1990 FIFA World Cup Official Film

In the endless summer of 1990,

the 14th FIFA World Cup competition provoked a mass pilgrimage

of footballers, fans and journalists to Italy.

The setting could not have been more apt,

with the strength of its domestic league,

its long international traditions

and its willingness to invest in football,

Italy had become the spiritual home of the modern game.

Among the first to arrive were the West German team,

only fourth favourites behind Italy, Brazil and Holland

despite their astonishing record of consistency in World Cup finals.

Twice winners, three times runners-up

and three times semifinalists.

Perhaps it was the burden of history on Franz Beckenbauer,

who had captained his country to World Cup victory in 1974,

to win as manager would be an unprecedented feat.

The tournament would also be a media event of unparalleled proportions

and more than 7,000 journalists and photographers accredited.

FANS CHANT

Although a few press came expecting trouble,

Ferdinando Metsallani hoped that the players and not the police

would provide the best photographs.

With more than 200,000 supporters travelling, the risks were high,

but none arrived with more good humour than the Irish.

To this, their country's first-ever finals,

the 20,000 Irish fans brought both a determination to enjoy themselves

and to be enjoyed by others.

Que sera sera.

FANS CHEER

And while the tournament's referees

dutifully inspected the places of worship...

Not as good as Wembley. Wembley is beautiful now.

-Is so?

-Oh, fantastic!

-Only good?

..His Holiness the Pope came to bless them,

knowing that for four weeks

Catholicism would have to take a back-seat

to the world's foremost religion.

MAN SPEAKS IN ITALIAN

After the official welcomes from FIFA's President Havelange

and Italy's Prime Minister Andreotti...the festival commenced.

APPLAUSE

Argentina, the champions of 1986,

were still led by their tiny maestro Diego Maradona.

Would age and a succession of injuries

diminish his magical powers?

Cameroon soon showed that they would be a test for anybody.

Undefeated in the 1982 tournament,

they were now as fit, skilful and as hard

as any European or South American side.

In the 67th minute, five minutes after his brother had been sent off,

Omam-Biyik produced a stupendous salmon leap

which left Pumpido handling the ball as it were a wriggling fish.

The world champions were a goal down.

Cameroon's celebrations reflected the team's amazement.

The speed of Claudio Caniggia was Argentina's main threat

until Benjamin Massing invited him to try it without legs.

Maradona made sure there would be a second red card for Cameroon.

The 38-year-old veteran Roger Milla

was brought on to keep Argentina occupied.

And an astonishing victory was secured.

Maradona sought consolation in hailing the result

as a symbolic defeat for racism.

LAUGHTER

But those who patronised Cameroon did so at their peril.

Another victory over Romania,

two goals from Milla, took them to the second round

for a match against the uncertain talents of Colombia in Naples.

But as a stalemate developed

the old warhorse Milla was sent into battle again.

While one Colombian fan

invoked ancient South American gods to help his team...

...the game now needed extra time to find a quarterfinalist.

The pressure built.

Especially on Colombia's eccentric keeper Rene "El Loco" Higuita.

While European managers agonised over their defensive systems,

Higuita's solution was to double up as an occasional sweeper.

In the group match against West Germany,

Higuita's antics had only just escaped punishment

with the referee coming to his rescue.

CROWD WHISTLES

MANIACAL LAUGHTER

But when Milla finally put Cameroon ahead

in the second period of extra time

with a typically forceful finish, Higuita simply became a time bomb

waiting to go off in the Colombian defence.

In the 108th minute, he finally exploded into action.

Milla blasted the ball home

and the only shrapnel was the egg on Higuita's face.

While Milla wiggled, Higuita squirmed.

The Cameroonians celebrated just as they played

and despite a late Colombian goal,

they became the first African side

ever to reach the quarterfinals of the World Cup.

While football may remember Higuita's bizarre exploits with a smile,

they would be the stuff of nightmares for his team-mates.

CHEERING

For the Italian squad the challenge

was to make the dreams of their 60 million fans reality.

Gianluca Vialli, the muscular striker from Sampdoria,

was their main hope for goals in the first game.

Although Austria had the prolific Toni Polster to threaten.

Italy attacked from the start

in dazzling contrast to their usual caution.

Vialli was soon risking his expensive legs.

