1994 FIFA World Cup
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The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th edition of the FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football
teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from 17 June
to 17 July 1994 at nine venues across the country. The United States was
chosen as the host by FIFA on 4 July 1988. Despite the host nation's lack of soccer
tradition, the tournament was the most financially successful in World
Cup history; aided by the high-capacity stadiums in the United States,
it broke the World Cup average attendance record with more than 69,000
spectators per game, a mark that still stands.[1][2]
The total attendance of nearly 3.6 million for the final tournament
remains the highest in World Cup history, despite the expansion of the
competition from 24 to 32 teams (and from 52 to 64 games), which was
first introduced at the 1998 World Cup and is the current format.[1]
Brazil won the tournament after beating Italy 3–2 in a penalty shoot-out at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California near Los Angeles, after the game had ended 0–0 after extra time. It was the first World Cup final to be decided on penalties. The victory made Brazil the first nation to win four World Cup titles. There were three new entrants in the tournament: Greece, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia plus two countries that were formed at the end of the Cold War: Russia, following the breakup of the Soviet Union, and for the first time since 1938, a newly reunified Germany took part in the tournament, following that country's reunification in October 1990, which took place a few months after West Germany's victory in the 1990 World Cup.
| World Cup USA '94 | |
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1994 FIFA World Cup official logo
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| Tournament details | |
| Host country | United States |
| Dates | 17 June – 17 July |
| Teams | 24 (from 5 confederations) |
| Venue(s) | 9 (in 9 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Brazil (4th title) |
| Runners-up |  Italy |
| Third place |  Sweden |
| Fourth place |  Bulgaria |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 52 |
| Goals scored | 141 (2.71 per match) |
| Attendance | 3,597,042 (69,174 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Hristo Stoichkov Oleg Salenko(6 goals each) |
| Best player(s) | Romário |
| Best young player |  Marc Overmars |
| Best goalkeeper |  Michel Preud'homme |
| Fair play award | Brazil |
Brazil won the tournament after beating Italy 3–2 in a penalty shoot-out at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California near Los Angeles, after the game had ended 0–0 after extra time. It was the first World Cup final to be decided on penalties. The victory made Brazil the first nation to win four World Cup titles. There were three new entrants in the tournament: Greece, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia plus two countries that were formed at the end of the Cold War: Russia, following the breakup of the Soviet Union, and for the first time since 1938, a newly reunified Germany took part in the tournament, following that country's reunification in October 1990, which took place a few months after West Germany's victory in the 1990 World Cup.
Contents
Background and preparations
Striker, the official mascot of the tournament.
One condition FIFA imposed was the creation of a professional football league – Major League Soccer was founded in 1993 and began operating in 1996. There was some initial controversy about awarding the World Cup to a country where football was not a nationally popular sport, and at the time, in 1988, the U.S. did not have a professional league of its own anymore; the North American Soccer League, set up in the 1970s, had folded in 1984 after attendance faded. Success of the 1984 Summer Olympics, particularly the soccer tournament, also contributed to FIFA's decision.
Mascot
The official mascot of this World Cup was Striker, the World Cup Pup, a dog wearing a red, white and blue soccer uniform with a ball.[6] Striker was designed by the Warner Bros. animation team.[7] A dog was picked as the mascot because dogs are a common pet in the United States.[7]Sponsorship
The sponsors of the 1994 FIFA World Cup are divided into two categories: FIFA World Cup Sponsors and USA Supporters.| FIFA World Cup sponsors | USA Supporters |
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Venues
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Because of the large area of the continental United States, the match 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 mi (3,680 km) and three time zones one way. The teams in Groups C and D only played in Foxborough (Boston), Chicago and Dallas – a trip from Boston to Dallas is 2,000 miles (3,200 km), but only covers one time zone; Chicago is in the same time zone as Dallas but is still 1,000 miles (1,600 km) away from both Dallas and Boston. The teams in Groups E and F's travel was a bit easier – they played exclusively in East Rutherford (New York City), Washington and Orlando, which while far apart are at least all in the same time zone. A few teams, such as Cameroon and Italy, did not have to travel great distances to cities to play matches.
The variety of climate in different cities all over the United States also 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, most matches were played in hot and/or humid conditions, thanks to nearly all of the matches 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 dry heat and smoggy conditions of Los Angeles (Pasadena) and the intense mixture of heat and humidity of Washington and New York City (East Rutherford) proved to be difficult, the cities with the most oppressive conditions were the southern cities of Orlando and Dallas because of the combination of heat and extreme humidity.[12] The Floridian tropical climate of Orlando meant all matches there were played in temperatures of 95 °F (35 °C) or above with humidity at 70% or more (the temperature there during the group stage match between Mexico and Ireland was 105 °F (41 °C)) thanks to the mid-day start times.[13] Dallas was not much different: in the semi-arid heat of a Texas summer, temperatures exceeded 100 °F (38 °C) during mid-day, when matches there were staged in the open-type Cotton Bowl meant that conditions were just as oppressive there as they were in Orlando.[14] Detroit also proved to be difficult: the Pontiac Silverdome did not have a working cooling system and because it was an interior dome-shaped stadium, the air could not escape through circulation, so temperatures inside the stadium would climb past 90 °F (32 °C) with 40% humidity. United States midfielder Thomas Dooley described the Silverdome as "the worst place I have ever played at".[15]
| Pasadena, California (Los Angeles area) |
Stanford, California (San Francisco Bay area) |
Pontiac, Michigan (Detroit area) |
East Rutherford, New Jersey (New York City area) |
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| Rose Bowl | Stanford Stadium | Pontiac Silverdome | Giants Stadium |
| Capacity: 94,194 | Capacity: 84,147 | Capacity: 77,557 | Capacity: 76,322 |
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| Dallas, Texas |
1994 FIFA World Cup (the United States)
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| Cotton Bowl | |||
| Capacity: 63,999 | |||
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| Chicago, Illinois | Orlando, Florida | Foxborough, Massachusetts (Boston area) |
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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Participating teams and officials
Qualification
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 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 were close to making their own World Cup debut, but were denied by Iraq in what became known as the "Agony of Doha". The Japanese would not have to wait long though, debuting in the 1998 tournament. 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 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. 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 1992, 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 Home Nations of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales qualified (they withdrew their FIFA memberships between 1928–1946, 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 to not feature England, France and Japan. Other notable absentees were 1990 Round of 16 participants Uruguay, UEFA Euro 1992 champions Denmark, Poland, Portugal and Hungary (all four for the second time in a row).
