1990 Italy World Cup

This was the last time West Germany competed in the international games and won the World Cup.

The two teams in the World Cup Final were West Germany and Argentina. West Germany player Andreas Brehme (first from right, bottom row) scored at 85 minutes with a penalty and helped the team to win the Jules Rimet Trophy. During the first round, West Germany beat Yugoslavia (4-1), United Arab Emirates (5-1), and had a draw with Colombia (1-1). With 7 points they entered the knockout stage and won the matches against Netherlands (2-1) and Czechoslovakia (1-0). They then earned the ticket to the final after beating England (4-3 penalty) in the semi-finals.

The map below shows the birthplace of each player. As we can see, all 22 players were born and raised in West Germany. Captain Lothar Matthäus, who comes from Erlangen, Bavaria, was named European Footballer of the Year. 26-year-old striker Jürgen Klinsmann comes from Göppingen, Baden-Württemberg.

ARD also offers extended reading if you want to practice your German!