Italy at the FIFA World Cup game, equalised with a powerful header soon after, and provoked Zidane in a manner that lead to the French captain being sent off. He also scored in the penalty-shootout that was to follow. It was only the second time a World Cup final was decided on penalties, again involving Italy after the 1994 final lost to Brazil. Paolo Maldini is the player with the third-most matches at FIFA World Cups, trailing only behind the Germans Lothar Matthäus (25) and Miroslav Klose (24). This also makes him the player with the most World Cup matches who has never won the trophy.
1990 FIFA World Cup the second man (after Mário Zagallo of Brazil) to win the World Cup as a player and as team manager. It was also the first time a team from UEFA won the final against a non-European team. Salvatore Schillaci received the Golden Boot award for scoring six goals in the World Cup. This made him the second Italian footballer to have this honour, after Paolo Rossi won the award in 1982. In total, 115 goals were scored by 75 players (none credited as own goals). After the tournament, FIFA published a ranking of all teams that competed in the 1990