In this World Cup, the tournament has seen a record low average of goals scored and a proliferation of violent behavior, with a record number of red cards at one point reaching 16. Numerous teams adopted total defensive tactics, especially in the 1990's when the scale of fouls was more lenient, and defenses stacked up in the backfield to stop opposing offenses by fouling and shanking the ball, making the game extremely difficult.
Argentina's performance is even more worrisome, with Maradona nearing 30 years of age, but the bigger problem is that the team is riddled with injuries. Former leading scorer Valdano and strong defender Brown have both retired, while five of the starters are injured and Maradona himself has a toe injury. Such poor form has lowered expectations for the Argentine team to the freezing point.
However, Italy, the team that had the highest claim to the title, showed their strength. As the hosts, they went all out with a team lineup that was a golden combination. From the final result, both the number of goals conceded at the defensive end and the winners of the Golden Ball and Golden Boot awards proved that the Italian team was the favorite to win the title.
However, Maradona's World Cup journey did not go well. Addicted to drugs and out of shape, his performance at this year's World Cup was highly questionable. Although Maradona rarely showed breakthrough attacks in matches, his partnership with Kanija gave Argentina a glimmer of hope against Cameroon in the group stage opener.
Cameroon is a strong team, having made it to the last eight, and has strong players such as "Uncle Mira". However, in the first match, Cameroon only put "Uncle Mira" on the bench in the 81st minute. Before that, Cameroon had already exhausted Argentina. The match was played at the San Siro stadium in Milan, where Argentina had no success in front of the goal and the back line was in disarray.
In the second half, coach Bilardo brought on 23-year-old Kanija, who became the dark horse with some chances for Argentina. But Cameroon's Biyik's header in the 67th minute gave Argentina goalkeeper Pumpido an outrageous offload and Cameroon a 1-0 lead. In the end, Argentina went down 1-0 to Cameroon, who finished first in the group.
Nonetheless, Maradona sparked controversy with his post-match comments when he said, "The only thing that makes me happy this afternoon is that because of me, the Italians in Milan are no longer racist and for the first time they are starting to support the Africans." This made Italians hate him, especially after he had just led Napoli to the Boxing League title, stopping the AC Milan Three Musketeers and the Inter Troika.
Faced with the question of whether or not Argentina would make it to the round of 16, the coach went straight to pairing Kanija with Maradona in the second game against the Soviet Union. This combination became legendary in Argentina, and Maradona started to look for Kanija's passing opportunities with all his might. However, tragedy struck again as Pumpido was injured after colliding with a defender and Argentina faced a major test.
But a magical performance by substitute goalkeeper Goicochea saw Argentina through to the final. If it wasn't for his cross-checking, Argentina might not have even made it past the round of sixteen.
