Valente POR, Pérez COL

CAM: N’Kono – Ebwelle, Onana, Kunde (69 Pagal), N’Dip – Tataw (c), M’Bouh,
Makanaky, M’Fede – Maboang (61 Milla), Omam-Biyik
ROM: Lung (c) – Rednic, Klein, Andone, Gh.Popescu – Rotariu, Sabău,
D.Timofte, Hagi (56 Dumitrescu) – Lăcătuş, Răducioiu (64 Balint)

1:0 Milla 76, 2:0 Milla 86, 2:1 Balint 88

booked: Onana, N’Kono / Klein

18.06.90 (21.00) Bari, Stadio San Nicola

ZSR – CAM 4:0 (2:0)

(+37000) Wright BRA, Röthlisberger SUI, d’Elia ITA

ZSR: Uvarov – Demianenko (c), Khidiatullin, Kuznetsov, Gorlukovich –
Aleinikov, Zygmantovich, Shalimov (46 Zavarov), Protasov – Litovchenko
(73 Yaremchuk), Dobrovolsky
CAM: N’Kono – Ebwelle, Onana, Kunde (35 Milla), N’Dip – Tataw (c), M’Bouh,
Makanaky (57 Pagal), M’Fede – Kana-Biyik, Omam-Biyik

1:0 Protasov 20, 2:0 Zygmantovich 29, 3:0 Zavarov 59, 4:0 Dobrovolski 63 h

booked: Khidiatullin, Prostasov / Kana Biyik, Milla

18.06.90 (21.00) Napoli, Stadio San Paolo

ARG – ROM 1:1 (0:0)

(-53000) Valente POR, Ulloa COS, Longhi ITA

ARG: Goycoechea – Simon, Olarticoechea, Serrizuela, Monzón – Batista,
Burruchaga (61 Dezotti), Caniggia, Basualdo – Maradona (c), Troglio (53
Giusti)
ROM: Lung (c) – Rednic, Klein, Andone, Gh.Popescu – Rotariu, Sabău (83
Mateuţ), Hagi, Lăcătuş – Lupescu, Balint (72 Lupu)

1:0 Monzón 63 h, 1:1 Balint 68 h

booked: Serrizuela, Batista / Lăcătuş, Hagi, Lupescu

1. CAM^ 3 2 0 1 4 3-5
2. ROM^ 3 1 1 1 3 4-3
3. ARG^ 3 1 1 1 3 3-2
USSR vs Argentina – crouching from left: O. Kuznetzov, A. Zygmantovich, I. Dobrovolsky, A. Zavarov, O. Protassov. Standing: A. Uvarov, V. Bessonov, S. Aleynikov, V. Khidiatullin, S. Gorlukovich, I. Shalimov.
4. ZSR 3 1 0 2 2 4-4
Surpise, surprise… Cameroon not only won the group, but did it with still one match left, so they simply blew away the last game. Romania also performed better than expected and reached its objective. Argentina was left on the mercy of rules and chance… good chance, for they got 3 points, and it worked for them – a big relieve. After the lost match against Cameroon Billardo just told his players that now it is either qualifying to the next round, or jumping from the airplane in the middle of the ocean on the way back to Argentina. With great difficulty the team managed to avoid the suggested merciful suicide. Lobanovsky admitted that he lost his touch and fell behind modern football – the big win over Cameroon did not fool anyone: it was against a team without motivation and it was too late to change anything anyway. The problems which Lobanovsky did not see or stubbornly hoped to avoid somehow were impossible to fix: his key players were out of shape and there were no other options. Depending on relatively small core of players and just making the numbers with others left the coach without any chances for reshaping a team after the first disaster and that was that. By large, it was Lobanosky’s doing and at least he was brave enough to admit it, somewhat.

