by Nick Holt
Austria and the USA were equally impotent against Czechoslovakia, who put five past the Americans, with Skuhravy confirming his promise with a couple of good goals, ending a flowing counter-attack for the Czech’s opener and beating goalkeeper Tony Meola to a right-wing corner for the fourth. The USA scored the best goal of the game when Caligiuri ran from the halfway line, beat the last defender and finished expertly. The US media were less bombastic about this effort, although it was a far better piece of work than the “shot heard around the world”. The game against Czechoslovakia’s neighbours, Austria, was a dour and niggly affair settled by Michal Bílek’s second penalty in two games – he didn’t muck about but just hammered the ball into the middle of the goal and dared the goalkeeper to get in the way. Bílek is now the current coach of the Czech Republic team (although his position is precarious as they are unlikely to qualify for the 2014 Finals). Most of this Czechoslovakia side was Czech rather than Slovakian – the defenders Kocian and Moravcík were the exception in these first two games. Vladimir Weiss, who started against Italy after coming off the bench twice, would later manage Slovakia in their own World Cup Final appearance in 2010.
Italy made changes for this final group match; Schillaci started and Baggio replaced the luckless Vialli. Carnevale never played for Italy again – his final futile gesture was a rude one towards the coach when he was again substituted after another ineffectual display against the USA. Carnevale left Rome that summer after winning two league titles alongside Maradona at Napoli. He was suspended after five games for narcotic use, and was soon playing with the up-and-comings and the other also-rans in Serie B.
Italy were lively and imaginative, with Baggio’s dribbling adding an extra dimension alongside Giannini’s skill. They were buoyed by an early goal when Schillaci headed home after Giannini’s shot had bounced up off the ground at a convenient height. Ferri and Baresi controlled Skuhravy well – one saving tackle from Baresi when the big man looked clear was a masterclass in timing. Baresi was thirty already, but had only been first choice at the back since Scirea retired, however he looked a class act here, and would do so again in four years’ time. Stejskal saved well from Schillaci (twice) and Giannini had a shot kicked off the line but there was nothing the Czech defence could do when Baggio played a one-two with Giannini and ran at the heart of the defence, sending Hasek every which way but the right way before sliding the ball under the diving goalkeeper.
The other game in Florence between Austria and the USA was another poor game littered with bad tackles between two limited sides. The USA were a disappointment in their first Finals appearance for forty years and would need a big improvement to impress their home supporters four years later.
USA Squad 1990:
GK: Tony Meola (contracted to US Soccer Federation, 21 years old); Kasey Keller (Portland Timbers, 20), David Vanole (Los Angeles Heat, 28)
DEF: Des Armstrong (Baltimore Blast, 25), Marcelo Balboa (San Diego Sockers, 22), Jimmy Banks (Milwaukee Wave, 25), Brian Bliss (Albany Capitals, 24), John Doyle (San Francisco Bay Blackhawks, 24), Steve Trittschuh (Tampa Bay Rowdies, 25), Mike Windischmann (Cpt, Albany Capitals, 24)
MID & WIDE: Paul Caligiuri (Meppen, 26), Neil Covone (College soccer, 20), Eric Eichmann (Fort Lauderdale Strikers, 25), John Harkes (Albany Capitals, 23), Chris Henderson (College soccer, 20), Paul Krumpe (Chicago Sting, 27), Tab Ramos (Miami Sharks, 23), John Stollmeyer (Washington Stars, 27)
FWD: Bruce Murray (Washington Stars, 25), Chris Sullivan (Gyori, Hungary, 25), Peter Vermes (Volendam, 23), Eric Wynalda (SF Bay Blackhawks, 20)
WORLD CUP SHOCK No.6
8 June 1990, Giuseppe Meazza (San Siro), Milan; 73,870
Referee: Michel Vautrot (France)
Coaches: Carlos Bilardo (Argentina) & Valeri Nepomniachy (USSR)
Argentina (5–3–1–1): Nery Pumpido (Real Betis); Nestór Fabbri (Racing Club), Roberto Sensini (Udinese), Juan Simón (Boca Juniors), Oscar Ruggeri (Real Madrid), Nestór Lorenzo (Bari); Sergio Batista (River Plate), Jorge Burruchaga (Nantes), José Basualdo (Stuttgart); Diego Maradona (Cpt, Napoli); Abel Balbo (Udinese). Subs: Claudio Caniggia (Atalanta) 45m for Ruggeri; Gabriel Calderón (Paris St Germain) 69m for Sensini
