Sunday, February 25, 2024

World Cup. Group F

 

Group F. England, Holland, Republic of Ireland, Egypt

England







Head coach: Bobby Robson

No.

Pos.

Player

Date of birth (age)

Caps

Club

1

GK

Peter Shilton

18 September 1949 (aged 40)

118

 Derby County

2

DF

Gary Stevens

27 March 1963 (aged 27)

39

 Rangers

3

DF

Stuart Pearce

24 April 1962 (aged 28)

24

 Nottingham Forest

4

MF

Neil Webb

30 July 1963 (aged 26)

19

 Manchester United

5

DF

Des Walker

26 November 1965 (aged 24)

18

 Nottingham Forest

6

DF

Terry Butcher

28 December 1958 (aged 31)

72

 Rangers

7

MF

Bryan Robson (c)

11 January 1957 (aged 33)

85

 Manchester United

8

MF

Chris Waddle

14 December 1960 (aged 29)

52

 Marseille

9

FW

Peter Beardsley

18 January 1961 (aged 29)

40

 Liverpool

10

FW

Gary Lineker

30 November 1960 (aged 29)

51

 Tottenham Hotspur

11

MF

John Barnes

7 November 1963 (aged 26)

53

 Liverpool

12

DF

Paul Parker

4 April 1964 (aged 26)

5

 Queens Park Rangers

13

GK

Chris Woods

14 November 1959 (aged 30)

16

 Rangers

14

DF

Mark Wright

1 August 1963 (aged 26)

24

 Derby County

15

DF

Tony Dorigo

31 December 1965 (aged 24)

3

 Chelsea

16

MF

Steve McMahon

20 August 1961 (aged 28)

12

 Liverpool

17

MF

David Platt

10 June 1966 (aged 23)

5

 Aston Villa

18

MF

Steve Hodge

25 October 1962 (aged 27)

22

 Nottingham Forest

19

MF

Paul Gascoigne

27 May 1967 (aged 23)

11

 Tottenham Hotspur

20

MF

Trevor Steven

21 September 1963 (aged 26)

26

 Rangers

21

FW

Steve Bull

28 March 1965 (aged 25)

7

 Wolverhampton Wanderers

22

GK

David Seaman*

19 September 1963 (aged 26)

3

 Queens Park Rangers

No.

Pos.

Player

Date of birth (age)

Caps

Club


22

GK

Dave Beasant

20 March 1959 (aged 31)

2

 Chelsea


 David Seaman was originally selected, but after the first game in Italy, he had to pull out of the squad due to a thumb injury and was replaced by Dave Beasant.
Group F deserved to be called 'the group of death' not only because this was not a group with one big favourite, but two, but largely because of the specifics of the participants. England could be seen as the best candidate for top place largely because of the internal frictions in the Dutch team. Bobby Robson was not only coach with massive reputation, but also considered the best man for the job in England and he had all best players at his disposal. The late injury of David Seaman was not a problem – not only because England used the new regulation of FIFA permitting to replace injured player after the team selections were officially submitted, but largely because Seaman was a mere third choice and Shilton, nearing his 41st birthday, was undisputed starter. High expectations in England, but outside it... the English national team lost edge long ago and was not seen as a prime candidate for the title. Opinions were cautious and skeptical and Robson somewhat concurred with his statement that there was never before so many equal teams at the finals and anybody could win, hard to predict.

Netherlands







Head coach: Leo Beenhakker

No.

Pos.

Player

Date of birth (age)

Caps

Club

1

GK

Hans van Breukelen

4 October 1956 (aged 33)

52

 PSV

2

DF

Berry van Aerle

8 December 1962 (aged 27)

22

 PSV

3

MF

Frank Rijkaard

30 September 1962 (aged 27)

42

 Milan

4

DF

Ronald Koeman

21 March 1963 (aged 27)

43

 Barcelona

5

DF

Adri van Tiggelen

16 June 1957 (aged 32)

40

 Anderlecht

6

MF

Jan Wouters

17 July 1960 (aged 29)

30

 Ajax

7

MF

Erwin Koeman

20 September 1961 (aged 28)

23

 Mechelen

8

MF

Gerald Vanenburg

5 March 1964 (aged 26)

36

 PSV

9

FW

Marco van Basten

31 October 1964 (aged 25)

35

 Milan

10

MF

Ruud Gullit (c)

