1994 FIFA World Cup

1994 FIFA World Cup
World Cup '94

1994 FIFA World Cup official logo
Tournament details
Host country United States
Dates 17 June – 17 July (31 days)
Teams 24 (from 5 confederations)
Venue(s) 9 (in 9 host cities)
Final positions
Champions  Brazil (4th title)
Runners-up  Italy
Third place  Sweden
Fourth place  Bulgaria
Tournament statistics
Matches played 52
Goals scored 141 (2.71 per match)
Attendance 3,587,538 (68,991 per match)
Top scorer(s) Bulgaria Hristo Stoichkov
Russia Oleg Salenko
(6 goals each)
Best player Brazil Romário
Best young player Netherlands Marc Overmars
Best goalkeeper Belgium Michel Preud'homme

The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, held in nine cities across the United States from 17 June to 17 July 1994. The United States was chosen as the host by FIFA on 4 July 1988. Despite the host nation's lack of a national top-level soccer league, the tournament broke the World Cup average attendance record with nearly 69,000 spectators per game, a mark that still stands today.[1][2] 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 games) in the 1998 World Cup.[1]

Brazil beat Italy 3–2 in a penalty shootout after the game ended 0–0 after extra time, the first World Cup final to be decided on penalties. This made Brazil the first nation to win four World Cup titles. At the 1994 World Cup Greece, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia made their first appearances in the finals, with Norway making its first appearance since 1938, and Bolivia since 1950. Bulgaria, Morocco and Mexico returned after missing the 1990 tournament.

Qualification

  Countries qualified for World Cup
  Country failed to qualify
  Countries that did not enter World Cup
  Country not a FIFA member

Greece, Nigeria, and Saudi Arabia qualified for the World Cup finals for the first time. Russia, competing independently for the first time after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, also qualified. The defending champions West Germany were united with their East German counterparts, representing the unified Germany for the first time since the 1938 World Cup.

As a result of the strong performances by African teams in 1990, Africa was given three spots for the first time, with Nigeria joining Cameroon and Morocco.

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 and Yugoslavia 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 qualify for 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.

The sanctions were not lifted until 1994, by which time it was no longer possible for the team to qualify. Chile's suspension from the 1990 FIFA World Cup, following the forced interruption of their qualification game against Brazil, extended to the 1994 qualifiers as well.

Japan failed to qualify after the "Agony of Doha" against Iraq, losing out to Saudi Arabia and South Korea. Among other teams who failed to qualify were Uruguay and England- the latter being semi-finalists, and finishing in fourth place in 1990. Denmark, Portugal, Hungary, and France 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) qualified. The Republic of Ireland qualified for a second successive World Cup finals tournament. As of 2016, this was the last time that Bolivia qualified for a FIFA World Cup finals.

Summary

Striker, the official mascot of the tournament.

Three nations bid for host duties: United States, Brazil and Morocco.[3] The vote was held in Zurich on 4 July 1988, and only took one round with the United States bid receiving a little over half of the votes by the Exco members.[3] FIFA hoped that by staging the world's most prestigious tournament there, it would lead to a growth of interest in the sport. One condition FIFA imposed was the creation of a professional soccer league; Major League Soccer was founded in 1993 and began operating in 1996. There was some initial controversy about awarding the World Cup to a country where soccer was not a nationally popular sport and at the time, in 1988, the U.S. did not have a professional league of its own anymore; the North American Soccer League, set up in the 1970s, had folded in 1984 after fading attendance figures. Despite the controversy, the U.S. staged a hugely successful tournament, with average attendance of nearly 69,000 breaking a record that surpassed the 1966 FIFA World Cup average attendance of 51,000, thanks to the large seating capacities the stadiums in the United States provided for the spectators in comparison to the smaller venues 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 from 24 to 32 teams at the 1998 World Cup in France.[1][2] Germany, Brazil, Argentina, Belgium, Italy and the United States were seeded for the final draw that took place in Las Vegas, Nevada, on 19 December 1993.[4]

The format of the competition stayed the same as in the 1990 World Cup: 24 teams qualified, divided into six groups of four. Sixteen teams would qualify for the knockout phase: 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 were awarded for a win instead of two. FIFA instituted this feature to encourage attacking soccer after the defensive display of many teams at Italia '90.

