1994 FIFA World Cup - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The 1994 FIFA World Cup, the 15th staging of the FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup

The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...

, was held in nine cities across the United States from June 17 to July 17, 1994. The United States was chosen as the host by FIFA

FIFA

The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...

on July 4, 1988. Brazil

Brazil national football team

The Brazil national football team represents Brazil in international men's football and is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation , the governing body for football in Brazil. They are a member of the International Federation of Association Football since 1923 and also a member of the...

became the first nation to win four World Cup titles when they beat Italy

Italy national football team

The Italy National Football Team , represents Italy in association football and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation , the governing body for football in Italy. Italy is the second most successful national team in the history of the World Cup having won four titles , just one fewer than...

3–2 in a penalty shootout

Penalty shootout (football)

A penalty shoot-out, referred to as kicks from the penalty mark in the Laws of the Game, is the FIFA official term for a method used in association football to decide which team progresses to the next stage of a tournament following a tied game...

after the game ended 0–0 after extra-time, the first World Cup final to be decided on penalties. The official match ball was the Adidas Questra.

Average attendance was nearly 69,000, which broke records that had stood since the 1966 World Cup

1966 FIFA World Cup

The 1966 FIFA World Cup, the eighth staging of the World Cup, was held in England from 11 July to 30 July. England beat West Germany 4–2 in the final, winning the World Cup for the first time, so becoming the first host to win the tournament since Italy in 1934.-Host selection:England was chosen as...

. The total attendance of nearly 3.6 million for the final tournament remains the highest in World Cup history, despite the expansion of the competition from 24 to 32 teams (and from 52 to 64 matches) in the 1998 World Cup

1998 FIFA World Cup

The 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 16th FIFA World Cup, was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. France was chosen as host nation by FIFA on 2 July 1992. The tournament was won by France, who beat Brazil 3-0 in the final...

Qualification

Greece

Greece national football team

The Greece national football team represents Greece in association football and is controlled by the Hellenic Football Federation, the governing body for football in Greece. Greece's home ground is Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus and their head coach is Fernando Santos...

, Nigeria

Nigeria national football team

The Nigeria national football team, nicknamed the Super Eagles or Green Eagles, is the national team of Nigeria and is controlled by the Nigeria Football Federation . The team has ranked as high as 5th in the FIFA World Rankings, in April 1994...

, and Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia national football team

Saudi Arabia national football team is the national team of Saudi Arabia and is controlled by the Saudi Arabia Football Federation...

qualified for the World Cup finals for the first time. Russia

Russia national football team

The Russia national football team represents Russia in association football and is controlled by the Russian Football Union , the governing body for football in Russia. Russia's home grounds are Luzhniki Stadium, Lokomotiv Stadium , and Petrovsky Stadium in St.Petersburg and their head coach is...

, competing independently for the first time after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, also qualified. The defending champions West Germany

Germany national football team

The Germany national football team is the football team that has represented Germany in international competition since 1908. It is governed by the German Football Association , which was founded in 1900....

were united with their East German counterparts, representing the unified Germany for the first time since the 1938 World Cup

1938 FIFA World Cup

The 1938 FIFA World Cup was the third staging of the World Cup, and was held in France from 4 June to 19 June. Italy retained the championship, beating Hungary 4–2 in the final.-Host selection:...

.

As a result of the strong performances by African teams in 1990

1990 FIFA World Cup

The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event twice. Teams representing 116 national football associations from all six populated...

, Africa was given three spots for the first time, with Nigeria joining Cameroon

Cameroon national football team

The Cameroon national football team, nicknamed Les Lions Indomptables , is controlled by the Fédération Camerounaise de Football and is Africa's most successful side in FIFA world cup; having qualified for the FIFA World Cup six times – in 1982, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002 and 2010– more than any...

and Morocco

Morocco national football team

The Morocco national football team , nicknamed أسود الأطلس , is the national team of Morocco and is managed by Eric Gerets. Winners of the African Nations Cup in 1976, they were the first African team to win a group at the World Cup, which they did in 1986, finishing ahead of Portugal, Poland, and...

.

Norway qualified for the first time since 1938, Bolivia for the first time since 1950, and Switzerland for the first time since 1966.

The qualification campaigns of both Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia national football team

The Czechoslovakia national football team was the national association football team of Czechoslovakia from 1922 to 1993. At the dissolution of Czechoslovakia at the end of 1992, the team was participating in UEFA qualifying Group 4 for the 1994 World Cup; it completed this campaign under the name...

and Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia national football team

The Yugoslavia national football team represented the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in association football. It enjoyed a modicum of success in international competition. In 1992, during the Yugoslav wars, the team was suspended from international...

were affected by political events. The nation of Czechoslovakia dissolved in 1992, and the team completed its qualifying group under the name Representation of Czechs and Slovaks (RCS), but failed to reach the finals. Yugoslavia was suspended from international competition in 1992 as part of United Nations sanctions against the country as a result of the Yugoslav Wars

Yugoslav wars

The Yugoslav Wars were a series of wars, fought throughout the former Yugoslavia between 1991 and 1995. The wars were complex: characterized by bitter ethnic conflicts among the peoples of the former Yugoslavia, mostly between Serbs on the one side and Croats and Bosniaks on the other; but also...

. The sanctions were not lifted until 1994, by which time it was no longer possible for the team to qualify.

Among other teams who failed to qualify were Uruguay and England. Hungary and France both failed to qualify for the second successive tournament, while Scotland failed to qualify for the first time since 1970. This was the only World Cup finals since 1938 for which neither England nor Scotland (nor indeed any of the British home nations

British Home Championship

The British Home Championship was an annual football competition contested between the United Kingdom's four national teams, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland from the 1883–84 season until the 1983–84...

) qualified. The Republic of Ireland qualified for a second successive World Cup finals tournament.

Summary

FIFA's decision to hold the event in the United States over the bids of Morocco and Brazil surprised many, due to the common perception that the United States had a relative lack of soccer fans

Soccer in the United States

Soccer, fully known as association football,See the articles Football and Names for association football#North America for more detailed explanations of the differing names for soccer. has long been a popular sport in the United States...

. FIFA hoped that by staging the world's most prestigious football tournament there, it would lead to a growth of interest in the sport - one condition FIFA imposed was the creation of a professional football league; Major League Soccer

Major League Soccer

Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...

started play in 1996. Despite these misgivings, in terms of attendance the event was a success. The average attendance of nearly 69,000 shattered a record that had stood since 1950 World Cup, because of the bigger capacities of the American stadiums compared to those of Europe and Latin America. To this day, the total attendance for the final tournament of nearly 3.6 million remains the highest in World Cup history, despite the expansion of the competition to 32 teams in 1998 World Cup. Germany, Brazil, Argentina, Belgium, Italy and the United States were seeded for the final draw that took place in Las Vegas

Las Vegas metropolitan area

The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...

, Nevada

Nevada

Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...

, on December 19, 1993.

The format of the competition stayed the same as in the 1990 World Cup

1990 FIFA World Cup

: 24 teams qualified, divided into six groups of four. Sixteen teams would qualify for the knockout competition: the six group winners, the six group runners-up, and the four third-placed teams with the best records. This was the last time this format was used, due to the expansion of the finals tournament in 1998 to 32 teams. This World Cup was the first in which three points

Three points for a win

Three points for a win is a standard used in many sports leagues and group tournaments, especially in association football, in which three points are awarded to the team winning a match, with no points to the losing team. If the game is drawn, each team receives one point...

were awarded for a win instead of two. FIFA instituted this feature to encourage attacking football after the defensive display of many teams at Italia '90

1990 FIFA World Cup

.