Italy's approach work was thrilling,

but Napoli's Carnevale squandered chances.

His replacement by the virtually unknown Sicilian Schillaci

seemed a desperate gamble.

Schillaci had had just one successful year in the top flight

with Juventus and little international experience.

But it took him just three minutes to shake off obscurity for ever.

CHEERING

Italy had found a saviour in Salvatore.

# We're a thousand miles away

# On the dawning of the day... #

In their next match they faced the Americans.

Already thrashed 5-1 by the Czechs,

the Americans had little more than the credibility

of their status as 1994 hosts to play for.

Encouraged by Italy's fluent style in the opening game,

a huge domestic TV audience tuned in,

while Ferdinando and his colleagues

loaded up to capture the expected goal rush.

The challenge for American goalkeeper Tony Meola

was double-edged - how could he possibly please his Italian father?

# We will live and we will die beneath the flag. #

Meola had little chance with Giannini's superbly taken goal

after just 11 minutes.

CHEERING

And when Berti won a penalty in the 33rd minute

it seemed the avalanche was crashing around Meola's head.

WHISTLE

CHEERING

But the goalpost saved Vialli's penalty

and Italy's swagger lost its confident stride.

Again the hit man Schillaci

was sent on for the disappointing Carnevale, a striker firing blanks.

SHUTTER CLICKS

Italy swarmed around Meola,

who stood up bravely and no doubt thought of Custer.

But unlike Custer, America almost got a draw.

With Italy struggling to close out the game America won a free kick.

It took the seat of Zenga's shorts and a clearance by Ferri

to prevent Vermes scoring a shock equaliser.

Italy had scraped their win

but it took them through to the second round.

America was out but had shown some promise for the future.

Indeed, Meola's display of the right stuff

would later bring him the chance of a professional career in England

and the result left his dad beaming.

Whilst Italy had laid on a feast of style with a famine of goals,

West Germany faced Holland in the second round as leading scorers

with ten goals in their three group matches,

some of the highest quality.

Their powerhouse captain, Lothar Matthaus, led by example.

With his two great goals against Yugoslavia and his non-stop running,

Matthaus has staked an early claim to be the player of the tournament,

closely followed by striker Jurgen Klinsmann,

a giraffe to look at but a gazelle in motion.

These two and full-back Brehme

played their club football for Inter Milan.

With Gullit, Van Basten and Rijkaard from AC Milan

there was an additional edge between two nations short on brotherly love for each other.

Within 20 minutes, this volatile mixture had begun to boil over

as Rijkaard was booked for a crude foul on Rudi Voller.

Rijkaard then added disgraceful insult to injury

by spitting on the German forward.

Voller's complaints fell on deaf ears and earned him a booking.

So an angry Voller quickly sought to take the law into his own hands.

Eventually referee Loustau of Argentina

applied the wisdom of Solomon and dismissed both players.

Even then Rijkaard found time to repeat his contemptible behaviour.

CHEERING

No provocation could have justified it.

With the poison drained however the game suddenly flowered into vibrant life.

Ruud Gullit Long absent through injury

showed glimpses of his awesome talent.

The Dutch grew in confidence.

But nothing can beat a man at the height of his powers.

In the 50th minute, Klinsmann swooped on Buchwald's cross

to give Germany the lead.

Holland subsided into frustration

with Van Basten, as pale in form as he is in complexion,

taking it out on Matthaus.

A booking was a sorry way to register his name

in a World Cup which had expected greatness from him.

Deprived of Voller's support, Klinsmann did the work of two men

running his heart out to break the Dutch resistance.

WHISTLE

Exhausted to the point of substitution,

Klinsmann received a justifiable ovation for his performance

as thrilling for its spirit as it was for its technique.

APPLAUSE

With six minutes left, Andy Brehme, a left back with a great right foot,

finally put the game beyond Holland with a marvellous shot.

CHEERING

The Germans celebrated extravagantly

giving evidence of the team spirit Beckenbauer had generated.

The Dutch camp had been riven with dissent

and when the team needed unity most it had gone missing in action.

A late penalty from Koeman was more torment than consolation.

The night belonged

to an increasingly impressive West Germany.