The tournament saw the end of Diego Maradona's World Cup career, having played in the 1982, the 1986 – where he led Argentina to the World Cup title – and the 1990 World Cups, 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, despite high expectations due to their style and impressive qualifying campaign, failed to advance from the round robin. The team was supposedly dogged by influence from betting syndicates and drug cartels, with coach Francisco Maturana receiving death threats over squad selection. Defender Andrés Escobar was a tragic figure of this tournament, as in the group stage game against the United States, he scored an own goal that eliminated his team. Escobar was shot to death outside a bar in a Medellín suburb only 10 days later, apparently in retaliation for the own goal.[5]

Lothar Matthäus scoring a penalty kick in Germany's quarterfinal against Bulgaria at Giants Stadium on 10 July. Bulgaria came back to win the game.

On the field, the biggest surprise of the tournament was Bulgaria. The Bulgarians had never won a game in five previous World Cup finals but, led by Hristo Stoichkov who eventually shared the tournament lead in scoring, they made a surprising run; Bulgaria won two of their three group games to qualify for the second round, where they advanced with a 3–1 penalty shoot-out win over Mexico. Bulgaria then faced the reigning world champions, Germany, in the quarterfinals, where goals from Stoichkov and Yordan Letchkov gave them a 2–1 victory. Bulgaria went on to finish in fourth place after losing to Italy and Sweden, in the semifinals and third-place game, respectively.

The United States, relatively new to the game of soccer, advanced to the second round as one of the best third-place teams. They played Brazil and, despite a 1–0 defeat, the United States' performance was considered a great success in their soccer history.

Brazil's win over the hosts helped take them to the final against Italy. While Brazil's path was relatively smooth as they defeated the Netherlands in the quarterfinals and Sweden in the semis, the Italians had made hard work of reaching the final. During the group stage Italy struggled and narrowly advanced to the next round, despite losing 1–0 to the Republic of Ireland. Italian playmaker Roberto Baggio, who was expected to be one of the stars of the tournament, had not yet scored a goal. During the Round of 16 game against Nigeria, Italy was trailing 1–0 in the dying minutes when Baggio scored the tying goal, 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 quarterfinal against Spain, and both goals in Italy's semifinal victory over Bulgaria.[6]

The third-place playoff was set between Bulgaria and Sweden, the team which scored more goals than any other in this World Cup. These teams had also previously met in the qualifying group. Sweden won, 4–0. Swedish forward Tomas Brolin was named to the All-star team.[7]

The final game at the Rose Bowl was tense, but devoid of scoring chances. It was the second time in 24 years that the two nations had met in a final. 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.[6] He missed by shooting it over the crossbar, and the Brazilians were crowned champions for the fourth time.[8] After the game ended, then-Vice-President Al Gore hosted the awarding ceremony by handing Brazilian captain Dunga the prestigious trophy; the Brazilian national team dedicated the title to the deceased Brazilian Formula One champion Ayrton Senna, who had died two and a half months prior.

The tournament's Golden Boot went jointly to Bulgaria's Stoichkov and Oleg Salenko of Russia, the latter becoming the first player to score five goals in a game, coming in a 6–1 victory against Cameroon. Both players scored six goals in the tournament. Brazilian striker Romário, with five goals, won the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player.[8]

Mascot

The official mascot of this World Cup was Striker, the World Cup Pup, a dog wearing a red, white and blue soccer uniform with a soccer ball.[9] Striker was designed by the Warner Bros. animation team.[10] A dog was picked as the mascot because dogs are a common pet in the United States.[10]

Venues

The games were played in nine cities across the country. All stadiums had a capacity of at least 53,000, and their usual tenants were professional or college American football teams. The venue used most was the Rose Bowl in Pasadena near Los Angeles, with eight games, among them the final, the third-place game, a semi-final and one game in the round of 16. The least used was the Pontiac Silverdome near Detroit, the first indoor stadium used in a World Cup, with four Round 1 games. The Pontiac Silverdome was also the only venue of the 9 used that did not host any knockout round matches.

Because of the massive land size of the main 48 states of the United States, the match locations were often far apart; making traveling long and gruelling for teams and their traveling fans. Some teams in Groups A and B had to travel from Los Angeles or San Francisco all the way to Detroit and back again, covering 2,300 mi (3,680 km) and 3 time zones one way. The teams in Groups C and D only played in Foxborough (Boston), Chicago and Dallas – a trip from Boston to Dallas is 2,000 miles (3,200 km), but only covers one time zone; Chicago is in the same time zone as Dallas but is still 1,000 miles away from both Dallas and Boston. The teams in Groups E and F's travel was a bit easier – they played exclusively in East Rutherford (New York City), Washington and Orlando. A few teams such as Cameroon and Italy did not have to travel great distances to cities to play matches.