The tournament saw the end of Diego Maradona

Diego Maradona

Diego Armando Maradona is a retired Argentine football player and widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time. Over the course of his professional club career Maradona played for Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Napoli, Sevilla and Newell's Old Boys, setting...

's World Cup career, having played in the 1982

1982 FIFA World Cup

The 1982 FIFA World Cup, the 12th FIFA World Cup, was held in Spain from 13 June to 11 July. The tournament was won by Italy, after defeating West Germany 3–1 in the final.-Host selection:...

, the 1986

1986 FIFA World Cup

The 1986 FIFA World Cup, the 13th FIFA World Cup, was held in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-team format. Colombia had been originally chosen to host the competition by FIFA but, largely due to economic reasons, was not able to do so and officially...

— where he led Argentina

Argentina national football team

The Argentina national football team represents Argentina in association football and is controlled by the Argentine Football Association , the governing body for football in Argentina. Argentina's home stadium is Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti and their head coach is Alejandro...

to the World Cup title — and the 1990 World Cups

1990 FIFA World Cup

, where he led them to the final. Maradona was expelled from the tournament after he failed a drug test which uncovered ephedrine, a weight loss drug, in his blood. Colombia

Colombia national football team

The Colombian national football team represents Colombia in international football competitions and is controlled by the Colombian Football Federation. It is a member of the CONMEBOL...

, despite high expectations due to their style and impressive qualifying campaign, disappointed in the tournament

Colombia at the 1994 FIFA World Cup

Colombia had arrived at the 1994 FIFA World Cup with high expectations. An impressive qualifying campaign had included a 5-0 win over Argentina in Buenos Aires and the Colombians played with a dazzling, carefree style that seemed to have been lost from the South American game.- 1994 Colombian...

, failed to advance from the round robin. The team was supposedly dogged by influence from betting syndicates and drug cartels, with coach Francisco Maturana

Francisco Maturana

Francisco Maturana, also known as Pacho is a Colombian ex-football player and later a successful football manager.-Player:...

receiving death threats over squad selection. Defender Andrés Escobar

Andrés Escobar

Andrés Escobar Saldarriaga , nicknamed "The Gentleman of Football", was a Colombian footballer who was shot and killed in Medellín. It is widely believed that he was murdered due to his own goal in the 1994 FIFA World Cup, which supposedly would have caused gambling losses to several powerful drug...

was a tragic figure of this tournament, as in the group stage match against the United States national team

United States men's national soccer team

The United States men's national soccer team represents the United States in international association football competitions. It is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF...

, he scored an own goal

Own goal

An own net occurs in goal-scoring games when a player scores a goal that is registered against his or her own team. It is usually accidental, and may be a result of an attempt at defensive play that failed or was spoiled by opponents....

which eliminated his team 2–1. Escobar was shot to death outside a bar in a Medellín

Medellín

Medellín , officially the Municipio de Medellín or Municipality of Medellín, is the second largest city in Colombia. It is in the Aburrá Valley, one of the more northerly of the Andes in South America. It has a population of 2.3 million...

suburb only ten days after the match, apparently in retaliation for the own goal.

On the field, the biggest surprise of the tournament was Bulgaria

Bulgaria national football team

The FIFA Bulgaria national football team is an association football team fielded by the Bulgarian Football Union, a member association of UEFA. The team's home ground is Vasil Levski in Sofia and Luboslav Penev is in charge manager after replacement of Lothar Matthäus...

. The Bulgarians had never won a match in five previous World Cup finals but, led by Hristo Stoichkov

Hristo Stoichkov

Hristo Stoichkov Stoichkov , sometimes Stoitchkov; born 8 February 1966 in Plovdiv) is a retired Bulgarian footballer. He is regarded as one of the best footballers of his generation and the greatest Bulgarian footballer of all time. Nicknamed The Dagger , The Dog , The Modern Left...

who eventually shared the tournament lead in scoring, they made a surprising run; Bulgaria won two of their three group matches to qualify for the second round, where they advanced with a 3–1 penalty shoot-out win over Mexico

Mexico national football team

The Mexican national football team represents Mexico in association football and is governed by the Mexican Football Federation , the governing body for football in Mexico. Mexico's home stadium is the Estadio Azteca and their head coach is José Manuel de la Torre...

. Bulgaria then faced the reigning world champions, Germany

Germany national football team

, in the quarter-finals, where goals from Stoichkov and Yordan Letchkov

Yordan Letchkov

Yordan Letchkov is a former Bulgarian footballer and the current mayor of Sliven. He is generally regarded as one of the best players to come out of Bulgaria and was a key member of the squad which reached the semi-finals of the 1994 World Cup Finals...

gave them a 2–1 victory. Bulgaria went on to finish in fourth place after losing to Italy and Sweden, in the semi-finals and third-place match, respectively. The hosts advanced to the second round as one of the best third-place teams. They played Brazil

Brazil national football team

and, despite a 1–0 defeat, the United States' performance was considered a great success.

Brazil's win over the United States helped take them to the final against Italy

Italy national football team

. While Brazil's path was relatively smooth as they defeated the Netherlands

Netherlands national football team

The Netherlands National Football Team represents the Netherlands in association football and is controlled by the Royal Dutch Football Association , the governing body for football in the Netherlands...

in the quarter-finals and Sweden

Sweden national football team

The Swedish national football team represents Sweden in association football and is controlled by the Swedish Football Association, the governing body for Football in Sweden. Sweden's home ground is Råsunda Stadium in Stockholms län and their head coach is Erik Hamrén. Sweden made their first...

in the semis (it was the second game between Sweden and Brazil in the tournament, the first ending 1–1), the Italians had made hard work of reaching the final game. During the group stage the Italian team struggled and narrowly advanced to the next round, despite losing 1–0 to the Republic of Ireland

Republic of Ireland national football team

The Republic of Ireland national football team represents Ireland in association football. It is run by the Football Association of Ireland and currently plays home fixtures at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, which opened in May 2010....

. Roberto Baggio

Roberto Baggio

Roberto Baggio is a retired Italian footballer. Widely regarded as one of the finest footballers of his generation, Baggio won both the Ballon d'Or and the FIFA World Player of the Year in 1993. He is the only Italian player ever to score in three World Cups. He is also one of the top 5 all-time...

, who was expected to be the shining star, had not scored a goal. During the Round of 16 match against Nigeria

Nigeria national football team

, Italy was trailing 1–0 in the dying minutes when Baggio scored the equalizer forcing the game into extra time. He scored again with a penalty kick to send Italy through. Baggio carried the Italians from there, scoring the game-winning goal in the quarter-final against Spain

Spain national football team

The Spain national football team represents Spain in international association football and is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Spain. The current head coach is Vicente del Bosque...

, and both goals in Italy's semi-final victory over Bulgaria.

The final match at the Rose Bowl

Rose Bowl (stadium)

The Rose Bowl is an outdoor athletic stadium in Pasadena, California, U.S., in Los Angeles County. The stadium is the site of the annual college football bowl game, the Rose Bowl, held on New Year's Day. In 1982, it became the home field of the UCLA Bruins college football team of the Pac-12...

was tense, but devoid of scoring chances. Despite the strategies implemented by FIFA to promote offensive play, both teams failed to produce a goal. After 120 goalless minutes, the World Cup was decided for the first time by a penalty shoot-out. After four rounds, Brazil led 3–2, and Baggio, playing injured, had to score to keep Italy's hopes alive. He missed by shooting it over the bar, and Brazil were crowned champions. The trophy was handed to captain Dunga

Dunga

Carlos Caetano Bledorn Verri , commonly known as Dunga , is a former Brazilian football defensive midfielder and a World Champion for Brazil in the 1994 World Cup...

from the hands of the vice-president Al Gore

Al Gore

Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....

