1990 FIFA World Cup qualification
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Teams | 116 (from 6 confederations) |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 314 |
| Goals scored | 735 (2.34 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Marc Van Der Linden Hwang Sun-hong (7 goals each) |
← 1986 1994 → | |
The 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. The 1990 FIFA World Cup featured 24 teams with one place reserved for the host nation, Italy, and one place for the defending champions, Argentina. The remaining 22 places were determined by a qualification process, in which 116 teams, from the six FIFA confederations, competed. Most of the successful teams were determined within these confederations, with a limited number of inter-confederation play-offs occurring at the end of the process.
The first qualification match was played on 17 April 1988 and qualification concluded on 19 November 1989. A total of 735 goals were scored in the 314 qualifying matches (an average of 2.34 per match).