Group B. Argentina, USSR, Romania, Cameroon.
Argentina

Head coach: Carlos Bilardo

No.
Pos.
Player
Date of birth (age)
Caps
Club
1
GK
Nery Pumpido*
30 July 1957 (aged 32)
N/A
Real Betis
2
MF
Sergio Batista
9 November 1962 (aged 27)
N/A
River Plate
3
FW
Abel Balbo
1 June 1966 (aged 24)
N/A
Udinese
4
MF
José Basualdo
20 June 1963 (aged 26)
N/A
VfB Stuttgart
5
DF
Edgardo Bauza
26 January 1958 (aged 32)
N/A
Veracruz
6
FW
Gabriel Calderón
7 February 1960 (aged 30)
N/A
Paris Saint-Germain
7
MF
Jorge Burruchaga
9 October 1962 (aged 27)
52
Nantes
8
FW
Claudio Caniggia
9 January 1967 (aged 23)
N/A
Atalanta
9
FW
Gustavo Dezotti
14 February 1964 (aged 26)
N/A
Cremonese
10
MF
Diego Maradona (c)
30 October 1960 (aged 29)
73
Napoli
11
DF
Néstor Fabbri
29 April 1968 (aged 22)
N/A
Racing Club
12
GK
Sergio Goycochea
17 October 1963 (aged 26)
N/A
Millonarios
13
DF
Néstor Lorenzo
28 February 1966 (aged 24)
N/A
Bari
14
MF
Ricardo Giusti
11 December 1956 (aged 33)
N/A
Independiente
15
DF
Pedro Monzón
23 February 1962 (aged 28)
N/A
Independiente
16
DF
Julio Olarticoechea
18 October 1958 (aged 31)
N/A
Racing Club
17
DF
Roberto Sensini
12 October 1966 (aged 23)
16
Udinese
18
DF
José Serrizuela
16 June 1962 (aged 27)
N/A
River Plate
19
DF
Oscar Ruggeri
26 January 1962 (aged 28)
50
Real Madrid
20
DF
Juan Simón
2 March 1960 (aged 30)
N/A
Boca Juniors
21
MF
Pedro Troglio
28 July 1965 (aged 24)
N/A
Lazio
22
GK
Fabián Cancelarich
20 December 1965 (aged 24)
N/A
Ferro Carril Oeste
No.
Pos.
Player
Date of birth (age)
Caps
Club

1
GK
Ángel Comizzo
27 April 1962 (aged 28)
N/A
River Plate

*Following a rupture of goalkeeper Pumpido’s tibia and fibula, the Argentine team was authorized to replace him with Comizzo, who joined the team as third goalkeeper.
Under increasing criticism, coming even from the President of Argentina, Billardo was not in great mood most of the time preceding the finals – he had to explain, excuse, explode… but there were facts hard to ignore: shaky form, injuries, pretenses of players, but mostly inevitable aging and sometimes lack of worthy replacements. Argentina often used long and early training camps and 1990 was no exception: Billardo settled camp in Italy early, which kind of kept the flock of increasingly hostile journalists at bay, but it was only a group of 9 players. ‘It is not easy to train free-kicks when the one who should kick the ball in in Madrid and and the receiver of the high ball is in Nantes’, was the tone of Billardo. Eventually, one by one, the players ended their club championship and gathered together. Maradona even lost wait, which particularly pleased Billardo – it was a positive sign. The biggest troublemakers were shaved off (Valdano, Diaz), others seemed pacified, the team was getting into shape and started scoring goals. No matter what troubles Argentina presented, it was big favourite – it was reigning champion, the magic of Maradona and Billardo had a strong spell on everybody, thus, the group favourite.
Soviet Union
Sitting from left: M. Nassibov – masseur, A. Zavarov, V. Ratz, S. Myshalov – doctor, N. Simonyan – team chief, V. Lobanovsky – coach, Yu. Morozov – assistant coach, I. Yaremchuk, I. Dobrovolsky, V. Lyuty, V. Bessonov. Second row: O. Sokolov – masseur, R. Dassaev, S. Gorlukovich, I. Shalimov, O. Kuznetzov, V. Chanov, A. Zygmantovich, A. Borodyuk, V. Broshin. Top row: A. Uvarov, V. Khidiatullin, S. Aleynikov, O. Protassov, A. Tzveyba, G. Litovchenko, A. Demyanenko, S. Fokin.

