1990 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 6 facts for kids
The 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 6 was a special football competition. It was part of the journey for European teams to qualify for the 1990 FIFA World Cup, a huge international football tournament. In this group, two teams played really well and earned their spots in the World Cup: Spain and the Republic of Ireland.
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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 see who is the best. But first, they have to qualify! This means they play matches against other teams in their region. These qualification games decide which teams get to go to the main World Cup event.
How UEFA Group 6 Worked
UEFA stands for the Union of European Football Associations. So, UEFA Group 6 was one of the groups for European teams trying to qualify. Teams in this group played against each other twice: once at home and once away. They earned points for wins and draws. The teams with the most points at the end got to go to the World Cup.
Group 6 Teams and Results
Five teams were in UEFA Group 6. They all played eight matches each. Here's how they finished:
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Spain |
8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 20 | 3 | +17 | 13 |
 Republic of Ireland |
8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 2 | +8 | 12 |
 Hungary |
8 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 12 | –4 | 8 |
 Northern Ireland |
8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 12 | –6 | 5 |
 Malta |
8 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 18 | –15 | 2 |
Who Qualified?
As you can see from the table, Spain finished first with 13 points. They won six games and only lost one. The Republic of Ireland came in second with 12 points. They also had a great run, winning five matches. Both of these teams earned their tickets to the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy!
Other Teams in the Group
- Hungary finished third. They had some draws, which helped them get points.
- Northern Ireland was fourth. They won two games.
- Malta finished fifth. They managed to get two draws.
Top Scorers of Group 6
Scoring goals is super important in football! Here are the players who scored the most goals in this qualification group:
5 goals
- Manolo (from Spain)
- Míchel (also from Spain)
3 goals
- Carmel Busuttil (from Malta)
- Emilio Butragueño (from Spain)
These players helped their teams a lot by finding the back of the net!
