1990 FIFA World Cup knockout stage 1990 FIFA World Cup knockout stage The knockout stage of the 1990 FIFA World Cup was the second and final stage of the final tournament, following the group stage. It began on 23 June with the round of 16 matches, and ended on 8 July with the final match of the tournament held in Rome, in which West Germany beat the defending champions Argentina 1–0 to claim their third World Cup. Sixteen teams advanced to the knockout stage to compete in a single-elimination style tournament: The top two teams from each group plus the four best third-placed teams. In the
2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage victory in a World Cup semi-final (three previous semi-finals ended in 6–1 scorelines). Klose's goal was his 16th overall throughout his World Cup appearances, allowing him to beat Ronaldo for the record of all-time top scorer in World Cup finals tournaments. Germany's seven goals took their total tally in World Cup history to 223, surpassing Brazil's 221 goals to first place overall. <section begin=k1 /><section end=k1 /> The two teams had met in eight previous matches, including four times in the FIFA World Cup: Netherlands won 4–0 in the second group stage of the 1974 FIFA World Cup and 2–1