العربية
中国
Français
Deutsch
Ελληνική
हिन्दी
Italiano
日本語
Português
Русский
Español1994 FIFA WORLD CUP
Qualifying countries
The '1994 FIFA World Cup', the 15th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in the United States from June 17 to July 17, 1994. The United States was chosen as hosts by FIFA in July 1988. Brazil became the first nation to win four World Cup titles, as they beat Italy 3-2 in a penalty shootout after the game ended 0-0 after extra-time, the first final to be decided by penalties.
The average attendance for the tournament was 69,000 while the total attendance was 3.6 million. To this day, the 1994 World Cup holds the record for the highest attendance in World Cup history. It was also the highest attended sporting event in United States history.
Qualification
Main articles: 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
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. Due to the strong performances by African teams in 1990, Africa were given three spots for the first time, with Nigeria joining Cameroon and Morocco. On the other hand, for the first, and so far the only time, no British teams competed in a World Cup since they started to participate in the tournament in 1950.
Summary
FIFA's decision to hold the event in the United States over the bids of Morocco and Brazil surprised many considering the perception that the United States had a relative lack of soccer fans. FIFA hoped that by staging the world's premier soccer tournament there, it would lead to America's growth of interest in soccer. (One condition FIFA imposed was the creation of a professional soccer league, as Major League Soccer started play in 1996.) Despite these misgivings, in terms of attendance the event was a rousing success. The average attendance of nearly 69,000 shattered a record that had stood since 1950, due to the bigger capacities of the American stadiums compared to those of Europe and Latin America. To this day, the total attendance for the final tournament of nearly 3.6 million remains the highest in World Cup history, despite the expansion of the competition to 32 teams in 1998. The overall attendance record will not be broken until at least 2010.
The format of the competition stayed the same as in 1990: 24 teams qualified, divided into six groups of four. 16 teams would qualify for the knockout competition: the six group winners, the six group runners-up, and the four third-placed teams with the best records. This was the last time this format was used, due to the expansion of the finals tournament in 1998 to 32 teams. This World Cup was the first time in which three points were awarded for a win instead of two, as FIFA hoped to encourage attacking football after the defensive display four years before.
The official 1994 FIFA World Cup poster.
This tournament saw the end of Diego Maradona's World Cup career. Hero in 1986 as he led Argentina to the World Cup title, he was expelled from the tournament after he failed a drug test. One tragic story of the cup was that of Colombia's Andrés Escobar. In a first round match with the United States, he scored an own goal as the U.S. went on win, 2-1. The Colombian team was subsequently eliminated. When Escobar returned to Colombia, he was shot to death outside a bar in a Medellín suburb only 10 days after the match.
Brazil and Italy, both three-time World Cup champions at that time, met in the final. While Brazil's path was relatively smooth as they defeated the United States, the Netherlands and Sweden (it was the second game between Sweden and Brazil in the tournament and the first game ended 1-1) in the knockout stage, the same cannot be said for Italy. During the group stage the Italian team struggled and narrowly advanced to the next round. Roberto Baggio, who was expected to be the shining star, had not scored a goal. During the Round of 16 match against Nigeria, Italy was trailing 1-0 in the dying minutes. With three minutes left in regulation, Baggio scored the equalizer forcing the game into extra time. He then scored again on a penalty kick in extra time. He scored another game winning goal in the quarter-final against Spain, and both goals in Italy's victory over Bulgaria in the semi-finals.
The final match at the Rose Bowl was tense but devoid of scoring chances. Despite the strategies disposed by the FIFA to promote offensive play, both teams lacked the energy to produce a goal. After 120 goalless minutes, the World Cup title would be decided for the first time by penalty kicks. After four rounds, Brazil led 3-2, and Baggio, playing injured, had to make his kick to keep Italy's hopes alive. He missed by shooting it over the bar, and Brazil were crowned champions. One of the most famous moments of the World Cup was Baggio standing in front of the goal with his arms at his sides in disbelief.