. The Brazilian national team dedicated the title to the deceased Brazilian Formula One

Formula One

Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...

champion Ayrton Senna

Ayrton Senna

Ayrton Senna da Silva was a Brazilian racing driver. A three-time Formula One world champion, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time...

, who had died

Death of Ayrton Senna

The death of three-time Formula One World Champion Ayrton Senna on May 1, 1994, occurred as a result of his car crashing into a concrete barrier while he was leading the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Italy. The previous day, Roland Ratzenberger had been killed...

two and a half months prior .

The third-place playoff was set between Bulgaria and Sweden, the team which scored more goals than any other in this World Cup. Sweden won convincingly with a 4–0 victory. One of Sweden's players — Thomas Brolin — was named to the All-star team.

The tournament's Golden Boot went jointly to Bulgaria's Stoichkov and Oleg Salenko of Russia

Russia national football team

, who scored a record five goals in their match against Cameroon

Cameroon national football team

. Both players scored six goals in the tournament. Brazil's Romário

Romário

Romário de Souza Faria , better known simply as Romário , is a former footballer who played striker,manager and current politician where is currently running for a mayor like position in his hometown...

, with five goals, won the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player.

Mascot

The official mascot of this World Cup was Striker, a dog wearing a red, white and blue

Flag of the United States

The national flag of the United States of America consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the canton bearing fifty small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars alternating with rows...

soccer uniform with a soccer ball. Striker was designed by the Warner Bros.

Warner Bros.

Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...

animation team.

Venues

The games were held in nine cities across the country. All stadiums had a capacity of at least 53,000, and their usual tenants were National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

or NCAA Football teams. The most used venue was the Rose Bowl

Rose Bowl (stadium)

in Pasadena

Pasadena, California

Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...

, with eight games, among them the final, the third place match, a semifinal and a game of the Round of 16, followed by the Giants Stadium

Giants Stadium

Giants Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium, located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA, in the Meadowlands Sports Complex. Maximum seating capacity was 80,242. The building itself was 230.5 m long, 180.5 m wide and 44 m high from service level to the top of the seating bowl and 54 m high to...

in East Rutherford

East Rutherford, New Jersey

East Rutherford is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 8,913. It is an inner-ring suburb of New York City, located west of Midtown Manhattan....

, which had one semifinal, a quarterfinal and a round of 16 match. The least used was the Pontiac Silverdome

Pontiac Silverdome

The Silverdome is a domed stadium located in the city of Pontiac, Michigan, USA, which sits on . It was the largest stadium in the National Football League until FedEx Field in suburban Washington, D.C...

, the first indoor stadium used in a World Cup, with four Round 1 matches.

Pasadena, California Pasadena, California Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet... (Los Angeles, California area)	Pontiac, Michigan Pontiac, Michigan Pontiac is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan named after the Ottawa Chief Pontiac, located within the Detroit metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 59,515. It is the county seat of Oakland County... (Detroit, Michigan area)	Stanford, California Stanford, California Stanford is a census-designated place in Santa Clara County, California, United States and is the home of Stanford University. The population was 13,809 at the 2010 census.... (San Francisco, California area)	East Rutherford, New Jersey East Rutherford, New Jersey East Rutherford is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 8,913. It is an inner-ring suburb of New York City, located west of Midtown Manhattan.... (New York City area)
Rose Bowl Rose Bowl (stadium) The Rose Bowl is an outdoor athletic stadium in Pasadena, California, U.S., in Los Angeles County. The stadium is the site of the annual college football bowl game, the Rose Bowl, held on New Year's Day. In 1982, it became the home field of the UCLA Bruins college football team of the Pac-12...	Pontiac Silverdome Pontiac Silverdome The Silverdome is a domed stadium located in the city of Pontiac, Michigan, USA, which sits on . It was the largest stadium in the National Football League until FedEx Field in suburban Washington, D.C...	Stanford Stadium Stanford Stadium Stanford Stadium is an outdoor athletic stadium on the Stanford University campus, the home of Stanford Cardinal college football team. It originally opened in 1921 as a football and track stadium, an earthen horseshoe with wooden bleacher seating and flooring upon a steel frame...	Giants Stadium Giants Stadium Giants Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium, located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA, in the Meadowlands Sports Complex. Maximum seating capacity was 80,242. The building itself was 230.5 m long, 180.5 m wide and 44 m high from service level to the top of the seating bowl and 54 m high to...
34°9′41"N 118°10′3"W	42°38′45"N 83°15′18"W	37°26′4"N 122°9′40"W	40°48′44"N 74°4′37"W
Capacity: 91,794	Capacity: 77,557	Capacity: 80,906	Capacity: 75,338

Orlando, Florida Orlando, Florida Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
Citrus Bowl Citrus Bowl The Florida Citrus Bowl is a stadium in Orlando, Florida, USA, built for football, which currently seats around 70,000 people....
28°32′21"N 81°24′10"W
Capacity: 61,219

Chicago Chicago Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles... , Illinois Illinois Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...	Dallas, Texas Texas Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...	Foxborough, Massachusetts Foxborough, Massachusetts -Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 16,246 people, 6,141 households, and 4,396 families residing in the town. The population density was 809.1 people per square mile . There were 6,299 housing units at an average density of 313.7 per square mile... (Boston Boston Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had... , Massachusetts area)	Washington, D.C.
Soldier Field Soldier Field Soldier Field is located on Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, Illinois, United States, in the Near South Side. It is home to the NFL's Chicago Bears...	Cotton Bowl Cotton Bowl (stadium) The Cotton Bowl is a stadium which opened in 1929 and became known as "The House That Doak Built" due to the immense crowds that former SMU running back Doak Walker drew to the stadium during his college career in the late 1940s. Originally known as Fair Park Stadium, it is located in Fair Park,...	Foxboro Stadium Foxboro Stadium Foxboro Stadium was an outdoor stadium, located in Foxborough, Massachusetts...	Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium, in Washington, D.C., United States, and the current home of MLS's D.C. United....
41°51′45"N 87°37′0"W	32°46′47"N 96°45′35"W	42°5′33.72"N 71°16′2.79"W	38°53′23"N 76°58′18"W
Capacity: 63,117	Capacity: 63,998	Capacity: 53,644	Capacity: 53,142

Media and broadcasting

Dallas, Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

, served as the primary international broadcast center

International Broadcast Centre

The International Broadcast Centre is a temporary hub for broadcasters during major sport events.-FIFA World Cup:During the 2006 FIFA World Cup, in Germany, the IBC in Munich was host to journalists from around 190 countries. The centre was based at the Munich Fair, in what was formally Munich...

, along with Los Angeles, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

Referees

Africa Lim Kee Chong

Lim Kee Chong

An Yan Lim Kee Chong is a retired Mauritian association football referee. He is mostly known for supervising two matches in the FIFA World Cup - one in 1994 and one in 1998. He was suspended following the 1998 World Cup.-References:...

Neji Jouini

Neji Jouini is a former Tunisian football referee. He is known for having refereed three matches in the FIFA World Cup, one in 1990 and two in 1994. Currently, he is the head of the Referees Association of the Qatar Football Association....

Asia Jamal Al Sharif

Jamal Al Sharif

Jamal Al Sharif . A football referee from Damascus, Syria. He is mostly known for supervising six matches in the FIFA World Cup...

Ali Bujsaim

Ali Mohamed Bujsaim is a retired football referee from the United Arab Emirates, best known for supervising at three FIFA World Cups: 1994 , 1998 and 2002 .-References:*...

Europe Fabio Baldas

Fabio Baldas

Fabio Baldas . is a former football referee from Italy. He is mostly known for supervising one match in the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the USA.-References:*...

Manuel Díaz Vega

Manuel Díaz Vega is a Spanish retired football referee. He officiated one match in both the 1994 FIFA World Cup and the 1996 UEFA European Football Championship. He also refereed the Champions League final in 1996 between Juventus and Ajax.-References:*...

