Savićević's great performance against France put him in Osim's good books, for the time being at least, as he got a chance to start the next qualifier at home versus Cyprus in December 1988. Dejan, still officially in his army service, returned the favour, scoring a hat-trick as Yugoslavia won 4–0 at Marakana. The following qualifier in late April 1989 was a crucial one away at France and Osim decided not to play Savićević, choosing instead to continue with his older regulars up front such as Zlatko Vujović, Sušić, and Baždarević as Yugoslavia eked out a hard-fought scoreless draw at the Parc des Princes.