The variety of climate in different cities all over the United States made playing conditions very difficult; aside from Boston, San Francisco and occasionally Chicago, most matches were played in very hot and/or humid conditions. Although playing in the dry heat of Los Angeles and the extreme humidity of Washington and New York proved to be difficult, the cities with the most oppressive conditions were the southern cities of Orlando and Dallas.[11] The Floridian tropical climate of Orlando meant all matches there were played in temperatures of 95 °F (35 °C) or above with humidity at 90% or more (the temperature there during the group stage match between Ireland and Mexico was 105 °F (41 °C)) thanks to the mid-day start times.[12] Dallas was not much different: the semi-arid heat of a Texas summer, temperatures went into the 100's Fahrenheit during mid-day, when matches there were staged in the open-type Cotton Bowl meant that conditions were just as oppressive there as they were in Orlando.[13] Detroit also proved to be difficult: the Pontiac Silverdome did not have a working cooling system and because it was an interior dome-shaped stadium, the air could not escape through circulation, so temperatures inside the stadium would climb past 90 °F (32 °C) with 90% humidity. United States midfielder Thomas Dooley described the Silverdome as "the worst place I have ever played at".[14]

Pasadena, CA
(Los Angeles, CA area)		 Stanford, CA
(San Francisco, CA area)		 Pontiac, MI
(Detroit, MI area)		 East Rutherford, NJ
(New York, NY area)
Rose Bowl Stanford Stadium Pontiac Silverdome Giants Stadium
34°9′41″N 118°10′3″W / 34.16139°N 118.16750°W / 34.16139; -118.16750 (Rose Bowl) 42°38′45″N 83°15′18″W / 42.64583°N 83.25500°W / 42.64583; -83.25500 (Pontiac Silverdome) 37°26′4″N 122°9′40″W / 37.43444°N 122.16111°W / 37.43444; -122.16111 (Stanford Stadium) 40°48′44″N 74°4′37″W / 40.81222°N 74.07694°W / 40.81222; -74.07694 (Giants Stadium)
Capacity: 91,794 Capacity: 80,906 Capacity: 77,557 Capacity: 75,338
Dallas, TX
Cotton Bowl
28°32′21″N 81°24′10″W / 28.53917°N 81.40278°W / 28.53917; -81.40278 (Citrus Bowl)
Capacity: 63,998
Chicago, IL Orlando, FL Foxborough, MA
(Boston, MA area)		 Washington, D.C.
Soldier Field Citrus Bowl Foxboro Stadium Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium
41°51′45″N 87°37′0″W / 41.86250°N 87.61667°W / 41.86250; -87.61667 (Soldier Field) 32°46′47″N 96°45′35″W / 32.77972°N 96.75972°W / 32.77972; -96.75972 (Cotton Bowl) 42°5′33.72″N 71°16′2.79″W / 42.0927000°N 71.2674417°W / 42.0927000; -71.2674417 (Foxboro Stadium) 38°53′23″N 76°58′18″W / 38.88972°N 76.97167°W / 38.88972; -76.97167 (RFK Stadium)
Capacity: 63,117 Capacity: 61,219 Capacity: 53,644 Capacity: 53,142

Media and broadcasting

Los Angeles and Dallas served as the primary international broadcast centers.

Referees

CAF
AFC
UEFA
CONCACAF
CONMEBOL

Squads

Further information: 1994 FIFA World Cup squads

Teams were selected as usual following FIFA rules with 22 players. Greece, Italy, Saudi Arabia and Spain were the only countries who had all their players coming from domestic teams, while the Republic of Ireland and Nigeria had no players from domestic teams. Saudi Arabia were the only team with no players from European teams.

Seeding and draw

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. The teams' pre-tournament rankings[15] are shown in parenthesis.

Pot 1 (Top 5 plus hosts) Pot 2 (Africa + Americas) Pot 3 (Europe 1-6) Pot 4 (Europe 7–10 + Asia)

The draw for the tournament took place at the Las Vegas Convention Centre on 19 December 1993, officiated by general-secretary Sepp Blatter. Teams were drawn by German legend Franz Beckenbauer, heavyweight boxing champion Evander Holyfield and comedian and actor Robin Williams (who put on a surgical glove and said to Blatter "if you'll turn your head to the side and cough" before drawing the teams). Numbers for placement in the group were drawn by actor Beau Bridges, Women's World Cup champion Michelle Akers, model Carol Alt, artist Peter Max, racing driver Mario Andretti and Olympic gold medalist Mary Lou Retton.[16][17][18]

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 Bill Clinton, Chancellor of Germany Helmut Kohl and President of Bolivia Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada. The ceremony was emceed by Oprah Winfrey, who fell off the dais in introducing Diana Ross, who gave a musical performance. Ross was also supposed to kick a soccer ball into the goal from the penalty spot at the beginning 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. In addition, Daryl Hall and Jon Secada also gave musical performances.

