WI: England beat West Germany in the 1990 World Cup semi final?

coopuk

BACKGROUND

With the circulation war at its most desperate, England, and particularly Bobby Robson, had been the subject of abuse from the British tabloids since losing all three games at Euro 88. “ENGLAND MUSTAFA NEW BOSS” was one Sun headline after a draw in Saudi Arabia. When it was leaked that Robson would take over at PSV Eindhoven after the World Cup, they called him a traitor. “ROBSON SELLS OUT FOR A POT OF GOLD” and “PSV OFF BUNGLER BOBBY” were two of the headlines the following day.

Accusing a decent and patriotic Englishman of treachery was among the more preposterous accusations ever to appear in print, and that was even without knowledge of the situation. Robson had already been told by the FA that his England contract would not be renewed when it expired in 1991, and had given him permission to discuss a new job, with no plans to announce it until after the tournament. Robson, who almost exclusively responded with extreme dignity, finally cracked and accused the press of trying to “ruin” England’s World Cup campaign. He also sued the Today newspaper and settled out of court.

This was the background to England's Italia '90 World Cup campaign - an initially apathetic home audience, the tabloid press out for blood, and a manager nearing the end of his contract, unwanted by both the FA and the tabloids. When England could only draw against Jack Charlton's Republic of Ireland in their opening game, the knives came out. When England drew against the Netherlands in the their second game, the press became rabid. It was the setting for a perfect debacle.

Except... it didn't play out that way.

England won their last group game by changing formation to 5-3-2 and beating Egypt to qualify for the 2nd round. Then they beat Belgium to reach the quarter finals. The England supporters began to dream, and the press started - slowly - to change their tune.

England beat fancied Cameroon in the quarter finals 3-2. They had reached the World Cup semi finals for only the second time in their history, and would play against their old rivals West Germany. The England supporters were ecstatic. The press quickly backtracked and hailed the squad and Robson as World beaters. The FA licked their lips nervously and checked Robson's contract. Sales of Nessun Dorma rocketed in England, but not in Scotland or Wales.

And then the semi final. England vs West Germany for a place in the 1990 World Cup final.
 
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coopuk

And so to the semi-final. Italia '90, England vs West Germany. Echoes of 1966 and all that.

A REVISED SEMI FINAL

The match plays out as in R/L, until:

59 min: GOAL! England 0–1 West Germany (Brehme)
England are desperately unlucky with the manner of this goal. Pearce fouled Hässler 22 yards from goal, to the right of centre. The free-kick was touched off to Brehme, whose shot took a vicious deflection off Parker before looping high in the air and agonizingly over the stranded Shilton, who couldn’t back-pedal quickly enough and ended up helping it into the net as he fell backwards.

67 min: West Germany make their second substitution: Stefan Reuter replaces Hässler.

POD
69 min: Waddle, on the left of the box, draws the tackle from Augenthaler with a swing of the hips and then shifts the ball to his left just before Augenthaler takes him down. It's a clear penalty.

70 min: GOAL! England 1–1 West Germany (Lineker)
71 min: Lineker steps up and slots it neatly past Bodo Illgner. Nerves of steel.

73 min: resumption of pressure from West Germany, anxious to restore their lead - however Wright, Butcher and Walker stand firm.

79 min: Bobby Robson prepares to bring on Trevor Stevens for a tiring Butcher, and the pair stand on the touchline waiting for a break in play - which comes in the best possible way.

81 min: GOAL! England 2–1 West Germany (Lineker)
Parker swings a long cross towards Lineker from near the halfway line on the right. It hits the thigh of Kohler, who was running towards his own goal, and as it bounces up Lineker knees it away from Augenthaler and Berthold before cracking an excellent left-footed shot across goal and into the far corner.

82 min: Stevens returns to the bench as Robson instructs the team to sit deep and defend.

84 min: Intense West German pressure, with an extended series of throw-ins on the right wing, but England defend them comfortably enough. Shilton, Walker and Wright are outstanding.

FULL TIME: England 2–1 West Germany
England reach the World Cup final for only the second time in their history. Gascoigne collapses in a flood of tears as Robson runs on to the pitch to congratulate his players.

And with no extra time - Gascoigne is not booked, and doesn't miss the final.
 
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stodge

It would have been shades of 1966 and given what had happened with the Falklands and the infamous "Hand of God" goal scored by Maradona in the 1986 Quarter Final.

The four days from the Wednesday of the semi-final to the final would have seen near hysteria in the UK as the press would have whipped up anti-Argentine hysteria to levels not seen since 1982.

That begs the question - would England have won the Final? Many over here think so - I'm less convinced.

