Independent England sport Est. 2026 · England, every angle

No noise. No nonsense. Just England.

Hosted by Italy

1990
World Cup⁠

England: Fourth place

How England performed

England qualified for the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy without losing or conceding a goal, taking three wins and three draws from their six Group 2 fixtures and scoring ten times.

Under Bobby Robson, with Bryan Robson as captain, England drew 1–1 with the Republic of Ireland and 0–0 with the Netherlands before a 1–0 win over Egypt, Wright scoring, took them through. Platt's goal in the 119th minute beat Belgium 1–0 after extra time in the round of 16, and the quarter-final against Cameroon also went to extra time, England winning 3–2 with Platt on target and Lineker converting two penalties. The semi-final against West Germany finished 1–1 after extra time, Lineker equalising in the 80th minute, and England lost the penalty shoot-out 4–3. They then lost the third-place match 2–1 to the hosts, Italy, Platt scoring, to finish fourth. Lineker scored four goals and Platt three, and the run was an improvement on the quarter-final exit of 1986.

Manager
Bobby Robson
Captain
Bryan Robson
Record
P7 W3 D3 L1
Goals
8 for, 6 against

England fixtures

England: 1990 World Cup

13 matches

03 26 Apr 1989
FIFA World Cup · Qualifier · Group 2 Wembley, London

England 5–0 Albania England won

England: Beardsley 12', Lineker 23', Beardsley 64', Waddle 72', Gascoigne 88'

Albania: None

Match page: England v Albania, 26 April 1989

11 1 Jul 1990
FIFA World Cup · Quarter-final Stadio San Paolo, Naples

England 3–2 Cameroon England won

a.e.t.

England: Platt 25', Lineker 83' pen, Lineker 105' pen

Cameroon: Kundé 61' pen, Ekéké 65'

Match page: England v Cameroon, 1 July 1990

13 7 Jul 1990
FIFA World Cup · Third place play-off Stadio San Nicola, Bari

Italy 2–1 England England lost

England: Platt 81'

Italy: Baggio 71', Schillaci 86' pen

Match page: Italy v England, 7 July 1990

England statistics

Scorers

Lineker6
Platt3
Barnes2
Beardsley2
Robson1
Waddle1
Gascoigne1
Webb1

Full England squad

Squad

22 players

No.PlayerPos Club Goals
1 Peter Shilton GK Derby County –
2 Gary Stevens DF Rangers –
3 Stuart Pearce DF Nottingham Forest –
4 Neil Webb MF Manchester United 1
5 Des Walker DF Nottingham Forest –
6 Terry Butcher DF Rangers –
7 Bryan Robson C MF Manchester United 1
8 Chris Waddle MF Marseille 1
9 Peter Beardsley FW Liverpool 2
10 Gary Lineker FW Tottenham Hotspur 6
11 John Barnes MF Liverpool 2
12 Paul Parker DF Queens Park Rangers –
13 Chris Woods GK Rangers –
14 Mark Wright DF Derby County 1
15 Tony Dorigo DF Chelsea –
16 Steve McMahon MF Liverpool –
17 David Platt MF Aston Villa 3
18 Steve Hodge MF Nottingham Forest –
19 Paul Gascoigne MF Tottenham Hotspur 1
20 Trevor Steven MF Rangers –
21 Steve Bull FW Wolverhampton Wanderers –
22 David Seaman GK Queens Park Rangers –

Previous tournament

1986 · Quarter-finals

Next tournament

1998 · Round of 16

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