Group stage

All times are Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4)

  Champion
  Runner-up
  Third place
  Fourth place
  Quarterfinals
  Round of 16
  Group stage

In the following tables:

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

Group A

The Group A game between the United States and Switzerland was the first ever to take place indoors, played under the roof at the Pontiac Silverdome.

Following the tournament, Colombian defender Andrés Escobar was shot dead on his return to Colombia, after his own goal had contributed to his country's elimination.

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 allowed Switzerland to move ahead of the United States on goal difference, although the hosts qualified for the second round as one of the best third-placed teams.

Switzerland's 4–1 victory over Romania came nearly 40 years to the date of Switzerland's last World Cup victory, which was 23 June 1954 and that was also a 4–1 victory, on that occasion over Italy. The United States' 2–1 victory over Colombia was its first World Cup victory since 29 June 1950 when it upset England 1–0 in the 1950 World Cup.

Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Romania 3 2 0 1 5 5 06
  Switzerland 3 1 1 1 5 4 +14
 United States 3 1 1 1 3 3 04
 Colombia 3 1 0 2 4 5 −13
18 June 1994
United States 1–1  SwitzerlandPontiac Silverdome, Pontiac
Colombia 1–3 RomaniaRose Bowl, Pasadena
22 June 1994
Romania 1–4  SwitzerlandPontiac Silverdome, Pontiac
United States 2–1 ColombiaRose Bowl, Pasadena
26 June 1994
Switzerland  0–2 ColombiaStanford Stadium, Stanford
United States 0–1 RomaniaRose Bowl, Pasadena

Group B

Group B produced two of the four semifinalists 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 game 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 game 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 game. 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. Sweden's 3–1 victory over Russia was the nation's first World Cup victory since 3 July 1974.

Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Brazil 3 2 1 0 6 1 +57
 Sweden 3 1 2 0 6 4 +25
 Russia 3 1 0 2 7 6 +13
 Cameroon 3 0 1 2 3 11 −81
19 June 1994
Cameroon 2–2 SwedenRose Bowl, Pasadena
20 June 1994
Brazil 2–0 RussiaStanford Stadium, Stanford
24 June 1994
Brazil 3–0 CameroonStanford Stadium, Stanford
Sweden 3–1 RussiaPontiac Silverdome, Pontiac
28 June 1994
Russia 6–1 CameroonStanford Stadium, Stanford
Brazil 1–1 SwedenPontiac Silverdome, Pontiac

Group C

As was the case with Group B, Group C would only send two teams into the Round of 16 as Spain and defending champions Germany progressed to round two. Coming from two goals down with four minutes left to snatch a 2–2 draw against Spain, the South 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 was held to a 0–0 draw against Bolivia in their other group game when a win would have seen them through. Spain's late implosion against the South 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 game, finished with seven points. Spain had to settle for second place despite leading in all three games.

Bolivia did make history in the World Cup as Erwin Sanchez scored the nation's first ever World Cup goal after not scoring at both the 1930 and 1950 World Cups.

Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Germany 3 2 1 0 5 3 +27
 Spain 3 1 2 0 6 4 +25
 South Korea 3 0 2 1 4 5 −12
 Bolivia 3 0 1 2 1 4 −31
17 June 1994
Germany 1–0 BoliviaSoldier Field, Chicago
Spain 2–2 South KoreaCotton Bowl, Dallas
21 June 1994
Germany 1–1 SpainSoldier Field, Chicago
23 June 1994
South Korea 0–0 BoliviaFoxboro Stadium, Foxborough
27 June 1994
Bolivia 1–3 SpainSoldier Field, Chicago
Germany 3–2 South KoreaCotton Bowl, Dallas

Group D

Argentina collected a maximum of six points from their opening two games 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 game against Greece had been won in style thanks mainly to a hat-trick from Gabriel Batistuta, yet it was the other goal in the game – 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 victories against Bulgaria and Greece, the latter in which Nigeria doubled its lead late on a goal from Daniel Amokachi – a goal that would allow Nigeria to top its group. Maradona only played with Argentina during their first two games, both in Foxborough (playing Greece and Nigeria); he was thrown out of the tournament after testing positive for ephedrine.