MEN CHANT

The great tapestry of colour which supporters weaved across Italy

included a large contingent of the Egyptian Navy,

who just happened to dock in Cagliari

on the night their team played England.

ALL CHANT IN EGYPTIAN

After a much derided draw against Ireland in their opening game,

the England players had persuaded manager Bobby Robson

to bring in Mark Wright as a sweeper.

A success in the goalless draw with Holland, Wright was now a fixture.

Especially as captain Bryan Robson

for the second tournament in succession had flown home with an injury.

The aptly named Bull was picked

to treat the rugged Egyptian defence like a china shop.

But England, needing a point to be certain of progress, stuttered.

Shilton, by now the most capped goalkeeper in history,

stayed on constant alert for any Egyptian threat.

Likewise the Carabinieri for the English fans.

Robson urged his team forward.

The game was won by Wright's header after 58 minutes.

CHEERING

Come on!

Meanwhile, the number 19 quietly celebrated his part in the goal.

Liberated from exile on Sardinia, England and their fans

began to give evidence of the new harmony in the game.

The match in Bologna against a good Belgian side

promised to burn out the motor drives of ever-present photographers.

They were not to be disappointed.

Belgian skipper Jan Ceulemans hit the post with Shilton beaten.

But then the luck was with Belgium as Barnes' brilliant volley

became a victim of FIFA's misguided policy

of using the referees to do the specialist job of linesman.

The two teams continued to play open football.

Scifo beats Shilton but not the goalpost.

Still no goals.

David Platt, a rising star of the English game

but still an apprentice in international teams,

comes on for the third time as substitute.

WHISTLE

Gascoigne gets what will prove to be a fateful booking.

CROWD WHISTLES

And demonstrates his dangerous relationship with referees,

that of the parrot to their Long John Silver.

The game goes into extra time.

With both sides having used up their ration of luck,

it is now simply a test of guts as well as skill.

And Gascoigne proves that he has both.

CROWD CHANT

WHISTLE

SHUTTER CLICKS

He even listens to the bench's orders to chip, not shoot.

And with one less than one minute of extra time remaining,

Platt volleys his team into the quarterfinals

and himself onto 1,000 back pages.

WHISTLE

The England bandwagon gathers new momentum.

BELLS PEAL

During a brief lull in the tournament,

Florence puts on a display of "calcio storico,"

the 400-year-old ancestor of modern football.

It allowed us to see how much the modern game has progressed

from its rough-and-tumble origins or perhaps...how little.

WHISTLE

Argentina's second match against the Soviet Union,

and goalkeeper Pumpido breaks a leg

in a collision with his own defender.

His replacement is Sergio Goycochea

whose preparations have been limited.

The Colombian league where he plays

had been suspended after the shooting of a referee.

Maradona is quick to lend a hand,

proving that after Mexico, God is truly ambidextrous.

Troglio heads Argentina into the lead.

Bezsonov's tackle is straight out of the 16th century.

And after the two Cameroonians,

he becomes the third player to be sent off

for clipping Caniggia's wings.

Another free kick set up Burruchaga for Argentina's second.

After their shocking start, they were back on course

and a 1-1 draw with Romania took them through to the second round

where they faced a difficult match against their archrivals Brazil.

CHEERING

In their group matches, Brazil had begun promisingly.

Careca's two confidently taken goals complete with a Milla twirl

had outgunned Sweden's solitary strike

from the promising Tomas Brolin.

CHEERING

But against Costa Rica, conquerors of Scotland,

the samba lost its stride

in the face of Conejo's gallant goalkeeping.

A deflection set up the winner for Muller,

but this Brazilian team seemed capable of prose, not poetry.

And it was Leighton who composed the requiem in the Scotland match,

fumbling Alemoa's shot to provide the winner for Muller.

Yet Brazil's three straight wins

suggested that they'd have the edge on struggling Argentina.

Turin knew that it would be a hard-fought match.

And if it was to be tough on the pitch,

it would be tougher still in the South American commentary boxes.

COMMENTATOR SPEAKS RAPIDLY IN PORTUGUESE

COMMENTARY CONTINUES

COMMENTATOR SPEAKS RAPIDLY IN SPANISH

All the excited chatter

could not disguise a substandard Brazilian team.

