Italia 90: Luck of the Irish Trivia Quiz

Answer: Spain

Ireland and Spain both qualified from Group 6 in the qualifiers. Spain won the group. Going into the final round of games, Ireland knew that qualification was not a given. If Hungary beat Spain and Ireland failed to beat Malta, the legacy of Italia '90 may have ended up very different.

As it so happened, Spain beat Hungary 4-0 and Ireland beat Malta 2-0 in Malta to secure a place at the 1990 World Cup. Northern Ireland were also in Group 6.

Answer: Jack Charlton

Jack Charlton became the first non-Irishman to manage the Irish national team, when he succeeded Eoin Hand in 1986. At the time, many Irish fans were up in arms at the fact that the job was given to a man from England.

An Irish legend exists about Jack Charlton, after the World Cup campaign. The story suggests that 'Big Jack' would call for a round of drinks in many Irish pubs and always pay by cheque. The landlord would frame the cheque (as a souvenir) and never cash it, leaving 'Big Jack' getting the beer for free. Now, that is lucky!

Answer: Kevin Sheedy

The match took place on the 11th June 1990, in the Stadio Sant'Ella stadium in Cagliari. Gary Lineker scored in the first half for England before Sheedy scored the equaliser. The match finished 1-1. Although he had previously played a few times for Liverpool, Kevin Sheedy will probably always be considered a legend amongst Everton fans. He also played for Hereford United and Newcastle United in his career.

Answer: Egypt

Egypt would go on to finish bottom of the group in Italia '90 (they were involved in the only match of the group that didn't end in a draw; a 1-0 defeat to England). The match finished 0-0 in a somewhat poor encounter. The game took place on the 17th June 1990, in the Stadio La Favorita in Palermo.

Answer: 1-1

The match took place on the 21st June 1990, in the Stadio Favorita in Palermo. Ruud Gullit scored in the first half of the game and Niall Quinn scored an equaliser in the second half. It was a tense match in which neither side could afford to lose if they wanted to qualify for the next round of the competition. As it turned out, the game ended in a draw and both teams qualified.

Answer: Ireland got second in the group after drawing lots with The Netherlands

In a first in World Cup finals history, Ireland and The Netherlands were deadlocked in second position in Group F. They both drew all three games, both had scored two goals and both had an identical goal difference (both scored two and conceded two goals). FIFA proceeded to draw lots and Ireland came out the fortunate ones. Had Ireland lost the drawing of lots, they would have played West Germany in the second round.

Answer: David O'Leary

At 4-4 in the penalty shoot-out, Daniel Timofte stood at the spot for Romania. His penalty was a good strike but Packie Bonner in the Irish goal saved the penalty. It was an incredible moment in Irish sporting history. When David O'Leary stepped up to take his spot kick, many Irish fans could not watch, including manager, Jack Charlton (there was a strong opinion that O'Leary would miss the penalty).

The penalty went into the back of the net and Ireland were through to the next round. Kevin Sheedy, Ray Houghton, Andy Townsend and Tony Cascarino scored Ireland's other four penalties in the shoot-out.

Answer: Salvatore Schillaci

Better known as 'Toto' Schillaci, Salvatore scored the only goal in a 1-0 victory for Italy in Rome, on the 30th June 1990. Roberto Donadoni struck a rasping shot that Packie Bonner (the Irish goalkeeper) could only parry into the path of Schillaci, who made no mistake with his effort. Schillaci went on to win the 'Golden Boot' as top scorer in the competition with six goals.

Answer: Argentina and West Germany

West Germany beat Argentina 1-0 in the final. Andreas Brehme scored the winner with a penalty that just beat Argentina goalkeeper, Sergio Goycochea, late in the game. England and Italy contested the third place play off, having been beaten by West Germany and Italy, respectively in the semi-finals.

Ireland would have played Argentina in the semi-finals had they beaten Italy in the quarter-final.

Answer: 0

Unfortunately, Ireland didn't have any representatives on the 'team of the tournament'. Italy boasted three players (Franco Baresi, Roberto Donadoni and 'Toto' Schillaci), Argentina had two players (Sergio Goycochea and Diego Maradona), Cameroon had two players (Jules Onana and Roger Milla), West Germany had two players (Andreas Brehme and Lothar Matthaus), Czechoslovakia had one player (Thomas Skuhravy) and England had one player (Paul Gascoigne).