Philip Don

Philip Don is a former football referee and school headteacher from England. Don was originally from Sheffield but his teaching career took him south to Middlesex...

Bo Karlsson

Bo Jonas Hil Karlsson is a former football referee from Sweden. He is mostly known for refereeing one match at the 1994 FIFA World Cup...

Hellmut Krug

Hellmut Heinz Krug is a retired German football referee. Krug officialed both the 1994 World Cup and the Euro 96. In 1998 he refereed the Champions League final between Real Madrid-Juventus and 2000 UEFA Cup Galatasaray-Leeds United semi final first leg match...

Leslie Mottram

Leslie "Les" William Mottram is a retired football referee from Scotland best known for supervising two matches in the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the USA.Mottram turned to refereeing after a brief professional playing career at Airdrie....

Peter Mikkelsen Pierluigi Pairetto

Pierluigi Pairetto

Pierluigi Pairetto is an Italian former football referee. Among the many prestigious games he officiated were the Euro 96 final between Germany and the Czech Republic at Wembley, and the classic USA 94 second-round clash between Romania and Argentina in Pasadena.He held the position of Italian...

Sándor Puhl

Sándor Puhl is a retired football referee from Hungary. He is mostly known for supervising four matches in the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the USA, including the final between Brazil and Italy....

Joël Quiniou

Joël Quiniou is a former football referee from France. He is mostly known for supervising 8 matches in the FIFA World Cup. One in 1986, three in 1990 and four in 1994..-World Cup Matches:-Italy vs Bulgaria:...

Kurt Röthlisberger

Kurt Röthlisberger is a retired football referee from Switzerland. He is mostly known for supervising five matches in the FIFA World Cup...

Mario van der Ende

Mario van der Ende Mario van der Ende Mario van der Ende (born March 28, 1956 in Den Haag, Zuid-Holland. His hometown is Naarden.Mario van der ende is a retired football referee and coordinator from the Netherlands. He is mostly known for supervising five matches in the FIFA World Cup, three in...

North and Central America Arturo Angeles

Arturo Angeles

Arturo Angeles is a retired football referee from the United States, best known for supervising one match during the 1994 FIFA World Cup in his native country.-References:*...

Rodrigo Badilla

Rodrigo Sequeira Badilla is a retired football referee from Costa Rica, best known for supervising three matches during the 1994 FIFA World Cup held in the United States....

Arturo Brizio Carter

Arturo Brizio Carter . Is a former football referee from Mexico. He is mostly known for supervising 6 matches in the FIFA World Cup. Three in both 1994 and 1998. He gave seven expulsions and 29 yellow cards in those six matches.-External links:*...

South America José Torres Cadena

José Torres Cadena

José Joaquín Torres Cadena also known as J.J Torres is a former football referee from Colombia. He is mostly known for supervising 4 matches in the 1994 FIFA World Cup in USA-References:* www.lawl.com...

Ernesto Filippi

Ernesto Filippi Cavani is a former Uruguayan football referee. He is known for supervising one match during the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States.-References:*...

Francisco Lamolina Renato Marsiglia

Renato Marsiglia

Renato Marsiglia is a retired Brazilian football referee. He is known for supervising two matches during the 1994 FIFA World Cup in USA. He is currently a Rede Globo football commentator who specialises in analysing referee's performances....

Alberto Tejada

Squads

Squads were selected as usual following FIFA rules. 22 players including 3 goalkeepers.

Seeding

The composition of the four pots was based on the FIFA World Ranking (established in 1993) and on the qualified teams' results in the three previous World Cups.

Pot 1 (Top 5 plus Hosts)	Pot 2 (Europe 1–6)	Pot 3 (Europe 7–10 + Asia)	Pot 4 (Africa + Americas)
(hosts) (1990 champions) (runners up in 1990) (third place in 1990)

Opening ceremony

The opening ceremony of the World Cup was held on 17 June at Chicago's Soldier Field. Numerous dignitaries attended, including United States President

President of the United States

The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

Bill Clinton

William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...

, Chancellor of Germany

Chancellor of Germany

The Chancellor of Germany is, under the German 1949 constitution, the head of government of Germany...

Helmut Kohl

Helmut Josef Michael Kohl is a German conservative politician and statesman. He was Chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998 and the chairman of the Christian Democratic Union from 1973 to 1998...

and President of Bolivia

President of Bolivia

The President of Bolivia is head of state and head of government of Bolivia. According to the current Constitution, the president is elected by popular vote to a five year term, renewable once...

Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada

Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada y Sánchez de Bustamante , familiarly known as "Goni", is a Bolivian politician, businessman, and former President of Bolivia. A lifelong member of the Movimiento Nacionalista Revolucionario , he is credited for using "shock therapy", the economic theory championed by then...

. The ceremony was emceed by Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Winfrey is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer and philanthropist. Winfrey is best known for her self-titled, multi-award-winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011...

. In addition, Daryl Hall

Daryl Hall

Daryl Hall is an American rock, R&B and soul singer, keyboardist, guitarist, songwriter and producer, best known as the co-founder and lead vocalist of Hall & Oates . Hall scored several Billboard chart hits in the 1970s and early 1980s, and is regarded as one of the best blue eyed soul singers...

, Jon Secada

Jon Secada

Jon Secada is a Cuban-American singer and songwriter. Secada was born in Havana, Cuba, and raised in Hialeah, Florida. He has won two Grammy Awards and sold 20 million albums since his English-language debut album in 1992. His music fuses funk, soul, pop and Latin percussion...

and Diana Ross

Diana Ross

Diana Ernestine Earle Ross is an American singer, record producer, and actress. Ross was lead singer of the Motown group The Supremes during the 1960s. After leaving the group in 1970, Ross began a solo career that included successful ventures into film and Broadway...

gave musical performances. Ross was also supposed to kick a football into the goal from the penalty spot at the end of her performance, with the goal then splitting in two as part of a pre-orchestrated stunt. She kicked the ball wide to the left, missing the goal, but the goalposts were collapsed anyway in accordance with the stunt plans.

Results

Group stage

All times local (EDT/UTC-4
UTC-4
UTC−04-00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of −04.This offset is used in the Atlantic Standard Time Zone in Canada and the North American Eastern Time Zone during daylight saving time , in the Caribbean region this is considered as the Eastern Caribbean timezone...

, CDT/UTC-5
UTC-5
UTC−05:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of −05.This offset is used in the Eastern Time Zone during standard time and in the Central Time Zone during Daylight Saving Time ....

, PDT/UTC-7
UTC-7
thumb|300px|UTC−07: Blue , Orange , Yellow , Light Blue - Sea areasUTC−07:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of −07....

)

Key to colours in group tables
	Group winners, runners-up, and best four third-placed teams advance to the Round of 16

Group A

Group A will be remembered for two historic moments in international football. First was that the match between the United States and Switzerland would be the first ever to take place indoors, having been played under the roof at the Pontiac Silverdome. The second was the murder of Colombian defender Andrés Escobar

Andrés Escobar

- shot dead on his return to Colombia, after his own goal had contributed to his country's elimination from the tournament.

Victories against Colombia and the United States (in front of a crowd of 93,869) were enough to see Romania through as group winners, despite a 4–1 hammering by Switzerland in between. The magnitude of that victory let the Swiss move past the Americans into second place on goal difference, although the hosts qualified for the second round as one of the best third-placed teams.

