Updates and news
The aim of this website is to collect all knowledge and analyse every aspect of Italia'90. The site is a work in progress, with also published material being continuously revised. We will only begin publishing match reports from the 1990 World Cup tournament when all qualifiers have been covered. We are currently (November 2018) focusing on the UEFA group 3 qualifiers, which will remain our priority for a while yet. To receive updates on twitter, follow @1990qual (kaltz) and @1990worldcup (domizio).
NEW: Austria 2-1 Iceland
23 August 1989, Salzburg: Iceland have no reason to fear their opponent. They had really put Austria to the test in Reykjavik, and they had been both unlucky and lacked sharpness in front of goal during that 0-0 game. They'd seen an Eðvaldsson header hit the back of the net during the first half, only for it to be ruled out for a push. Both Grétarsson and Sigurvinsson had spurned big opportunities, and Guðmundur Torfason had almost scored with a header right before the break. Early on, Iceland show some attacking intent along their right, although it will be the hosts who set the tempo, pegging the visitors back inside their own half for much of the opening passages of play. Read more...
RECENT: Austria 0-0 Soviet Union
6 September 1988, Vienna: One of the few players on the pitch which does appear to be playing with a bit of excitement, is Soviet right-back Bessonov. The seasoned Dinamo Kiev ace had given a fine midfield interpretation in their last qualifier, and once again he was among their more inspired performers, albeit from a full-back position. He was obviously well-known to his right hand side colleague Litovchenko from club football as well as from the national side, and the pair would at times combine well. Bessonov would stride forward with serious intent, and around 25 minutes in, these combinations will eventually lead to Litovchenko having a diagonal effort towards goal. However, he fails to connect cleanly, and so the ball just trickles harmlessly well wide to the left of Lindenberger's goal. At least, there had been a rare injection of pace. More, please! Read more . . .
Previously: Czechoslovakia v Switzerland (1989 qualifier)
Previously: Wales v Netherlands (1989 qualifier)
From the news archives
One of the last qualifiers covered at italia1990.com is Iceland v Soviet Union (31 August 1988) from UEFA Group 3, provided by our writer kaltz. In addition, we give you the front page of the Icelandic newspaper Tíminn on 1 September 1988: Its headline was not so much the result of the game, as the naked person who entered the field. This is allegedly the first time this phenomenon was witnessed on a sporting venue on the island. Insular innocence stolen.
(Thanks to @WC1930blogger for notifying us.)
From the archives
Greece 1-4 Yugoslavia, 5 April 1989
Group 7 Quiz
Who was Belgium's regular libero in the 1990 qualifiers? And who's the player in the middle in the picture to the right? Test your UEFA qualification group 7 knowledge with our new group 7 quiz. Difficulty level: Difficult . . .