The Italia ’90 qualification had been a disappointment to Wales. They had finished bottom of their pool and won none of their six matches, indeed losing their final three. All four defeats were by a single goal margin, so it is not as if they were being torn apart. They would also surrender their proud home record of not having lost a home qualifier in the 80s, as the Netherlands won 2-1 in Wrexham. Whilst a limited amount of points against the Dutch and the West Germans could have been expected, just a single point from two matches against Finland would’ve been their greatest cause for concern.

With the UK typically a 4-4-2 stronghold, it had probably come as a surprise that Terry Yorath had opted to switch to the 3-4-3 formation after their first two qualifiers. In theory, it made sense, as it would accommodate their three ace strikers Ian Rush, Mark Hughes and Dean Saunders. Whilst the latter had played wide in midfield to good effect at home to Finland, their only goal from a striker’s position in this qualification had come through Malcolm Allen in their final game away to West Germany.

11 players had featured in four games or more, with nine of these starting that number of games. This indicated a certain consistency and symmetry in team selection, and there were positives in the fact that some individuals had performed capably: goalkeeper Neville Southall was considered one of the world’s top stoppers, Saunders had given a good account of himself, indeed far better than his two more famous strike partners, and Barry Horne had shown some midfield grit in half of their performances. Altogether, though, it had been insufficient. Rush had probably been the greatest disappointment of all, with some dire performances until Allen came in. 23 players were in action throughout the six match long qualification stint.