The

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

an (

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...

) zone of

qualification Qualification is either the process of qualifying for an achievement, or a credential attesting to that achievement, and may refer to: * Professional qualification, attributes developed by obtaining academic degrees or through professional exper ...

for the 1990 FIFA World Cup saw 32 teams competing for 13 places at the finals. UEFA members

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

qualified automatically as hosts of the finals. The qualification process started on 21 May 1988 and ended on 18 November 1989.

Format

Teams were drawn into seven groups, four groups of five teams and three of four teams. All seven group-winners qualified automatically, with the runners-up in the four groups containing five teams (Groups 3, 5, 6 and 7) also qualifying. The two best second-placed teams in the three groups containing only four teams also qualified (Groups 1, 2 and 4), and the second-placed team with the worst record was eliminated.

Draw

The draw for the qualifying groups took place in

Zürich , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Zürich ...

, Switzerland on 12 December 1987. During the draw teams were drawn from the 5 pots into the 7 groups. The seedings below were announced ten days before the draw. Teams qualified to the final tournament are in bold. The Seeded teams were the 5 European sides who reached the 1986 Quarter Finals plus Soviet Union and Denmark though there were still security issues with England due to their fan issues in the form of hooliganism which was a factor with all 3 of their away games in the 1990 qualifying campaign being televised live by the BBC

Summary

Results

Group 1

Group 2

Group 3

Group 4

Group 5

Group 6

Group 7

Ranking of runners-up from groups of four

Goalscorers

;7 goals *

Marc Van Der Linden Marc Angéle Vanderlinden or ''van der Linden'' (born 4 February 1964 in Merksem) is a Belgian former footballer. He began his career with his local side SC Merksem before moving to Royal Antwerp FC in 1982. After seven seasons with the club h ...

;6 goals *

Mo Johnston Maurice John Giblin Johnston (born 13 April 1963) is a Scottish football player and coach. Johnston, who played as a forward, started his senior football career with Partick Thistle in 1981. He moved to Watford in 1983, where he scored 23 leag ...

;5 goals *

Toni Polster Anton "Toni" Polster (born 10 March 1964) is an Austrian professional football coach and former player. He is the all-time leading goalscorer for the Austria national team with 44 goals. Polster's top flight coaching debut at Admira Wacker la ...

Flemming Povlsen Flemming Søgaard Povlsen (born 3 December 1966) is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a striker for Borussia Dortmund in Germany, among other teams. He works as football expert on TV. Club career Povlsen started playing foot ...

Manolo Manolo, a form of Manuel (name), is a male given name which may refer to: People: * Manolo Álvarez Mera (1923–1986), Cuban-born bel canto tenor *Manolo Badrena (born 1952), Puerto Rican percussionist *Manolo Blahnik (born 1942), Spanish fashion ...

* Míchel *

Kubilay Türkyilmaz Kubilay Türkyilmaz (; born 4 March 1967) is a Swiss former professional footballer who played as a forward. He completed his international career as the all-time joint leading goal scorer for the Swiss national team, with 34 goals in 64 appear ...

Tanju Çolak Tanju Çolak (born 10 November 1963 in Samsun) is a Turkish retired footballer who played as a striker. Club career He made his debut for Samsun Yolspor. From there he was transferred to Samsunspor in 1981 where he was the top scorer in both t ...

;4 goals *

Michal Bílek Michal Bílek (born 13 April 1965) is a football manager and former player. He led the Czech Republic national football team for four years between 2009 and 2013. As a player, he represented Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic at internationa ...

* Tomáš Skuhravý *

Andreas Thom Andreas Thom (born 7 September 1965) is a German former professional footballer who played as a forward for BFC Dynamo, Bayer Leverkusen, Celtic and Hertha BSC. He played 51 times for East Germany throughout the 1980s and played ten times for ...

* Rui Águas *

Rudi Völler Rudolf "Rudi" Völler (; born 13 April 1960), nicknamed "''Tante Käthe''" ("Aunt Käthe"), is a German former professional football player and manager who serves as the sporting director for Bayer Leverkusen. A forward, Völler won the FIFA W ...

