Andreas Brehme's late penalty goal gave West Germany a 1-0 victory over holders Argentina in the 1990 World Cup final in Italy. The third title pulled Germany even with Italy and Brazil as the only three-time winners. Coach Franz Beckenbauer joined Brazilian Mario Zagallo as the only other person to win the World Cup as player and coach.
Italy Host Second World Cup
Italy was granted the honor to host the World Cup for the second time, 56 years after they claimed the 1934 crown on home soil. Ten stadiums were renovated for the spectacle and two other arenas were built new in Turin and Bari. The three nations making their World Cup debut were the Republic of Ireland, Costa Rica and the United Arab Emirates.
Cameroon's Great Beginning
The tournament had a great start as Cameroon shocked the reigning champions Argentina 1-0 in the opening match as Francois Oman scored in the 67th minute. That was the start of a great story for the Indomitable Lions and veteran striker Roger Milla.
Brazil And Italy Perfect, Costa Rica Surprise
West Germany beat Yugoslavia and the United Arab Emirates and drew with Colombia to move into the Round of 16 from Group D. Argentina bounced back from the Cameroon loss to beat the Soviet Union and draw with Romania to take third place in Group B. Italy and Brazil both won three times to take Groups A and C respectively. The main surprise of the first round was Costa Rica knocking off Scotland and Sweden to advance. Spain took Group E honors and moved on along with Belgium and Uruguay while Group F saw just one victory as England beat Egypt 1-0 to win the group. Ireland and the Netherlands both collected three draws to reach the Round of 16.
Germans Beat Dutch, Argentina Down Brazil, Cameroon Make History
The Round of 16 saw West Germany eliminated rival neighbors Netherlands 2-1 as Jürgen Klinsmann and Andreas Brehme scored for the winners, who beat the Dutch in the Euro1988 final. The match was marred by an infamous moment as Rudi Völler and Frank Rijkaard were both sent off with red cards after 22 minutes following a spitting incident. Diego Maradona's run through the Brazil defense set up Claudio Caniggia's goal with 10 minutes to play as holders Argentina knocked off Brazil 1-0.
Cameroon's magical run continued in the Round of 16 as the 38-year-old veteran Milla scored twice in extra time for a 2-1 win over Colombia as Cameroon became the first Africa team to reach the quarter-finals. Italy beat Uruguay 2-0 in a showdown of past winners; and Czechoslovakia stopped Costa Rica 4-1 win thanks to a Tomas Skuhravy hat-trick. England beat Belgium in extra time 1-0; Ireland won 5-4 on penalties against Romania; and Yugoslavia downed Spain 2-1 in extra time.
England Stop Cameroon Party, Argentina Need Penalties
Lothar Matthäus converted a first half penalty to give West Germany a 1-0 win over 10-man Czechoslovakia to reach the semifinals. And Salvatore Schillaci's goal gave Italy a 1-0 victory against Ireland - the fifth straight clean sheet for Italian keeper Walter Zenga. Argentina keeper Sergio Goycochea saved two penalties and watched another blast off the crossbar as the South Americans beat Yugoslavia 3-2 on penalties to reach the semis. And Cameroon led 2-1 until Gary Lineker equalized with a penalty with seven minutes remaining and won the game for England 3-2 in extra time on another penalty.
Germany, Argentina Advance In Shoot-Outs
England were back in the semis for the first time since the 1966 title but their old rivals West Germany ended their World Cup dreams. Brehme and Lineker both scored in the second half before German keeper Bodo Illgner stopped two penalties in the shoot-out for a 4-3 win on penalties. The other semi went to penalty kicks as well as Caniggia equalized Schillaci's first half goal by beating Zenga, who went a World Cup record 517 minutes without a goal allowed. But Goycochea stopped two spot-kicks to give Argentina the 1-1, 4-3 penalty shoot-out win.
Golden Shoe Winner Schillaci Gives Italy Third Place
In the third placed game, Schillaci collected his sixth goal of the tournament for a 2-1 win over England as well as the Golden Shoe award.
Brehme Penalty Wins Title
The rematch of the 1986 final proved lackluster and was decided on Brehme's penalty with five minutes left for West Germany's 1-0 victory over Argentina. The South Americans finished with nine men as Pedro Monzon and Gustavo Dezotti were sent off in the final six minutes.
Beckenbauer Historic Double
German coach Franz Beckenbauer became second man to win World Cup as a player and coach after previously winning the 1974 World Cup. Brazilian Mario Zagallo was the other.