Cameroon (4–5–1): Thomas N’Kono (Español); Stephen Tataw (Cpt, Tonnerre Yaoundé), Victor Ndip (Canon Yaoundé), Benjamin Massing (Creteil), Bertin Ebwelle (Tonnerre Yaoundé); Émile Mbouh (Le Havre), Cyrille Makanaky (Toulon), Emmanuel Kundé (Prévoyance Yaoundé), André Kana-Biyik (Metz), Louis Paul Mefede (Canon Yaoundé); François Omam-Biyik (Stade Lavallois). Subs: Thomas Libih (Tonnerre Yaoundé) 65m for Mfede); Roger Milla (JS Saint-Pierroise) 82m for Makanaky
Cautioned: Massing (Cam) 10m, Ndip (Cam) 23m, Sensini (Arg) 27m, Mbouh (Cam) 54m
Dismissed: Kana Biyik (Cam) 61m (serious foul play); Massing (Cam) 88m (second yellow)
Was it such a surprise? Yes. Some point to the poor recent form of the holders and the fact that Cameroon were a decent side with plenty of players with league experience in Europe. It doesn’t wash. Argentina were the holders and had the bulk of the side who won in 1986; sides with this level of experience are usually able to raise themselves for a big tournament, especially with the best player in the world in their ranks, playing in the country where he now lived. And the Cameroonians who did earn their living in Europe were mainly with second-tier sides in France; the biggest exception was Thomas N’Kono, the goalkeeper with Español in La Liga.
Argentina dominated the early stages when Cameroon showed a bit too much respect and sat too deep. Burruchaga was slow to react when sent clear, allowing N’Kono to block, and Ruggeri made a pig’s ear of a free header from a free-kick. For all Argentina’s possession Cameroon created the best chance of the first half when Makanaky stole between two defenders to get on the end of a raking pass from Omam-Biyik. The striker nudged the ball past Pumpido but Lorenzo just got back to make an excellent goal-line clearance.
The odds swung in Argentina’s favour after an hour when referee Vautrot sent off Kana-Biyik for tripping Claudio Caniggia, on at half-time to inject some pace into the Argentinian front line. Caniggia was a long way from the goal area and a defender was covering immediately behind Kana-Biyik, but Vautrot deemed it a professional foul. FIFA had introduced the red card for a professional foul ruling at the eleventh hour, and Vautrot, who had a reputation as a good, tough referee, looked like he was claiming his own personal bit of history rather than judging the situation dispassionately. It was an awful decision.
Six minutes later Cameroon, even more defensive now, sent a hopeful free-kick into the box. Omam-Biyik was alone amid a sea of blue and white shirts but jumped the highest and sent a firm downward header straight at Pumpido, who managed only to feebly help the ball on its way into the goal.
While the European commentators still patronisingly referred to “little Cameroon”, the Africans, who were massive and unsubtle in defence, started to kick lumps out of the Argentinian forwards. Having erred in sending off Kana-Biyik, the French referee seemed unwilling to hand out further punishment. With two minutes to go he had no alternative. After a Cameroon attack broke down, Caniggia sprinted clear from inside his own half. The first defender pulled out of a tackle, the second clipped Caniggia’s heel and the third, Massing, took him out as comprehensively as if he had been hit by a tractor. None of Massing’s colleagues protested the dismissal; he had already been booked, but even without the earlier offence this was a red card – it was perilously close to assault.
The best chance in injury-time still fell to Cameroon, when their substitute, the venerable and skilful thirty-eight-year-old Roger Milla, engineered an excellent opportunity for Mbouh, who blasted his shot excitedly over the bar.
It was a desperate performance by Argentina – Balbo must have had sleepless nights over a missed header in the second half with the goal at his mercy. They were unsure at the back, unresponsive to their captain’s efforts in midfield and, Caniggia apart, toothless up front. Cameroon had shown they were no
t there to make up the numbers and were prepared to mix it to get a result.
GROUP B
The other opening match in this group also produced a surprise, though not on the scale of Cameroon’s win. Romania were without Hagi, suspended after his red card against Denmark. The USSR, just as significantly, were forced to leave Mikhailichenko at home with an injury. The rest of the Soviet side were runners – skilful but not desperately imaginative – and they hadn’t replaced the brilliant Belanov at centre-forward.