;3 goals *

Marc Degryse Marc Gabriel Degryse (born 4 September 1965), nicknamed ''Le Lutin d'Ardooie'' ("The Imp of Ardooie") and ''The Little One'',Brian Laudrup Brian Laudrup (, born 22 February 1969) is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a winger, forward or as a midfielder, and was regarded as one of the most talented players of his generation. He currently works as a football co ...

* Carmel Busuttil * Gøran Sørloth *

Hennadiy Lytovchenko Hennadiy Volodymyrovych Lytovchenko (also known as Gennadiy Vladimirovich Litovchenko, Russian-language variant; uk, Геннадій Володимирович Литовченко; russian: Геннадий Владимирович Лито ...

Oleh Protasov Oleh Valeriyovych Protasov ( uk, Олег Валерійович Протасов; born 4 February 1964) is a Ukrainian and Soviet former footballer who played as a striker. He was a key member of the Soviet Union national team throughout the ...

Emilio Butragueño Emilio Butragueño Santos (; born 22 July 1963) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a striker. He was best known for his spell with Real Madrid. Nicknamed ''El Buitre'' (The Vulture), he was a member of the '' La Quinta del Buitre'' ...

* Rıdvan Dilmen *

Feyyaz Uçar Feyyaz Uçar (born 27 October 1963) is a Turkish former professional football player, who played as a striker, and more recently a coach. Career Born in Istanbul, Turkey, Uçar started his football career at Avcılar Spor Klübü. Attracting v ...

Dejan Savićević Dejan Savićević ( cyrl, Дејан Савићевић, ; born 15 September 1966) is a Montenegrin former footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Since 2004, he has been the president of the Montenegrin Football Association (FSCG), cu ...

;2 goals *

Sokol Kushta Sokol Kushta (born 17 April 1964) is an Albanian retired football player, who was arguably one of his country's best players in the second half of the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s and one of the first to be allowed by the communist part ...

Andreas Herzog Andreas "Andi" Herzog (born 10 September 1968) is an Austrian former footballer and manager who last managed Admira Wacker. As a player, he played as an attacking midfielder, most notably for Werder Bremen. A full international between 1988 and ...

Patrick Vervoort Patrick Felix Vervoort (born 17 January 1965 in Beerse) is a retired Belgian footballer. The left midfielder has played for a number of clubs, including Beerschot, Anderlecht and Standard Liège in Belgium, Ascoli in Italy's Serie A, as we ...

* Christos Kolliandris * Pambos Pittas * Kent Nielsen *

Matthias Sammer Matthias Sammer (; born 5 September 1967) is a German football official and former player and coach. He played as a defensive midfielder and later in his career as a sweeper. With Borussia Dortmund as a player, Sammer won the Bundesliga and DF ...

John Barnes John Charles Bryan Barnes MBE (born 7 November 1963) is a former professional football player and manager. He currently works as an author, commentator and pundit for ESPN and SuperSport. Initially a quick, skilful left winger, he moved to ce ...

* Peter Beardsley *

Gary Lineker Gary Winston Lineker (; born 30 November 1960) is an English former professional footballer and current sports broadcaster. He is regarded as having been one of the greatest English strikers. His media career began with the BBC, where he has ...

Mika Lipponen Mika Lipponen (born 9 May 1964) is a Finnish former association football, footballer. Playing career Lipponen played in Finland for Turun Palloseura, TPS, in Spain for RCD Mallorca, Real Mallorca, in the Netherlands for FC Twente and FC Emmen, B ...

Didier Deschamps Didier Claude Deschamps (; born 15 October 1968) is a French professional football manager and former player who has been manager of the France national team since 2012. He played as a defensive midfielder for several clubs, in France, Italy, ...

