 For the group stage opener versus West Germany at San Siro, Šabanadžović stayed on the bench without a single minute of action.Due to the heavy opening loss, Osim decided to reshuffle the defensive line for the next group match against Colombia in Bologna, benching Zoran Vulić and Mirsad Baljić while giving Šabanadžović and Vujadin Stanojković a start.Šabanadžović played the full ninety as Yugoslavia recorded a hard-fought 1–0 win.