Let's suppose England wins - Iraq would still have invaded Kuwait a month later but the bigger question is whether the patriotic euphoria of a World Cup win would have boosted Thatcher's ratings and deferred a leadership challenge in 1990? If she fires Geoffrey Howe, probably not. I don't see how winning the World Cup stops the IRA murdering Ian Gow on July 30th.
 

Deleted member 140587

stodge said:
Let's suppose England wins - Iraq would still have invaded Kuwait a month later but the bigger question is whether the patriotic euphoria of a World Cup win would have boosted Thatcher's ratings and deferred a leadership challenge in 1990? If she fires Geoffrey Howe, probably not. I don't see how winning the World Cup stops the IRA murdering Ian Gow on July 30th.
Click to expand...
I've heard it said that if England had managed to squeak through in the 1970 World Cup that Harold Wilson would win the election. Ergo I'd think it possible that an England win in 1990 might not hurt Lady Thatcher's standing. That said, I'll leave it to others to assess whether she could hold onto power or not.
 

naraic

Gracchus Tiberius said:
I've heard it said that if England had managed to squeak through in the 1970 World Cup that Harold Wilson would win the election. Ergo I'd think it possible that an England win in 1990 might not hurt Lady Thatcher's standing. That said, I'll leave it to others to assess whether she could hold onto power or not.
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In 1990 thatcher was faced with a challenge for leadership of the Conservative party. She needed a 15% margin after the first ballot to prevent a second ballet. Despite winning an overall majority she was 4 votes short of the required margin.

It's a very small swing.
 

King_Arthur

The 1990 Argentina team was quite poor apart from the obvious guy (with more drugs and less magic) and the keeper. Especially if Gazza plays, England should win if it doesn't go to penalties. They had a very good squad including Waddle, prime John Barnes, Shilton, Bearsley and Lineker (possibly the greatest England player at tournaments).
 

Onkel Willie

England goes on to the finals and wins, or not. By 2020 nobody cares about the outcome of a silly game thirty years ago except for diehard football (soccer to Americans) fanatics.
 

Coulsdon Eagle

Monthly Donor
Are you confusing two players?
Trevor Steven - Everton right-sided midfielder
Gary Stevens - Everton right back - and a more logical choice to replace Butcher.

(At least the other Gary Stevens, who was in the '86 WC along with his namesake, is out of international football by then)
 

marktaha

Banned
Gracchus Tiberius said:
I've heard it said that if England had managed to squeak through in the 1970 World Cup that Harold Wilson would win the election. Ergo I'd think it possible that an England win in 1990 might not hurt Lady Thatcher's standing. That said, I'll leave it to others to assess whether she could hold onto power or not.
Click to expand...
Remember If Gordon Banks had Played? Maggie was finished because of the Poll Tax.
 
Dolan

Dolan

Banned
stodge said:
The four days from the Wednesday of the semi-final to the final would have seen near hysteria in the UK as the press would have whipped up anti-Argentine hysteria to levels not seen since 1982.
Click to expand...
Maybe Argentine ended up being so enraged they try the Second Falklands' War, caused everyone to not paying attention when Saddam invaded Kuwait?
 

Deleted member 90563

England got many memorable and heartwarming football moments from the 1990 World Cup, like when Gazza cried, or Linneker wiped his arse on the lawn after shitting himself during the game against Ireland.
 

coopuk

And an update...

THE BUILD UP TO THE FINAL

England were in the World Cup final for only the second time in their history, and the England fans couldn't believe it. The same tabloid press that had slaughtered
Robson now only wrote platitudes for the great man and his squad. Robson - ever the class act - smiled and said nothing. The icing on the cake came when the Daily Mirror
asked Gascoigne if England would win the final.

"Of course," he said. "We don't lose finals."

In the final they would meet Argentina, and Robson's bete noir, Diego Maradona, the key suspect in the handball incident that sent England home in the 1986 quarter finals.
Argentina had beaten hosts Italy in the other semi final, and the host nation was in shock and mourning. Ever the opportunist, Maradona called on Napoli fans to support Argentina against England, a call which was met with indifference by the Italians and outrage by the English press, who used every opportunity to invoke memories of the 1982 Falkland conflict. In Buenos Aires, things took an unpleasant turn when rioting broke out outside the British Embassy.

And so to the final. Although Argentina had saved their best football for the semis, they had otherwise been poor in the tournament, and were without four suspended players for the final, including Claudio Caniggia. They would have to rely once more on their talisman, Diego Maradonna.