Overly defensive and short of attacking support for the splendid Careca,

Brazil had neither the luck nor the skill

to get past Argentina's new goalkeeper Goycochea,

who would soon cease to play like the male model he used to be.

COMMENTATOR SPEAKS RAPIDLY IN SPANISH

Brazil dominated the game for sure

but even the expectations of their own commentators began to flag.

MAN SPEAKS IN PORTUGUESE

And then, in what seemed like a flashback to 1986,

Maradona produced a brilliant individual moment

to set up Caniggia for the winning goal.

And the commentator for his party piece.

-MAN SPEAKS RAPIDLY IN SPANISH

-Goal! Goal! Goal!

Goalllllllllllllll!

Argentina!

HE CONTINUES RAPIDLY IN SPANISH

Maradona exults in a victory which takes the champions

through to the quarterfinals...and gives thanks to his sponsor.

HORN

CHEERING

Thank God! I didn't think yous would come along.

ALL CHEER

Brazil's eclipse was matched off the field where their supporters,

usually the most flamboyant of all,

were upstaged by the lads from Ireland.

CHEERING

Dublin plumber, Joe McDermot, never seemed to stop smiling,

except when Gullit of Holland scored against them in Palermo.

A mixture of home-grown players and Englishmen with Irish relatives,

the Ireland team had a no-nonsense approach to football

which drew criticism from those wanting a more sophisticated style of play.

But while they may have lacked the individual brilliance to win games,

the Irish as a team didn't know how to lose.

Their English manager, Jack Charlton,

himself a World Cup winner in 1966 had a simple enough formation,

ten defenders, ten midfield players, ten forwards

with Packie Bonner in goal behind them.

Jack's boys chased the ball like dogs after a rabbit.

And usually got their teeth into something.

Niall Quinn jumps on Van Breukelen's fumble and equalises.

CHEERING

With three straight draws and an identical goals tally,

Holland and Ireland both qualified for the second round,

but the drawing of lots to define positions

left Holland with the short straw of West Germany.

Ireland went north to Genoa to face Romania.

The Irish fans booked themselves another two weeks sick leave from work.

The team cancelled the return flight they'd booked,

checked into the hotel Scotland no longer required

and stocked up on suntan cream,

while Big Jack rehearsed Bonner for a penalty shoot out.

Which is exactly how the game was decided

after a goalless 120 minutes.

Bonner saving the fifth kick from Timofte.

CHEERING

Which left veteran defender David O'Leary

to put Ireland into the quarterfinals and their fans into ecstasy.

WILD CHEERING

Ireland would face the winners of Italy against Uruguay.

Now that the tournament had reached the sudden-death stage

the referees would come under incredible pressure.

The experienced English official, George Courtney,

was put in charge of this potentially volatile match,

which promised a stern test of FIFA's new guidelines on fair play.

Ireland through, eh?

Fantastic!

CHEERING

No, I mean, the thing is that I've been educated in this business

for so many years now the adrenaline doesn't flow.

I hope it doesn't sound arrogant,

but we're educated to cope with this sort of stress.

And, you know, during the game it's a different thing,

but in the preparations I'm not nervous, no.

Added to Courtney's problems was the sweltering Roman heat,

which made every decision a potential flash point.

The booking of encroachers at free kicks was one of FIFA's more welcome disciplinary measures,

but how do you cope when there are another 22 referees on the pitch?

By bravely playing the advantage rule,

Courtney allowed Schillaci to score a spectacular goal.

CHEERING

But then had the near impossible task

of breaking up Italian celebrations

with a new hymn swamping the stadium.

-CROWD CHANT:

-Toto Schillaci! Toto Schillaci!

WHISTLE

Throughout the tournament, the referees had to decide

which injuries were for real, which were strategically feigned.

Fortunately, Italy's second goal from substitute Serena

posed no questions.

Italy were through to face Ireland

and it had been a good night for the referee, too.

WHISTLE

Italy's win allowed them to stay in Rome for their quarterfinal,

which pleased one young Italian fan in particular

while leaving his mother worried about the rapidly disappearing wallpaper.

THEY CONVERSE IN ITALIAN

A junior player with Roma, Ricardo had been granted a privilege

for which most Italian lads would have given up their mopeds,

to be a ball boy at the Olympic Stadium.

Zenga. Baresi.

