1994 FIFA World Cup

Bidding process

Three nations bid for host duties: United States, Brazil, and Morocco.^[6] The vote was held in Zurich on July 4, 1988 (Independence Day in the United States), and only took one round with the United States bid receiving a little over half of the votes by the FIFA Executive Committee members.^[6] FIFA hoped that by staging the world's most prestigious tournament there, it would lead to a growth of interest in the sport.^[7]

An inspection committee also found that the proposed Brazilian stadiums were deficient, while the Moroccan bid relied on the construction of nine new stadiums. Conversely, all the proposed stadiums in the United States were already built and fully functioning; US Soccer spent $500 million preparing and organizing the tournament, far less than the billions other countries previously had spent and subsequently would spend on preparing for this tournament.^[8] The U.S. bid was seen as the favorite and was prepared in response to losing the right to be the replacement host for the 1986 tournament following Colombia's withdrawal.^[9]

One condition FIFA imposed was the creation of a professional soccer league – Major League Soccer was founded in 1993 and began operating in 1996.^[10] There was some initial controversy^[11] 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. no longer had a professional league; the North American Soccer League, established in 1967, had folded in 1984 after attendance faded.^[11] The success of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, particularly the soccer tournament that drew 1.4 million spectators throughout the event, also contributed to FIFA's decision.^[12]

The United States had previously bid to host the 1986 FIFA World Cup, after Colombia withdrew as the host nation in November 1982 because of economic concerns. Despite a presentation led by former North American Soccer League players Pelé and Franz Beckenbauer, as well as former United States Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, the executive committee selected Mexico.^[13] There were proposals by FIFA to introduce larger goals and breaks after every quarter instead of just at half-time in order to appease US television advertisers.^[14][15][16] These proposals were met with resistance,^[17] and ultimately rejected.

Discover more about Background and preparations related topics

Soccer in the United States

Soccer in the United States

Soccer in the United States is run by organizations. The United States Soccer Federation (USSF) governs most levels of soccer in the country, including the national teams, professional leagues, and amateur leagues, being the highest soccer authority in the country. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) governs most colleges; secondary schools are governed by state-level associations, with the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) setting the rules at that level. The match regulations are generally the same between the three governing bodies although there are many subtle differences.

1986 FIFA World Cup

1986 FIFA World Cup

The 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. 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 resigned in 1982. Mexico was selected as the new host in May 1983, and became the first country to host the World Cup more than once, after previously hosting in 1970.

Major League Soccer

Major League Soccer

Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada—since the 2023 season. The league is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan.

North American Soccer League (1968–1984)

North American Soccer League (1968–1984)

The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It was the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the United States. The league final was called the Soccer Bowl from 1975 to 1983 and the Soccer Bowl Series in its final year, 1984. The league was headed by Commissioner Phil Woosnam from 1969 to 1983. The NASL laid the foundations for soccer in the United States that helped lead to the country hosting the 1994 FIFA World Cup and the set-up of Major League Soccer (MLS) in 1996.

1984 Summer Olympics

1984 Summer Olympics

The 1984 Summer Olympics were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the second time that Los Angeles had hosted the Games, the first being in 1932. California was the home state of the incumbent U.S. President Ronald Reagan, who officially opened the Games. These were the first Summer Olympic Games under the IOC presidency of Juan Antonio Samaranch.

Football at the 1984 Summer Olympics

Football at the 1984 Summer Olympics

The association football (soccer) tournament at the 1984 Summer Olympics started on July 29 and ended on August 11, taking place throughout the United States. It was the first Olympic soccer competition in which officially professional players were allowed. Until then, the amateur-only rule had heavily favored socialist countries from the Eastern Bloc whose players were professionals in all but name. However, as agreed with FIFA to preserve the primacy of the World Cup, the Olympic competition was restricted to players with no more than five "A" caps at tournament start, regardless of age.

Pelé

Pelé

Edson Arantes do Nascimento, better known by his nickname Pelé, was a Brazilian professional footballer who played as a forward. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, he was among the most successful and popular sports figures of the 20th century. In 1999, he was named Athlete of the Century by the International Olympic Committee and was included in the Time list of the 100 most important people of the 20th century. In 2000, Pelé was voted World Player of the Century by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) and was one of the two joint winners of the FIFA Player of the Century. His 1,279 goals in 1,363 games, which includes friendlies, is recognised as a Guinness World Record.

Franz Beckenbauer

Franz Beckenbauer

Franz Anton Beckenbauer is a German former professional footballer and manager. In his playing career he was nicknamed Der Kaiser because of his elegant style, dominance and leadership on the field, and also as his first name "Franz" is reminiscent of the Austrian emperors. He is widely regarded to be one of the greatest players in the history of the sport. A versatile player who started out as a midfielder, Beckenbauer made his name as a central defender. He is often credited as having invented the role of the modern sweeper (libero). With success at club and international level, he is one of nine players to have won the FIFA World Cup, the UEFA Champions League and the Ballon d'Or.

United States Secretary of State

United States Secretary of State

The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Cabinet, and ranks the first in the U.S. presidential line of succession among Cabinet secretaries.

Henry Kissinger

Henry Kissinger

Henry Alfred Kissinger is a German-born American diplomat, geopolitical consultant, and politician who served as United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under the presidential administrations of Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. For his actions negotiating a ceasefire in Vietnam, Kissinger received the 1973 Nobel Peace Prize under controversial circumstances.

FIFA

FIFA

The Fédération internationale de football association is the international governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded in 1904 to oversee international competition among the national associations of Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. Headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland, its membership now comprises 211 national associations. These national associations must each also be members of one of the six regional confederations into which the world is divided: CAF (Africa), AFC, UEFA (Europe), CONCACAF, OFC (Oceania) and CONMEBOL.

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The games were played in nine cities across the contiguous United States. All stadiums had a capacity of at least 53,000, and their usual tenants were professional or college American football teams.^[18] Other considered venues in other major cities across the United States such as Atlanta, Denver, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Miami, Minneapolis, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Seattle and Tampa were not used, as well as venues in smaller towns such as Annapolis, Maryland; Columbus, Ohio; Corvallis, Oregon; and New Haven, Connecticut.^[19] Several venues, including Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami and Candlestick Park in San Francisco, were rejected because of conflicts with Major League Baseball, so Stanford Stadium, 30 miles (48 km) southeast of San Francisco was used,^[20][21] and the Citrus Bowl in Orlando was picked over Miami's two submitted venues (the Orange Bowl, the other Miami venue, required major renovations to meet tournament standards).^[22] The venue used most was the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, with eight games, among them one round of 16 game, a semi-final, the third-place game, and the final. Giants Stadium near New York hosted seven games including a semi-final; Boston (Foxborough), San Francisco (Stanford), and Dallas hosted six games each and Chicago, Washington, and Orlando each hosted five games. The least used was the Pontiac Silverdome near Detroit, the first indoor stadium used in a World Cup, with four group stage games. The Pontiac Silverdome was also the only venue of the nine used that did not host any knockout round games.

Because of the large area of the continental United States, the game locations were often far apart. 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 miles (3,700 km) and four time zones. 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 two time zones; Chicago is in the same time zone as Dallas but is still 1,000 miles (1,600 km) away from both Dallas and Boston. The teams in Groups E and F had it a bit easier—they played exclusively in New York (East Rutherford), Washington, and Orlando, which, while far apart, were at least all in the same time zone. A few teams, such as Cameroon and Colombia, did not have to travel to cities across the country to play games.