Head coach: Valeriy Lobanovskyi
No.
Pos.
Player
Date of birth (age)
Caps
Club
1
GK
Rinat Dasayev (c)
13 June 1957 (aged 32)
90
Sevilla
2
DF
Volodymyr Bezsonov
5 March 1958 (aged 32)
77
Dynamo Kyiv
3
DF
Vagiz Khidiyatullin
3 March 1959 (aged 31)
55
Toulouse
4
DF
Oleh Kuznetsov
22 March 1963 (aged 27)
49
Dynamo Kyiv
5
DF
Anatoliy Demyanenko
19 February 1959 (aged 31)
79
Dynamo Kyiv
6
MF
Vasyl Rats
25 April 1961 (aged 29)
46
Dynamo Kyiv
7
MF
Sergei Aleinikov
7 November 1961 (aged 28)
61
Juventus
8
MF
Gennadiy Lytovchenko
11 September 1963 (aged 26)
54
Dynamo Kyiv
9
MF
Oleksandr Zavarov
20 April 1961 (aged 29)
38
Juventus
10
FW
Oleh Protasov
4 February 1964 (aged 26)
60
Dynamo Kyiv
11
FW
Igor Dobrovolski
27 August 1967 (aged 22)
13
Dynamo Moscow
12
MF
Aleksandr Borodyuk
30 November 1962 (aged 27)
5
Schalke 04
13
DF
Akhrik Tsveiba
10 September 1966 (aged 23)
3
Dynamo Kyiv
14
FW
Volodymyr Lyutyi
24 April 1962 (aged 28)
2
Schalke 04
15
MF
Ivan Yaremchuk
19 March 1962 (aged 28)
16
Dynamo Kyiv
16
GK
Viktor Chanov
21 July 1959 (aged 30)
21
Dynamo Kyiv
17
MF
Andrei Zygmantovich
2 December 1962 (aged 27)
34
Dynamo Minsk
18
MF
Igor Shalimov
2 February 1969 (aged 21)
0
Spartak Moscow
19
DF
Sergei Fokin
26 July 1961 (aged 28)
3
CSKA Moscow
20
DF
Sergei Gorlukovich
18 November 1961 (aged 28)
15
Borussia Dortmund
21
MF
Valeri Broshin
19 October 1962 (aged 27)
2
CSKA Moscow
22
GK
Aleksandr Uvarov
13 January 1960 (aged 30)
1
Dynamo Moscow
Expected to finish second in the group and go ahead quite far. For many it was the best Soviet team ever, a formidable squad which could even reach the World Cup final. Such a view was based on the promising performance of team USSR during the 1980s, crowned with silver medals at the 1988 European championship and Olympic gold in the same year. By now not only Lobanovksy was a big name, but a big number of his players – and because of that deeper look was somewhat ignored: the whole political situation in the USSR, the aging of most key players, the lure of playing abroad, the difficulties of adjustment to playing abroad, the peculiarities of Lobanovsky’s approach. The injury of Mikhailichenko was a big blow to the team – and after the World Cup seen as the biggest cause for the lame performance – but it was not as simple as that. To say this was the strongest team of USSR means only to follow familiar names – all of the stars were at hand (without the relative newcomer Mikhailichenko, of course), but those were regulars for about 10 years now and aging quite dangerously. Demyanenko and Bessonov were not only over 30 now, but they accumulated so many injuries that were no longer the same dependable players, if capable to play at all. The key foreign-based stars had troubles of adjusting to their professional life in foreign lands (Dassaev, Zavarov) and lost form and concentration. Those still playing at home had foreign transfers on their minds, so their concentration was also shaky. Lobanovsky always played Dynamo (Kiev) as a base for the national team, so later accusations that he changed his approach to the peril of the team were wrong: there were 10 current and former Dynamo players in the squad. Add to them those, who Lobanovsky used for years already – Dassaev, Khidiatullin, Aleynikov, Zygmantovich, Gorlukovich – and the old concept was at work: Lobanovsky treated the national team as a club team – same players, with few additions and adjustment as time goes by. His usual dislike for wider range of players and ignoring whenever possible a selection based on Spartak (Moscow) was both easier and more difficult to avoid criticism this time: easier, because the Baltic republics and Georgia already left the Soviet football, so nobody could blame the coach for leaving out of the team players from these regions. More difficult, because the usual core of players was not very big and the additions were quite questionable, looking like hastily included only to make the numbers (Uvarov, Broshin, Fokin), yet, some promising players were ignored (Salenko, from Lobanovsky’s own Dynamo Kiev). And on top of everything was the new unknown situation Lobanovsky found himself – in the past the dictatorial coach had no problems: in the Soviet reality domestic championship would be stopped or rescheduled, so the national team will have the training camp Lobanovsky wanted. Neither players, no clubs could refuse his orders, even if clubs had to use replacements in important games because their stars were training with Lobanovsky. Now, suddenly, one had to negotiate with foreign professional clubs when wanting players for the national team and these clubs could refuse to release their players or make them available only in the last minute – it was entirely unknown reality and Lobanovsky was not prepared for it. It could be said that this was one of the biggest reasons for the teams problems: Lobanovsky was unable to imagine that Dassaev and Zavarov could be out of form and look for other options – he based his team on them and that was that, even when annoyed that he can’t train the team with them. What happened later only uncovered how problematic, if not entirely wrong, was this team, but before the start of the World Cup it was though a formidable team, surely the second finisher in the group. As it turned out, this was the last time team USSR appeared at the World Cup – but that was entirely unknown and unthinkable early in 1990.
Romania