1
Team
	3	2	0	1	5	5	0	6
	3	1	1	1	5	4
4
	3	1	1	1	3	3	0	4
	3	1	0	2	4	5	−1	3

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Group B

Group B produced two of the four semi-finalists of this World Cup, and was also one of the two groups in which two, rather than three, sides would progress to the second round. Brazil and Sweden proved to be far stronger than Cameroon and Russia in every department. The match between the latter two broke two World Cup records. Oleg Salenko of Russia became the first - and remains the only - man ever to score five goals in a single World Cup match as Russia ran out 6–1 winners against their African opponents. The goals also ensured that Salenko finished the tournament joint-top scorer with six goals, having previously bagged one against Sweden. Cameroon left a mark too as Roger Milla, at the age of 42, became the oldest World Cup goalscorer of all time as he grabbed his side's consolation goal in the match. The result was not enough to take Russia through following heavy defeats at the hands of both Brazil and Sweden. Brazil overcame Cameroon with similar ease before a draw with Sweden confirmed top spot. The Swedes also progressed, finishing in second place with five points.

5
Team
	3	2	1	0	6	1
7
	3	1	2	0	6	4
5
	3	1	0	2	7	6
3
	3	0	1	2	3	11	−8	1

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Group C

Holders Germany, and Spain progressed to round two. Coming from two goals down with four minutes left to snatch a 2–2 draw against Spain, the Koreans very nearly eclipsed that feat against Germany when they came from 3–0 down to lose narrowly 3–2. In spite of these comebacks, South Korea were held to a 0–0 draw against Bolivia in their other group match when a win would have seen them through. Instead, only two teams progressed; Spain's late implosion against the Koreans effectively decided that it would be Germany who won the group and not them. Germany, who defeated Bolivia 1–0 in the tournament's opening match, finished with seven points. Spain had to settle for second place despite leading in all three matches.

2
Team
	3	2	1	0	5	3
7
	3	1	2	0	6	4
5
	3	0	2	1	4	5	−1	2
	3	0	1	2	1	4	−3	1

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Group D

Argentina collected a maximum of six points from their opening two matches after beating Greece 4–0 in Foxboro before coming from behind to overcome the feisty Nigerians 2–1 on the same field four days later, yet still only finished third. The match against Greece had been won in style thanks mainly to a hat-trick from Gabriel Batistuta

Gabriel Batistuta

Gabriel Omar Batistuta , nicknamed Batigol, is a former professional footballer. The prolific Argentine striker played most of his club football at Fiorentina in Italy, and he is the tenth top scorer of all-time in the Italian Serie A league, with 184 goals in 318 matches...

, yet it was the other goal in the match - from Diego Maradona - that hit the headlines. Nigeria had been very impressive on their World Cup debut, and despite the narrow loss to Argentina, had emerged as group winners following comfortable victories against Bulgaria and Greece. The Bulgarians also surprised many. Having never won a single match at the World Cup finals prior to this tournament, their fortunes seemed unlikely to change in the aftermath of the 3–0 defeat by Nigeria in their first game. However a 4–0 demolition of the Greeks (who had suffered exactly the same fate five days earlier against Argentina) and a win against Argentina had seen them advance in style. Argentina had actually been winning the group going into injury-time; however, a 91st-minute strike from Nasko Sirakov meant that they dropped two places and finished 3rd.

4
Team
	3	2	0	1	6	2
6
	3	2	0	1	6	3
6
	3	2	0	1	6	3
6
	3	0	0	3	0	10	−10	0

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Group E

Group E remains the only group in World Cup history in which all four teams finished with the same points. It began when Ray Houghton

Ray Houghton

Raymond James "Ray" Houghton is a retired Scottish-born footballer who represented the Republic of Ireland at international level, qualifying through his Irish father...

's chip ensured that Ireland would gain revenge on Italy by reversing a 1–0 scoreline the Italians had beaten them by in the quarter-finals of the previous World Cup. The next day in Washington, Kjetil Rekdal's goal five minutes from time proved decisive in an equally tense encounter as Norway beat Mexico. Mexico however was much more comfortable playing in Orlando, the setting for their next match against Ireland, where the heat proved to be a key factor. Garcia's double had them 2–0 up and in control of the game before a disagreement on the touchline resulted in fines for both Republic of Ireland's manager, Jack Charlton

Jack Charlton

John "Jack" Charlton, OBE, DL is a former footballer and manager who played for Leeds United in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, and was part of the England team who won the 1966 World Cup...

, and their striker John Aldridge

John Aldridge

John William Aldridge is a former Republic of Ireland international footballer and football manager...

. Fortunately for Ireland, Aldridge was able to re-gain concentration in time to score six minutes from the end of the game. Though Ireland still lost the match 2–1, Aldridge's goal proved crucial in the final group standings. The previous day in New Jersey, Italy's World Cup hopes seemed to be diminishing fast as goalkeeper Gianluca Pagliuca was sent off with the game still at 0–0. Yet despite this, Italy were still able to salvage an important 1–0 victory. Norway would ultimately pay a price for their inability to take advantage of Pagliuca's dismissal. With the four teams level on points, the final two group matches would each have to finish as draws for things to stay that way. Republic of Ireland made it through after a dreary 0–0 draw with Norway, whilst midfielders Massaro and Bernal traded strikes as Italy were held 1–1 by Mexico. That result meant that Mexico won the group on goals scored with Ireland and Italy also progressing having finished with identical records (Ireland finishing second on account of the fact that they had beaten Italy when the teams played one another). Norway's shortcomings in attack had ultimately let them down.


3	1	1	1	3	3	4
3	1	1	1	2	2	4
3	1	1	1	2	2	4
3	1	1	1	1	1	4

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Group F

Morocco lost each of their matches only by a single goal. Belgium's campaign went the same way as Argentina's; finishing third despite winning their first two matches. After 1–0 victories against Morocco and the Netherlands, Belgium were ultimately beaten after Saudi player Saaed Al-Owairian ran from his own half through a maze of Belgian players to score the game's only goal. Both teams went through. For the much-fancied Dutch however, progression to the second round was a somewhat nervier experience. The opening 2–1 victory against Saudi Arabia was followed by defeat against the Belgians before another 2–1 victory - this time at the expense of Morocco - eventually saw them win the group. Winger Bryan Roy scored the winner a mere twelve minutes from time.

1
Team
	3	2	0	1	4	3
6
	3	2	0	1	4	3
6
	3	2	0	1	2	1
6
	3	0	0	3	2	5	−3	0

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Ranking of third-placed teams

3
Group
D	3	2	0	1	6	3
6
F	3	2	0	1	2	1
6
A	3	1	1	1	3	3	0	4
E	3	1	1	1	2	2	0	4
B	3	1	0	2	7	6
3
C	3	0	2	1	4	5	−1	2

Knockout stage

Round of 16

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Quarter-finals

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Semi-finals

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Third-place match

Final

Awards

Golden Shoe Winners	Golden Ball Winner	Yashin Award	FIFA Fair Play Trophy	Most Entertaining Team
Hristo Stoichkov Hristo Stoichkov Hristo Stoichkov Stoichkov , sometimes Stoitchkov; born 8 February 1966 in Plovdiv) is a retired Bulgarian footballer. He is regarded as one of the best footballers of his generation and the greatest Bulgarian footballer of all time. Nicknamed The Dagger , The Dog , The Modern Left... Oleg Salenko	Romário Romário Romário de Souza Faria , better known simply as Romário , is a former footballer who played striker,manager and current politician where is currently running for a mayor like position in his hometown...	Michel Preud'homme Michel Preud'homme Michel Georges Jean Ghislain Preud’Homme'tönten mannen, , commonly known as Michel Preud'homme, is a Belgian football coach and retired goalkeeper. He is currently head coach of Al-Shabab Riyadh, a role he took after guiding outgoing Dutch Eredivisie champions FC Twente in the 2010–11 season...

