Group 2. England, Holland, USSR, and Eire.
England.
Manager: Bobby Robson
No.
Pos.
Player
Date of birth (age)
Caps
Club
1
1GK
Peter Shilton
(1949-09-18)18 September 1949 (aged 38)
98
Derby County
2
2DF
Gary Stevens
(1963-03-27)27 March 1963 (aged 25)
23
Everton
3
2DF
Kenny Sansom
(1958-09-26)26 September 1958 (aged 29)
83
Arsenal
4
3MF
Neil Webb
(1963-07-30)30 July 1963 (aged 24)
7
Nottingham Forest
5
2DF
Dave Watson
(1961-11-20)20 November 1961 (aged 26)
11
Everton
6
2DF
Tony Adams
(1966-10-10)10 October 1966 (aged 21)
11
Arsenal
7
3MF
Bryan Robson (captain)
(1957-01-11)11 January 1957 (aged 31)
66
Manchester United
8
3MF
Trevor Steven
(1963-09-21)21 September 1963 (aged 24)
23
Everton
9
4FW
Peter Beardsley
(1961-01-18)18 January 1961 (aged 27)
24
Liverpool
10
4FW
Gary Lineker
(1960-11-30)30 November 1960 (aged 27)
32
Barcelona
11
3MF
John Barnes
(1963-11-07)7 November 1963 (aged 24)
39
Liverpool
12
3MF
Chris Waddle
(1960-12-14)14 December 1960 (aged 27)
34
Tottenham Hotspur
13
1GK
Chris Woods
(1959-11-14)14 November 1959 (aged 28)
12
Rangers
14
2DF
Viv Anderson
(1956-07-29)29 July 1956 (aged 31)
30
Manchester United
15
3MF
Steve McMahon
(1961-08-20)20 August 1961 (aged 26)
3
Liverpool
16
3MF
Peter Reid
(1956-06-20)20 June 1956 (aged 31)
13
Everton
17
3MF
Glenn Hoddle
(1957-10-27)27 October 1957 (aged 30)
50
Monaco
18
4FW
Mark Hateley
(1961-11-07)7 November 1961 (aged 26)
28
Monaco
19
2DF
Mark Wright
(1963-08-01)1 August 1963 (aged 24)
20
Derby County
20
2DF
Tony Dorigo
(1965-12-31)31 December 1965 (aged 22)
0
Chelsea
Traditionally, a favourite. Although by now largely by inertia – England already built a tradition of disappointment. But it played well at the 1986 World Cup and the team looked serious, and the coach was great, and England had excellent qualifying campaign. Group 2 seemingly was tougher than Group 1, so England was not pronounced absolutely sure leader, but it was felt that they will go ahead – second, if not group winners. A lot depended on the current health of Bryan Robson, Hoddle, and Waddle – they had a long history of injuries.
Holland.
Manager: Rinus Michels
No.
Pos.
