It began on 23 June with the round of 16 matches, and ended on 8 July with the final held at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, in which West Germany beat the defending champions Argentina 1–0 to claim their third World Cup.

The following table published in Section 28 of the tournament regulations, shows the different options to define the opponents for the winners of groups A, B, C and D. Assistant referees: Jamal Al Sharif (Syria) Berny Ulloa Morera (Costa Rica) Assistant referees: Armando Pérez Hoyos (Colombia) Pietro d'Elia (Italy) Brazil dominated for most of the match, but Diego Maradona went on a trademark run from the halfway line to the edge of the penalty area late in the match, and found Claudio Caniggia, who rounded the onrushing Cláudio Taffarel to give Argentina a lead that they would not relinquish.

Yet England had grossly underestimated Cameroon's threat, despite the Indomitable Lions defeating then World Champions Argentina in the tournament's opening game and easily seeing off a highly fancied Colombia in the Round of 16.

Howard Wilkinson was observing Cameroon's progress for England and informed the players that this quarter-final match represented "A practical bye to the semi-finals".

England would not face African opposition in the knockout stage of a World Cup again until 2022's Round of 16 encounter with Senegal.