The variety of climate in different cities all over the United States also sometimes made playing conditions challenging. Aside from the oceanic coolness of Boston (Foxborough), the Mediterranean climate of San Francisco (Stanford), and occasionally the coolness of Chicago, as they had been in Mexico in 1970 and 1986 most matches were played in hot and/or humid conditions, thanks to nearly all of the games being scheduled to be played during the day instead of at night in order to suit a time difference compromise for television in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East; this had always been done every time a World Cup was held in the Americas. Although playing in the mostly dry heat and smoggy conditions of Los Angeles (Pasadena) and the mixture of heat and humidity of Washington and New York sometimes proved to be difficult, the cities with the most consistently oppressive conditions were Orlando and Dallas in the South, because of the combination of heat and extreme humidity.^[23] The Floridian tropical climate of Orlando meant all games there were played in temperatures of 95 °F (35 °C) or above with dew points above 70 or more (the temperature there during the group stage game between Mexico and Ireland was 105 °F (41 °C)) due to the mid-day start times.^[24] Dallas was not much different: in the humid heat of a Texas summer, temperatures exceeded 100 °F (38 °C) during mid-day, when games there were staged in the open-type Cotton Bowl meant that conditions were just as oppressive there as they were in Orlando.^[25] Detroit also proved to be difficult: the Pontiac Silverdome did not have a working cooling system and because it was an air-supported stadium, the air could not escape through circulation, so temperatures inside the stadium would climb past 90 °F (32 °C) with 40% humidity. United States midfielder Thomas Dooley described the Silverdome as "the worst place I have ever played at".^[26]

Of these nine stadiums, all but one have since been either demolished and replaced by other stadia, or have been moderately or heavily modified. The Pontiac Silverdome, Giants Stadium, and Foxboro Stadium have been demolished, and RFK Stadium is no longer in use and is slated for demolition by 2023.^[27] Stanford Stadium, the Cotton Bowl, the Citrus Bowl (Camping World Stadium), and Soldier Field have all been moderately or heavily modified. The Rose Bowl is the only largely unmodified stadium that was used for this tournament.

Pasadena, California (Los Angeles)	Stanford, California (San Francisco)	Pontiac, Michigan (Detroit)	East Rutherford, New Jersey (New York/New Jersey)
Rose Bowl	Stanford Stadium	Pontiac Silverdome	Giants Stadium
Capacity: 94,194	Capacity: 84,147	Capacity: 77,557	Capacity: 76,322
Dallas, Texas	Pasadena Pontiac Stanford East Rutherford Orlando Chicago Dallas Foxborough Washington, D.C. 1994 FIFA World Cup (the United States)
Cotton Bowl
Capacity: 64,000
Chicago, Illinois	Orlando, Florida	Foxborough, Massachusetts (Boston)	Washington, D.C.
Soldier Field	Citrus Bowl	Foxboro Stadium	Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium
Capacity: 63,160	Capacity: 62,387	Capacity: 54,456	Capacity: 53,121

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Contiguous United States

Contiguous United States

The contiguous United States consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the District of Columbia of the United States of America. The term excludes the only two non-contiguous states, Alaska and Hawaii, and all other offshore insular areas, such as American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The colloquial term "Lower 48" is used also, especially in relation to just Alaska.

National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada and the highest professional level of American football in the world. Each NFL season begins with a three-week preseason in August, followed by the 18-week regular season which runs from early September to early January, with each team playing 17 games and having one bye week. Following the conclusion of the regular season, seven teams from each conference advance to the playoffs, a single-elimination tournament that culminates in the Super Bowl, which is contested in February and is played between the AFC and NFC conference champions. The league is headquartered in New York City.

College football

College football

College football refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.

American football

American football

American football, also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with possession of the oval-shaped football, attempts to advance down the field by running with the ball or passing it, while the defense, the team without possession of the ball, aims to stop the offense's advance and to take control of the ball for themselves. The offense must advance at least ten yards in four downs or plays; if they fail, they turn over the football to the defense, but if they succeed, they are given a new set of four downs to continue the drive. Points are scored primarily by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone for a touchdown or kicking the ball through the opponent's goalposts for a field goal. The team with the most points at the end of a game wins.

Atlanta

Atlanta

Atlanta is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, although a portion of the city extends into neighboring DeKalb County. With a population of 498,715 living within the city limits, it is the eighth most populous city in the Southeast and 38th most populous city in the United States according to the 2020 U.S. census. It is the core of the much larger Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to more than 6.1 million people, making it the eighth-largest metropolitan area in the United States. Situated among the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains at an elevation of just over 1,000 feet (300 m) above sea level, it features unique topography that includes rolling hills, lush greenery, and the most dense urban tree coverage of any major city in the United States.

Denver

Denver

Denver is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United States and the fifth most populous state capital. It is the principal city of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area and the first city of the Front Range Urban Corridor.

Las Vegas

Las Vegas

Las Vegas, often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area and is the largest city within the greater Mojave Desert. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city, known primarily for its gambling, shopping, fine dining, entertainment, and nightlife. The Las Vegas Valley as a whole serves as the leading financial, commercial, and cultural center for Nevada.

Miami

Miami

Miami, officially the City of Miami, is a coastal metropolis and the seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida. With a population of 442,241 as of the 2020 census, it is the second-most populous city in the state of Florida after Jacksonville. It is the core of the much larger Miami metropolitan area, which, with a population of 6.138 million, is the third-largest metro in the Southeast and ninth-largest in the United States. The city has the third largest skyline in the U.S. with over 300 high-rises, 58 of which exceed 491 ft (150 m).

Minneapolis

Minneapolis

Minneapolis is a city in the state of Minnesota and the county seat of Hennepin County. As of the 2020 census the population was 429,954, making it the largest city in Minnesota and the 46th-most-populous in the United States. Nicknamed the "City of Lakes", Minneapolis is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks, and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins as the 19th century lumber and flour milling capitals of the world, and, to the present day, preserved its financial clout. It occupies both banks of the Mississippi River and adjoins Saint Paul, the state capital of Minnesota.

Annapolis, Maryland

Annapolis, Maryland

Annapolis is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, 25 miles (40 km) south of Baltimore and about 30 miles (50 km) east of Washington, D.C., Annapolis forms part of the Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area. The 2020 census recorded its population as 40,812, an increase of 6.3% since 2010.

Columbus, Ohio

Columbus, Ohio

Columbus is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest after Chicago, and the third-most populous U.S. state capital. Columbus is the county seat of Franklin County; it also extends into Delaware and Fairfield counties. It is the core city of the Columbus metropolitan area, which encompasses 10 counties in central Ohio. It had a population of 2,138,926 in 2020, making it the largest metropolitan entirely in Ohio and 32nd-largest city in the U.S.

Corvallis, Oregon

Corvallis, Oregon

Corvallis is a city and the county seat of Benton County in central western Oregon, United States. It is the principal city of the Corvallis, Oregon Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Benton County. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 59,922. Corvallis is the location of Oregon State University and Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center. Corvallis is the westernmost city in the contiguous 48 states with a population larger than 50,000.

Qualification

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Three teams: one African, one Asian, and one European, made their debuts at the 1994 tournament. Nigeria qualified from the African zone alongside Cameroon and Morocco as CAF was granted three spots as a result of the strong performances by African teams in 1986 and 1990. In the Asian zone, Saudi Arabia qualified for the first time by topping the final round group ahead of South Korea as both edged out Japan, who was close to making its own World Cup debut, but was denied by Iraq in what became known as the "Agony of Doha". In the European zone, Greece made their first World Cup appearance after topping a group from which Russia also qualified, competing independently for the first time after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

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. Norway qualified for the first time since 1938, Bolivia for the first time since 1950 (and the last time as of 2022), and Switzerland for the first time since 1966. Norway's 56-year gap between appearances in the final tournament equaled Egypt's record in the previous tournament as the longest. This record was later broken by Wales when they qualified for the 2022 tournament, after a 64-year absence. Mexico had its first successful qualification campaign since 1978, failing to qualify in 1982, qualifying as hosts in 1986 and being banned for the Cachirules scandal in 1990.

The qualification campaigns of both Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia were affected by political events. The nation of Czechoslovakia dissolved in 1993, completing its qualifying group under the name "Representation of Czechs and Slovaks" (RCS), but failed to qualify for the finals, having been edged out by Romania and Belgium in Group 4. Yugoslavia (which was supposed to play in Group 5) 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.

This was the first World Cup since World War II in which none of the UK Home Nations of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales qualified (they withdrew their FIFA memberships between 1928 and 1946, during the first three tournaments), with England (finishing third behind Norway and Netherlands in Group 2) missing out after having finished fourth in the 1990 tournament, and Scotland (who finished fourth in Group 1) failing to qualify for the first time since 1970. France, who had been already designated as hosts of the 1998 tournament, also missed out following surprise home losses to Israel and Bulgaria. This was the second World Cup in a row for which France had failed to qualify, and the last one to date not to feature England, France, and Japan. Other notable absentees were 1986 and 1990 Round of 16 participants Uruguay, UEFA Euro 1992 champions Denmark, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal and Hungary.