Jean-Pierre Papin Jean-Pierre Roger Guillaume Papin (born 5 November 1963) is a French football manager and former professional player who played as a forward. He was named the Ballon d'Or and IFFHS World's Top Goal Scorer of the Year in 1991. Papin was known for ...

* Attila Pintér * István Vincze *

Pétur Pétursson Guðlaugur ''Pétur'' Pétursson (born 27 June 1959 in Akranes) is a retired Icelandic footballer who was active as a forward. Club career Pétur made his professional debut at ÍA and also played for Feyenoord Rotterdam, RSC Anderlecht (35 ...

John Aldridge John William Aldridge (born 18 September 1958) is a former football player and manager. He was a prolific, record-breaking striker best known for his time with English club Liverpool in the late 1980s. His tally of 330 Football League goals is ...

Tony Cascarino Anthony Guy Cascarino (born 1 September 1962) is a former professional footballer who played as a striker for various British and French clubs and internationally for the Republic of Ireland national team, with whom he competed in UEFA Euro 19 ...

Ray Houghton Raymond James Houghton (born 9 January 1962) is a former professional footballer and current sports analyst and commentator with RTÉ Sport. As a player, he was a midfielder, notably playing for Liverpool where he won two First Division titles ...

John Bosman Johannes "John" Jacobus Bosman (born 1 February 1965) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a striker. A prolific goalscorer for both club and country, he played professionally for 19 years, most notably with Ajax (five sea ...

* Colin Clarke *

Rune Bratseth Rune Bratseth (born 19 March 1961) is a Norwegian former footballer who played as a sweeper. Nicknamed '' Elk'' due to his stature, he is best known for his spell with Werder Bremen, also having appeared in the 1994 World Cup with Norway. Club ...

Jan Åge Fjørtoft Jan Åge Fjørtoft (born 10 January 1967) is a Norwegian former professional footballer. A powerful centre forward with goalscoring ability, he played professionally in Norway, Austria, England and Germany. He appeared in 71 international matche ...

Kjetil Osvold Kjetil Osvold (born 5 June 1961 in Ålesund) is a retired Norwegian footballer. Between 1984 and 1989 he scored 2 goals in 37 caps for Norway. On club level he played for Start, Lillestrøm, Nottingham Forest, Leicester City, Djurgården, PAOK ...

* Ryszard Tarasiewicz *

Vítor Paneira Vítor Manuel da Costa Araújo (born 16 February 1966), known as Vítor Paneira, is a Portuguese former football player and manager. A midfielder, he excelled in the late 80s and early 90s with Benfica, to where he arrived from the lower lea ...

Gavril Balint Gavril Pele "Gabi" Balint (born 3 January 1963) is a Romanian football manager and former player, who was part of the hugely successful Steaua team of the 1980s. Club career Born in Sângeorz-Băi, Bistrița, Balint made his Divizia A debut w ...

Rodion Cămătaru Rodion Gorun Cămătaru (; born 22 June 1958) is a Romanian former professional footballer who played as a striker. Club career Rodion Cămătaru was born on 22 June 1958 in Strehaia and debuted in Divizia A with Universitatea Craiova on 10 ...

* Dorin Mateuţ *

Ioan Sabău Ioan Ovidiu Sabău (born 12 February 1968) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player. Club career Ioan Sabău, nicknamed ''Moțul'' after the people from Țara Moților because of his ambition, was born on 12 February 1968 ...

Ally McCoist Alistair Murdoch McCoist, (; born 24 September 1962) is a Scottish former footballer who has since worked as a manager and TV pundit. McCoist began his playing career with Scottish club St Johnstone before moving to English side Sunderland in ...

Richard Gough Charles Richard Gough (born 5 April 1962) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a defender. Gough played in the successful Dundee United team of the early 1980s, winning the Scottish league title in 1982–83 and reachi ...

Igor Dobrovolski Igor Ivanovich Dobrovolski (russian: Игорь Иванович Добровольский, ua, Ігор Іванович Добровольський, ''Ihor Ivanovych Dobrovolskyi''; born 27 August 1967) is a football manager and a former ...