HE CONTINUES IN ITALIAN

Baggio.

Vialli.

Mancini.

CAR HORN

For some of the Irish fans,

going on to Rome meant giving up jobs, wives, homes.

A game against Italy and a chance to see the team meet the Pope!

This was once-in-a-lifetime stuff.

It was not a night for flat caps.

CROWD CHANT

And here's Ricardo, a ball boy with stars in his eyes

sitting by the Italian bench in case his country needs him.

Roberto Baggio, whose 13 million transfer to Juventus

had made him the most expensive player in history,

at last seemed secure of a place

in what the Italian press called The Team of Dreams.

Donadoni was back from injury,

Schillaci was now unchallenged as striker-in-chief.

But Ireland had visions of their own glory.

Hindered occasionally by a linesman's decision,

here McGrath's run is called offside.

After 17 minutes, Baggio's sinuous dribble

set up Donadoni for a shot Bono could only parry.

And Schillaci pounced again.

CHEERING

The Italian press had not been exaggerating.

But the Irish were proving to be the most resilient team in Italy

and battled back.

CROWD CHANT

Italy desperately needed a second goal

and nearly got it from Schillaci's thunderous free kick.

CROWD CHEERS

Italian manager Vicini aged by the second.

A minute to go and Schillaci

is denied by another dubious offside decision.

WHISTLE

WHISTLE

Italy go through by the narrowest of margins.

The Irish are out,

but the whole country is queueing up to kiss their feet.

-ALL CHANT:

-We want Jack! We want Jack!

And Ricardo gets to pat his hero, Giannini.

Ireland's World Cup may be over, but for Saint Jack,

his squad and the fans, the party is just beginning.

Time to go home, Joe. Time to go home.

Vamos Argentina.

Italy's reward was a dubious one.

A semifinal against Argentina in Naples, Maradona's adopted city.

Maradona had played politics before the game

trying to divide the local support, but it backfired

as the Tifosi put patriotism before provincialism.

The Italian team feared Maradona as a player.

He had taken Napoli to two titles,

they knew his strengths, he knew their weaknesses.

He was the enemy within.

CROWD CHANTS

BRASS BAND PLAYS

Carlos Bilardo, the Argentinian manager,

was an easy target for the anxiety of the Italian fans.

They were already bemused by Vicini's decision to restore Vialli

and leave Baggio on the bench.

Had the manager forgotten Baggio's astonishing goal against Czechoslovakia?

CHEERING

The whole country came to a standstill

and around the world more than 800 million people

tuned in for what promised to be an epic battle of wills.

COMMENTARY PLAYS IN ITALIAN

THEY CONVERSE IN ITALIAN

CROWD CHANT

Italy took the initiative after 17 minutes.

Vialli's thumping volley is saved but Schillaci, who else, scores his fifth goal of the tournament.

CHEERING

Schillaci has the eyes of a hawk.

ALL CHEER

Argentina will not grant Schillaci such freedom again.

WHISTLE

And then they begin to test the referee's judgment.

Despite their lead, Italy could not settle.

Driven on by Maradona, Argentina began to feed off Italy's anxiety.

As the Neapolitan night darkened, so did the match.

The level of physical intimidation rose like scum on a tide

and slowly threatened to swamp the match.

Gradually, Maradona pushed his team forward.

Italy's nerves were shredded when Zenga came for a cross

and was beaten by Caniggia's flick.

The whole of Italy felt a sickening dread.

Vicini sent on both Serena and then Baggio to stiffen Italy's resolve.

But why not their hard man, Ancelotti?

Goycochea, who grew bigger with each game,

saved everything that Italy threw at him.

For both Vicini and Bilardo,

the tension is like an ache that will not leave their bodies.

1-1 at full-time.

Now, there will be 30 minutes more.

The mouth of the Italian captain Bergomi seems almost dry with fear.

Goycochea saves again, from Baggio's curling free-kick.

The ball is not running for Italy.

As the pressure mounts,

the undercurrent of violence finally bubbles to the surface.

Baggio has been felled off the ball.

BLOWS WHISTLE

Monsieur Vautrot is obliged to play Monsieur Poirot

and after preliminary investigations, goes to

consult his assistant, who fingers number 14, Giusti, for the assault.