All-star team

Goalkeeper	Defenders	Midfielders	Forwards
Michel Preud'homme Michel Preud'homme Michel Georges Jean Ghislain Preud’Homme'tönten mannen, , commonly known as Michel Preud'homme, is a Belgian football coach and retired goalkeeper. He is currently head coach of Al-Shabab Riyadh, a role he took after guiding outgoing Dutch Eredivisie champions FC Twente in the 2010–11 season...	Jorginho Jorginho Jorge de Amorim Campos , aka Jorginho, is a retired Brazilian footballer who played mainly as a right defender, and the current coach of Figueirense Futebol Clube.... Márcio Santos Márcio Roberto dos Santos Márcio Roberto dos Santos, best known as Márcio Santos is a former association footballer, who played as a defender for such teams as Internacional, Fiorentina and Ajax. He was born in São Paulo. He was a member of the Brazilian national football team that won the 1994 FIFA World Cup, in which he... Paolo Maldini Paolo Maldini Paolo Cesare Maldini is an Italian former footballer who played as a left or central defender. He spent all 25 seasons of his career at Serie A club Milan, before retiring at the age of 41 in 2009, becoming a symbol and a legend of the club...	Dunga Dunga Carlos Caetano Bledorn Verri , commonly known as Dunga , is a former Brazilian football defensive midfielder and a World Champion for Brazil in the 1994 World Cup... Krassimir Balakov Krassimir Balakov Krasimir Genchev Balakov is a former Bulgarian footballer and a current manager of Croatian club Hajduk Split. He was a key member of the Bulgarian national team that finished fourth in the 1994 FIFA World Cup... Gheorghe Hagi Gheorghe Hagi Gheorghe Hagi is a former Romanian footballer. He was famous for his passing, close control, long shots and was regarded as one of the best attacking midfielders in Europe during the 1980s and 1990s and is considered the greatest Romanian footballer of all time... Tomas Brolin Tomas Brolin Per Tomas Brolin is a Swedish former professional football player who had a successful period with A.C. Parma during the early nineties winning the 1992 Coppa Italia, the 1993 Cup Winners' Cup, the 1993 UEFA Super Cup and the 1995 UEFA Cup.Brolin also played for the Swedish national team,...	Romário Romário Romário de Souza Faria , better known simply as Romário , is a former footballer who played striker,manager and current politician where is currently running for a mayor like position in his hometown... Hristo Stoichkov Hristo Stoichkov Hristo Stoichkov Stoichkov , sometimes Stoitchkov; born 8 February 1966 in Plovdiv) is a retired Bulgarian footballer. He is regarded as one of the best footballers of his generation and the greatest Bulgarian footballer of all time. Nicknamed The Dagger , The Dog , The Modern Left... Roberto Baggio Roberto Baggio Roberto Baggio is a retired Italian footballer. Widely regarded as one of the finest footballers of his generation, Baggio won both the Ballon d'Or and the FIFA World Player of the Year in 1993. He is the only Italian player ever to score in three World Cups. He is also one of the top 5 all-time...

Scorers

6 goals Hristo Stoichkov

Hristo Stoichkov

Oleg Salenko

5 goals Romário

Romário

Jürgen Klinsmann

Jürgen Klinsmann is a German football manager and former player who is currently the coach of the United States Men's National Team. As a player, Klinsmann played for several prominent clubs in Europe and was part of the West German team that won the 1990 FIFA World Cup and the German one that...

Roberto Baggio

Kennet Andersson

Bernt Kennet Andersson is a Swedish former football player and a key member of the Swedish national team that finished third in the 1994 World Cup....

4 goals Gabriel Batistuta

Gabriel Batistuta

Florin Răducioiu

Florin Raducioiu

Florin Valeriu Răducioiu is a former Romanian football striker, who played for Dinamo Bucureşti, A.C. Milan, Brescia Calcio, West Ham United, RCD Espanyol, VfB Stuttgart and A.S...

Martin Dahlin

Martin Nathaniel Dahlin is a former Swedish football player.-Early life:He is the son of an Afro-Venezuelan father, who was a musician, and a Swedish mother who both decided to name him after Martin Luther King. He was born in Uddevalla, but lived as a child in Lund.-Career:In 1988, he became the...

3 goals

Bebeto

Bebeto

José Roberto Gama de Oliveira, known as 'Bebeto', is a former football forward, a World Champion for Brazil in the 1994 World Cup...

Dennis Bergkamp

Dennis Nicolaas Bergkamp , is a former Dutch professional footballer who is currently the assistant manager to Frank de Boer at Ajax. At club level he played for Ajax, Internazionale, and Arsenal, and also represented the Netherlands at international level...

Gheorghe Hagi

Gheorghe Hagi is a former Romanian footballer. He was famous for his passing, close control, long shots and was regarded as one of the best attacking midfielders in Europe during the 1980s and 1990s and is considered the greatest Romanian footballer of all time...

José Luis Caminero

José Luis Pérez Caminero is a retired Spanish footballer who played as a midfielder.Arguably one of the best Spanish footballers of the 1990s, Caminero was able to play in any midfield position, in the middle or in the wings...

Tomas Brolin

Per Tomas Brolin is a Swedish former professional football player who had a successful period with A.C. Parma during the early nineties winning the 1992 Coppa Italia, the 1993 Cup Winners' Cup, the 1993 UEFA Super Cup and the 1995 UEFA Cup.Brolin also played for the Swedish national team,...

2 goals

Claudio Caniggia

Claudio Caniggia

Claudio Paul Caniggia is a former Argentine football forward, who played 50 times for the Argentine national team. He appeared in three World Cups, and was a member of both rival clubs River Plate and Boca Juniors. Caniggia was known for his speed as a player and competed in Athletics before his...

Philippe Albert

Philippe Julien Albert is a former Belgian football defender. He played with R. Charleroi S.C., KV Mechelen, R.S.C. Anderlecht and Newcastle United in England...

Yordan Letchkov

Adolfo Valencia

Adolfo José Valencia Mosquera is a retired Colombian footballer who played as a striker....

Rudi Völler

Rudolf 'Rudi' Völler is a German former international football striker, and a former manager of the German national team...

Dino Baggio

Dino Baggio is a retired Italian football defensive midfielder. He has 60 caps at international level for the Italian national team.-Clubs and achievements:...

Hong Myung-Bo

Hong Myung-Bo is a former South Korean footballer who, along with Cha Bum Kun, is often considered among the greatest Asian footballers ever. Hong was a member of the Korean national team in four World Cups, and was the first Asian player to play in four consecutive World Cup finals tournaments....

Luis García Wim Jonk

Wim Jonk

Wilhelmus "Wim" Maria Jonk is a retired Dutch footballer. At the height of his career, he also played for the Netherlands national team....

Daniel Amokachi

Daniel Owefin Amokachi nicknamed "The Bull" is a former football striker from Nigeria.- Career :While playing for Ranchers Bees, Amokachi was discovered by Nigerian national team coach Clemens Westerhof, who brought the talented player to the 1990 African Nations Cup, and soon Amokachi moved to...

Emmanuel Amuneke Ilie Dumitrescu

Ilie Dumitrescu

Ilie Dumitrescu is a former Romanian football player and current coach, he last managed Steaua Bucureşti. A tricky forward, he shot to fame when his frontline partnership with Gheorghe Hagi and Florin Răducioiu led the Romania national football team to the 1994 FIFA World Cup quarterfinal,...

Fuad Amin

Fuad Anwar Amin is a former football defensive midfielder from Saudi Arabia. A former captain of the national team, he played at the World Cups in 1994 and 1998...

Ion Andoni Goikoetxea Adrian Knup

Adrian Knup

Adrian Knup is a retired Swiss football striker.He was capped 49 times and scored 26 goals for the Swiss national team between 1989 and 1996, including three games at the 1994 FIFA World Cup.-Football career:...