List of qualified teams

The following 24 teams, shown with their pre-tournament FIFA World Ranking from June 1994,^[28] qualified for the final tournamentː

AFC (2)  Saudi Arabia (34)  South Korea (37) CAF (3)  Cameroon (24)  Morocco (28)  Nigeria (11) OFC (0) None qualified

CONCACAF (2)  Mexico (16)  United States (23) (hosts) CONMEBOL (4)  Argentina (8)  Brazil (3)  Bolivia (43)  Colombia (17)

UEFA (13)  Belgium (27)  Bulgaria (29)  Germany (1)  Greece (31)  Italy (4)  Netherlands (2)  Norway (6)  Republic of Ireland (14)  Romania (7)  Russia (19)  Spain (5)  Sweden (10)  Switzerland (12)

Countries qualified for World Cup   Country failed to qualify   Countries that did not enter or were banned from the World Cup   Country not a FIFA member

Squads

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

Referees

Discover more about Participating teams and officials related topics

1994 FIFA World Cup qualification

1994 FIFA World Cup qualification

The 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. The 1994 FIFA World Cup featured 24 teams with one place reserved for the host nation, United States, and one place for the defending champions, Germany. The remaining 22 places were determined by a qualification process, in which 147 teams, from the six FIFA confederations, competed. Most of the successful teams were determined within these confederations, with a limited number of inter-confederation play-offs occurring at the end of the process.

Cameroon national football team

Cameroon national football team

The Cameroon national football team, also known as the Indomitable Lions, represents Cameroon in men's international football. It is controlled by the Fédération Camerounaise de Football, a member of FIFA and its African confederation CAF.

Confederation of African Football

Confederation of African Football

The Confederation of African Football, or CAF for short, is the administrative and controlling body for association football, futsal and beach soccer in Africa. It was established on 8 February 1957 at the Grand Hotel in Khartoum, Sudan by the national football associations of Egypt, Ethiopia, South Africa and Sudan, following formal discussions between the aforementioned associations at the FIFA Congress held on 7 June 1956 at Avenida Hotel in Lisbon, Portugal.

1986 FIFA World Cup

1986 FIFA World Cup

The 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. 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 resigned in 1982. Mexico was selected as the new host in May 1983, and became the first country to host the World Cup more than once, after previously hosting in 1970.

1990 FIFA World Cup

1990 FIFA World Cup

The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second time. Teams representing 116 national football associations entered and qualification began in April 1988. 22 teams qualified from this process, along with host nation Italy and defending champions Argentina.

Iraq national football team

Iraq national football team

The Iraq national football team represents Iraq in international football and is controlled by the Iraq Football Association (IFA), the governing body for football in Iraq. Iraq's usual home venue is the Basra International Stadium.

Greece national football team

Greece national football team

The Greece national football team represents Greece in men's international football matches and is controlled by the Hellenic Football Federation, the governing body for football in Greece. Starting in 2023, Greece play their home matches in Nea Filadelfeia, a suburb of Athens, at the newly built Agia Sophia Stadium. Greece is one of only ten national teams to have been crowned UEFA European Champions.

Dissolution of the Soviet Union

Dissolution of the Soviet Union

The dissolution of the Soviet Union was the process of internal disintegration within the Soviet Union (USSR) which resulted in the end of the country's and its federal government's existence as a sovereign state, thereby resulting in its constituent republics gaining full independence on 26 December 1991. It brought an end to General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev's effort to reform the Soviet political and economic system in an attempt to stop a period of political stalemate and economic backslide. The Soviet Union had experienced internal stagnation and ethnic separatism. Although highly centralized until its final years, the country was made up of 15 top-level republics that served as homelands for different ethnicities. By late 1991, amid a catastrophic political crisis, with several republics already departing the Union and the waning of centralized power, the leaders of three of its founding members declared that the Soviet Union no longer existed. Eight more republics joined their declaration shortly thereafter. Gorbachev resigned in December 1991 and what was left of the Soviet parliament voted to end itself.

Germany national football team

Germany national football team

The Germany national football team represents Germany in men's international football and played its first match in 1908. The team is governed by the German Football Association, founded in 1900. Between 1949 and 1990, separate German national teams were recognised by FIFA due to Allied occupation and division: the DFB's team representing the Federal Republic of Germany, the Saarland team representing the Saar Protectorate (1950–1956) and the East Germany team representing the German Democratic Republic (1952–1990). The latter two were absorbed along with their records; the present team represents the reunified Federal Republic. The official name and code "Germany FR (FRG)" was shortened to "Germany (GER)" following reunification in 1990.

German reunification

German reunification

German reunification was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the "Unification Treaty" between the two countries of "Germany as a whole" entered into force dissolving the German Democratic Republic and integrating its recently re-established constituent federated states into the Federal Republic of Germany to form present-day Germany, has been chosen as the customary German Unity Day and has thereafter been celebrated each year as a national holiday in Germany since 1991. As part of the reunification, East and West Berlin of the two countries were also united into a single city; it eventually became the capital of the country.

East Germany national football team

East Germany national football team

The East Germany national football team, recognised as Germany DR by FIFA, represented East Germany in men's international football, playing as one of three post-war German teams, along with Saarland and West Germany.

1938 FIFA World Cup

1938 FIFA World Cup

The 1938 FIFA World Cup was the third edition of the World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams and was held in France from 4 June until 19 June 1938. Italy defended its title in the final, beating Hungary 4–2. Italy's 1934 and 1938 teams hold the distinction of being the only men's national team to win the World Cup multiple times under the same coach, Vittorio Pozzo. It would be the last World Cup until 1950 due to World War II.

Seeding and drawing

The FIFA Organizing Committee upheld the tradition to seed the hosts (United States) and holders (Germany), along with the other four teams ranked in the top five based on their results obtained in the last three FIFA World Cups. The newly introduced FIFA World Ranking was not used as part of the calculated ranking for the seeding in this World Cup, as FIFA considered it to be too new.^[29] Despite that it was not used in any way, for comparison purposes the teams' pre-tournament FIFA World ranking position from June 1994 are shown in parenthesis,^[30] followed by the official and used ranking (OR) position determined by the results obtained in the last three world cups.

The six top-seeded teams, were allocated in pot 1 and would be drawn into the first position of the six groups playing in the group stage. The remaining 18 teams were allocated into three pots based on geographical sections, with the: six qualified teams from Africa and Americas in pot 2, the top-6 ranked European teams in pot 3, while pot 4 comprised the 7th-10th best qualified European teams along with the two qualified Asian teams.

The principle of the draw was that each of the six drawn groups would have one team drawn respectively from pot 1, 2, 3 and 4; while respecting the following geographical limitations:

1. At least two European teams from UEFA in all groups, with one group having three European teams.
2. United States and Mexico can not be drawn in the same group, due to the rule of only accepting maximum one CONCACAF team per group.
3. Brazil and Argentina can not be drawn with another South American team, due to the rule of only accepting maximum one CONMEBOL team per group.
4. As all qualified Asian teams from AFC were in the same pot 4, and all qualified African teams from CAF in the same pot 2, this automatically respected the rule of only allowing maximum one Asian team and maximum one African team per group, as part of the normal draw procedure - without needing to observe special restricting sub-rules for them.

• The draw took place at the Las Vegas Convention Center and was televised live on 19 December 1993 on ESPN in the United States & Eurosport in all Europe with English language commentary on the latter channel by Scottish sportscaster Archie Macpherson.^[31] The draw presenters were Dick Clark and Faye Dunaway.

Ahead of the draw, the FIFA Organizing Committee had decided to allocate the top-seeded first group position A1 for the United States as the hosts, C1 for defending champions Germany, and E1 for the Italian team who had requested to play most of their group matches at the Giants Stadium in New York. The three other top seeded teams would be located at the first position of either group B/D/F, with the decision largely depending on the identity of the other drawn group members for the seeded teams. Therefore, this last decision would only be made by a secret vote made by the FIFA Organizing Committee a few minutes after all teams had been drawn for all groups, and the decision would only be announced as the last step of the televised draw event. To make this procedure possible, the six drawn groups would during the draw be given the colors green, orange, white, black, pink and blue; and the closing remarks at the event would then reveal the group letters represented by the colors. The six groups from A to F would play their group matches in the following nine cities:^[32]

• Group A and B are playing in Detroit, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
• Group C and D are playing in Chicago, Dallas and Boston.
• Group E and F are playing in New York, Washington DC, and Orlando.

