at Lansdowne Road on 19 October 1988. Aldridge withdrew himself from Ireland's World Cup qualifying tie with Spain at Lansdowne Road on 26 April 1989, as he felt unable to participate in the game due to his grief over the Hillsborough disaster. The game ended in a 1–0 win for Ireland. Aldridge finally scored his first goals at competitive level when he scored twice in a 2–0 win away over Malta, which sealed Ireland's qualification for the 1990 FIFA World Cup. Aldridge played a crucial role in Ireland's path to the quarter-finals of the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy. Though he had finally opened his goal account for his country, he failed to score at the World Cup (although he had a goal disallowed in a 1–1 draw with the Netherlands) and Ireland lost to the host nation in the last eight. Aldridge played every game but was substituted in all of his five appearances. Ireland failed to qualify for Euro 92, despite going through their group unbeaten. Aldridge scored three times in qualification, all 3 goals coming in Ireland's opening 5–0 win over Turkey at Lansdowne Road. Despite this setback, Aldridge helped Ireland to qualify for the 1994 World Cup: he scored 6 times in qualifying including a hat-trick in a 4–0 win over Latvia. Aldridge's international career with Ireland is also remembered for an off-pitch incident at the 1994 FIFA World Cup. Trailing 2–0 to Mexico in a group game in Orlando, Florida, manager Charlton tried to send Aldridge on as a substitute but was delayed by a perceived sluggishness from the officials. Manager and player both launched expletive-laden tirades which were clearly heard by television viewers, with Aldridge having to be restrained from attacking the 4th official and a FIFA representative. Both were punished after the game, but when Aldridge finally was allowed on, after 6 full minutes of trying, he scored a goal to give Ireland a chance to get back into the game. Despite losing the game 2–1, Aldridge's goal was crucial in securing qualification for the second round. All four teams in the group had finished with the same number of points and the same goal difference, Ireland's qualification was at the expense of Norway who had scored just one goal fewer. Aldridge continued to play for Ireland in the qualifying stages of Euro 96. Despite a strong start to the group, Ireland