The third place-playoff was set between Sweden, the team which scored more goals than any other, in this world cup, and Bulgaria, with their top goalscorer Hristo Stoichkov. Sweden won convincingly with 4-0, showing the world why they had come so far in this tournament. One of Sweden's World Cup-profiles - Thomas Brolin - also got in the Allstar-team.
The tournament's Golden Boot went jointly to Hristo Stoichkov of Bulgaria, who was instrumental in leading the team to an upset win over defending champions Germany, and Oleg Salenko of Russia, who scored a record five goals in their match against Cameroon. Both players scored six goals in the tournament. Brazil's Romário, with five goals, won the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player.
Mascot
''Striker''.
The official mascot of this World Cup was ''Striker'', a dog, wearing a red, white and blue uniform with a soccer ball.
Venues
| Boston | Chicago | Dallas | Detroit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Foxboro Stadium | Soldier Field | Cotton Bowl | Pontiac Silverdome | |
| Capacity: '61,000' | Capacity: '67,000' | Capacity: '67,000' | Capacity: '80,000' | |
 |  |  |  | |
 | ||||
| Los Angeles | New York | Orlando | San Francisco | Washington DC |
| Rose Bowl | Giants Stadium | Citrus Bowl | Stanford Stadium | RFK Stadium |
| Capacity: '91,000' | Capacity: '77,000' | Capacity: '70,000' | Capacity: '80,000' | Capacity: '57,000' |
 |  |  |  |  |
Match officials
;Africa
★ Lim Kee Chong
★ Neji Jouini
;Asia
★ Jamal Al Sharif
★ Ali Bujsaim
;Europe
★ Fabio Baldas
★ Manuel Díaz Vega
★ Philip Don
★ Bo Karlsson
★ Hellmut Krug
★ Leslie Mottram
★ Peter Mikkelsen
★ Pierluigi Pairetto
★ Sándor Puhl
★ Joël Quiniou
★ Kurt Röthlisberger
★ Mario van der Ende
;North and Central America
★ Arturo Angeles
★ Rodrigo Badilla
★ Arturo Brizio Carter
;South America
★ José Torres Cadena
★ Ernesto Filippi
★ Francisco Lamolina
★ Renato Marsiglia
★ Alberto Tejada
Squads
For a list of all squads that appeared in the final tournament, see ''1994 FIFA World Cup squads''.
Results
First round
''All kick-off times local''
Group A
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| '6' | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | |
| '4' | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 | |
| '4' | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | |
| '3' | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | -1 |
----
----
----
----
----
Group B
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| '7' | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | +5 | |
| '5' | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 4 | +2 | |
| '3' | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 6 | +1 | |
| '1' | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 11 | -8 |
----
----
----
----
----
Group C
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| '7' | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | +2 | |
| '5' | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 4 | +2 | |
| '2' | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | -1 | |
| '1' | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | -3 |
----
----
----
----
----
Group D
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| '6' | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 2 | +4 | |
| '6' | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3 | |
| '6' | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3 | |
| '0' | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 | -10 |
----
----
----
----
----
Group E
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| '4' | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | |
| '4' | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| '4' | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| '4' | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
----
----
----
----
----
Group F
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| '6' | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | |
| '6' | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | |
| '6' | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | +1 | |
| '0' | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 5 | -3 |
----
----
----
----
----
Third Place qualifiers for round of 16
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| '6' | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3 | |
| '6' | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | +1 | |
| '4' | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | |
| '4' | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| '3' | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 6 | +1 | |
| '2' | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | -1 |
Knockout stage
Round of 16
----
----
----
----
----
----
----
Quarter-finals
----
----
----
Semi-finals
----
Third place match
Final
Awards
| 1994 World Cup Winners |
|---|
 Brazil 'Brazil' 'Fourth title' |
| Golden Shoe Winners | Golden Ball Winner | Yashin Award | FIFA Fair Play Trophy | Most Entertaining Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hristo Stoichkov Oleg Salenko | Romário | Michel Preud'homme |
All-star team
| Goalkeeper | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michel Preud'homme | Jorginho Márcio Santos Paolo Maldini | Dunga Krassimir Balakov Gheorghe Hagi Tomas Brolin | Romário Hristo Stoichkov Roberto Baggio |
Scorers
Trivia
★ The 1994 World Cup was hosted in the largest geographical area of all World Cup finals, in which the longest distances were traveled by its participants.