Oleksiy Mykhaylychenko Oleksiy Oleksandrovych Mykhaylychenko ( uk, Олексій Олександрович Михайличенко; born 30 March 1963) is a Ukrainian football coach and former professional player. He is a Distinguished Master of Sports of the US ...

Johnny Ekström Johnny Douglas Ekström (born 5 March 1965) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a forward and a winger. He played professionally in Italy, Germany, France, and Spain but is best remembered for his time in Sweden with IF ...

Lothar Matthäus Lothar Herbert Matthäus (; born 21 March 1961) is a German football pundit and former professional player and manager. After captaining West Germany to victory in the 1990 FIFA World Cup where he lifted the World Cup trophy, he was awarded the ...

Andreas Möller Andreas Möller (born 2 September 1967) is a German former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He is the head of the youth department at Eintracht Frankfurt. Club career At club level, Möller played for Eintrach ...

Karl-Heinz Riedle Karl-Heinz Riedle (; born 16 September 1965) is a German former professional footballer who played as a striker. Despite not being particularly tall, he was nicknamed "Air" throughout his career, due to his notable heading accuracy, jumping an ...

Faruk Hadžibegić Faruk Hadžibegić (; born 7 October 1957) is a Bosnian professional football manager and former player who is the manager of the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team. Club career During his career, Hadžibegić played for hometown club Sarajev ...

* Srečko Katanec *

Dragan Stojković Dragan Stojković ( sr-Cyrl, Драган Стојковић, ; born 3 March 1965), also known by the nickname Piksi (Пикси), is a Serbian former footballer who played as a midfielder, and the current manager of the Serbia national team. Wi ...

Zlatko Vujović Zlatko Vujović (; born 26 August 1958) is a Croatian retired footballer who played as a striker. His twin brother, Zoran, was also a professional footballer. They were both Yugoslav internationals, and both spent a large part of their profes ...

;1 goal *

Ylli Shehu Ylli Shehu (born 13 March 1966) is an Albanian retired football player. Club career Shehu made his senior debut for Partizani against Naftëtari Qyteti Stalin in 1984 aged only 16 and he won two Albanian championships in 1987 and 1993 with t ...

Heimo Pfeifenberger Heimo Pfeifenberger (born 29 December 1966) is an Austrian professional football manager and a former player. He is the manager of SV Grödig. Club career On club level Pfeifenberger played for USV Zederhaus (youth career), Austria Salzburg, ...

* Manfred Zsak *

Jan Ceulemans Jan Anna Gumaar Ceulemans (; born 28 February 1957) is a Belgian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. A prolific goalscorer, Ceulemans was known for his stamina, aerial ability and technique. He was also known ...

* Bruno Versavel * Kalin Bankov *

Bozhidar Iskrenov Bojidar Georgiev Iskrenov ( bg, Божидар Гeopгиeв Искренов, born 1 August 1962), nicknamed Gibona (Гибона means "The Gibbon"), Gibi (Гиби) and The Joy of the People (Радостта на народа), is a former Bu ...

Trifon Ivanov Trifon Marinov Ivanov ( bg, Трифон Маринов Иванов; 27 July 1965 – 13 February 2016) was a Bulgarian professional footballer who played as a defender. Ivanov made his debut for Bulgaria in 1988, earning 76 caps and scoring ...

* Hristo Kolev * Anyo Sadkov * Hristo Stoichkov *

Yiannos Ioannou Yiannos Ioannou ( el, Γιάννος Ιωάννου) (born January 25, 1966) is a former Cypriot football player. Club career He was one of the most successful strikers in Cyprus ever and because of that he was given the nickname "Mr Goal". Pla ...

* Floros Nicolaou *

Jozef Chovanec Jozef Chovanec (born 7 March 1960) is a Czech former professional football player and manager. Playing career As a player, Chovanec spent almost his whole career at Sparta Prague. In 1988, he moved to the Netherlands, to play briefly for PSV E ...

