1990 World Cup
• The 1990 World Cup was the 14th edition. It was held in Italy from June 8 to July 8, the second country to host the event twice (the first being Mexico in 1986).
• The tournament was won by West Germany, their third World Cup title. They beat Argentina 1-0 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, a rematch of the previous final four years earlier.
• This was the last tournament to feature a team from the divided Germany, with the country being reunified later in 1990.
• The 1990 World Cup is widely regarded as one of the poorest World Cups. It generated an average 2.21 goals per game - a record low that still stands - and a then-record 16 red cards, including the first ever dismissal in a final.
• This World Cup saw the introduction of the pre-match Fair Play Flag (then inscribed with ‘Fair Play Please’) to encourage fair play. Defensive tactics led to the introduction of the back-pass rule in 1992, and three points for a win instead of two at future World Cups.
• Salvatore Schillaci of Italy received the Golden Boot award for scoring six goals.
1994 World Cup
• The 1994 World Cup was held in nine cities across the United States from June 17 June to July 17.
• Brazil won the tournament after beating Italy 3-2 in a penalty shootout at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California near Los Angeles, after the game had ended 0-0 after extra time. It was the first World Cup final to be decided on penalties. The victory made Brazil the first nation to win four World Cup titles.
• Greece, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia made their first-ever appearances at the tournament, as did Russia, following the break-up of the Soviet Union.
• The tournament saw the end of Diego Maradona’s World Cup career. Maradona was expelled from the tournament after he failed a drug test which uncovered ephedrine, a weight loss drug, in his blood.
• Colombia defender Andres Escobar was a tragic figure of this tournament, as in the group stage game against the United States, he scored an own goal that eliminated his team. Escobar was shot to death outside a bar in a Medellin suburb only 10 days later, apparently in retaliation for the own goal.
• The tournament’s Golden Boot went jointly to Bulgaria’s Hristo Stoichkov and Oleg Salenko of Russia (six goals each), the latter becoming the first player to score five goals in a game. Brazil’s Romario, with five goals, won the Golden Ball.
• Gianluca Pagliuca of Italy became the first goalkeeper to be sent off in a World Cup game, dismissed for handling outside his area against Norway.
• The finals were the first time Fifa decided to experiment with the style of jerseys worn by officials, foregoing the traditional black.
1998 World Cup
• The 1998 World Cup was held in France from June 10 to July 12.
• The tournament was won by France, who beat defending champions Brazil 3-0 in the final. France won their first title, becoming the seventh nation to win a World Cup. Croatia, Jamaica, Japan and South Africa made their first appearances in the finals.
• This was the first World Cup where fourth officials used electronic boards, instead of cardboard.
• Davor Suker of Croatia received the Golden Boot for scoring six goals.
• The pre-final build up was dominated by the omission of Brazilian striker Ronaldo from the starting line-up only to be reinstated 45 minutes before kick-off. France however took the lead after Zinedine Zidane scored via a header. Three minutes before half-time, Zidane scored his second goal of the match, similarly another header from a corner. The tournament hosts went down to 10 men in the 68th minute as Marcel Desailly was sent off for a second bookable offence. But France sealed the win with a third goal: Emmanuel Petit shot low past goalkeeper Claudio Taffarel.
Source: Wikipedia
