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Background |
32 UEFA national teams entered qualification, and 13 teams will
qualify for the 1990 World Cup.
Qualifying for the final tournament from the larger groups were the
winners and runners-up and from the three smaller groups the winners and
the two best second-place teams, determined on the basis of, in order,
points, goal difference, number of goals scored and, if still necessary, a
playoff match at a neutral venue.
The teams were
divided into preliminary competition qualifying groups at a draw in Zürich
on 12 December 1987.
There were 12 withdrawals from the 116 teams entering. The most
notable absentee was Mexico, handed a two-year ban in 1988 for using
overage players in an under-21 tournament. |
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UEFA Group 2 |
|
Team |
P
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
F
|
A
|
GD
|
Pts
|
|
Sweden |
6 |
4 |
2 |
0 |
9 |
3 |
+6 |
10 |
|
England |
6 |
3 |
3 |
0 |
10 |
0 |
+10 |
9 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poland |
6 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
5 |
8 |
-3 |
5 |
|
Albania |
6 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
3 |
15 |
-12 |
0 |
|
|
 |
|
Matches |
|
19 October 1988 |
Poland
1 Albania 0
[0-0]
Stadion Śląski, Chorzów
(35,000) |
K.Warzycha |
England 0 Sweden 0 [0-0]
Wembley Stadium, Wembley
(65,628) |
|
|
5 November 1988 |
Albania
1 Sweden 2
[1-0]
Stadiumi Kombetar, Tiranë
(20,000) |
Shehu
Holmqvist, Ekström |
|
8 March 1989 |
Albania 0 England 2
[0-1]
Stadiumi Kombetar, Tiranë
(25,000) |
Barnes, Robson |
|
26 April 1989 |
England 5 Albania 0 [2-0]
Wembley Stadium, Wembley
(60,602) |
Beardsley (2),
Lineker, Waddle, Gascoigne |
|
7 May 1989 |
Sweden
2 Poland 1
[0-0]
Råsunda Fotbollstadion, Solna
(35,032) |
Ljung, Larsson
Tarasiewicz |
|
3 June 1989 |
England 3 Poland 0 [1-0]
Wembley Stadium, Wembley
(69,203) |
Lineker, Barnes,
Webb |
|
6 September 1989 |
Sweden 0 England 0 [0-0]
Råsunda Fotbollstadion, Solna
(38,588) |
|
|
8 October 1989 |
Sweden
3 Albania 1
[1-1]
Råsunda Fotbollstadion, Solna
(32,423) |
Magnusson, Ingesson, Engqvist
Kushta |
|
11 October 1989 |
Poland 0 England 0 [0-0]
Stadion Śląski, Chorzów
(32,423) |
|
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ENGLAND QUALIFIED |
|
25 October 1989 |
Poland 0
Sweden 2 [0-1]
Stadion Śląski, Chorzów
(15,000) |
P.Larsson (pen),
Ekström |
|
15 November 1989 |
Albania
1 Poland 2
[0-1]
Stadiumi Kombetar, Tiranë
(10,000) |
Kushta
Tarasiewicz, Ziober |
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Notes |
England were drawn with
Sweden, Poland and Albania in Group 2, one of the three smaller groups.
Although they were unbeaten and did not give up a single goal, England
finished second to Sweden by a single point. Sweden beat Poland twice
while England, in their last qualifying match, could only muster a goalless
draw in Poland, surviving a Polish onslaught only through Peter Shilton's
magnificence in goal and the crossbar's deflection of a last-minute 30-yard
shot, a fortuity that furnished the razor-thin margin by which England gained
their place in Italy.
England qualified as one of
the two best second-place finishers in the three smaller groups. They
were, in fact, the second-best second-place finisher. Germany, second in
Group 4, had the same number of points and an identical goal difference, but
had scored three more goals than England. Denmark, second in Group 1, failed
to qualify because they earned a point less than England and Germany.
Had England lost that last match in Poland--had Poland's last-minute shot been
a few inches lower--they would have failed to qualify because, while they
would still have had the same number of points and the same goal difference as
Denmark, they scored five fewer goals.
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England
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