Player
Date of birth (age)
Caps
Club
1
1GK
Hans van Breukelen
(1956-10-04)4 October 1956 (aged 31)
35
PSV
2
2DF
Adri van Tiggelen
(1957-06-16)16 June 1957 (aged 30)
24
Anderlecht
3
2DF
Sjaak Troost
(1959-08-28)28 August 1959 (aged 28)
3
Feyenoord
4
2DF
Ronald Koeman
(1963-03-21)21 March 1963 (aged 25)
23
PSV
5
3MF
Aron Winter
(1967-03-01)1 March 1967 (aged 21)
6
Ajax
6
2DF
Berry van Aerle
(1962-12-08)8 December 1962 (aged 25)
6
PSV
7
3MF
Gerald Vanenburg
(1964-03-05)5 March 1964 (aged 24)
22
PSV
8
3MF
Arnold Mühren
(1951-05-02)2 May 1951 (aged 37)
18
Ajax
9
4FW
John Bosman
(1965-02-01)1 February 1965 (aged 23)
12
Ajax
10
3MF
Ruud Gullit (captain)
(1962-09-01)1 September 1962 (aged 25)
34
Milan
11
3MF
John van ‘t Schip
(1963-12-30)30 December 1963 (aged 24)
16
Ajax
12
4FW
Marco van Basten
(1964-10-31)31 October 1964 (aged 23)
19
Milan
13
3MF
Erwin Koeman
(1961-09-20)20 September 1961 (aged 26)
10
KV Mechelen
14
4FW
Wim Kieft
(1962-11-12)12 November 1962 (aged 25)
15
PSV
15
2DF
Wim Koevermans
(1960-06-28)28 June 1960 (aged 27)
1
Fortuna Sittard
16
1GK
Joop Hiele
(1958-12-25)25 December 1958 (aged 29)
4
Feyenoord
17
3MF
Frank Rijkaard
(1962-09-30)30 September 1962 (aged 25)
26
Zaragoza
18
2DF
Wilbert Suvrijn
(1962-10-26)26 October 1962 (aged 25)
6
Roda JC
19
3MF
Hendrie Krüzen
(1964-11-24)24 November 1964 (aged 23)
3
Den Bosch
20
3MF
Jan Wouters
(1960-07-17)17 July 1960 (aged 27)
14
Ajax
A big revival, due to the great new generation led by Gullit, van Basten, and Rijkard. Rinus Michels was back at the helm – another asset. Yet, the long lasting decline and missing both the 1984 Euro and the 1986 World Cup kept observers cautious – Holland had good chances of going ahead, but not certainly. Memories of failures waited heavily against the team.
USSR.
Manager: Valeri Lobanovsky
No.
Pos.
Player
Date of birth (age)
Caps
Club
1
1GK
Rinat Dasayev (captain)
(1957-06-13)13 June 1957 (aged 30)
77
Spartak Moscow
2
2DF
Volodymyr Bessonov
(1958-03-05)5 March 1958 (aged 30)
67
Dynamo Kyiv
3
2DF
Vagiz Khidiyatullin
(1959-03-03)3 March 1959 (aged 29)
42
Spartak Moscow
4
2DF
Oleg Kuznetsov
(1963-03-22)22 March 1963 (aged 25)
26
Dynamo Kyiv
5
2DF
Anatoliy Demyanenko
(1959-02-19)19 February 1959 (aged 29)
65
Dynamo Kyiv
6
3MF
Vasiliy Rats
(1961-04-25)25 April 1961 (aged 27)
23
Dynamo Kyiv
7
4FW
Sergei Aleinikov
(1961-11-07)7 November 1961 (aged 26)
41
Dinamo Minsk
8
3MF
Gennadiy Litovchenko
(1963-09-11)11 September 1963 (aged 24)
32
Dynamo Kyiv
9
3MF
Aleksandr Zavarov
(1961-04-26)26 April 1961 (aged 27)
23
Dynamo Kyiv
10
4FW
Oleg Protasov
(1964-02-04)4 February 1964 (aged 24)
35
Dynamo Kyiv
11
4FW
Igor Belanov
(1960-09-25)25 September 1960 (aged 27)
22
Dynamo Kyiv
12
2DF
Ivan Vyshnevskyi
(1957-02-21)21 February 1957 (aged 31)
6
Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk
13
2DF
Tengiz Sulakvelidze
(1956-07-23)23 July 1956 (aged 31)
47
Dinamo Tbilisi
14
2DF
Vyacheslav Sukristov
(1961-01-01)1 January 1961 (aged 27)
3
Žalgiris
15
3MF
Alexei Mikhailichenko
(1963-03-30)30 March 1963 (aged 25)
7
Dynamo Kyiv
16
1GK
Viktor Chanov
(1959-07-21)21 July 1959 (aged 28)
7
Dynamo Kyiv
17
4FW
Sergey Dmitriyev
(1964-03-19)19 March 1964 (aged 24)
6
Zenit Leningrad
18
3MF
Sergey Gotsmanov
(1959-03-27)27 March 1959 (aged 29)
25
Dinamo Minsk
19
2DF
Sergei Baltacha
(1958-02-17)17 February 1958 (aged 30)
44
Dynamo Kyiv
20
3MF
Viktor Pasulko
(1961-01-01)1 January 1961 (aged 27)
6
Spartak Moscow
The Soviets were considered perhaps a bit weaker than England and Holland, but not at all to be discarded. Their performnce at both 1982 and 1986 World Cups were fondly remembered, there was sense that such a team would finally be able to climb higher. On the other hand, a lot depended on the form of Dynamo Kiev, which was incosistent. And similar to England, there were a number of players often injured – Bessonov, Baltacha, Demyanenko. Some of the selected players looked strange to foreign eyes – Pasulko, Dmitriyev, Sukristov, Vishnievsky – but they were mere reserves. Oleg Blokhin was out of the team – expected, due to his age, yet, it was somewhat a handicap, since everybody was used to see him in the team and consequently measure the team by that. Since the group was without a clear leader, the chances of USSR were good, although largely for the second place.
