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1990 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 2 facts for kids

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The 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 2 was a series of football matches. These games helped decide which teams from Europe would play in the 1990 FIFA World Cup. The World Cup is a huge international football tournament. In this specific group, two teams, Sweden and England, played well enough to qualify. This meant they earned a spot in the main World Cup event held in Italy.

What is World Cup Qualification?

The FIFA World Cup is the biggest football tournament in the world. Teams from all over the globe compete to be champions. But first, they have to qualify! Qualification is like a giant competition before the main event. Teams play matches against other teams in their region. The winners of these qualification groups get to go to the World Cup.

For the 1990 World Cup, teams from Europe (UEFA) were divided into groups. Group 2 had four teams: England, Sweden, Poland, and Albania. They all played each other twice, once at home and once away. The goal was to earn as many points as possible. The top teams from each group would then qualify for the World Cup.

How Group 2 Played Out

The matches in Group 2 took place between 1988 and 1989. Each team played a total of six games. Points were awarded for each match:

  • Two points for a win
  • One point for a draw (a tie)
  • Zero points for a loss

The teams wanted to finish in the top two spots of the group. This would guarantee them a place in the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy.

Team Standings

Here is how the teams finished in Group 2. You can see how many games they played, won, drew, and lost. You can also see how many goals they scored and let in.

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Sweden 6 4 2 0 9 3 +6 10
 England 6 3 3 0 10 0 +10 9
 Poland 6 2 1 3 4 8 –4 5
 Albania 6 0 0 6 3 15 –12 0

As you can see from the table:

  • Sweden finished first. They won four games and drew two, meaning they didn't lose any matches! They scored 9 goals and only let in 3.
  • England came in second. They won three games and drew three, also staying unbeaten. They had a great defense, scoring 10 goals and not letting in any!
  • Poland finished third. They won two games, drew one, and lost three.
  • Albania was fourth. They lost all six of their matches.

Both Sweden and England successfully qualified for the 1990 FIFA World Cup.

Goal Scorers

Scoring goals is super important in football! Here are the players who scored the most goals in Group 2 qualification, with two goals each:

These players were key to their teams' efforts to qualify for the World Cup.

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