Procedure for the draw:^[33]

1. Pot 1 was used to draw the six top-seeded teams into the first position of the six groups designated by the colors green, orange, white, black, pink and blue. Group letters behind each color would only be decided by a following secret FIFA Organizing Committee vote, and only be revealed after the draw had been completed. Although the committee had already predetermined ahead of the draw that: the United States should play in group A, Germany should play in group C, and Italy should play in group E.^[32]
2. Pot 2 was used to draw one team to each of the six colored groups, with the draw conducted in the color order from left to right (green, orange, white, black, pink, blue); while this order however at the same time had to respect the following restricted geographical rules:
   • Rule 1: First two drawn non South American teams shall irrespectively of the color order, first be drawn into the two groups led by a South American team, in order to avoid the possibility for these groups later to be drawn by a second South American team.
   • Rule 2: First drawn South American team or one of the last two African teams shall irrespectively of the color order, first be drawn into the group led by the CONCACAF team, the United States, in order to avoid the possibility for this group later to be drawn by the second CONCACAF team Mexico.
   • Rule 3: One of the two South American teams or one of the last two African teams shall irrespectively of the color order, first be drawn into the first available open group being led by a European team, in order to avoid the meeting of two South American teams in the same group.
   • Rule 4: Mexico can not be drawn together with the United States as they are both CONCACAF teams, so Mexico will be grouped with the first still open available group being led by a European or South American team, as per the color order.
3. Pot 3 was used to draw one European team to each of the six colored groups, with the draw conducted in the color order from left to right (green, orange, white, black, pink, blue).
4. Pot 4 was used to draw one European/Asian team to each of six colored groups, with the draw conducted in the color order from left to right (green, orange, white, black, pink, blue). However, in order to respect the geographical rule that five of the groups shall have two European teams - and the rule that three European teams is only allowed in one group, the color order will be skipped subject to these allocation rules:
   • Rule 1: All drawn Asian (AFC) teams would not be drawn into any of the three groups led by a top-seeded CONCACAF/CONMEBOL team (United States/Brazil/Argentina), but would instead only be allowed to join a group being led by a top-seeded European team.
   • Rule 2: All drawn European (UEFA) teams, shall first be drawn into the three groups led by a top-seeded CONCACAF/CONMEBOL team (United States/Brazil/Argentina), until the point of time when only European team(s) remain to be drawn from the last pot 4.
5. The exact group position number for the teams (2, 3 or 4) in each colored group, were also drawn immediately from six special group bowls, after each respective team had been drawn from pot 2, 3 and 4.
6. Group letters behind each color (green, orange, white, black, pink and blue) would finally be decided by a final secret FIFA Organizing Committee vote, being announced as the last part of the televised event.

The draw was officiated by FIFA general-secretary Sepp Blatter. Teams were drawn by German legend Franz Beckenbauer, heavyweight boxing champion Evander Holyfield and comedian and actor Robin Williams. 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, racecar driver Mario Andretti and Olympic gold medalist in gymnastics Mary Lou Retton.^[34][35][33]

Results of the draw

In each group, the teams will play three matches, one against each of the other teams. After completion of the group stage, the best two teams of each group as well as the four best ranked third places, will advance to round 16 in the knockout stage. This format was identical with the tournament structure being used in 1986 and 1990. Compared to all previous editions of the World Cup, a victory in the group stage will however now be rewarded with 3 points instead of the previously granted 2 points.

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1994 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)

1994 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)

A total of 39 UEFA teams entered qualification for the 1994 FIFA World Cup. However, Liechtenstein withdrew before the draw was made. The CIS, then Russia took the Soviet Union's spot after the Soviet Union dissolved while FIFA suspended Yugoslavia due to United Nations sanctions stemming from the Yugoslav wars. The European zone was allocated 13 from 24 places in the final tournament. Germany, the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 12 spots open for competition between 37 teams.

1994 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF)

1994 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF)

Listed below are the dates and results for the 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for the North, Central American and Caribbean zone (CONCACAF).

1994 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL)

1994 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL)

Listed below are the dates and results for the 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for the South American zone (CONMEBOL). For an overview of the qualification rounds, see the article 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification.

1994 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)

1994 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)

Listed below are the dates and results for the 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for the Asian zone (AFC). For an overview of the qualification rounds, see the article 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification.

1994 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF)

1994 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF)

Listed below are the dates and results for the 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for the African zone (CAF). For an overview of the qualification rounds, see the article 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification.

Germany national football team

Germany national football team

The Germany national football team represents Germany in men's international football and played its first match in 1908. The team is governed by the German Football Association, founded in 1900. Between 1949 and 1990, separate German national teams were recognised by FIFA due to Allied occupation and division: the DFB's team representing the Federal Republic of Germany, the Saarland team representing the Saar Protectorate (1950–1956) and the East Germany team representing the German Democratic Republic (1952–1990). The latter two were absorbed along with their records; the present team represents the reunified Federal Republic. The official name and code "Germany FR (FRG)" was shortened to "Germany (GER)" following reunification in 1990.

Argentina national football team

Argentina national football team

The Argentina national football team represents Argentina in men's international football and is administered by the Argentine Football Association, the governing body for football in Argentina.

Italy national football team

Italy national football team

The Italy national football team has represented Italy in international football since its first match in 1910. The national team is controlled by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), the governing body for football in Italy, which is a co-founder and member of UEFA. Italy's home matches are played at various stadiums throughout Italy, and its primary training ground and technical headquarters, Centro Tecnico Federale di Coverciano, is located in Florence. Italy are the reigning European champions, having won UEFA Euro 2020.

Brazil national football team

Brazil national football team

The Brazil national football team, nicknamed Seleção Canarinha, represents Brazil in men's international football and is administered by the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), the governing body for football in Brazil. They have been a member of FIFA since 1923 and a member of CONMEBOL since 1916.

Belgium national football team

Belgium national football team

The Belgium national football team officially represents Belgium in men's international football since their maiden match in 1904. The squad is under the global jurisdiction of FIFA and is governed in Europe by UEFA—both of which were co-founded by the Belgian team's supervising body, the Royal Belgian Football Association. Periods of regular Belgian representation at the highest international level, from 1920 to 1938, from 1982 to 2002 and again from 2014 onwards, have alternated with mostly unsuccessful qualification rounds. Most of Belgium's home matches are played at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels.

Mexico national football team

Mexico national football team

The Mexico national football team represents Mexico in international football and is governed by the Mexican Football Federation. It competes as a member of CONCACAF.

Cameroon national football team

Cameroon national football team

The Cameroon national football team, also known as the Indomitable Lions, represents Cameroon in men's international football. It is controlled by the Fédération Camerounaise de Football, a member of FIFA and its African confederation CAF.

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. FIFA introduced three rule changes for this tournament to encourage attacking play: three points awarded for a win in a group stage match instead of two, a relaxed offside rule and a ban on picking up back-passes to goalkeepers. The number of goals increased to 2.73 per game from the record-low of 2.21 in 1990.^[36]

The tournament saw the end of Diego Maradona's World Cup career, having played in the 1982, 1986, and 1990 World Cups, and leading Argentina to the 1986 World Cup title and the final of the 1990 World Cup. Maradona was expelled from the tournament after he failed a drug test that 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 dogged by influence from betting syndicates and drug cartels, with coach Francisco Maturana receiving death threats over squad selection.^[37][38] After scoring an own goal for the United States and effectively eliminating Colombia from the competition, defender Andrés Escobar was shot to death outside a bar in a Medellín suburb 10 days later.^[39]

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

On the field, Bulgaria was one of the biggest surprises of the tournament. 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 quarter-finals, 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 semi-finals and third-place game, respectively.

The host nation United States, after a 23rd-place finish in the 1990 tournament, advanced to the second round as one of the best third-place teams. They were eliminated in the Round of 16 in a 1–0 defeat to Brazil on Independence Day.

