Third seeds coming into the qualification, Yugoslavia had probably not been dissatisfied with how the draw had turned out. Whilst France carried the reputation of a true footballing nation, their previous qualification had shown that they were facing a phasing out of several performers, and while Scotland had qualified for the last four World Cups, they too would still have been a team which the Yugoslavs were fancying their chances against.

Coming into the qualification on the back of a couple of friendly away wins and a disappointing Olympic tournament in Seoul, to where Yugoslavia had sent a strong looking squad, manager Ivica Osim would surely have been pleased with an opening day draw in Glasgow, especially after conceding first. Yugoslavia would display several changes in formation throughout the qualification, without this hampering the team’s progress. They would at times play some exciting football, and they had an excellent core of players well equipped to tackle the international climate. Their youth world champions of 1987 were beginning to stake their claim for a place in the squad at least, and the future looked rosy for the Yugoslavs.

They had a good chore of players participating in the majority of the qualifiers: goalkeeper Tomislav Ivković, defenders Predrag Spasić, Davor Jozić and Faruk Hadžibegić, as well as wide player Vujadin Stanojković, midfielders Srečko Katanec, Safet Sušić, Mehmed Baždarević and not least the exuberant Dragan Stojković. In addition, team captain Zlatko Vujović would start their first seven qualifiers. Around this group of players, Osim could add performers either of experience from leagues abroad or of massive domestic-based talent. He seemed to use what he had available to him very wisely.

Yugoslavia did trail Scotland until the summer of ’89, but they had secured valuable away points at both the Scottish and the French among their first four matches, and would subsequently go on and win their remaining four games. Eventually, there had been little doubt as to who had been the best side in the group.

Stojković was playing at a very high level throughout the campaign, and in fact, he was perhaps the star player of the entire qualification among the participants in the UEFA zone. His average rating would certainly suggest so. And whether Yugoslavia played with two or three central defenders, they would generally look sound at the back, using the experience of some very capable players. The consistency in their team selection was also reflected in the fact that they had only used 20 players in the first seven qualifiers. For the unimportant eighth, the journey to Greece to play Cyprus on neutral ground, Osim introduced no less than eight players who had previously not featured in the qualification, and they still got their win.

The bad point of Yugoslavia’s qualification had undoubtedly been the sad spitting episode in their home game against Norway, where Baždarević lost his head after being exposed to a heavy challenge and not getting what he felt was a blatant free-kick from the Turkish referee. No one argued against his sending off, and the world governing body would eventually suspend him from participation internationally for one year, meaning he would miss the 1990 World Cup. He had been one of the most important pieces in this Osim jigsaw, so a priority would be to find a replacement for him in central midfield. There certainly were candidates, and two had even featured in their final group match: 20 year olds Robert Prosinečki and Predrag Mijatović, the latter an attacker on the domestic scene, though. Despite this, Yugoslavia could look forward to Italia ’90 with optimism, as they still had a team capable of troubling any opponent on their day.