- See here for Group A
Argentina 0 Cameroon 1
Group B featured four adidas teams. Holders Argentina got off to a losing start as François Omam-Biyik scored the only goal for Cameroon. Argentina goalkeeper Nery Pumpido wore an unusual design seen on few other teams – in contrast, the style used by Thomas N’Kono for Cameroon was used by all four Group B countries.
USSR 0 Romania 2
It would appear that the USSR opted for white as their first-choice kit, given that Romania and Cameroon both changed against them. For the first time, a Romanian change shirt – the same template as the USA – featured all three national colours. As with Czechoslovakia, there hadn’t been enough time to design a new non-Communist crest so they went without.
Soviet goalkeeper Rinat Dasayev opted for yellow shorts and white socks with his scribbles shirt, a look he had often favoured during the 1980s. Playing in a major tournament for the last time, their outfield kit was without the usual ‘CCCP’ across the chest and their design was the same as the Czechs.
Argentina 2 USSR 0
Wearing the same shirt as Romania’s Silviu Lung had against the USSR, Nery Pumpido had to retire injured after 11 minutes. His replacement Sergio Goycochea wore a crestless shirt as well as the team socks rather than Pumpido’s plain pair.
A notable difference on the Argentina outfield kit was the near-total removal of the adidas stripes from the shorts – coach Carlos Bilardo had ordered the change in a bid to summon the successful spirit of 1986 by making the shorts look more like those worn in Mexico.
With Dasayev dropped – he wouldn’t play internationally again – his replacement Aleksandr Uvarov opted for black shorts and socks. While Czechoslovakia had revered the red and white on the diamond pattern on each shirt, the USSR kept it the same for both. In addition, plainer white shorts were used here.
Cameroon 2 Romania 1
Roger Milla announced his arrival at the tournament as he came on to score twice. Silviu Lung opted for a reddish-orange version of the scribbles shirt, the only goalkeeper to wear that colourway.
Romania 1 Argentina 1
Argentina wore their away shorts, with the full striping, though Goycochea’s continuing crestlessness meant only 10 of the 22 players had badges.
Lung wore his third different shirt in as many games, a blue version of the new adidas Taifun design. This result meant both teams qualified for the knockout stages behind Cameroon.
USSR 4 Cameroon 0
The USSR got going, but too late to save themselves and too late to stop Cameroon advancing.
Quite why the African side changed is anybody’s guess, while Uvarov wore a black and grey version of the shirt N’Kono had at the other end. Referee José Roberto Wright of Brazil opted for long sleeves.
Is it wrong that I’m more fascinated by the goalkeeping changes in this group – totally forgot Dasaev crashed and burned at Italia 90 – than the seminal political changes reflected in the non crests and missing “CCCCCCCP”?
Cameroon v Romania was always a contender for most colourful kit meeting ever (as was Cameroon v Colombia later) but i’d no idea the goalies contributed to the spectrum so brilliantly … or that Romania had only added the third colour for these finals.
Your Argentina kits really detailed, bonus the keeper illustration, may i know what the media you worked on the graphic. I’m really fascinated the Argentina keeper kits against Cameroon. Just for your info, I’m already have the completed Argentina all kits historic from the team innagural back in 1900.
I miss that time when goalkeepers wore multiple colors. From now on, they are almost all with a jersey, shorts and socks of one and the same color… By the way, when I played as a goalkeeper (in amateur football, obviously), I hated wearing only one color, I preferred to test combinations like black-white-black, white-red-red, burgundy -blue-blue etc…
Uvarovs shirt vs Cameroon was more purpley than grey