Lăcătus, Romania’s other star, opened the scoring with a fierce drive that nearly took Dasaev into the goal with the ball, and then got a fortunate penalty for an offence clearly – to everyone but Señor Cardellino and his linesman – committed outside the area. Lăcătus converted, and later missed a glorious opportunity for a hat-trick, sidefooting past the far post with the goal at his mercy.
These chances aside, the USSR were much the better side in the first half. Intricate passing created chances for Protasov, Zavarov and Aleinikov, but the Romanian captain, Lung, was equal to the challenge and blocked all three. The goals knocked the stuffing out of the Soviets and Romania could have added more late on. The attendance at this match was given as nearly 43,000; the reality was about a third of that figure, but FIFA declare ticket sales as the attendance. The stadium in Bari held nearly 60,000, a tad extravagant for a club side that even in Serie A only drew more than 10,000 for the really big games.
A game later and the USSR were out, beaten 2–0 again, this time by Argentina. An early chance for Shalimov from Dobrovolski’s cleverly placed cross caused a collision between Olarticoechea and his goalkeeper, which left Pumpido with a broken leg; he never played for his country again, a nasty way to go. Argentina had a decent replacement in Sergio Goycochea. With the new goalkeeper understandably nervous, Maradona decided to give him a helping hand, literally, when he stopped Kuznetsov’s flicked header at the near post. He was a devious little tinker was the world’s best player. The referee was badly placed and probably knew giving a penalty against Saint Diego in Napoli was a bad idea – all will be explained!
Argentina scored first from a Troglio header after some good work from left-back Olarticoechea, and added a second from a mistake by Kuznetsov. In between Bessonov was red-carded for yet another foul on Caniggia, only this time the decision was correct. The Soviets still played the more methodical football, even with ten men, but were unable to convert chances into goals and paid the price.
The next day in Bari Cameroon’s party continued with a two-one win over Romania. Lăcătus was bullied by the big Cameroon defenders and Hagi was strangely subdued, one searing shot tipped over by N’Kono apart. The star of the show was Milla, who scored twice, both times taking out the last defender, first with strength and then with speed, before finishing with confidence – a commodity he was never short of. Both goals were celebrated with a flamboyant, hip-wiggling dance around the corner flag – it was to be one of the images of the tournament.
Romania and Argentina played out a draw in their last match, both teams clearly holding something in reserve, while the USSR thrashed Cameroon, a result not entirely explained by the fact that Cameroon were definitely through and the Soviets out. As in 1986, the USSR were better than their results suggested and would be missed.
GROUP C
Scotland Squad 1990:
GK: Jim Leighton (Manchester United), Andy Goram (Hibernian), Bryan Gunn (Norwich City)
DEF: Gary Gillespie (Liverpool), Richard Gough (Glasgow Rangers), Craig Levein (Heart of Midlothian), Maurice Malpas (Dundee United), Alex McLeish (Aberdeen), Stewart McKimmie (Aberdeen), Dave McPherson (Hearts)
MID & WIDE: Roy Aitken (Cpt, Newcastle United), Jim Bett (Aberdeen), John Collins (Hibernian), Gary McAllister (Leicester City), Stuart McCall (Everton), Murdo McLeod (Borussia Dortmund), Paul McStay (Celtic)
FWD: Gordon Durie (Chelsea), Robert Fleck (Norwich), Mo Johnston (Rangers), Ally McCoist (Rangers), Alan McInally (Bayern Munich)
1. Brazil 6pts (4–1); 2. Costa Rica 4pts (3–2); 3. Scotland 2pts (2–3); 4. Sweden 0pts (3–6)
There were doubts about the Brazilian defence, and doubts about the un-Brazilian tactics adopted by coach Lazaroni. The defence was never sorely tested in a poor group. Careca’s sharp finishing won the first match against Sweden, and both Costa Rica and Scotland packed their defence and hoped for the best. Against Costa Rica, Brazil were thwarted by the woodwork and good goalkeeping from Conejo, while against Scotland they looked unimpressive but benefited from a terrible late error from Jim Leighton in the Scotland goal – an error which cost them a place in the second round.