Head coach: Emerich Jenei
No.
Pos.
Player
Date of birth (age)
Caps
Club
1
GK
Silviu Lung (c)
9 September 1956 (aged 33)
65
Steaua București
2
DF
Mircea Rednic
9 April 1962 (aged 28)
74
Dinamo București
3
DF
Michael Klein
10 October 1959 (aged 30)
78
Dinamo București
4
DF
Ioan Andone
15 March 1960 (aged 30)
49
Dinamo București
5
MF
Iosif Rotariu
27 September 1962 (aged 27)
11
Steaua București
6
DF
Gheorghe Popescu
9 October 1967 (aged 22)
18
Universitatea Craiova
7
FW
Marius Lăcătuș
5 April 1964 (aged 26)
38
Steaua București
8
MF
Ioan Sabău
12 February 1968 (aged 22)
21
Dinamo București
9
FW
Rodion Cămătaru
22 June 1958 (aged 31)
74
Charleroi
10
MF
Gheorghe Hagi
5 February 1965 (aged 25)
59
Steaua București
11
MF
Dănuț Lupu
27 February 1967 (aged 23)
7
Dinamo București
12
GK
Bogdan Stelea
5 December 1967 (aged 22)
3
Dinamo București
13
DF
Adrian Popescu
26 June 1960 (aged 29)
1
Universitatea Craiova
14
FW
Florin Răducioiu
17 March 1970 (aged 20)
3
Dinamo București
15
MF
Dorin Mateuț
5 August 1965 (aged 24)
45
Dinamo București
16
MF
Daniel Timofte
1 October 1967 (aged 22)
4
Dinamo București
17
FW
Ilie Dumitrescu
6 January 1969 (aged 21)
9
Steaua București
18
FW
Gabi Balint
3 January 1963 (aged 27)
24
Steaua București
19
DF
Emil Săndoi
1 March 1965 (aged 25)
8
Universitatea Craiova
20
MF
Zsolt Muzsnay
20 August 1965 (aged 24)
6
Steaua București
21
MF
Ioan Lupescu
9 December 1968 (aged 21)
4
Dinamo București
22
GK
Gheorghe Liliac
22 April 1959 (aged 31)
2
Petrolul Ploiești
Talented coach and players, but relatively unknown yet. Romania did not play at World Cup finals after 1970, and such absences usually relegated teams bellow those who played at them in recent years. Thus, Romania was expected to finish third and go ahead only with luck. The only real problem was the absence of the very strong central defender Belodedici, but nothing could be done about it – he defected to Yugoslavia and for that was sentenced to jail: to include him in the tam meant huge trouble not only for the player. Political problems aside, team Romania was strong and well balanced and Hagi was already a big star.
Cameroon