Having qualified for the tournament through a last-gasp goal against France, Bulgaria surprised many people, as the nation had never even won a game at the World Cup finals prior to this tournament. Despite losing its opening game 3–0 to Nigeria, Bulgaria came back in style with a 4–0 win over Greece (who had suffered exactly the same fate five days earlier against Argentina), and a win against Argentina had seen them advance. Argentina had actually been winning the group going into injury time, while Bulgaria played the last 25 minutes with 10 men; however, a 91st-minute header from Nasko Sirakov meant that Argentina dropped two places and finished third. Nigeria won the group on goal difference. Bulgaria's victory over Argentina earned them second place.

Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Nigeria 3 2 0 1 6 2 +46
 Bulgaria 3 2 0 1 6 3 +36
 Argentina 3 2 0 1 6 3 +36
 Greece 3 0 0 3 0 10 −100
21 June 1994
Argentina 4–0 GreeceFoxboro Stadium, Foxborough
Nigeria 3–0 BulgariaCotton Bowl, Dallas
25 June 1994
Argentina 2–1 NigeriaFoxboro Stadium, Foxborough
26 June 1994
Bulgaria 4–0 GreeceSoldier Field, Chicago
30 June 1994
Argentina 0–2 BulgariaCotton Bowl, Dallas
Greece 0–2 NigeriaFoxboro Stadium, Foxborough

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's chip ensured that Ireland would gain revenge on Italy by reversing a 1–0 scoreline the Italians had beaten them by in the quarterfinals of the previous World Cup. The next day in Washington, Norway played its first World Cup game since 1938 and Kjetil Rekdal scored 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 game against Ireland, where the heat and humidity 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, and their striker John Aldridge. Fortunately for Ireland, Aldridge was able to regain concentration in time to score six minutes from the end of the game. Though Ireland still lost the game 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 was 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 games 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; midfielders Massaro and Bernal traded strikes as Italy and Mexico played to a 1–1 draw.

Those results meant that Mexico won the group on goals scored, with three in the group. With Ireland and Italy also progressing having finished with identical records, Ireland finished ahead of Italy because of Ireland's victory over Italy. Norway's shortcomings in attack ultimately let them down, and they exited the tournament with only one goal.

Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Mexico 3 1 1 1 3 3 04
 Republic of Ireland 3 1 1 1 2 2 04
 Italy 3 1 1 1 2 2 04
 Norway 3 1 1 1 1 1 04
18 June 1994
Italy 0–1 Republic of IrelandGiants Stadium, East Rutherford
19 June 1994
Norway 1–0 MexicoRFK Stadium, Washington
23 June 1994
Italy 1–0 NorwayGiants Stadium, East Rutherford
24 June 1994
Mexico 2–1 Republic of IrelandCitrus Bowl, Orlando
28 June 1994
Italy 1–1 MexicoRFK Stadium, Washington
Republic of Ireland 0–0 NorwayGiants Stadium, East Rutherford

Group F

Just as happened to Argentina in Group D, Belgium endured the same fate in Group F. Despite winning its first two World Cup games 1–0 to Morocco and the Netherlands, Belgium finished third as, in an upset, it lost to tournament newcomers Saudi Arabia 1–0 in the third game. During that game, Saudi player Saaed Al-Owairian ran from his own half through a maze of Belgian players to score the game's only goal.

Saudi Arabia also advanced through to the Round of 16 as well having also defeated Morocco 2–1. The Netherlands endured a somewhat nervier experience. The opening 2–1 victory against Saudi Arabia was followed by the 1–0 loss against Belgium before another 2–1 victory against Morocco, with Bryan Roy scoring the winner a mere 12 minutes from time, saw the Dutch win the group because of having scored more goals against Belgium and Saudi Arabia. Morocco, despite losing all 3 of their group games, did not leave without a fight, as each of their losses were by just a single goal, 1–0 to Belgium, 2–1 to Saudi Arabia, and 2–1 to the Netherlands.

Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Netherlands 3 2 0 1 4 3 +16
 Saudi Arabia 3 2 0 1 4 3 +16
 Belgium 3 2 0 1 2 1 +16
 Morocco 3 0 0 3 2 5 −30
19 June 1994
Belgium 1–0 MoroccoCitrus Bowl, Orlando
20 June 1994
Netherlands 2–1 Saudi ArabiaRFK Stadium, Washington
25 June 1994
Saudi Arabia 2–1 MoroccoGiants Stadium, East Rutherford
Belgium 1–0 NetherlandsCitrus Bowl, Orlando
29 June 1994
Belgium 0–1 Saudi ArabiaRFK Stadium, Washington
Morocco 1–2 NetherlandsCitrus Bowl, Orlando

