5 of the worst cup final performances in football history

Modified Mar 15, 2018 13:32 GMT

Arsenal v Manchester City - Carabao Cup Final — Arsenal capitulated against Manchester City in the recent Carabao Cup Final

#2 Argentina against West Germany - 1990 World Cup Final

Diego Maradona failed to inspire Argentina in the 1990 World Cup final

Perhaps when Holland decided to play dirty against Spain in the 2010 World Cup final, it was because they’d watched Argentina’s performance in the 1990 final 20 years beforehand for inspiration. This one was a truly shameful performance and marred Italia ’90 to the point where it’s remembered as one of the weaker World Cups today.

Argentina – the holders going into the tournament – hadn’t really been firing on all cylinders throughout and relied solely on the efforts of their key player Diego Maradona to get them to the final, but when the big game came he didn’t manage to have any influence at all.

Argentina only managed one shot on goal throughout the entire game, and their tactic seemed to be to defend and kick the Germans while stalling for a penalty shoot-out. West Germany, by contrast, had 23 shots, 16 of them on target, but struggled to break Argentina down due to their dour gameplan.

The game was eventually decided by an 85th-minute penalty from Andreas Brehme, rescuing the watching fans from the possibility of extra-time and more dire football from the Argentines, who became the first side in a World Cup final to have two players sent off.

Pedro Monzon was shown a straight red card for a horrible tackle on Jurgen Klinsmann that left his leg bloody, while Gustavo Dezotti was also sent off when he wrestled Jurgen Kohler to the ground with what looked almost like a choke-slam.

This was a truly bad final performance mostly because it didn’t look like Argentina were interested in trying to win the game at all, regardless of the performance of West Germany.

About the author

Scott is a veteran MMA writer with over two decades of experience, including his ongoing tenure in Sportskeeda, which began seven years ago. He has written over 3000 pieces for the organization, while also covering football. Before joining Sportskeeda, Scott wrote articles for websites like The Oratory and Inside Pulse MMA.

Scott has a degree in history, which drives his research skills and helps him compile accurate information. His long stint in the field helps Scott provide a clear take on important topics, such as the criticism of promotions regarding fighter pay. While he feels fighters deserve a bigger revenue share, he doesn’t want MMA to suffer with purse-split issues.

Scott’s work has been previously reshared by the former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman. He uses credible sources, such as the UFC’s official website, during the writing process.

His dedication to MMA writing won him the Feature Writer of the Month award for Sportskeeda in November 2021.

Outside of work, Scott likes to go to the gym, walk his dog, and travel.

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Edited by Aakanksh Sanketh