1 September 1962 (aged 27)

44

 Milan

11

MF

Richard Witschge

20 September 1969 (aged 20)

4

 Ajax

12

FW

Wim Kieft

12 November 1962 (aged 27)

27

 PSV

13

DF

Graeme Rutjes

26 March 1960 (aged 30)

7

 Mechelen

14

FW

John van 't Schip

30 November 1963 (aged 26)

22

 Ajax

15

FW

Bryan Roy

12 February 1970 (aged 20)

2

 Ajax

16

GK

Joop Hiele

25 December 1958 (aged 31)

6

 Feyenoord

17

FW

Hans Gillhaus

5 November 1963 (aged 26)

2

 Aberdeen

18

DF

Henk Fraser

7 July 1966 (aged 23)

2

 Roda JC

19

FW

John van Loen

4 February 1965 (aged 25)

6

 Roda JC

20

MF

Aron Winter

1 March 1967 (aged 23)

11

 Ajax

21

DF

Danny Blind

1 August 1961 (aged 28)

5

 Ajax

22

GK

Stanley Menzo

15 October 1963 (aged 26)

1

 Ajax

The reasons the reigning European champions were somewhat less likely to top the group were the following: yes, Holland had had the best core of mega-stars among all finalists (Gullit-vanBasten-Rijkard-Ronald Koeman), surrounded by fantasticly talented teammates, but... on one hand, the internal tremors and scandals. The coach was replaced in the last minute, but Beenhakker was not ready-made solution – Gullit had problem with him, which poisoned the atmosphere. Himself, Gullit was not at its best and the same could be said for the other mega-stars, coming tired from grueling Italian and Spanish championships and European tournaments. The opponents in the group were another challenge – the Dutch had traditional respect for British football, seeing themselves as inferior, which made playing against British team always problematic and this time they had not one, but two British opponents. Nobody seriously thought the Dutch could be knocked down in the first round of the finals, but most likely they would finish second and with lots of sweat. However, the ironic words of Cruijff eventually proved prophetic – he said something like 'they wriggle sensing disastrous failure', which at first looked like his usual jab at the Dutch Federation, but as the championship progressed...

Republic of Ireland







Head coach:  Jack Charlton

No.

Pos.

Player

Date of birth (age)

Caps

Club

1

GK

Pat Bonner

24 May 1960 (aged 30)

38

 Celtic

2

DF

Chris Morris

24 December 1963 (aged 26)

21

 Celtic

3

DF

Steve Staunton

19 January 1969 (aged 21)

13

 Liverpool

4

DF

Mick McCarthy (c)