BLOWS WHISTLE

Maradona claims a case of mistaken identity,

but offers no new suspects.

Argentina's ten men fall back to their last line of defence,

determined to hang on for the penalty shoot out.

And Argentina duly get their wish.

In the quarterfinals,

Goycochea had saved two penalties to dismiss Yugoslavia

and spare Maradona the humiliation of missing his own spot-kick.

He walks to his line like a sheriff awaiting a gunfight.

CROWD ROARS

CROWD ROARS

CROWD ROARS

CROWD ROARS

CROWD ROARS

CROWD ROARS

After three successful penalties each,

Donadoni is foiled by the incredible Goycochea.

Can Maradona possibly miss again?

The whole of Italy wills it.

But, like a street urchin, he pushes a stiletto into the country's heart.

Now, Serena must hit the target to keep the tie alive.

Goycochea shoots him down.

Italy see Naples and die.

The shock wave of disappointment must have

registered on the Richter scale.

Argentina's players celebrate in virtual

disbelief at their progress to the final.

Bilardo hugs his little Generalissimo.

While Vicini must face the inquest about his substitutions

and perhaps most crucially, why Italy's top scorer,

Schillaci, did not take a penalty.

The England team prepared to face Cameroon in Naples, knowing

the threat they face from the rugged and enterprising Africans.

Yet, Gascoigne and Lineker were asserting themselves,

showing the understanding they'd developed at Tottenham.

A defeat was unthinkable.

And it began to look unlikely

when England took a 25th minute lead, with the hero of Bologna,

David Platt, showing that his goal there was no fluke.

If England felt in their heart the match would now be an easy ride,

Gascoigne for one wasn't showing it.

1-0 down at half-time, Cameroon warmed up their not

so secret weapon, Milla,

while England hoped that his new haircut had sapped his strength.

But Milla was soon in the thick of the action,

winning a penalty by coaxing a rash challenge from Gascoigne.

Emmanuel Kunde put Cameroon level.

And manager Robson fears the worst.

Within three minutes, the worst happens.

Milla's pass sets up a chance for the other substitute, Ekeke,

and it is coolly taken.

Undone by complacency, England reeled,

but they regained their senses with just eight minutes remaining.

Lineker's speed in the box wins them a lifeline.

WHISTLE BLOWS AND CROWD ROARS

Despite the enormous tension, Lineker's spot-kick is perfect.

England are back in the match at 2-2.

But then, Mark Wright is injured after coming off second best

to Milla's shaven head.

The Lions scent blood.

Looking like a latter day Nelson, Wright returns to the bridge

and steers England to the relative safety of extra-time.

A chance to regroup. Surely, the Africans must be weakening.

Cameroon is like a nightmare that won't go away.

Steven and Shilton are at full stretch to keep them out.

In a pulsating match, it was fitting that Gascoigne,

a Cameroonian in spirit, should fashion the winner,

driving England through the suffocating humidity.

Thomas Nkono, the hero of '82, is booked for his foul.

Lineker, at the point of exhaustion, uses sheer power this time.

3-2 to England.

The Indomitable Lions are finally beaten.

Manager Robson, who once looked on Gascoigne

as if he were an exploding cigar, now knows the boy's true quality.

But Robson's face registers the relief of a man

who has glimpsed the precipice.

While Platt and Lineker celebrate their progress to the semifinal,

Roger Milla leaves the stage for the last time,

although they said that about him in 1982.

He will at least draw comfort from the invitation

to Cameroon to play at Wembley.

A mark of not just England's respect, but the world's.

West Germany approached their quarterfinal against Czechoslovakia

with typical thoroughness.

Like supreme athletes, they knew that their bodies would not

let them down, no matter what the Czechs produced.

# Give me give me everything

# Leave nothing to my Imagination... #

Matthaus' penalty gave them an early advantage.

And they throttled back power.

Sometimes the mind will only let the body do so much.

# Come on, come on, come on

# The world is waiting

# Come on, come on, come on

# The world is waiting

# Give me, give me

# Give me, give me

# Give me, give me

# Come on, come on, come on

# The world is waiting

# Come on, come on, come on

# The world is waiting

# Oh, yeah

# Come on, come on, come on

# The world is waiting

# Come on, come on, come on... #

A disappointed Beckenbauer nevertheless allowed his team

to go home for a few days' recuperation before facing England in Turin.