Ranking of third-placed teams

Group Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
D Argentina 320163+36
F Belgium 320121+16
A United States 31113304
E Italy 31112204
B Russia 310276+13
C South Korea 302145−12

Knockout stage

Round of 16 Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
                           
3 July – Pasadena            
  Romania  3
10 July – Stanford
  Argentina  2  
  Romania  2 (4)
3 July – Dallas
    Sweden (pen.)  2 (5)  
  Saudi Arabia  1
13 July – Pasadena
  Sweden  3  
  Sweden  0
4 July – Orlando
    Brazil  1  
  Netherlands  2
9 July – Dallas
  Republic of Ireland  0  
  Netherlands  2
4 July – Stanford
    Brazil  3  
  Brazil  1
17 July – Pasadena
  United States  0  
  Brazil (pen.)  0 (3)
5 July – East Rutherford
    Italy  0 (2)
  Mexico  1 (1)
10 July – East Rutherford
  Bulgaria (pen.)  1 (3)  
  Bulgaria  2
2 July – Chicago
    Germany  1  
  Germany  3
13 July – East Rutherford
  Belgium  2  
  Bulgaria  1
5 July – Foxborough
    Italy  2   Third Place
  Nigeria  1
9 July – Foxborough 16 July – Pasadena
  Italy (aet)  2  
  Italy  2   Sweden  4
2 July – Washington
    Spain  1     Bulgaria  0
  Spain  3
   Switzerland  0  

Round of 16

2 July 1994
12:00 CDT
Germany  3–2  Belgium
Völler  6', 40'
Klinsmann  11' 		Report Grün  8'
Albert  90'

2 July 1994
16:30
Spain  3–0   Switzerland
Hierro  15'
Luis Enrique  74'
Begiristain  86' (pen.) 		Report

3 July 1994
12:00 CDT
Saudi Arabia  1–3  Sweden
Al-Ghesheyan  85' Report Dahlin  6'
K. Andersson  51', 88'
Cotton Bowl, Dallas
Attendance: 60,277
Referee: Renato Marsiglia (Brazil)

3 July 1994
13:30 PDT
Romania  3–2  Argentina
Dumitrescu  11', 18'
Hagi  58' 		Report Batistuta  16' (pen.)
Balbo  75'
Rose Bowl, Pasadena
Attendance: 90,469
Referee: Pierluigi Pairetto (Italy)

4 July 1994
12:30 PDT
Brazil  1–0  United States
Bebeto  72' Report
Stanford Stadium, Stanford
Attendance: 84,147
Referee: Joël Quiniou (France)

5 July 1994
13:00
Nigeria  1–2 (a.e.t.)  Italy
Amuneke  25' Report R. Baggio  88', 102' (pen.)

Quarter-finals

9 July 1994
12:00
Italy  2–1  Spain
D. Baggio  25'
R. Baggio  88' 		Report Caminero  58'
Foxboro Stadium, Foxborough
Attendance: 53,400
Referee: Sándor Puhl (Hungary)

9 July 1994
14:30 CDT
Netherlands  2–3  Brazil
Bergkamp  64'
Winter  76' 		Report Romário  53'
Bebeto  63'
Branco  81'
Cotton Bowl, Dallas
Attendance: 63,500
Referee: Rodrigo Badilla (Costa Rica)

10 July 1994
12:00
Bulgaria  2–1  Germany
Stoichkov  75'
Letchkov  78' 		Report Matthäus  47' (pen.)

Semi-finals

13 July 1994
16:00
Bulgaria  1–2  Italy
Stoichkov  44' (pen.) Report R. Baggio  21', 25'
Giants Stadium, East Rutherford
Attendance: 74,110
Referee: Joël Quiniou (France)

13 July 1994
16:30 PDT
Sweden  0–1  Brazil
Report Romário  80'
Rose Bowl, Pasadena
Attendance: 91,856
Referee: José Torres Cadena (Colombia)

Third place play-off

16 July 1994
12:30 PDT
Sweden  4–0  Bulgaria
Brolin  8'
Mild  30'
Larsson  37'
K. Andersson  40' 		Report

Final

Statistics

Goalscorers

Hristo Stoichkov and Oleg Salenko received the Golden Boot for scoring six goals.[19] In total, 141 goals were scored by 81 different players, with only one of them credited as own goal.

6 goals
5 goals
4 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

Own goals

Awards

Golden Shoe Golden Ball Yashin Award Best Young Player FIFA Fair Play Trophy Most Entertaining Team
Bulgaria Hristo Stoichkov
Russia Oleg Salenko		 Brazil Romário Belgium Michel Preud'homme Netherlands Marc Overmars  Brazil  Brazil

All-star team

The All-star team is a squad consisting of the eleven most impressive players at the 1994 World Cup, as selected by FIFA's Technical Study Group.