1 goal

Abel Balbo Diego Maradona

Diego Maradona

Marc Degryse

Marc Gabriel Degryse , nicknamed Le Lutin d'Ardooie and The Little One, is a former Belgian footballer, who played as a forward.-Club career:...

Georges Grün

Georges Serge Grün is a former Belgian football defender and is now a TV presenter for the UEFA Champions League matches at RTL TVI....

Erwin Sánchez

Erwin Sánchez Freking is a retired Bolivian footballer.Dubbed Platini, he played as an attacking midfielder, with scoring range...

Branco

Claudio Ibrahim Vaz Leal

Branco, real name Cláudio Ibrahim Vaz Leal, is former Brazilian footballer who played as a left back...

Márcio Santos

Márcio Roberto dos Santos

Márcio Roberto dos Santos, best known as Márcio Santos is a former association footballer, who played as a defender for such teams as Internacional, Fiorentina and Ajax. He was born in São Paulo. He was a member of the Brazilian national football team that won the 1994 FIFA World Cup, in which he...

Raí

Raí, full name Raí Souza Vieira de Oliveira is a former Brazilian football midfielder. He was part of the Brazil team which won 1994 FIFA World Cup. He also played for São Paulo FC when he had the most glorious time of his career, and Paris Saint-Germain, two clubs for which he has achieved...

Daniel Borimirov

Daniel Boytchev Borimirov is a retired Bulgarian footballer who played mainly as an attacking midfielder.His career was almost exclusively associated with two clubs, Levski Sofia and 1860 Munich, later working in directorial capacities with the former...

Nasko Sirakov

Nasko Petkov Sirakov is a retired Bulgarian footballer who played mainly as a striker.Part of the Bulgarian team at the 1994 FIFA World Cup as it finished fourth, he was one of the most important footballers in the country in the 80's/90's, being a legend at Levski Sofia, a club he represented in...

David Embé

Jacques-David Embé is a former Cameroonian soccer player who played as Striker.He played in various countries throughout his career, including for Belenenses of Portugal, Larissa of Greece, Tecos UAG of Mexico, Shanghai Shenhua of China, Deportivo Municipal of Peru, Chernomorets Novorossiysk of...

Roger Milla

Roger Milla is a retired Cameroonian footballer who played as a striker. He was one of the first African players to be a major star on the international stage...

François Omam-Biyik

François Omam-Biyik is a former football player from Cameroon. He also has French nationality. He was one of the most important players of the Cameroonian national team in the nineties, playing at the three World Cups in 1990, 1994 and 1998...

Hernán Gaviria John Harold Lozano Lothar Matthäus

Lothar Matthäus

Lothar Herbert Matthäus , is a German football manager and former player.In 1990, he was named European Footballer of the Year and World Soccer Player of the Year after captaining West Germany to victory in the 1990 World Cup...

Karl-Heinz Riedle
John Aldridge

John Aldridge

John William Aldridge is a former Republic of Ireland international footballer and football manager...

Ray Houghton

Raymond James "Ray" Houghton is a retired Scottish-born footballer who represented the Republic of Ireland at international level, qualifying through his Irish father...

Daniele Massaro

Daniele Massaro is a former Italian football forward. He was a member of the Italian squad that won the FIFA World Cup held in Spain in 1982....

Hwang Sun-Hong

Hwang Sun-Hong or Hwang Seon-Hong is a South Korean football manager and former player, currently managing Pohang Steelers- Biography :During most of the last 2 decades Hwang was regarded as a Korean scoring sensation...

Seo Jung-Won Mohammed Chaouch

Mohammed Chaouch

Mohamed Chaouch was a Moroccan footballer. He played at the 1994 FIFA World Cup, scoring a goal for Morocco against Saudi Arabia. He played for OGC Nice from 1993 to 1997.-References:...

Hassan Nader

Hassan Nader is a retired Moroccan footballer who played as a striker.-Club career:Nader started his career with local club Wydad AC Casablanca, before starting an European adventure in 1990–91 with La Liga team RCD Mallorca...

Marcelino Bernal Alberto García Aspe

Alberto García Aspe

Alberto García Aspe Mena is a retired Mexican football midfielder. He is one of the all-time appearance leaders for the Mexican national team. He has also participated in 109 matches, scoring a total 21 goals...

Bryan Roy

Bryan Edward Steven Roy is a Dutch football manager and a former professional player. He has managed various of Ajax' youth teams – formerly Ajax E1 and now Ajax B.-Career:...

Gaston Taument

Gaston Taument is a former Dutch football right winger , who played the vast majority of his career for Feyenoord.-Football career:...

Aron Winter

Aron Mohamed Winter [VIN-ter] is a retired Dutch football midfielder and current head coach of Toronto FC...

Finidi George

Finidi George is a retired Nigerian footballer who played as a right winger.After making a name for himself at Ajax in the Netherlands – being a leading figure in a team which won eight major titles, including the 1994–95 UEFA Champions League – he played several years in Spain with Real Betis,...

Samson Siasia

Samson Siasia is a former football striker from Nigeria and the former head coach of the Nigerian Men National football team from 2010 to 2011.-Club career:...

Rashidi Yekini Kjetil Rekdal

Kjetil Rekdal

Kjetil André Rekdal is a Norwegian football coach and a former footballer. He is currently managing Aalesund in Norwegian Tippeligaen. His previous tenure was at Kaiserslautern of the 2...

Dan Petrescu

Daniel Vasile Petrescu is a Romanian football manager and former player, currently the manager of Kuban Krasnodar in the Russian Premier League....

Dmitri Radchenko

Dmitri Leonidovich Radchenko is a retired Russian footballer who played as a striker.During his professional career, he played in four different countries, namely in La Liga.-Football career:...

Fahad Al-Ghesheyan

Fahad Al-Ghesheyan is a former Saudi Arabian football player who participated in the 1994 FIFA World Cup, scoring one goal against Sweden in the Round of 16. Al-Ghesheyan played for Al-Hilal at the time....

Sami Al-Jaber

Sami Abdullah Al-Jaber is a retired football striker from Saudi Arabia well known as playing the majority of his career with Al-Hilal. He is his country's second highest international goalscorer and has appeared in four different World Cup Finals, and scored three goals in 1994 and 1998, and...

Saeed Al-Owairan Txiki Beguiristain

Txiki Beguiristain

Aitor 'Txiki' Begiristain Mújica is a retired Spanish footballer who played professionally during the 1980s and 1990s....

Josep Guardiola

Josep "Pep" Guardiola i Sala , is a Spanish football manager and former player. Guardiola played as a defensive midfielder and spent the majority of his playing career with FC Barcelona, whom he currently manages. He was part of Johan Cruyff's dream team that won Barcelona's first European Cup....

Fernando Hierro

Fernando Ruiz Hierro is a retired Spanish footballer. He is mostly known for his spells with Real Madrid and Spain, appearing in more than 500 official games with the former and representing the latter on nearly 100 occasions, whilst appearing in four World Cups and two European...

Luis Enrique

Luís Enrique Martínez García

Luis Enrique Martínez García , known as Luis Enrique, is a retired Spanish footballer, and the current head coach of Serie A club A.S. Roma...

Julio Salinas

Julio Salinas Fernández is a retired Spanish footballer who played during the 1980s and 1990s....

Henrik Larsson

Henrik Edward Larsson MBE is a retired Swedish footballer and current manager of Landskrona BoIS.Larsson began his career with Högaborgs BK. He moved to Helsingborg, where he was one of the key players when they qualified to Allsvenskan 1993. Larsson then moved to Feyenoord for four years before...

Roger Ljung

Roger Ljung is a retired Swedish footballer who played as a left defender.In a 10-year professional career, he played, other than in his country, in Switzerland, Austria, Turkey and Germany, representing six differents teams, namely Malmö and Admira Wacker.A Swedish international on nearly 60...