In fairness, it was a terrible display against Costa Rica in the first game that cost Scotland. Bora Milutinovic, who had so galvanised Mexico in 1986 now did the same with the Central American side, instilling discipline and nous along with some inherent flair. A neat move between Marchena and Jara created a goal for Cayasso just after half-time and Scotland didn’t test Luis Conejo nearly enough. The prolific Mo Johnston was easily suppressed and there wasn’t the wit in the Scotland midfield to open up an unremarkable defence. The pre-match assertion by Scotland manager that Costa Rica would provide comfortable first opposition was made to look remarkably dim.
Sweden were a disappointment, apart from the exciting little forward Thomas Brolin (not yet the overweight shambles who appeared in England). Gordon Durie and Robert Fleck offered a little more vigour and pace to the Scotland attack, and in that perverse way the Scots have in World Cup Finals they followed a shambolic performance with an encouraging one. Good discipline against a timid Brazil nearly saw them through. Costa Rica deserved their place in the second round after coming from behind against Sweden, whose young team would enjoy better times.
GROUP D
West Germany’s modus operandi in recent World Cups had been to start off slowly and improve gradually throughout the tournament, scraping results, while more exciting teams knocked each other out. It had got them to the final in 1982 and 1986 but they had finally encountered sides with the same degree of self-belief but more talent. Finally, in 1990, for the first time since the 1970s, West Germany had abundant talent to go with the self-belief.
They started the juggernaut rolling with a dominant performance in their opening game against Yugoslavia, an extravagantly gifted but brittle side. Lothar Matthäus, a more complete player than in 1986, opened the scoring with a piledriver and his Internazionale colleague Jürgen Klinsmann added a second, glancing a header across the goal off his floppy barnet – he looked a bit surprised when it went in. A header from a free-kick by Davor Jozic pulled one back but the Germans didn’t even pause for breath. Two minutes later another surging run and brutal finish from Matthäus restored their advantage and Yugoslavia melted away. Matthäus combined scoring goals with completely subduing the dangerous Stojkovic in midfield – it was his greatest performance in a World Cup match. Völler added a late fourth, following in after the goalkeeper made a hash of Brehme’s cross. West Germany looked a complete side. The five-man defence was marshalled by the veteran Klaus Augenthaler and the big, strapping, athletic Buchwald advanced into midfield when the Germans had the ball, allowing Matthäus to play further forward. This brought Matthäus’ formidable shooting into play more, and the new, exciting left-back Andreas Brehme packed a lethal shot as well. Thomas Hässler was a skilful, clever player (with Andreas Möller and Olaf Thon in reserve; West Germany had great options in midfield), and the Italian-based front two of Klinsmann – all power and edge – and the experienced Völler were a dynamic combination.
The United Arab Emirates, enterprising but just not good enough, were brushed aside and only Colombia provided decent opposition, albeit depressingly negative. Littbarski’s late goal seemed to have punished their time-wasting and histrionics, but an even later one from Freddy Rincón earned the disappointing Colombians a place in the last sixteen. Yugoslavia joined them after recovering from their pounding by the Germans to beat Colo
mbian (narrowly) and the UAE (easily). The Slavs had dropped Savicevic, who looked shell-shocked against West Germany, and brought in his Red Star colleague, the Macedonian striker Darko Pancev; he looked the real deal against the UAE, scoring twice and tormenting the defenders.
GROUP E
South Korea weren’t very good, which didn’t reflect well on Asian football, as they were comfortably the best side in the region. They committed more fouls in three matches than Uruguay, which takes some doing, and showed little going forward.
The Koreans held Belgium for forty-five minutes, but the introduction of Ceulemans at half-time changed things. The big man’s power threw the Koreans into reverse and Belgium won comfortably enough. Spain needed an inspired display from José Miguel González Martín del Campo to counter Korea’s aggression. Michel, as he preferred to be known, was a consistent and assured performer for Real Madrid and Spain, but this was his best day. He hit a sweet cushioned volley to give Spain the lead and restored it with a superb free-kick after Hwang Bo-kwan had equalised with an equally good strike. Spanish coach Luis Suárez, a star for them in the early 1960s, sat in his chair shaking his head for a good five minutes after Hwang’s hammer of a shot. The last goal was another gem, as Michel killed an awkward bouncing ball with a touch that completely flummoxed one defender, twisted past another and finished hard across Choi with his left foot – a hat trick to equal Boniek’s against Belgium in 1982.