★ The Brazilian National Team dedicated the title to the deceased Brazilian F1 champion Ayrton Senna, who died in Imola one month before the cup.
★ The opening ceremony featured a performance by Diana Ross, who then completely missed the open goal when she took a penalty kick. In addition, Oprah Winfrey, who was emcee, fell off the stage.
★ FIFA released an official documentary for this World Cup, ''Two Billion Hearts'' directed by the Brazilian Murilo Salles.
★ The slogan of this World Cup was ''Making Soccer History''.
Firsts
★ The United States-Switzerland match in the Pontiac Silverdome was the first to be played indoors in World Cup history: grass was grown by Michigan State University and was the first time since 1965 that natural turf was used in an indoor stadium in the United States.
★ Oleg Salenko of Russia became the first player to score 5 goals in a single World Cup finals game in his country's group stage win over Cameroon. Cameroon's Roger Milla also scored a goal in the same match, becoming the oldest player to score a goal in a World Cup. He was 42, also the oldest player to appear in a World Cup match.
★ Gianluca Pagliuca of Italy became the first goalkeeper to be sent off in a World Cup Finals match, dismissed for handling outside his area against Norway.
★ The finals were the first time FIFA decided to experiment with the style of jerseys worn by officials, foregoing the traditional black. They would choose between burgundy, yellow or white shirts depending on what was feasible to avoid a clash of colours with the two competing teams. This custom has since been followed, but with black shirts added as an option later.
★ The finals were also the first time that players had their names printed in the back of their jerseys, just like other American sports did. This custom is also welcomed and followed ever since.
★ The finals were the first to award 3 points for a win in the group stage to motivate teams to play an attacking style.
★ In disciplinary matters, for the first time yellow cards accumulated in the group stage were wiped clean after its completion, and players start with a clean slate at the start of the knockout stage. Previously, players were suspended for one match if accumulating two yellow cards throughout the tournament. Now, players were suspended for one match if accumulating two yellow cards in the group stage, or two yellow cards in the knockout stage. This was in response to the situation in 1990, where players such as Claudio Caniggia and Paul Gascoigne were suspended for the later matches.
★ The 1994 World Cup revolutionized television coverage of sports in the USA through the sponsored scoreboard and game clock that were constantly shown on screen throughout the game. Television sports coverage in the US had long been dependent upon commercial breaks; a feature suitable for sports such as baseball, basketball, ice hockey and American football (which all have breaks in the action), but long considered incompatible with soccer, due to the long stretches of uninterrupted play. Variations on it were quickly incorporated into virtually every team sports broadcast by the decade's end.
★ The 1994 FIFA World Cup final match was the first to be decided on a penalty shoot-out with no goals being scored either in regular time or in extra time. It was the 4th final match to go into extra time at the time (2nd for Italy, the first being that of 1934). The 2006 final also went to extra time (final score 1-1) and penalties, as Italy defeated France.
External links
★ United States 1994
★ 1994 FIFA World Cup on FIFA.com
★ Details at RSSSF
★ History of the World Cup-1994
★ Planet World Cup - USA 1994
This article provided by Wikipedia. To edit the contents of this article, click here for original source.
psst.. try this: add to faves
Featured Companies
| Vacation By V | |
| Golf Holidays International |
Newest Companies
1994 FIFA World Cup Travel Deals