Head coach:  Valeri Nepomniachi
No.
Pos.
Player
Date of birth (age)
Caps

Club
1
GK
Joseph-Antoine Bell
8 October 1954 (aged 35)
N/A
Bordeaux
2
DF
André Kana-Biyik
1 September 1965 (aged 24)
41
Metz
3
MF
Jules Onana
12 June 1964 (aged 25)
6
Canon Yaoundé
4
DF
Benjamin Massing
20 June 1962 (aged 27)
N/A
Créteil
5
DF
Bertin Ebwellé
11 September 1962 (aged 27)
16
Tonnerre Yaoundé
6
DF
Emmanuel Kundé
15 July 1956 (aged 33)
82
Prévoyance Yaoundé
7
FW
François Omam-Biyik
21 May 1966 (aged 24)
34
Stade Lavallois
8
MF
Émile Mbouh
30 May 1966 (aged 24)
38
Le Havre
9
FW
Roger Milla
20 May 1952 (aged 38)
56
JS Saint-Pierroise
10
MF
Louis-Paul M’Fédé
26 February 1961 (aged 29)
40
Canon Yaoundé
11
FW
Eugène Ekéké
30 May 1960 (aged 30)
N/A
Valenciennes
12
DF
Alphonse Yombi
30 June 1969 (aged 20)
N/A
Canon Yaoundé
13
DF
Jean-Claude Pagal
15 September 1964 (aged 25)
N/A
La Roche Vendée
14
DF
Stephen Tataw (c)
31 March 1963 (aged 27)
29
Tonnerre Yaoundé
15
MF
Thomas Libiih
17 November 1967 (aged 22)
N/A
Tonnerre Yaoundé
16
GK
Thomas N’Kono
20 July 1956 (aged 33)
57
Espanyol
17
DF
Victor N’Dip
20 August 1967 (aged 22)
16
Canon Yaoundé
18
FW
Bonaventure Djonkep
20 August 1961 (aged 28)
49
Union Douala
19
MF
Roger Feutmba
31 October 1968 (aged 21)
N/A
Union Douala
20
MF
Cyrille Makanaky
28 June 1965 (aged 24)
N/A
Toulon
21
MF
Emmanuel Maboang
27 November 1968 (aged 21)
N/A
Canon Yaoundé
22
GK
Jacques Songo’o
17 March 1964 (aged 26)
38
Toulon
Cameroon was the group outsider – yes, how they played in Spain was well remembered, but that was 8 years ago and the current team compared to the old one was found lacking a lot. It had experience – 10 professionals in France and Spain – but almost all of them played for small clubs. Roger Milla was pretty much the point showing Cameroonian troubles: the inclusion of 38-years old player, who already retired and did not play any kind of organized football, was both exotic and desperate – largely, it meant lack of enough talent in the country. And that was the prime reason for his invitation to the team, no secret at all. Various political maneuvers were also at play, including the old and uncomfortable rivalry and mutual dislike of each other between the great goalkeepers N’Kono and Bell. That aggravated by a third very good goalkeeper – Songo’o. Difficult to defuse tensions, for the keepers had their own supporters in and around the team and it much more than personal rivalries. Milla was also difficult to deal with. The team was quite unbalanced – too many keepers, but not enough good players at other positions, and it was very difficult just to keep the team from falling apart and exploding into internal fights. Thus, it looked like Cameroon had no chance at all in this group.