Winners West Germany
Teams 24
Teams in qualifiers 116
Notable absentees Denmark, France, Portugal
Surprises Costa Rica, Republic of Ireland, UAE
Golden Boot Salvatore Schillaci (Italy) - 6
Stats A total of 115 goals were scored (2.21 per match), which was the lowest goals-per-match ratio in World Cup history; West Germany (15) scored the most
Format Six groups of four, with the top two teams in each group advancing to a knockout round of 16, plus four best third place finishers
Number of matches 52
Innovations
• Lots were used to separate teams with identical records in the group stage
• World Cup Italia 90 was the first officially licensed tournament PC game
Controversies
• The referee added an unwarranted eight minutes of first-half injury time to the semi-final between Italy and Argentina because he forgot to check his watch
• Argentina's Pedro Monzón became the first player to be sent off in a World Cup final - followed 22 minutes later by team-mate Gustavo Dezotti
Trivia
• Nigeria's 23-year-old Samuel Okwaraji died of heart failure during the qualifier between Angola and Nigeria
• Mexico were banned from participating in the tournament after being found guilty of deliberately fielding over-age players in an Under-20 event
• Cameroon became the first African team to reach the last eight
• Republic of Ireland reached the last eight without winning a match (other than on penalties), scoring just two goals in the process
• Argentina were the first team in a World Cup final not to score
• West Germany's Franz Beckenbauer became the first man to win the World Cup as a captain (1974) and coach
• Roger Milla's goals for Cameroon against Colombia in the second round made him the oldest player ever to score in the World Cup finals, at 38 years and 20 days. He beat his own record four years later
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