* Stanislav Griga *

Ivan Hašek Ivan Hašek (born 6 September 1963) is a Czech professional football coach and former player. Hašek played as a central midfielder, and spent 11 years of his career with Sparta Prague, appearing in more than 300 official games with the club, ...

Milan Luhový Milan Luhový (born 1 January 1963 in Ružomberok) is a former football player. He played 31 matches for Czechoslovakia and scored seven goals. In his club career he played for Slovan Bratislava, Dukla Prague, Sporting Gijón, AS Saint-Étien ...

Ľubomír Moravčík Ľubomír "Lubo" Moravčík (born 22 June 1965) is a Slovakian football manager and former footballer. A creative midfielder renowned for his technical ability, he was capable of unleashing powerful, accurate shots, and pinpoint crosses with bo ...

* Henrik Andersen *

Jan Bartram Jan Lewis Bartram (born 6 March 1962 as Jan Louis Bartram), known simply as Jan Bartram, is a Danish former professional association football player in the midfielder position. He played for Scottish team Rangers and Bayer 05 Uerdingen in Ger ...

* Lars Elstrup *

Michael Laudrup Michael Laudrup (, born 15 June 1964) is a Danish professional football coach and former player. He is considered to be one of the greatest players of all time. He is the older brother of fellow retired footballer Brian Laudrup. During his p ...

Kim Vilfort Kim Vilfort (; born 15 November 1962) is a Danish retired professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He is the head talent scout at Brøndby IF. His 17-year professional career was mainly associated with Brøndby IF, for which he playe ...

Thomas Doll Thomas Jens Uwe Doll (born 9 April 1966) is a German professional football manager and a former football player who is the current Manager of Persija Jakarta. He played as an attacking midfielder for F.C. Hansa Rostock, BFC Dynamo, Hamburger SV, ...

Rainer Ernst Rainer Ernst (born 31 December 1961) is a German former professional footballer who amassed 56 caps for the East Germany national team. He was the last captain of East Germany before the political change. Club career Youth career Ernst ...

Ulf Kirsten Ulf Kirsten (born 4 December 1965) is a German former professional footballer who played as a striker. Nicknamed ''Der Schwatte'' (dialect for ''Der Schwarze'', 'The Black One'), he is the first player in history to reach a total 100 caps play ...

* Paul Gascoigne *

Bryan Robson Bryan Robson OBE (born 11 January 1957) is an English football manager and former player. He began his career with West Bromwich Albion in 1972, where he amassed over 200 appearances and was club captain before moving to Manchester United in ...

* Chris Waddle *

Neil Webb Neil John Webb (born 30 July 1963) is an English football manager, former footballer and television pundit. He primarily played as a midfielder but also played as a defender between 1980 and 1997, notably in the top flight for Manchester Unit ...

Mixu Paatelainen Mika-Matti Petteri Paatelainen (born 3 February 1967) is a Finnish former professional football player and the head coach of Veikkausliiga club HIFK. He scored 18 goals in 70 appearances for the Finnish national team, which makes him Finland's ...

* Kari Ukkonen *

Laurent Blanc Laurent Robert Blanc (born 19 November 1965) is a French professional football manager and former player who played as a centre-back, and is currently the manager of Ligue 1 club Lyon. He has the nickname ''Le Président'', which was given to him ...

Eric Cantona Eric Daniel Pierre Cantona (; ; born 24 May 1966) is a French actor, director, producer, and former professional footballer. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation, Cantona is credited as having made Manchester United a d ...

Jean-Philippe Durand Jean-Philippe Durand (born 11 November 1960) is a French former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. In his playing career, he played for Olympique Marseille and France at Euro 1992. Whilst at Marseille, he played in the victorio ...

* Christian Perez *

Franck Sauzée Franck Gaston Henri Sauzée (born 28 October 1965) is a French former professional footballer and manager. He played 39 times for the France national team between 1988 and 1993, scoring nine goals and captaining the team several times. He achiev ...