Brazil's win over the hosts helped take them to the final against Italy. Brazil's path was relatively smooth as they never trailed over 270 minutes of the knockout stage, defeating the Netherlands in the quarter-finals and Sweden in the semis after the aforementioned win over the hosts. The Italians meanwhile 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 as the reigning FIFA World Player of the Year and Ballon D'Or holder, was expected to be one of the stars of the tournament, had not yet scored a goal. During the Round of 16 games 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 quarter-final against Spain, and both goals in Italy's semi-final victory over Bulgaria.^[40]

The third-place playoff was set between Bulgaria and Sweden, the team which scored more goals than any other in this World Cup with 15 over seven matches. 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.^[41]

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. 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.^[40] He missed by shooting it over the crossbar, and the Brazilians were crowned champions for the fourth time.^[42] After the game ended, then-Vice-president Al Gore hosted the awarding ceremony by handing Brazilian captain Dunga the prestigious trophy; the Brazil national team dedicated the title to the deceased Formula One motor racing champion and countryman 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.^[42]

Despite the controversy, the U.S. staged a hugely successful tournament, with an average attendance of nearly 70,000, surpassing the 1966 FIFA World Cup average attendance of 51,000, thanks to the large seating capacities of the stadiums in the United States in comparison to the generally 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.^[4]

Opening ceremony

The opening ceremony of the World Cup was held on June 17 at Chicago's Soldier Field. 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 collapsed anyway in accordance with the stunt plans. In addition, Daryl Hall and Jon Secada also gave musical performances.^[43] It was officially opened by then-President Bill Clinton.^[44]

Discover more about Summary related topics

1990 FIFA World Cup

1990 FIFA World Cup

The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second time. Teams representing 116 national football associations entered and qualification began in April 1988. 22 teams qualified from this process, along with host nation Italy and defending champions Argentina.

Back-pass rule

Back-pass rule

In association football, the back-pass rule prohibits the goalkeeper from handling the ball in most cases when it is passed to them by a team-mate. It is described in Law 12, Section 2 of the Laws of the Game.

Diego Maradona

Diego Maradona

Diego Armando Maradona was an Argentine professional football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two joint winners of the FIFA Player of the 20th Century award.

1982 FIFA World Cup

1982 FIFA World Cup

The 1982 FIFA World Cup was the 12th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in Spain between 13 June and 11 July 1982. The tournament was won by Italy, who defeated West Germany 3–1 in the final, held in the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in the capital, Madrid. It was Italy's third World Cup title, but their first since 1938. The defending champions, Argentina, were eliminated in the second round. Algeria, Cameroon, Honduras, Kuwait and New Zealand made their first appearances in the finals.

1986 FIFA World Cup

1986 FIFA World Cup

The 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. 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 resigned in 1982. Mexico was selected as the new host in May 1983, and became the first country to host the World Cup more than once, after previously hosting in 1970.

Argentina national football team

Argentina national football team

The Argentina national football team represents Argentina in men's international football and is administered by the Argentine Football Association, the governing body for football in Argentina.

Ephedrine

Ephedrine

Ephedrine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is often used to prevent low blood pressure during anesthesia. It has also been used for asthma, narcolepsy, and obesity but is not the preferred treatment. It is of unclear benefit in nasal congestion. It can be taken by mouth or by injection into a muscle, vein, or just under the skin. Onset with intravenous use is fast, while injection into a muscle can take 20 minutes, and by mouth can take an hour for effect. When given by injection it lasts about an hour and when taken by mouth it can last up to four hours.

Colombia national football team

Colombia national football team

The Colombia national football team represents Colombia in men's international football and is managed by the Colombian Football Federation, the governing body for football in Colombia. They are a member of CONMEBOL and are currently ranked 17th in the FIFA World Rankings. The team are nicknamed Los Cafeteros due to the coffee production in their country. Notably, the national team has been a symbol of nationalism, pride, and passion for many Colombians worldwide. Colombia is known for having a passionate fan base, and the team's dances during goal celebrations have been symbolic.

Colombia at the 1994 FIFA World Cup

Colombia at the 1994 FIFA World Cup

Francisco Maturana

Francisco Maturana

Francisco Antonio Maturana García, also known as Pacho Maturana is a Colombian ex-football player and football manager. Under his management, Atletico Nacional was the first team of the nation to win the Copa Libertadores in 1989 and the Colombia national football team to win Colombia's first ever national title: the Copa America in 2001.

Andrés Escobar

Andrés Escobar

Andrés Escobar Saldarriaga was a Colombian footballer who played as a defender. He played for Atlético Nacional, BSC Young Boys, and the Colombia national team. Nicknamed The Gentleman, he was known for his clean style of play and calmness on the pitch.

Bulgaria national football team

Bulgaria national football team

The Bulgaria national football team represents Bulgaria in men's international football and is administered by the Bulgarian Football Union, a member association of UEFA.

Times are Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4) (East Rutherford, Foxborough, Orlando, Pontiac and Washington), Central Daylight Time (UTC−5) (Chicago and Dallas), and Pacific Daylight Time (UTC−7) (Pasadena and Stanford).

Champion   Runner-up

Third place   Fourth place

Quarter-finals   Round of 16

Group stage

In the following tables:

• Pld = total games played
• W = total games won
• D = total games drawn (tied)
• L = total games lost
• GF = total goals scored (goals for)
• GA = total goals conceded (goals against)
• GD = goal difference (GF−GA)
• Pts = total points accumulated

Group A

The Group A game between the United States and Switzerland was the first 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, 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 June 29, 1950, when it upset England 1–0 in the 1950 World Cup.

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Romania	3	2	0	1	5	5	0	6	Advance to knockout stage
2	Switzerland	3	1	1	1	5	4	+1	4
3	United States (H)	3	1	1	1	3	3	0	4
4	Colombia	3	1	0	2	4	5	−1	3

June 18, 1994

11:30 EDT (UTC-4)

United States	1–1	Switzerland
Wynalda 44'	Report	Bregy 39'

Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac

Attendance: 73,425

Referee: Francisco Oscar Lamolina (Argentina)

June 18, 1994

16:30 PDT (UTC-7)

Colombia	1–3	Romania
Valencia 43'	Report	Răducioiu 15', 89' Hagi 34'

Rose Bowl, Pasadena

Attendance: 91,856

Referee: Jamal Al Sharif (Syria)

June 22, 1994

16:00 EDT (UTC-4)

Romania	1–4	Switzerland
Hagi 35'	Report	Sutter 16' Chapuisat 52' Knup 65', 72'

Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac

Attendance: 61,428

Referee: Neji Jouini (Tunisia)

June 22, 1994

16:30 PDT (UTC-7)

United States	2–1	Colombia
Escobar 35' (o.g.) Stewart 52'	Report	Valencia 90'

Rose Bowl, Pasadena

Attendance: 93,869

Referee: Fabio Baldas (Italy)

June 26, 1994

13:00 PDT (UTC-7)

Switzerland	0–2	Colombia
	Report	Gaviria 44' Lozano 90'

Stanford Stadium, Stanford

Attendance: 83,401

Referee: Peter Mikkelsen (Denmark)

June 26, 1994

13:00 PDT (UTC-7)

United States	0–1	Romania
	Report	Petrescu 18'

Rose Bowl, Pasadena

Attendance: 93,869

Referee: Mario van der Ende (Netherlands)

Group B

Group B produced two of the four semi-finalists of this World Cup — Brazil and Sweden — and was also one of the two groups in which only two, rather than three, sides progressed to the second round. The match between the two eliminated teams, Cameroon and Russia, broke two World Cup records. Oleg Salenko of Russia became the first – and remains the only – man to score five goals in a single World Cup game as Russia won 6–1. 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 losses to Brazil and Sweden. Brazil beat Cameroon, and then confirmed the top spot with a draw to Sweden.