7 February 1959 (aged 31)

42

 Millwall

5

DF

Kevin Moran

29 April 1956 (aged 34)

55

 Blackburn Rovers

6

MF

Ronnie Whelan

25 September 1961 (aged 28)

38

 Liverpool

7

DF

Paul McGrath

4 December 1959 (aged 30)

36

 Aston Villa

8

MF

Ray Houghton

9 January 1962 (aged 28)

29

 Liverpool

9

FW

John Aldridge

18 September 1958 (aged 31)

30

 Real Sociedad

10

FW

Tony Cascarino

1 September 1962 (aged 27)

21

 Aston Villa

11

MF

Kevin Sheedy

21 October 1959 (aged 30)

28

 Everton

12

DF

David O'Leary

2 May 1958 (aged 32)

51

 Arsenal

13

MF

Andy Townsend

23 July 1963 (aged 26)

12

 Norwich City

14

DF

Chris Hughton

11 December 1958 (aged 31)

50

 Tottenham Hotspur

15

FW

Bernie Slaven

13 November 1960 (aged 29)

4

 Middlesbrough

16

MF

John Sheridan

1 October 1964 (aged 25)

8

 Sheffield Wednesday

17

FW

Niall Quinn*

6 October 1966 (aged 23)

15

 Manchester City

18

FW

Frank Stapleton

10 July 1956 (aged 33)

71

 Blackburn Rovers

19

FW

David Kelly

25 November 1965 (aged 24)

6

 Leicester City

20

FW

John Byrne

1 February 1961 (aged 29)

19

 Le Havre

21

MF

Alan McLoughlin

20 April 1967 (aged 23)

1

 Swindon Town

22

GK

Gerry Peyton

20 May 1956 (aged 34)

28

 Bournemouth

 Niall Quinn was registered as Ireland's third goalkeeper

A team admired not for skills, but for spirit and after their brave performance at the 1988 European finals, the team was on a roll. It was expected not to disappoint, but to finish third anyway. Jack Charlton repeatedly said that motivation was not his concern – the Irish always gave their best and having England to play against was enough motivation. Skills were also not a concern – Charlton knew very well that he had a team with limited abilities and did not even thing of creating some fancy schemes. He only wanted the boys to do what they could and to press their opponents away from the Irish net. Simple concept, but realistic one. As a curious note, the Irish team was the only one at the finals with 2 goalkeepers – normally, every coach got the fear of some terrible injuries and took three keepers to the finals, but the new FIFA rule permitted late changes in the team lists, so why still keeping three keepers? Colombia listed just 2 keepers, but Charlton went outdid them by listing striker Niall Quinn as eventual third goalie. And why not? He had Irish at his hand – not particularly skillful players, but spirited enough to play at any position.

Egypt







Head coach: Mahmoud Al-Gohari

No.

Pos.

Player

Date of birth (age)

Caps

Club

1

GK

Ahmed Shobair

28 September 1960 (aged 29)

52

 Al Ahly

2

DF

Ibrahim Hassan

10 August 1966 (aged 23)

45

 Al Ahly

3

DF

Rabie Yassin

7 September 1960 (aged 29)

81

 Al Ahly

4

DF

Hany Ramzy

10 March 1969 (aged 21)

28

 Al Ahly

5

DF

Hesham Yakan

10 August 1962 (aged 27)

35

 Zamalek

6

DF

Ashraf Kasem

25 July 1966 (aged 23)

38

 Zamalek

7

MF

Ismail Youssef

28 June 1964 (aged 25)

29

 Zamalek

8

MF

Magdi Abdelghani

27 July 1959 (aged 30)

N/A

 Beira-Mar

9

FW

Hossam Hassan

10 August 1966 (aged 23)

49

 Al Ahly

10

MF

Gamal Abdel-Hamid (c)

24 November 1957 (aged 32)

76

 Zamalek

11

MF

Tarek Soliman

24 January 1962 (aged 28)

N/A

 Al-Masry

12

MF

Taher Abouzeid

10 April 1962 (aged 28)

57

 Al Ahly

13

DF

Ahmed Ramzy

25 October 1965 (aged 24)

27

 Zamalek

14

MF

Alaa Maihoub

19 January 1963 (aged 27)

N/A

 Al Ahly

15

MF

Saber Eid

1 May 1959 (aged 31)

N/A

 Ghazl El-Mehalla

16

MF

Magdy Tolba

24 February 1964 (aged 26)

N/A

 PAOK

17

FW

Ayman Shawky

9 December 1962 (aged 27)

N/A

 Al Ahly

18

MF

Osama Orabi

22 January 1962 (aged 28)

N/A

 Al Ahly

19

FW

Adel Abdel Rahman

11 December 1967 (aged 22)

N/A

 Al Ahly

20

FW

Ahmed El-Kass

8 July 1965 (aged 24)

42

 El-Olympi Alexandria

21

GK

Ayman Taher

7 January 1966 (aged 24)

N/A

 Zamalek

22

GK

Thabet El-Batal

16 September 1953 (aged 36)

87

 Al Ahly

The outsiders took the World Cup so seriously, they almost missed it. Long training camps were nothing new when World Cup preparations went and national teams often took precedence over clubs and even domestic schedules, but Egypt outdid everything done to this time: in the interest of the national team the domestic championship was canceled and Egypt decided to withdraw from the African championship finals, taking place in the spring before the World Cup. Algeria, hosting the African finas, took issue with the Egyptian idea and complained to FIFA. FIFA ruled out that if Egypt did not appear at the African finals, they will be expelled from the World Cup finals. Egypt sent its second team to Algeria and continued to prepare its bests for the World Cup. From aside, Egypt was unknown team with unknown coach, but African football vastly developed during the 1980s, so they were not taken as hopeless punchbag for the others – it was considered that team Egypt will put some fight and go home after a brave, but losing first round.