Eire.
Manager: Jack Charlton
No.
Pos.
Player
Date of birth (age)
Caps
Club
1
1GK
Packie Bonner
(1960-05-24)24 May 1960 (aged 28)
23
Celtic
2
2DF
Chris Morris
(1963-12-24)24 December 1963 (aged 24)
5
Celtic
3
2DF
Chris Hughton
(1958-12-11)11 December 1958 (aged 29)
36
Tottenham Hotspur
4
2DF
Mick McCarthy
(1959-02-07)7 February 1959 (aged 29)
27
Celtic
5
2DF
Kevin Moran
(1956-04-29)29 April 1956 (aged 32)
36
Manchester United
6
3MF
Ronnie Whelan
(1961-09-25)25 September 1961 (aged 26)
26
Liverpool
7
3MF
Paul McGrath
(1959-12-04)4 December 1959 (aged 28)
23
Manchester United
8
3MF
Ray Houghton
(1962-01-09)9 January 1962 (aged 26)
15
Liverpool
9
4FW
John Aldridge
(1958-09-18)18 September 1958 (aged 29)
15
Liverpool
10
4FW
Frank Stapleton (captain)
(1956-07-10)10 July 1956 (aged 31)
63
Derby County
11
3MF
Tony Galvin
(1956-07-12)12 July 1956 (aged 31)
24
Sheffield Wednesday
12
4FW
Tony Cascarino
(1962-09-01)1 September 1962 (aged 25)
5
Millwall
13
3MF
Liam O’Brien
(1964-09-05)5 September 1964 (aged 23)
6
Manchester United
14
4FW
David Kelly
(1965-11-25)25 November 1965 (aged 22)
3
Walsall
15
3MF
Kevin Sheedy
(1959-10-21)21 October 1959 (aged 28)
13
Everton
16
1GK
Gerry Peyton
(1956-05-20)20 May 1956 (aged 32)
24
AFC Bournemouth
17
4FW
John Byrne
(1961-02-01)1 February 1961 (aged 27)
14
Le Havre
18
4FW
John Sheridan
(1964-10-01)1 October 1964 (aged 23)
4
Leeds United
19
2DF
John Anderson
(1959-10-07)7 October 1959 (aged 28)
15
Newcastle United
20
4FW
Niall Quinn
(1966-10-06)6 October 1966 (aged 21)
9
Arsenal
The outsiders. Eire, so was felt, achieved more than they were worth by qualifying to the finals. Tough fighters, but without much class and even lucky to reach the finals. Jacky Charlton used ‘primitive tactics’ and had vocal opponents in Ireland, but another coach was unlikely to do better – Ireland never had enough strong players for a formidable team. They were going to play with great spirit, that was sure, but hardly compensating the lack of quality players. What they could do, though, was to frustrate and kill somebody else’s plans and that was the role expected from them – whoever underetsimated them was going to pay a high price.