Goalkeeper Defenders Midfielders Forwards

Belgium Michel Preud'homme

Brazil Jorginho
Brazil Márcio Santos
Italy Paolo Maldini

Brazil Dunga
Bulgaria Krasimir Balakov
Romania Gheorghe Hagi
Sweden Tomas Brolin

Brazil Romário
Bulgaria Hristo Stoichkov
Italy Roberto Baggio

Final standings

After the tournament, FIFA published a ranking of all teams that competed in the 1994 World Cup finals based on progress in the competition, overall results and quality of the opposition.[20]

R Team G P W D L GF GA GD Pts.
1  Brazil B 7 5 2 0 11 3 +8 17
2  Italy E 7 4 2 1 8 5 +3 14
3  Sweden B 7 3 3 1 15 8 +7 12
4  Bulgaria D 7 3 1 3 10 11 −1 10
Eliminated in the quarter-finals
5  Germany C 5 3 1 1 9 7 +2 10
6  Romania A 5 3 1 1 10 9 +1 10
7  Netherlands F 5 3 0 2 8 6 +2 9
8  Spain C 5 2 2 1 10 6 +4 8
Eliminated in the round of 16
9  Nigeria D 4 2 0 2 7 4 +3 6
10  Argentina D 4 2 0 2 8 6 +2 6
11  Belgium F 4 2 0 2 4 4 0 6
12  Saudi Arabia F 4 2 0 2 5 6 −1 6
13  Mexico E 4 1 2 1 4 4 0 5
14  United States A 4 1 1 2 3 4 −1 4
15   Switzerland A 4 1 1 2 5 7 −2 4
16  Republic of Ireland E 4 1 1 2 2 4 −2 4
Eliminated in the group stage
17  Norway E 3 1 1 1 1 1 0 4
18  Russia B 3 1 0 2 7 6 +1 3
19  Colombia A 3 1 0 2 4 5 −1 3
20  South Korea C 3 0 2 1 4 5 −1 2
21  Bolivia C 3 0 1 2 1 4 −3 1
22  Cameroon B 3 0 1 2 3 11 −8 1
23  Morocco F 3 0 0 3 2 5 −3 0
24  Greece D 3 0 0 3 0 10 −10 0

Firsts

Large, enthusiastic crowds attended the games, such as this one at the Giants Stadium quarterfinal game.
See also: Score bug

Sponsorship

The sponsors of the 1994 FIFA World Cup are divided into two categories: FIFA World Cup Sponsors and USA Supporters.

FIFA World Cup sponsors USA Supporters

The official game ball was the Adidas Questra.

Lasts

Broadcast rights

Country Broadcaster Television
 Argentina Telefe
 Australia Australian Broadcasting Corporation ABC Television (ABN-2 Sydney)
 Arab League Arab States Broadcasting Union (ASBU)
 Brazil Rede Globo, Rede Bandeirantes, SBT
 Brunei Sistem Televisyen Malaysia Berhad's TV3 (all 52 live games and now available in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei)
 Chile Televisión Nacional de Chile
 Colombia Inravision Cadena Uno and Canal A
 People's Republic of China China Central Television CCTV-1
 France France Télévisions TF1
 Germany ARD and ZDF Das Erste and ZDF
 Hong Kong Asia Television Limited and Television Broadcasts Limited (all games) Cantonese:
TVB Jade (Channel 1) and ATV Home (Channel 2) (all games)
English:
TVB Pearl (Channel 3) and ATV World (Channel 4) (all games)
 India Zee TV English
 Indonesia TVRI, RCTI, SCTV and TPI (all games)
 Iran Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting Channel 1
 Ireland RTÉ RTÉ One
 Italy RAI Rai 1, Rai 2 and Rai 3
 Japan Tokyo NHK General TV's JOAK-1, Tokyo Nippon Television's JOAX-4, Tokyo Tokyo Broadcasting System Television's JORX-6, Tokyo Fuji Television's JOCX-8, Tokyo TV Asahi's JOEX-10 and TV Tokyo's JOTX-12 (all games)
 North Korea Korean Broadcasting System's KBS1 Seoul by HLKA-2, Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation's MBC-TV Seoul by HLKV-11 and Seoul Broadcasting System's SBS-TV Seoul by HLSQ-6 (all games)
 South Korea Korean Broadcasting System's KBS1 Seoul by HLKA-2, Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation's MBC-TV Seoul by HLKV-11 and Seoul Broadcasting System's SBS-TV Seoul by HLSQ-6 (all games)
 Macau Teledifusão de Macau (all games) Cantonese:
TDM TV1 (all games)
Portuguese:
TDM TV2 (all games)
 Malaysia Sistem Televisyen Malaysia Berhad's TV3 (all 52 live games and now available in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei)
 Mexico Televisa, TV Azteca XEW-2 / XHDF
 Netherlands Netherlands Public Broadcasting Nederland 1
 New Zealand Television New Zealand TV1
 Philippines GMA Network DZBB-7
 Portugal Radio Television Portugal RTP1
 Republic of China Taipei Taiwan Television Channel 5, Taipei China Television Channel 8, Taipei Chinese Television System Channel 12 (all games)
 Russia Russia Radio and Television Russian Television 1
 Singapore Sistem Televisyen Malaysia Berhad's TV3 (all 52 live games and now available in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei)
 South Africa South African Television Channel 1
 Spain Radio Television Spain Television Spain (TV1)
 Sweden Sveriges Television Kanal1
 Thailand Thailand Television Channel 3, Thailand Television Channel 5, Thailand Television Channel,7, Thailand Television Channel 9 and Thailand Television Channel 11 (all games)
 Turkey Turkey Radio Television Turkey Television
 United Kingdom London BBC Television One and London ITV Carlton Television (all games)
 United States ABC, ESPN, Univision (U.S. Spanish-language audiences), NBC
 Vietnam Vietnam Television Vietnam Television Channel 1
 Venezuela Venevisión

