Ranking every World Cup, from worst to best

Italy 1990

Rating: 6/10

Champion: West Germany

The team, playing for the last time at a World Cup as West Germany, defeated Argentina 1-0 in a rematch of the final just four years earlier won by the South Americans. A goal by Andreas Brehme on a penalty kick in the game’s dying minutes sealed the win. For coach Franz Beckenbauer, the victory was his second after he successfully captained the side to the 1974 title.

Host nation: Italy

The Italians hosted their second World Cup in history, after the first in 1934, and it seemed fitting. Italy’s top flight, Serie A, was considered the best in the world and featured some of the greatest players on the planet at the time. Italy, favored to lift the trophy, would lose to defending champions Argentina in the semifinals in Naples via a penalty shootout, a match that pitted the home fans against the star of their club team, Diego Maradona.

Best player: Salvatore Schillaci (Italy)

The music world has the one-hit wonder; soccer has Schillaci. The tiny Italian striker, whom many had not heard of before the start of the competition, came off the bench to lead the Italians to a third-place finish that year. He would finish as the tournament’s top scorer with six goals.

Iconic moment:

Despite universal criticism for the way teams played, there were lots of great moments: Cameroon’s shock 1-0 win against Argentina in the opening match; goalkeeper Rene Higuita’s waltz outside the penalty area that resulted in Roger Milla’s wonderful goal (and at age 38, he became the oldest player to score at a World Cup, a record he would break again four years later) in Cameroon’s win against Colombia in the round of 16; Frank Rijkaard spitting at Rudi Voeller in the heated match between West Germany and the Netherlands; Roberto Baggio’s impressive goal versus Czechoslovakia in the group stages, only to be rivaled by David Platt’s wonderful half-volley, and subsequent ear-to-ear smile, against Belgium.

Quality of play:

For a tournament with so many great moments, it isn’t at all considered one of the best. Overall, it is widely considered one of the drabbest in soccer history. With an average of just 2.21 goals per game — the lowest of any World Cup — Italia ’90 was marred by cautionary tactics. Argentina reached the final only after overcoming Yugoslavia in the quarterfinals and Italy in the semifinals on penalties. Teams often won by the slimmest of margins and time-wasting became a key tactic. As a result, the back-pass rule (where a goalkeeper could pick up the ball after it was passed to him by a defender) was changed in 1992. It was modified to say that goalkeepers can only use their feet when playing the ball when it is passed to them by a teammate.

Kits:

Italy’s deep blue home shirts and white shorts were a favorite of many that summer. West Germany’s black, red and yellow stripe against the chest of their white shirts and Cameroon’s green-and-red uniforms (with a lion’s face on the chest) also proved popular. One of the ugliest were Costa Rica’s white-and-black stripes reminiscent of Juventus.

Miscellaneous:

Argentina’s Pedro Monzon became the first player to be given a red card in a World Cup final, followed only 22 minutes later by teammate Gustavo Dezotti. Argentina lost the final, reducing Maradona to tears during the trophy presentation.