1990 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL)
| ← 1986  1994 →  | 
| Qualification for championships (CONMEBOL) | 
|---|
The South American (CONMEBOL) zone of qualification for the 1990 FIFA World Cup saw 9 teams competing for 2 direct places at the finals, with one extra place potentially on offer to the winner of a play-off. CONMEBOL member Argentina qualified automatically as reigning World Cup champions.
Format
Teams were divided into 3 groups of 3 teams each. The teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The 2 group winners with the best record qualified directly while the group winner with the worst record advanced to the CONMEBOL / OFC Intercontinental Play-off.[1]
Draw
The draw for the qualifying groups took place in Zürich, Switzerland on 12 December 1987. During the draw teams were drawn from 3 seeded pots into the 3 qualifying groups.
| Pot A | Pot B | Pot C | 
|---|---|---|
| .svg.png) Brazil .svg.png) Paraguay  Uruguay |  Chile  Colombia .svg.png) Peru |  Bolivia  Ecuador .svg.png) Venezuela | 
Groups
Group 1
| 
 | 
 | 
Uruguay qualified with the second-best record among the group winners.
| Uruguay  | 2–0 |  Bolivia | 
|---|---|---|
| Sosa  31' Francescoli  39' | 
Group 2
| 
 | 
 | 
Colombia advanced to the CONMEBOL / OFC Intercontinental Play-off with the worst record among the group winners.
| Ecuador  | 3–1 | .svg.png) Paraguay | 
|---|---|---|
| Aguinaga  26' Marsetti  72' Avilés  82' | Neffa  18' | 
Group 3
| 
 | 
 | 
Brazil qualified with the best record among the group winners.
| Chile  | 5–0 | .svg.png) Venezuela | 
|---|---|---|
| Letellier  14', 34', 69' Yáñez  44' Vera  84' | 
Ranking of first-placed teams
The two group winners with the best records qualify directly for the 1990 FIFA World Cup while the group winner with the worst record entered the CONMEBOL–OFC play-offs.
| Pos | Grp | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 |  Brazil | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 1 | +12 | 10 | Qualification to 1990 FIFA World Cup | 
| 2 | 1 |  Uruguay | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 2 | +5 | 9 | |
| 3 | 2 |  Colombia | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 | +5 | 7 | Advance to 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL–OFC play-off) | 
Inter-confederation play-offs
The winner of this play-off qualified for the 1990 FIFA World Cup.
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg | 
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colombia   | 1–0 |  Israel | 1–0 | 0–0 | 
Qualified teams
The following four teams from CONMEBOL qualified for the final tournament.
| Team | Qualified as | Qualified on | Previous appearances in FIFA World Cup1 | 
|---|---|---|---|
|  Argentina | Defending champions | 29 June 1986 | 9 (1930, 1934, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986) | 
|  Uruguay | Group 1 winners with the second-best record | 24 September 1989 | 8 (1930, 1950, 1954, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1986) | 
|  Brazil | Group 3 winners with the best record | 13 September 1989 | 13 (1930, 1934, 1938, 1950, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986) | 
|  Colombia | CONMEBOL-OFC playoff winners | 30 October 1989 | 1 (1962) | 
- 1 Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year.
Goalscorers
- 5 goals
- 4 goals
- 3 goals
- 2 goals
- 1 goal
 José Milton Melgar José Milton Melgar
 Tito Montaño Tito Montaño
 Álvaro Peña Álvaro Peña
 William Ramallo William Ramallo
 Erwin Sánchez Erwin Sánchez
.svg.png) Branco Branco
.svg.png) Romário Romário
.svg.png) Paulo Silas Paulo Silas
 Ivo Basay Ivo Basay
 Jaime Vera Jaime Vera
 Patricio Yáñez Patricio Yáñez
 Iván Zamorano Iván Zamorano
 Rubén Darío Hernández Rubén Darío Hernández
 Albeiro Usuriaga Albeiro Usuriaga
 Álex Aguinaga Álex Aguinaga
 Pietro Marsetti Pietro Marsetti
.svg.png) Roberto Cabañas Roberto Cabañas
.svg.png) José Luis Chilavert José Luis Chilavert
.svg.png) Alfredo Mendoza Alfredo Mendoza
.svg.png) Gustavo Neffa Gustavo Neffa
 Andrés Aurelio González Andrés Aurelio González
 José del Solar José del Solar
 Antonio Alzamendi Antonio Alzamendi
 Enzo Francescoli Enzo Francescoli
.svg.png) Ildemaro Fernández Ildemaro Fernández
- 1 own goal
 Hugo González (playing against Brazil) Hugo González (playing against Brazil)
 Alfonso Domínguez (playing against Bolivia) Alfonso Domínguez (playing against Bolivia)
.svg.png) Pedro Acosta (playing against Brazil) Pedro Acosta (playing against Brazil)
Citations
- ^ "FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL) 1990, football - table and standings, match results, schedule, stats, videos, news". soccer365.net. Retrieved 2025-05-12.
- ^ Archives, L. A. Times (1989-10-26). "Chile's Roberto Rojas was banned from organized..." Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2025-03-28.
- ^ Gardner, Paul (1989-11-10). "Brazil-Chile Incident Still a Mystery to FIFA". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-03-28.
- ^ Edwards, Piers (2014-06-17). "World Cup scandal! The unbelievable plot to eliminate Brazil". CNN. Retrieved 2025-03-28.
Notes
- ^ The Chile–Venezuela match was played on neutral ground in Argentina instead of in Chile because Chile was penalised for rioting during the Chile vs Brazil match.
- ^ The match was abandoned in the 67th minute with Brazil leading 1–0 after Chile walked off the field when a firecracker thrown from the crowd supposedly hit goalkeeper Roberto Rojas in the head, leaving him bloodied and having to be carried from the pitch on a stretcher; a subsequent FIFA investigation found that Rojas's injury was self-inflicted, using a razor blade concealed in his glove. On 13 September, the match was awarded 2–0 to Brazil, and Chile were banned from qualifying for the next World Cup. Rojas was given a lifetime ban from competitive football (lifted in 2001), as was Chile manager Orlando Aravena, vice-captain Fernando Astengo and team doctor Daniel Rodriguez.[2][3][4]
External links
- South American zone at FIFA.com