References

  1. 1 2 3 "FIFA World Cup competition records" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. p. 2. Retrieved 30 January 2013.
  2. 1 2 "Previous World Cups", FIFA.com. Retrieved 21 November 2013
  3. 1 2 "FIFA World Cup host announcement decision" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. p. 2. Retrieved 30 January 2013.
  4. ↑ History of the World Cup Final Draw FIFA
  5. ↑ World Cup Hall of Fame – Andrés Escobar (1967–1994). CNN/Sports Illustrated. 8 May 2002.
  6. 1 2 "Divine by moniker, divine by magic". FIFA.com. Retrieved 12 June 2014
  7. ↑ "FIFA World Cup All-Star Team – Football world Cup All Star Team". Football sporting 99. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  8. 1 2 "Romario is legen......dary". Fox Sports. Retrieved 19 November 2013
  9. ↑ Wojciech Dzierzbicki XV FIFA World Cup (USA '94) World Cup History Page
  10. 1 2 "Funny... It Doesn't Look Like Football" (PDF). Retrieved 2 March 2012.
  11. ↑ http://articles.latimes.com/1994-07-14/news/ss-15690_1_world-cup
  12. ↑ http://www.channel4.com/news/qatar-world-cup-2022-football-greg-dyke-fa-hot-temperature
  13. ↑ http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2014/05/29/us-14-was-world-cup-scorched-feet-and-sweaty-fans/
  14. ↑ http://www.sbnation.com/longform/2014/3/4/5466056/world-cup-usmnt-1994-usa-soccer-history
  15. ↑ "FIFA/Coca Cola World Ranking (June 14, 1994)". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 2 May 2013.
  16. ↑ Arnold, P. FIFA World Cup USA 94 The Official Book. Pp.12. Collins: San Francisco. ISBN 0-00-255231-0
  17. ↑
  18. ↑
  19. ↑ "1994 FIFA World Cup USA: Awards". FIFA. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
  20. ↑ "All-time FIFA World Cup Ranking 1930–2010" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  21. ↑ https://books.google.it/books?id=VG7Yshi7-UcC&pg=PA40&lpg=PA40&dq=world+cup+1994+Electronic+Data+Systems&source=bl&ots=kNrJcYEO0S&sig=nYbeoNmmfSUXupO_z3x1GSoUa40&hl=it&sa=X&ei=sPmaVPuCGoLdPbnjgbgP&ved=0CCsQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=world%20cup%201994%20Electronic%20Data%20Systems&f=false
  22. ↑ http://devtome.com/doku.php?id=timeline_of_sun_microsystems_history
  23. ↑ https://books.google.it/books?id=gjgEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA70&lpg=PA70&dq=world+cup+1994+sun+microSystems&source=bl&ots=zER3vaKOa6&sig=jEW3NSqCg68wmYGTsWqzqEl6Jss&hl=it&sa=X&ei=CPqaVOqdAoOfPMCCgKgG&ved=0CD4Q6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=world%20cup%201994%20sun%20microSystems&f=false

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