The Dutch travelled to the 1990 World Cup as one of the favourites, but the team failed to perform as expected. Gullit's knee injuries hampered his play, but his dribble and shot against Ireland helped the Netherlands qualify for the second round. There they met West Germany, in a game marred by an altercation between Frank Rijkaard and Rudi Völler. The Germans gained revenge for their defeat at Euro 1988 by beating the Netherlands 2–1 and going on to win the tournament.