The lineups for the final were:

England (5-3-2)
GK Peter Shilton
RWB Paul Parker
CB Terry Butcher (c)
SW Mark Wright
CB Des Walker
LWB Stuart Pearce
MF Chris Waddle
MF Paul Gascoigne
MF David Platt
ST Gary Lineker
ST Peter Beardsley

Subs:
GK Chris Woods
DF Tony Dorigo
MF Steve McMahon
MF Trevor Steven
FW Steve Bull

Argentina (3-5-2)
GK Sergio Goycochea
SW Juan Simón
CB José Serrizuela
CB Oscar Ruggeri
RWB José Basualdo
LWB Roberto Sensini
DM Néstor Lorenzo
CM Jorge Burruchaga
CM Pedro Troglio
SS Diego Maradona (c)
CF Gustavo Dezotti

Subs:
GK Fabián Cancelarich
DF Edgardo Bauza
DF Pedro Monzón
FW Gabriel Calderón
FW Abel Balbo
 
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coopuk

ITALIA 1990: THE WORLD CUP FINAL

It was a poor game, with both sides shackled by the weight of expectation - the holders, Argentina, playing poorly and relying heavily on the talents of a great player, Diego Maradona, versus England, the creators of the game and with an uneviable record of poor performances at international competitions between 1970 and 1984. They did however possess four world class talents - Peter Shilton, Des Walker, Chris Waddle and the unexpected star of the tournament - Paul Gascoigne.

Argentina, weakened by suspension and injury, offered little attacking threat throughout a contest dominated by England, who despite their possession of the ball struggled to create many clear goalscoring opportunities. Gascoigne's frustration led to him being booked in the 37th minute, and the first half ended 0-0. Argentina's hopes were further dented during the interval when Oscar Ruggeri was found to have picked up an injury, and was replaced by Pedro Monzón.

The second half began with a blistering start - in the 49th minute Gascoigne played a through ball to Beardsley, who jinked around Simón before finding Lineker who slotted home. 1-0 England.

Argentina responded by substituting Jorge Burruchaga for striker Gabriel Calderón, but to no avail - Argentina could not get the ball, and tempers started to fray. In the 65th minute, Monzon was sent off for a foul on Beardsley, becoming the first player ever to be sent off in a World Cup Final, and reducing Argentina to 10 men.

In the 85th minute Mexican referee Edgardo Codesal awarded a penalty to England, after a foul on Lineker by Roberto Sensini, leading to Argentinian protests which were only dismissed when Maradonna was booked. Lineker duly converted the spot kick to settle the contest. 2-0 to England.

In the closing moments, Argentina were reduced to nine after Gustavo Dezotti, who had already been given a yellow card earlier in the match, received a red card when he hauled Chris Waddle to the ground during a stoppage in play.

When the final whistle blew, some of the England players - Gascoigne and Pearce - collapsed in tears, overcome with emotion. Butcher and Walker and Shilton ran to the centre circle to join the rest of the England team, wearing huge smiles of disbelief and triumph. The Argentinians were also in tears - at least, Maradonna was - and they simply walked off, without stopping to shake hands or offer congratulations.

And Bobby Robson ran on to the pitch, arms aloft. The class act had defied the tabloid press and the FA, and won the World Cup for England.

On the BBC, Des Lynam issued the immortal words: "They think it's all over. It is now. The long wait is over. England are the World Champions. Tonight, in England, no-one sleeps." And they played Nessun Dorma.

The 2–0 scoreline provided another first: Argentina were the first team to fail to score in a World Cup Final. It was also the first time a team from UEFA won the final against a non-European team.
 
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coopuk

THE AFTERMATH

The result left both the tabloids and the FA in a quandary. The tabloids had targetted Robson and his players before the World Cup, and now they had been proved wrong - so they did what they did best, and ignored what they had written, and wrote eulogies to the champions of the world. Robson, dignified as ever, said only that he was proud of his players, proud of his country, and proud that he had won the World Cup for it, and that was looking forward to working at PSV.

His captain, Terry Butcher, said what every right minded fan was thinking, and called the press out at the conference: "I’d like to see how some of the newspapers will get out of what they’ve said and whether they’ll change their mind again because when we came to Italy, they said we'd come home after three games. Well, now we've won the World Cup, and now we're all heroes today. Will any of them have the bottle to apologise for what they wrote when we started? I don't think so." There was no response from the attendees at the press conference, and Butcher's comments were hardly reported in the UK.

The England team came home to a delirous reception and an open top bus parade around London, with Gascoigne sporting an enormous pair of false breasts. Both the Prime Minster and the Queen sent their congratulations, and the following week it was announced that Robson would receive a knighthood for services to football, and that the entire team would receive OBEs, with the exception of Butcher and Lineker - who won the Golden Boot - who were made CBEs.

The FA had already contacted Graham Taylor about taking the job on after Robson, and honoured the offer they made to him. Taylor - having taken Watford from the 4th division to the 1st division and and FA Cup final, and having driven Aston Villa to runners up behind Liverpool - was announced as Robson's successor to lukewarm enthusiasm. A press campaign was started to keep Sir Bobby in place as England manager, and ony ended when Robson officially gave his endorsement of Taylor. It was not an auspicious start.
 
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