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 July 3, 1974. Russia failed to progress to the second round for the second time, while Cameroon failed to repeat their surprise performance from the previous tournament.^[45]

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Brazil	3	2	1	0	6	1	+5	7	Advance to knockout stage
2	Sweden	3	1	2	0	6	4	+2	5
3	Russia	3	1	0	2	7	6	+1	3
4	Cameroon	3	0	1	2	3	11	−8	1

June 19, 1994

16:30 PDT (UTC–7)

Cameroon	2–2	Sweden
Embé 31' Omam-Biyik 47'	Report	Ljung 8' Dahlin 75'

Rose Bowl, Pasadena

Attendance: 93,194

Referee: Alberto Tejada Noriega (Peru)

June 20, 1994

13:00 PDT (UTC–7)

Brazil	2–0	Russia
Romário 26' Raí 52' (pen.)	Report

Stanford Stadium, Stanford

Attendance: 81,061

Referee: Lim Kee Chong (Mauritius)

June 24, 1994

13:00 PDT (UTC–7)

Brazil	3–0	Cameroon
Romário 39' Márcio Santos 66' Bebeto 73'	Report

Stanford Stadium, Stanford

Attendance: 83,401

Referee: Arturo Brizio Carter (Mexico)

June 24, 1994

19:30 EDT (UTC–4)

Sweden	3–1	Russia
Brolin 39' (pen.) Dahlin 60', 82'	Report	Salenko 4' (pen.)

Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac

Attendance: 71,528

Referee: Joël Quiniou (France)

June 28, 1994

13:00 PDT (UTC–7)

Russia	6–1	Cameroon
Salenko 15', 41', 44' (pen.), 72', 75' Radchenko 81'	Report	Milla 46'

Stanford Stadium, Stanford

Attendance: 74,914

Referee: Jamal Al Sharif (Syria)

June 28, 1994

16:00 EDT (UTC–4)

Brazil	1–1	Sweden
Romário 47'	Report	K. Andersson 23'

Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac

Attendance: 77,217

Referee: Sándor Puhl (Hungary)

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.

Despite Bolivia finishing last in the group, Erwin Sanchez made team history after scoring the nation's first World Cup goal in a 3–1 loss to Spain. Prior to 1994, Bolivia had never scored in either of their previous appearances at the 1930 and 1950 World Cups.

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Germany	3	2	1	0	5	3	+2	7	Advance to knockout stage
2	Spain	3	1	2	0	6	4	+2	5
3	South Korea	3	0	2	1	4	5	−1	2
4	Bolivia	3	0	1	2	1	4	−3	1

June 17, 1994

14:00 CDT

Germany	1–0	Bolivia
Klinsmann 61'	Report

Soldier Field, Chicago

Attendance: 63,117

Referee: Arturo Brizio Carter (Mexico)

June 17, 1994

18:30 CDT

Spain	2–2	South Korea
Salinas 51' Goikoetxea 55'	Report	Hong Myung-bo 85' Seo Jung-won 90'

Cotton Bowl, Dallas

Attendance: 56,247

Referee: Peter Mikkelsen (Denmark)

June 21, 1994

15:00 CDT

Germany	1–1	Spain
Klinsmann 48'	Report	Goikoetxea 14'

Soldier Field, Chicago

Attendance: 63,113

Referee: Filippi Cavani (Uruguay)

June 23, 1994

19:30 EDT

South Korea	0–0	Bolivia
	Report

Foxboro Stadium, Foxborough

Attendance: 54,453

Referee: Leslie Mottram (Scotland)

June 27, 1994

15:00 CDT

Bolivia	1–3	Spain
E. Sánchez 67'	Report	Guardiola 19' (pen.) Caminero 66', 70'

Soldier Field, Chicago

Attendance: 63,089

Referee: Rodrigo Badilla (Costa Rica)

June 27, 1994

15:00 CDT

Germany	3–2	South Korea
Klinsmann 12', 37' Riedle 20'	Report	Hwang Sun-hong 52' Hong Myung-bo 63'

Cotton Bowl, Dallas

Attendance: 63,998

Referee: Joël Quiniou (France)

Group D

Claudio Caniggia scoring for the second goal, Argentina 2 v 1 Nigeria at Foxboro Stadium

Tournament favorites Argentina led by Diego Maradona collected a maximum of six points from their opening two games after dominating Greece 4–0 in Foxboro with a Gabriel Batistuta hattrick before winning a close match against a formidable Nigeria with a 2–1 victory on the same field four days later; despite this Argentina finished third in the group. 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 and scoring his last ever World Cup goal against the former); 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 2–0 win against Argentina saw 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.

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Nigeria	3	2	0	1	6	2	+4	6	Advance to knockout stage
2	Bulgaria	3	2	0	1	6	3	+3	6
3	Argentina	3	2	0	1	6	3	+3	6
4	Greece	3	0	0	3	0	10	−10	0

21 June 1994

12:30 EDT

Argentina	4–0	Greece
Batistuta 2', 44', 90' (pen.) Maradona 60'	Report

Foxboro Stadium, Foxborough

Attendance: 54,456

Referee: Arturo Angeles (United States)

21 June 1994

18:30 CDT

Nigeria	3–0	Bulgaria
Yekini 21' Amokachi 43' Amunike 55'	Report

Cotton Bowl, Dallas

Attendance: 44,132

Referee: Rodrigo Badilla (Costa Rica)

25 June 1994

16:00 EDT

Argentina	2–1	Nigeria
Caniggia 21', 28'	Report	Siasia 8'

Foxboro Stadium, Foxborough

Attendance: 54,453

Referee: Bo Karlsson (Sweden)

26 June 1994

11:30 CDT

Bulgaria	4–0	Greece
Stoichkov 5' (pen.), 55' (pen.) Letchkov 65' Borimirov 90'	Report

Soldier Field, Chicago

Attendance: 63,160

Referee: Ali Bujsaim (United Arab Emirates)

30 June 1994

18:30 CDT

Argentina	0–2	Bulgaria
	Report	Stoichkov 61' Sirakov 90+3'

Cotton Bowl, Dallas

Attendance: 63,998

Referee: Neji Jouini (Tunisia)

30 June 1994

19:30 EDT

Greece	0–2	Nigeria
	Report	George 45+2' Amokachi 90+5'

Foxboro Stadium, Foxborough

Attendance: 53,001

Referee: Leslie Mottram (Scotland)

Group E

Italy and Norway getting ready to play at Giants Stadium

Group E remains the only group in World Cup history in which all four teams finished with the same points and same goal difference. It began at Giants Stadium where Ray Houghton's chip ensured a shock Irish victory over the then-three-time champions Italy by 1–0, as well as gaining a measure of revenge for the previous World Cup, in which Italy both hosted and eliminated Ireland at the quarter-final stage. The next day in Washington, Norway played its first World Cup game since 1938 and Kjetil Rekdal's goal five minutes from time proved decisive in an equally tense encounter as Norway beat Mexico.

In the second round of group play, Luis García's double had Mexico 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. Aldridge was able to regain concentration in time to score six minutes from the end of the game to make it 2–1. Despite their loss, Aldridge's goal proved crucial to Ireland in the final group standings.

During the previous day at Giants Stadium 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, the Irish team qualified as second place as a result of their victory against the Italians. Norway's shortcomings in attack ultimately let them down, and they exited the tournament with only one goal.

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Mexico	3	1	1	1	3	3	0	4	Advance to knockout stage
2	Republic of Ireland	3	1	1	1	2	2	0	4
3	Italy	3	1	1	1	2	2	0	4
4	Norway	3	1	1	1	1	1	0	4

June 18, 1994

16:00 EDT (UTC–4)

Italy	0–1	Republic of Ireland
	Report	Houghton 11'

Giants Stadium, East Rutherford

Attendance: 75,338

Referee: Mario van der Ende (Netherlands)

June 19, 1994

16:00 EDT (UTC–4)

Norway	1–0	Mexico
Rekdal 84'	Report

RFK Stadium, Washington

Attendance: 52,395

Referee: Sándor Puhl (Hungary)

June 23, 1994

16:00 EDT (UTC–4)

Italy	1–0	Norway
D. Baggio 69'	Report

Giants Stadium, East Rutherford

Attendance: 74,624

Referee: Hellmut Krug (Germany)

June 24, 1994

12:30 EDT (UTC–4)

Mexico	2–1	Republic of Ireland
García 42', 65'	Report	Aldridge 84'

Citrus Bowl, Orlando

Attendance: 60,790

Referee: Kurt Röthlisberger (Switzerland)

June 28, 1994

12:30 EDT (UTC–4)

Italy	1–1	Mexico
Massaro 48'	Report	Bernal 57'

RFK Stadium, Washington

Attendance: 52,535

Referee: Francisco Oscar Lamolina (Argentina)

June 28, 1994

12:30 EDT (UTC–4)

Republic of Ireland	0–0	Norway
	Report

Giants Stadium, East Rutherford

Attendance: 72,404

Referee: José Torres Cadena (Colombia)

Group F

Just as happened to Argentina in Group D, Belgium endured the same fate in Group F. Despite winning both of its first two matches 1–0 against Morocco and neighbors 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 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 having scored more goals than Belgium and beaten Saudi Arabia. Morocco, despite losing all three 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.

