At that time, the 14th FIFA would cup was the most watched World Cup events ever.  Played in the beautiful host nation of Italy, 24 teams competed for the ultimate prize in soccer.  And Italy would make its presence felt as the home crowd helped Italy to advance far.

It was on this day, June 8th, 1990 that the 14th world cup kicked off in Italy.  Italy became the second nation to host the World Cup for a 2nd time.  West Germany defeated Argentina by a score of 1 – 0 in the finals, but it was the semi-finals matches which garnered the most excitement.

Host country Italy and Argentina finished their semi-final match tied and they moved into penalty kicks.  The winning penalty kick was scored by Argentinean legend Diego Maradona has Argentina advanced to the finals.  The other semi-finals match went into penalty kicks as well, with West Germany outlasting England.  And even though Italy won the third place march 2 – 1,  many Italians still remember how close Italy came to winning it all at home in 1990.