What memories for Bobby Charlton, a hero of '66.

The England fans believed a repeat was possible,

but Germans wouldn't hear of it.

Beckenbauer seemed confident.

Despite having the burden of extra time in their last two games,

England started with astonishing energy.

Gascoigne testing Illgner's alertness in the opening minutes.

As England flowed forward,

the Germans needed every ounce of wit to foil them.

Illgner's spider's web shirt seemed to turn the ball into a fly.

Now Beckenbauer looked anxious.

Waddle showed he could match the Germans for technique.

A blow for West Germany.

The dangerous Voller quits the field with a leg injury.

Riedle takes his place.

Amid all the pressure,

Gascoigne finds time for fun at the referee's expense.

But West Germany have survived the early English assault.

Augenthaler's free kick brings the best out of Shilton.

As the game moved into the second half, the Germans began to

look more like the team who started the tournament so brilliantly.

Matthaus and Hassler took control of midfield

to set up a chance for Thon.

But Pearce's header reminded them of England's menace.

The same player's foul at the other end was to prove decisive.

Parker charges.

And deflects Brehme's shot beyond Shilton for a cruel goal.

England spat out its disappointment and fought back.

Pearce, who could probably have demolished the Berlin Wall

single-handed, reminds the Germans why he's called "Psycho".

Steven, an attacking midfielder, comes on for defender Butcher,

whose last international this proves to be.

Parker now makes amends with a cross that finds the German defence

playing hands, knees and bumpsadaisy. Lineker scores.

England are level with ten minutes left.

Extra time. Gascoigne does his own laundry.

Immediately, Klinsmann forces Shilton into a reflex save.

The Germans have the edge again.

Battling to win the ball, Gascoigne fouls Berthold.

And finds the referee having the last laugh.

His second yellow card means he will now miss the final,

should England get there.

Gascoigne is ambushed by despair.

Lineker's awareness shows his qualities as the future captain

but will Gascoigne hold himself together?

on the stroke of half-time, Germany is saved by the post.

And Gascoigne vents his anger at the referee.

But when the moment comes, he stands up quickly -

there's no time for private pain.

The team comes first.

Platt's offside goal is the last throw of the dice

before the roulette.

This semifinal, too, must be settled by a shoot-out.

In this artificial solution,

the managers know they are no longer a factor.

The real game has been an honourable draw.

The first six penalties are scored with cold-blooded efficiency,

three, three.

But then Pearce fires blind.

Lineker and club colleague Walker console Pearce.

Olaf Thon calmly puts Germany 4-3 ahead.

Now Waddle, like Serena of Italy, must score to keep hope alive.

West Germany are through to their third successive World Cup final.

How could the bookmakers have underestimated them so much?

Shilton reflects on an ambition

which, after a career of over 20 years,

must remain unfulfilled.

After the sweat, the tears.

England had surpassed even their own expectations and won new respect.

And nobody did more to achieve this than Gazza,

the boy who became a man.

After a few days' mourning,

the Italian team awoke to the fact that they no longer

had to walk around with bags on their heads.

They still had the respect of their people.

More immediately,

they had the third-place play-off against England in Bari,

normally a redundant fixture, now a competitive event

between two teams who had technically not lost

any of the 12 games they had played.

The shoot-out victims had more than just wounded pride at stake.

After a stylish first half, Italy took the lead

with a goal more reminiscent of a kickaround in a pub car park.

Baggio got the credit, but Shilton, in his last international,

took the blame.

While the paparazzi, as ever, took embarrassing photographs.

With ten minutes left, England's Australian-born full-back Dorigo

crossed for Platt to score his third goal of the tournament.

Extra time would have interfered with the Pavarotti concert in Rome,

so Baggio and Schillaci made sure of the result.

And Schillaci duly became top scorer for Italia 90.

Italy takes third place while England win FIFA's Fair Play award.

The two teams mingled joyously at the close.

Having left behind abiding images of their good football, they added

another, of brotherhood and mutual respect, five years on from Heysel.

Beckenbauer prepares for his day of destiny in Rome's Olympic Stadium,

looking as though he could still stroll through 90 minutes himself.

