The 1990 FIFA World Cup Final was a football match played between West Germany and Argentina that took place on 8 July 1990 at the Stadio Olimpico, Rome to determine the winner of the 1990 FIFA World Cup. After meeting previously in the 1986 FIFA World Cup Final, in which Argentina had won 3–2, in this match West Germany beat the defending holders 1–0, with a late penalty kick taken by Andreas Brehme being the game's only goal. It was the first time a team from UEFA won the final against a non-European team.
Overview
FIFA announced that the final of this edition would be replayed if after 90 minutes and extra-time the match ended in a tie.[1] This was to promote attacking play after the defensive approach used by many teams in the knockout stages.[1]
It was an ill-tempered game, notable for the first two sendings off in a World Cup final. Pedro Monzón had the distinction of being the first player in 14 World Cup final games to be ejected, after being shown a straight red card for a hard leg tackle on Jürgen Klinsmann; FIFA had warned its officials to enforce the rules and Monzón had raised his foot during the tackle. Gustavo Dezotti, already booked earlier, received the second yellow card of the game when he hauled down Jürgen Kohler with what the New York Times described as a "neck tackle right out of professional wrestling". Argentina entered the game with four players suspended and ended it with nine men on the field, overall losing over half of their squad due to injury or bookings.[2][3][4]
It was also the lowest-scoring final yet seen with Argentina becoming the first team not to score during a World Cup Final, having only one shot on goal. Although creating more scoring opportunities, Germany also had only one shot on goal. It has been suggested that Argentina's main strategy was to play for penalty kicks, having already advanced twice by this method.[5][6][7] The only goal of the contest arrived in the 85th minute when Mexican referee Edgardo Codesal awarded a controversial penalty shot to West Germany, after a foul on Rudi Völler by Roberto Sensini, and Andreas Brehme converted the spot kick.
This victory gave West Germany their third World Cup success, making them the nation with most World Cup finals at the time (3 titles, 3 second places), as well as avenging their defeat at the hands of Argentina in the previous final.
Yugoslavia
Cameroon
United Arab Emirates
Soviet Union
Colombia
Romania
Netherlands
Brazil
Czechoslovakia
England
Italy
Argentina
85' (pen.)