Daniel Xuereb Daniel Xuereb (born 22 June 1959) is a French former professional footballer who played as a striker. He earned eight international caps for France during the 1980s, scoring one goal. As a player of RC Lens (1981–1986), he appeared for F ...

* Kostas Mavridis * Tasos Mitropoulos *

Nikos Nioplias Nikos Nioplias ( el, Νίκος Νιόπλιας; born 17 January 1965) is a Greek professional football manager and former player. Playing career Club His career began with OFI Crete in 1983, winning the Greek Cup in 1987, and he remained fo ...

Imre Boda Imre Boda (born 10 October 1961) is a retired Hungarian international footballer, who played as a forward. Club career Boda began playing youth football with MTK Budapest FC. He would join the senior team in 1980, and make 190 league appearanc ...

* György Bognár *

József Kiprich József Kiprich (born 6 September 1963) is a retired Hungarian football forward and currently a football manager and scout. He made his debut for the Hungarian national team in 1984, and got 70 caps and 28 goals until 1995. He was a partici ...

* Kálmán Kovács * Atli Eðvaldsson *

Sigurður Grétarsson Sigurður Grétarsson (born 2 May 1962) is an Icelandic former footballer who played as a striker. After retiring, he worked as a football manager. He is the older brother of former international player Arnar Grétarsson. Club career Sigurð ...

* Ragnar Margeirsson *

Guðmundur Torfason Guðmundur "Gunni" Torfason (born 13 December 1961, in Vestmannaeyjar) is an Icelandic former footballer and manager. Playing career Club A striker, he became top goalscorer in the Icelandic league in 1986 with 19 goals when he was also nam ...

* Paul McGrath * Kevin Moran (footballer), Kevin Moran * Ronnie Whelan * Guy Hellers * Robby Langers * Théo Malget * Ruud Gullit * Wim Kieft * Erwin Koeman * Ronald Koeman * Graeme Rutjes * Marco van Basten * Michael O'Neill (footballer), Michael O'Neill * Steve Penney (footballer), Steve Penney * Jimmy Quinn (Northern Ireland footballer), Jimmy Quinn * Norman Whiteside * Erland Johnsen * Krzysztof Warzycha * Jacek Ziober * Rui Barros * Paulo Futre * Fernando Gomes (Portuguese footballer), Fernando Gomes * João Domingos Pinto, João Pinto * Frederico Rosa * Gheorghe Hagi * Gheorghe Popescu * Gordon Durie * Paul McStay * Oleksandr Zavarov * Genar Andrinúa * Txiki Begiristain * Fernando Gómez Colomer, Fernando * Juan Francisco Rodríguez Herrera, Juanito * Julio Salinas * Leif Engqvist * Hans Holmqvist * Klas Ingesson * Niclas Nyhlén, Niclas Larsson * Peter Larsson (footballer, born 1961), Peter Larsson * Roger Ljung * Mats Magnusson * Christophe Bonvin * Adrian Knup * Alain Sutter * Beat Sutter * Dario Zuffi * Oğuz Çetin * Malcolm Allen (footballer), Malcolm Allen * Mark Bowen (footballer), Mark Bowen * Dean Saunders * Thomas Häßler * Jürgen Klinsmann * Pierre Littbarski * Darko Pančev * Predrag Spasić * Vujadin Stanojković * Safet Sušić ;1 own goal * Alan McDonald (Northern Ireland footballer), Alan McDonald (playing against Spain national football team, Spain) * Anton Rogan (playing against Spain national football team, Spain) * Gary Gillespie (playing against Yugoslavia national football team, Yugoslavia) * Míchel (playing against Republic of Ireland national football team, Ireland) * Alain Geiger (playing against Belgium national football team, Belgium)

External links

European Zone
at FIFA.com
UEFA Qualifier results with full game box scores
at Scoreshelf.com {{DEFAULTSORT:1990 Fifa World Cup Qualification (Uefa) 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA), 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification, UEFA FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA) 1988–89 in European football, World Cup 1989–90 in European football, World Cup