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Netherlands	3	2	0	1	4	3	+1	6	Advance to knockout stage
2	Saudi Arabia	3	2	0	1	4	3	+1	6
3	Belgium	3	2	0	1	2	1	+1	6
4	Morocco	3	0	0	3	2	5	−3	0

June 19, 1994

12:30 EDT

Belgium	1–0	Morocco
Degryse 11'	Report

Citrus Bowl, Orlando

Attendance: 61,219

Referee: José Torres Cadena (Colombia)

June 20, 1994

19:30 EDT

Netherlands	2–1	Saudi Arabia
Jonk 50' Taument 86'	Report	Anwar 18'

RFK Stadium, Washington

Attendance: 50,535

Referee: Manuel Díaz Vega (Spain)

June 25, 1994

12:30 EDT

Belgium	1–0	Netherlands
Albert 65'	Report

Citrus Bowl, Orlando

Attendance: 62,387

Referee: Renato Marsiglia (Brazil)

June 25, 1994

12:30 EDT

Saudi Arabia	2–1	Morocco
Al-Jaber 7' (pen.) Anwar 45'	Report	Chaouch 26'

Giants Stadium, East Rutherford

Attendance: 76,322

Referee: Philip Don (England)

June 29, 1994

12:30 EDT

Belgium	0–1	Saudi Arabia
	Report	Al-Owairan 5'

RFK Stadium, Washington

Attendance: 52,959

Referee: Hellmut Krug (Germany)

June 29, 1994

12:30 EDT

Morocco	1–2	Netherlands
Nader 47'	Report	Bergkamp 43' Roy 77'

Citrus Bowl, Orlando

Attendance: 60,578

Referee: Alberto Tejada Noriega (Peru)

Ranking of third-placed teams

Pos	Grp	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	D	Argentina	3	2	0	1	6	3	+3	6	Advance to knockout stage
2	F	Belgium	3	2	0	1	2	1	+1	6
3	A	United States	3	1	1	1	3	3	0	4
4	E	Italy	3	1	1	1	2	2	0	4
5	B	Russia	3	1	0	2	7	6	+1	3
6	C	South Korea	3	0	2	1	4	5	−1	2

Discover more about Group stage related topics

Eastern Time Zone

Eastern Time Zone

The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, mainland Ecuador, Peru, and a small portion of westernmost Brazil in South America, along with certain Caribbean and Atlantic islands.

UTC−04:00

UTC−04:00

UTC−04:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of −04:00.

Central Time Zone

Central Time Zone

The North American Central Time Zone is a time zone in parts of Canada, the United States, Mexico, Central America, some Caribbean islands, and part of the Eastern Pacific Ocean.

UTC−05:00

UTC−05:00

UTC−05:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of −05:00. In North America, it is observed in the Eastern Time Zone during standard time, and in the Central Time Zone during the other eight months. The western Caribbean uses it year round.

Pacific Time Zone

Pacific Time Zone

The Pacific Time Zone (PT) is a time zone encompassing parts of western Canada, the western United States, and western Mexico. Places in this zone observe standard time by subtracting eight hours from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC−08:00). During daylight saving time, a time offset of UTC−07:00 is used.

1994 FIFA World Cup Group A

1994 FIFA World Cup Group A

Group A of the 1994 FIFA World Cup was one of six groups of four teams competing at the 1994 World Cup in the United States. The first matches were played June 18, 1994 and the final games took place simultaneously on June 26, 1994.

Andrés Escobar

Andrés Escobar

Andrés Escobar Saldarriaga was a Colombian footballer who played as a defender. He played for Atlético Nacional, BSC Young Boys, and the Colombia national team. Nicknamed The Gentleman, he was known for his clean style of play and calmness on the pitch.

Romania national football team

Romania national football team

The Romania national football team represents Romania in international men's football competition and is administered by the Romanian Football Federation, also known as FRF. They are colloquially known as Tricolorii.

Switzerland national football team

Switzerland national football team

The Switzerland national football team represents Switzerland in international football. The national team is controlled by the Swiss Football Association.

Colombia national football team

Colombia national football team

The Colombia national football team represents Colombia in men's international football and is managed by the Colombian Football Federation, the governing body for football in Colombia. They are a member of CONMEBOL and are currently ranked 17th in the FIFA World Rankings. The team are nicknamed Los Cafeteros due to the coffee production in their country. Notably, the national team has been a symbol of nationalism, pride, and passion for many Colombians worldwide. Colombia is known for having a passionate fan base, and the team's dances during goal celebrations have been symbolic.

Eric Wynalda

Eric Wynalda

Eric Boswell Wynalda is an American soccer coach, television commentator, and retired player. He was formerly an analyst and color commentator for soccer coverage on Fox Sports 1 and ESPN. Previously, he served as head coach and technical director of Las Vegas Lights FC in the USL Championship and he was previously the host of WTF: Wynalda Talks Football on SiriusXM FC.

Georges Bregy

Georges Bregy

Georges Bregy is a retired Swiss football striker and midfielder.

Round of 16

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Final

July 3 – Pasadena

Romania

3

July 10 – Stanford

Argentina

2

Romania

2 (4)

July 3 – Dallas

Sweden (p)

2 (5)

Saudi Arabia

1

July 13 – Pasadena

Sweden

3

Sweden

0

July 4 – Orlando

Brazil

1

Netherlands

2

July 9 – Dallas

Republic of Ireland

0

Netherlands

2

July 4 – Stanford

Brazil

3

Brazil

1

July 17 – Pasadena

United States

0

Brazil (p)

0 (3)

July 5 – East Rutherford

Italy

0 (2)

Mexico

1 (1)

July 10 – East Rutherford

Bulgaria (p)

1 (3)

Bulgaria

2

July 2 – Chicago

Germany

1

Germany

3

July 13 – East Rutherford

Belgium

2

Bulgaria

1

July 5 – Foxborough

Italy

2

Third place

Nigeria

1

July 9 – Foxborough

July 16 – Pasadena

Italy (aet)

2

Italy

2

Sweden

4

July 2 – Washington

Spain

1

Bulgaria

0

Spain

3

Switzerland

0

Round of 16

July 2, 1994

12:00

Germany	3–2	Belgium
Völler 6', 38' Klinsmann 11'	Report	Grün 8' Albert 90'

Soldier Field, Chicago

Attendance: 60,246

Referee: Kurt Röthlisberger (Switzerland)

July 2, 1994

16:30

Spain	3–0	Switzerland
Hierro 15' Luis Enrique 74' Begiristain 86' (pen.)	Report

RFK Stadium, Washington

Attendance: 53,121

Referee: Mario van der Ende (Netherlands)

July 3, 1994

12:00

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)

July 3, 1994

13:30

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)

July 4, 1994

12:00

Netherlands	2–0	Republic of Ireland
Bergkamp 11' Jonk 41'	Report

Citrus Bowl, Orlando

Attendance: 61,355

Referee: Peter Mikkelsen (Denmark)

July 4, 1994

12:30

Brazil	1–0	United States
Bebeto 72'	Report

Stanford Stadium, Stanford

Attendance: 84,147

Referee: Joël Quiniou (France)

July 5, 1994

13:00

Nigeria	1–2 (a.e.t.)	Italy
Amunike 25'	Report	R. Baggio 88', 102' (pen.)

Foxboro Stadium, Foxborough

Attendance: 54,367

Referee: Arturo Brizio Carter (Mexico)

July 5, 1994

16:30

Mexico	1–1 (a.e.t.)	Bulgaria
García Aspe 18' (pen.)	Report	Stoichkov 6'
Penalties
García Aspe Bernal Rodríguez Suárez	1–3	Balakov Genchev Borimirov Letchkov

Giants Stadium, East Rutherford

Attendance: 71,030

Referee: Jamal Al Sharif (Syria)

Quarter-finals

July 9, 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)

July 9, 1994

14:30

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)

July 10, 1994

12:00

Bulgaria	2–1	Germany
Stoichkov 75' Letchkov 78'	Report	Matthäus 47' (pen.)