List of qualified teams
The following 24 teams, shown with final pre-tournament rankings,[16] qualified for the final tournamentː
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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
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Squads
Teams were selected following usual FIFA rules with 22 players. Greece, Italy, Saudi Arabia and Spain were the only countries who had all their players coming from domestic teams, while the Republic of Ireland and Nigeria had no players from domestic teams. Saudi Arabia was the only team with no players from European teams.Seeding and draw
The composition of the four pots was based on the FIFA World Ranking (established in 1993) and on the qualified teams' results in the three previous World Cups. The teams' pre-tournament rankings[17] are shown in parenthesis. The principle of the draw was that each group must have at least two European teams, USA and Mexico could not be drawn in the same group, and Brazil and Argentina could not be drawn with another South American team.| Pot 1 (Top 5 plus hosts) | Pot 2 (Africa + Americas) | Pot 3 (Europe 1–6) | Pot 4 (Europe 7–10 + Asia) |
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Referees
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Summary
Despite the controversy, the U.S. staged a hugely successful tournament, with average attendance of nearly 70,000 breaking a record that surpassed the 1966 FIFA World Cup average attendance of 51,000, thanks to the large seating capacities the stadiums in the United States provided for the spectators in comparison to the smaller venues of Europe and Latin America. To this day, the total attendance for the final tournament of nearly 3.6 million remains the highest in World Cup history, despite the expansion of the competition from 24 to 32 teams at the 1998 World Cup in France.[1][2] Germany, Brazil, Argentina, Belgium, Italy and the United States were seeded for the final draw, which took place in Las Vegas on 19 December 1993.[20]The format of the competition stayed the same as in the 1990 World Cup: 24 teams qualified, divided into six groups of four. Sixteen teams would qualify for the knockout phase: the six group winners, the six group runners-up, and the four third-placed teams with the best records. This was the last time this format was used, due to the expansion of the finals tournament in 1998 to 32 teams. This World Cup was the first in which three points were awarded for a win instead of two. FIFA instituted this feature to encourage attacking soccer after the defensive display of many teams at Italia '90.
The tournament saw the end of Diego Maradona's World Cup career, having played in the 1982, 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 which uncovered ephedrine, a weight loss drug, in his blood. Colombia, despite high expectations due to their style and impressive qualifying campaign, failed to advance from the round robin. The team was supposedly dogged by influence from betting syndicates and drug cartels, with coach Francisco Maturana receiving death threats over squad selection.[citation needed] Defender Andrés Escobar was a tragic figure of this tournament, as in the group stage game against the United States, he scored an own goal that eliminated his team. Escobar was shot to death outside a bar in a Medellín suburb only 10 days later, apparently in retaliation for the own goal.[21]
Lothar Matthäus scoring a penalty kick in Germany's quarter-final against Bulgaria at Giants Stadium on 10 July. Bulgaria came back to win the game.
The United States, relatively new to professional football, advanced to the second round as one of the best third-place teams. They played Brazil on Independence Day and, despite a 1–0 defeat, the United States' performance was considered a great success in their football history.[citation needed]
Brazil's win over the hosts helped take them to the final against Italy. While Brazil's path was relatively smooth as they defeated the Netherlands in the quarter-finals and Sweden in the semis, the Italians had made hard work of reaching the final. During the group stage Italy struggled and narrowly advanced to the next round, despite losing 1–0 to the Republic of Ireland. Italian playmaker Roberto Baggio, who was expected to be one of the stars of the tournament,[citation needed] had not yet scored a goal. During the Round of 16 game against Nigeria, Italy was trailing 1–0 in the dying minutes when Baggio scored the tying goal, forcing the game into extra time. He scored again with a penalty kick to send Italy through. Baggio carried the Italians from there, scoring the game-winning goal in the quarter-final against Spain, and both goals in Italy's semi-final victory over Bulgaria.[22]
The third-place playoff was set between Bulgaria and Sweden, the team which scored more goals than any other in this World Cup. These teams had also previously met in the qualifying group. Sweden won, 4–0. Swedish forward Tomas Brolin was named to the All-star team.[23]
The final game at the Rose Bowl was tense, but devoid of scoring chances. It was the second time in 24 years that the two nations had met in a final. Despite the strategies implemented by FIFA to promote offensive play, both teams failed to produce a goal. After 120 goalless minutes, the World Cup was decided for the first time by a penalty shoot-out. After four rounds, Brazil led 3–2, and Baggio, playing injured, had to score to keep Italy's hopes alive.[22] He missed by shooting it over the crossbar, and the Brazilians were crowned champions for the fourth time.[24] After the game ended, then-Vice-President Al Gore hosted the awarding ceremony by handing Brazilian captain Dunga the prestigious trophy; the Brazilian national team dedicated the title to the deceased Formula One motor racing champion and countryman Ayrton Senna, who had died two and a half months prior.[citation needed]
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.[24]
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