The German critics who had condemned his appointment

had by now backed down. His nation is united behind him.

Ricardo the ballboy seems to have booked his seat

despite the absence of the Azzurri.

For Matthaus, a last quiet moment to prepare before the stadium

becomes a red-hot Crucible.

Sunday, the 8th July. After 51 matches, it now needs only one more

to decide who will lift the Holy Grail of football.

West Germany against Argentina is a repeat of the 1986 final

in Mexico, but this time, West Germany are favourites.

The VIPs gather.

Including the ill-fated Sheikh Fahad of Kuwait.

The trophy gets international police protection.

Maradona says his usual prayer.

Within a minute, the keynotes of the final are sounded.

An Argentinian challenge, a German fall, the referee's whistle.

It will become a constant refrain.

Argentina's record of ill-discipline has already lost them

four key players, Caniggia included, through suspensions.

Manager Bilardo therefore seems intent on a war of attrition.

A run by Guido Buchwald is a rare moment of freedom.

But the ball is soon held captive again.

Each side is willing to exploit challenges to maximum effect.

Hassler is pulled down as the foul count mounts

and the crowd's interest wanes.

There is a flash of Maradona's ability

to conjure up passes from nowhere.

But Argentina's biggest threat of the half

comes from Brehme's over-casual backpass.

By half-time, the stadium was giving its own verdict.

CROWD WHISTLES

Italian manager Vicini perhaps wishes he had Pavarotti in goal

for the shoot out.

And suggests a new anthem after "Nessun Dorma" -

"No-one shall stay awake".

The veteran Littbarski at last sparks some excitement.

And Brehme's free kick confirms West Germany's growing ascendancy.

Maradona runs around like a mouse in a maze.

Without support, he can do nothing.

He is a dictator without an army, feeling his own downfall.

His last few followers shriek for his protection

and an increasingly vulnerable referee obliges.

Augenthaler attempts the same kind of persuasion.

Unable to produce decisive action themselves, both sets of players

seem intent on pressurising the Mexican referee for a breakthrough.

Monzon's wild lunge on Klinsmann does the trick.

The Argentinian defender becomes the first player ever to be

sent off in a World Cup final.

With the numerical advantage,

West Germany at last find space to get Matthaus forward.

His pass is taken by Voller, who falls as Sensini challenges -

penalty.

The Argentinian protest borders on bodily harm.

Goicoechea has performed miracles saving penalties.

Does he have one more save in his repertoire?

He guesses right, but Brehme's kick is a beauty.

Escorted home by 1,000 flashbulbs.

The West German chancellor celebrates modestly.

With only six minutes left,

Argentina becomes desperate to hang on to its crown.

Dezotti thinks Kohler is wasting time and exacts retribution.

The referee has no choice but to dismiss him.

The game has descended into a chaotic spectacle.

It seems symbolic after Argentina's 21 bookings and three sendings-off

that the last yellow card should be for Maradona himself.

Klinsmann has a last-minute chance for a spectacular finish

but the Roman gods have turned their thumbs down on this game.

The world can at least take consolation

that the best team in the competition has won.

# It took a good long time But you finally made it

# You got the rhythm of life But your heart is breaking

# Hold on

# Tearing down the walls some time

# Ooh

# Whoa, now

# Can't stop crying tears Through the fire

# Reach out You've gone the distance

# Made the difference Taking your chances somehow

# You've done the business

# Take the world in your hand

# You made a sacrifice But you know that it's worth it

# Ooh, I know, baby

# It's the rhythm of life

# Oh, yeah

# Come on, now

# It took a good long time But you finally made it

# Yes, I made it, baby

# Reach out You've gone the distance

# Made the difference Taking your chances somehow

# You've done the business

# Take the world Take the world in your hand

# You took a long, long road But you finally made it

# Ooh, I know we'll make it, baby

# You've got a wish come true If you reach out and take it

# Whoa! Now

# Still feel the pressure sometimes

# I feel the pressure too, baby

-# Now...

-Now...

# Can't stop burning

# Reach out You've gone the distance

# Made the difference Taking your chances somehow

# You've done the business

# Take the world in your hands

# Reach out You've gone the distance

# Made the difference Taking your chances somehow

# You've done the business

# Take the world in your hands. #