Håkan Mild

Stig Håkan Mild is a former Swedish football midfielder and current director of sports of IFK Göteborg, his main club as player, with which he won four Swedish Championships...

Georges Bregy

Georges Bregy is a retired Swiss football midfielder.He was capped 54 times and scored 12 goals for the Swiss national team between 1984 and 1994...

Stéphane Chapuisat Alain Sutter

Alain Sutter

Alain Sutter was one of the most successful Swiss football players during the 1990s.Sutter began his career in 1985 with Grasshoppers Zurich, one of Switzerland's most storied clubs...

Earnie Stewart Eric Wynalda

Eric Wynalda

Eric Boswell Wynalda is a retired American soccer player, and former sports broadcaster. He was the co-host of Fox Football Fone-In on Fox Soccer Channel and is currently employeed as the president of international operations at Mexican third division club Murcielagos.Wynalda scored the first goal...

Own goals Andrés Escobar

Andrés Escobar

(for the United States)

Firsts

The United States
United States men's national soccer team
The United States men's national soccer team represents the United States in international association football competitions. It is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF...

–Switzerland
Switzerland national football team
The Swiss national football team is the national football team of Switzerland...

match on 18 June at the Pontiac Silverdome
Pontiac Silverdome
The Silverdome is a domed stadium located in the city of Pontiac, Michigan, USA, which sits on . It was the largest stadium in the National Football League until FedEx Field in suburban Washington, D.C...

was the first to be played indoors in World Cup history: grass was grown by Michigan State University
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...

and was the first time since 1965 (the failed attempt at Astrodome) that natural turf was used in an indoor stadium in the United States. To date, only Sapporo Dome
Sapporo Dome
The is a stadium located in Toyohira-ku, Sapporo, Japan, and is primarily used for baseball and football. It is the home field of the baseball team Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters and the football club Consadole Sapporo.-History:...

in 2002 and Veltins Arena in 2006 later followed to host indoors game in World Cup history.
Oleg Salenko of Russia
Russia national football team
The Russia national football team represents Russia in association football and is controlled by the Russian Football Union , the governing body for football in Russia. Russia's home grounds are Luzhniki Stadium, Lokomotiv Stadium , and Petrovsky Stadium in St.Petersburg and their head coach is...

became the first player to score 5 goals in a single World Cup finals game in his country's group stage win over Cameroon
Cameroon national football team
The Cameroon national football team, nicknamed Les Lions Indomptables , is controlled by the Fédération Camerounaise de Football and is Africa's most successful side in FIFA world cup; having qualified for the FIFA World Cup six times – in 1982, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002 and 2010– more than any...

. Cameroon's Roger Milla
Roger Milla
Roger Milla is a retired Cameroonian footballer who played as a striker. He was one of the first African players to be a major star on the international stage...

also scored a goal in the same match, becoming the oldest player to score a goal in a World Cup. At 42, he was also the oldest player to appear in a World Cup match.
Gianluca Pagliuca of Italy
Italy national football team
The Italy National Football Team , represents Italy in association football and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation , the governing body for football in Italy. Italy is the second most successful national team in the history of the World Cup having won four titles , just one fewer than...

became the first goalkeeper to be sent off in a World Cup Finals match, dismissed for handling outside his area against Norway
Norway national football team
The Norway national football team represents Norway in association football and is controlled by the Football Association of Norway, the governing body for football in Norway. Norway's home ground is Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo and their head coach is Egil Olsen...

.
Brazil's 11 goals in their seven games was a record for the lowest average goals scored per game for any World Cup-winning side, but this was bettered by Spain's eight goals in 2010. The three goals Brazil conceded in those seven games was at the time also the lowest average goals conceded per game, although this was subsequently surpassed by France in 1998, Italy in 2006, and Spain in 2010.
The finals were the first time FIFA decided to experiment with the style of jerseys worn by officials, foregoing the traditional black. They could choose between burgundy, yellow or white shirts depending on what was feasible to avoid a clash of colors with the two competing teams. This custom has since been followed, but with black shirts added as an option later.
The finals were also the first time that players had their shirt numbers printed on the center front of the shirt, as well as their names printed in the back of their jerseys in a World Cup, just like other American sports did, to make their identification easier for sportscasters. This custom followed from Euro 92, and has followed ever since.
The finals were the first to award 3 points for a win
Three points for a win
Three points for a win is a standard used in many sports leagues and group tournaments, especially in association football, in which three points are awarded to the team winning a match, with no points to the losing team. If the game is drawn, each team receives one point...

in the group stage to motivate teams to play an attacking style.
In disciplinary matters, for the first time yellow cards
Misconduct (football)
Misconduct in association football is any conduct by a player that is deemed by the referee to warrant a disciplinary sanction in accordance with Law 12 of the Laws of the Game. Misconduct may occur at any time, including when the ball is out of play, during half-time and before and after the...

accumulated in the group stage were wiped clean after its completion, and players start with a clean slate at the start of the knockout stage. Previously, players were suspended for one match if accumulating two yellow cards throughout the tournament. Now, players were suspended for one match if accumulating two yellow cards in the group stage, or two yellow cards in the knockout stage. This was in response to the situation in 1990, where players such as Claudio Caniggia
Claudio Caniggia
Claudio Paul Caniggia is a former Argentine football forward, who played 50 times for the Argentine national team. He appeared in three World Cups, and was a member of both rival clubs River Plate and Boca Juniors. Caniggia was known for his speed as a player and competed in Athletics before his...

and Paul Gascoigne
Paul Gascoigne
Paul John Gascoigne , commonly referred to as Gazza, is a retired English professional footballer.Playing in the position of midfield, Gascoigne's career included spells at Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, Lazio, Rangers, Middlesbrough, Everton and Gansu Tianma, where he scored at least a goal...

were suspended for the later matches.
The 1994 World Cup revolutionized television coverage of sports in the United States through the sponsored scoreboard and game clock that were constantly shown on screen throughout the game. Television sports coverage in the US had long been dependent upon commercial breaks; a feature suitable for sports such as baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

, ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

and American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

(which all have breaks in the action), but long considered incompatible with soccer, due to the long stretches of uninterrupted play. Variations on it were quickly incorporated into virtually every team sports broadcast by the decade's end. The first American pro sports broadcaster to do this was Fox Sports
NFL on FOX
NFL on Fox is the brand name of the Fox Broadcasting Company's coverage of the National Football League's National Football Conference games, produced by Fox Sports...

which won national rights to broadcast the NFL's National Football Conference
National Football Conference
The National Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the American Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL.-Current teams:Since 2002, the NFC has comprised 16 teams,...

from CBS
NFL on CBS
The NFL on CBS is the brand name of the CBS television network's coverage of the National Football League's American Football Conference games, produced by CBS Sports.-Market coverage and television policies:...

6½ months before the 1994 World Cup began.

The 1994 FIFA World Cup final was the first to be decided by a penalty shoot-out with no goals being scored either in regular time or in extra time.

Lasts

This was the last World Cup in which matches other than the last two in each group were played simultaneously, although this only happened once in this tournament; Saudi Arabia v Morocco and Belgium v Netherlands in Group F. From France '98
1998 FIFA World Cup
The 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 16th FIFA World Cup, was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. France was chosen as host nation by FIFA on 2 July 1992. The tournament was won by France, who beat Brazil 3-0 in the final...

onwards, each game in the first two rounds of group play and the whole knockout stage have been played separately to maximize television audiences.
This was the last World Cup where the 3rd-placed team in each group was still able to progress via Third Place qualifiers for round of 16.

External links

1994 FIFA World Cup FIFA.com
1994 World Cup details RSSSF

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