Giants Stadium, East Rutherford

Attendance: 72,000

Referee: José Torres Cadena (Colombia)

July 10, 1994

12:30

Romania	2–2 (a.e.t.)	Sweden
Rǎducioiu 88', 101'	Report	Brolin 78' K. Andersson 115'
Penalties
Răducioiu Hagi Lupescu Petrescu Dumitrescu Belodedici	4–5	Mild K. Andersson Brolin Ingesson R. Nilsson Larsson

Stanford Stadium, Stanford

Attendance: 83,500

Referee: Philip Don (England)

Semi-finals

July 13, 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)

July 13, 1994

16:30

Sweden	0–1	Brazil
	Report	Romário 80'

Rose Bowl, Pasadena

Attendance: 91,856

Referee: José Torres Cadena (Colombia)

Third place play-off

July 16, 1994

12:30

Sweden	4–0	Bulgaria
Brolin 8' Mild 30' Larsson 37' K. Andersson 39'	Report

Rose Bowl, Pasadena

Attendance: 91,500

Referee: Ali Bujsaim (United Arab Emirates)

Final

July 17, 1994

12:30 PDT (UTC-7)

Brazil	0–0 (a.e.t.)	Italy
	Report
Penalties
Márcio Santos Romário Branco Dunga	3–2	Baresi Albertini Evani Massaro R. Baggio

Rose Bowl, Pasadena

Attendance: 94,194

Referee: Sándor Puhl (Hungary)

Discover more about Knockout stage related topics

1994 FIFA World Cup knockout stage

1994 FIFA World Cup knockout stage

The 1994 FIFA World Cup knockout stage was the second and final stage of the 1994 FIFA World Cup finals in the United States. The stage began on July 2, 1994, and ended with the final at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California on July 17, 1994.

Rose Bowl (stadium)

Rose Bowl (stadium)

The Rose Bowl is an outdoor athletic stadium located in Pasadena, California. Opened in October 1922, the stadium is recognized as a National Historic Landmark and a California Historic Civil Engineering landmark. At a modern capacity of an all-seated configuration at 92,542, the Rose Bowl is the 16th-largest stadium in the world, the 11th-largest stadium in the United States, and the 10th-largest NCAA stadium. The stadium is 10 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles.

Romania national football team

Romania national football team

The Romania national football team represents Romania in international men's football competition and is administered by the Romanian Football Federation, also known as FRF. They are colloquially known as Tricolorii.

Stanford Stadium

Stanford Stadium

Stanford Stadium is an outdoor college football stadium on the west coast of the United States, located on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford, California. It is the home of the Stanford Cardinal and hosts the university's commencement exercises. Opened 102 years ago in 1921 as a football and track and field stadium, it was an earthen horseshoe with wooden bleacher seating and flooring upon a steel frame. Its original seating capacity was 60,000, which grew to 89,000 by 1927 as a nearly enclosed bowl.

Argentina national football team

Argentina national football team

The Argentina national football team represents Argentina in men's international football and is administered by the Argentine Football Association, the governing body for football in Argentina.

Cotton Bowl (stadium)

Cotton Bowl (stadium)

The Cotton Bowl is an outdoor stadium in Dallas, Texas, United States. Opened in 1930 as Fair Park Stadium, it is on the site of the State Fair of Texas, known as Fair Park.

Sweden national football team

Sweden national football team

The Sweden national football team represents Sweden in men's international football and it is controlled by the Swedish Football Association, the governing body of football in Sweden. Sweden's home ground is Friends Arena in Solna and the team is coached by Janne Andersson. From 1945 to late 1950s, they were considered one of the greatest teams in Europe.

Saudi Arabia national football team

Saudi Arabia national football team

The Saudi Arabia national football team represents Saudi Arabia in men's international football. They are known as Al-Suqour Al-Khodhur in reference to their traditional colours of green and white and represent both FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

Citrus Bowl

Citrus Bowl

The Citrus Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. The bowl is operated by Florida Citrus Sports, a non-profit group that also organizes the Cheez-It Bowl and Florida Classic.

Brazil national football team

Brazil national football team

The Brazil national football team, nicknamed Seleção Canarinha, represents Brazil in men's international football and is administered by the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), the governing body for football in Brazil. They have been a member of FIFA since 1923 and a member of CONMEBOL since 1916.

Netherlands national football team

Netherlands national football team

The Netherlands national football team has represented the Netherlands in international men's football matches since 1905. The men's national team is controlled by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB), the governing body for football in the Netherlands, which is a part of UEFA, under the jurisdiction of FIFA. They were sometimes regarded as the greatest national team of the respective generations. Most of the Netherlands home matches are played at the Johan Cruyff Arena, De Kuip, Philips Stadion and De Grolsch Veste.

Republic of Ireland national football team

Republic of Ireland national football team

The Republic of Ireland national football team represents the Republic of Ireland in men's international football. It is governed by the Football Association of Ireland (FAI).

Goalscorers

Hristo Stoichkov and Oleg Salenko received the Golden Boot for scoring six goals.^[46] In total, 141 goals were scored by 81 players, with only one of them credited as an own goal.

6 goals

• Hristo Stoichkov
• Oleg Salenko

5 goals

• Romário
• Roberto Baggio
• Jürgen Klinsmann
• Kennet Andersson

4 goals

• Gabriel Batistuta
• Florin Răducioiu
• Martin Dahlin

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

Own goals

• Andrés Escobar (against the United States)

Awards

Golden Shoe	Golden Ball	Yashin Award	Best Young Player	FIFA Fair Play Trophy	Most Entertaining Team
Hristo Stoichkov Oleg Salenko	Romário	Michel Preud'homme	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.

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.^[47]

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

Disciplinary statistics

• Total number of yellow cards: 235
• Average yellow cards per game: 4.52
• Total number of red cards: 15
• Average red cards per match: 0.29
• First yellow card of the tournament: Jürgen Kohler – Germany against Bolivia
• First red card of the tournament: Marco Etcheverry – Bolivia against Germany
• Fastest yellow card from kick off: 1 minute – Sergei Gorlukovich – Russia against Sweden
• Fastest yellow card after coming on as substitute: 2 minutes – Daniel Borimirov – Bulgaria against Greece (introduced in the 82nd minute)
• Latest yellow card in a game without extra time: 90 minutes – José Luis Caminero – Spain against Bolivia, Yuri Nikiforov – Russia against Cameroon, Mohamed Al-Deayea – Saudi Arabia against Morocco
• Latest yellow card in a game with extra time: 108 minutes – Basarab Panduru – Romania against Sweden
• Fastest dismissal from kick off: 21 minutes – Gianluca Pagliuca – Italy against Norway
• Fastest dismissal of a substitute: 3 minutes – Ion Vlădoiu – Romania against Switzerland (introduced in the 80th minute)
• Latest dismissal in a game without extra time: 89 minutes – Gustavo Quinteros – Bolivia against Germany
• Latest dismissal in a game with extra time: 101 minutes – Stefan Schwarz – Sweden against Romania
• Least time difference between two yellow cards given to the same player: 21 minutes – Fernando Clavijo – United States against Brazil (booked in the 64th minute and again in the 85th minute)
• Most yellow cards (team): 23 – Bulgaria
• Most red cards (team): 2 – Bolivia, Bulgaria, Italy, Sweden
• Fewest yellow cards (team): 5 – Cameroon
• Most yellow cards (player): 4 – Zlatko Yankov
• Most red cards (player): 1 – Fernando Clavijo, Luis Cristaldo, Marco Etcheverry, Luis García, Sergei Gorlukovich, Emil Kremenliev, Leonardo, Miguel Ángel Nadal, Gianluca Pagliuca, Stefan Schwarz, Rigobert Song, Jonas Thern, Tsanko Tsvetanov, Ion Vlădoiu, Gianfranco Zola
• Most yellow cards (match): 10 – Mexico vs Bulgaria
• Most red cards (match): 2 – Mexico vs Bulgaria
• Fewest yellow cards (match): 1 – Netherlands vs Republic of Ireland
• Most cards in one match: 10 yellow cards and 2 red cards – Mexico vs Bulgaria