1994 Football World Cup
| World Cup USA '94 | |
|---|---|
1994 FIFA World Cup official logo
|
|
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | United States |
| Dates | 17 June – 17 July (31 days) |
| Teams | 24 (from 5 confederations) |
| Venue(s) | 9 (in 9 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |
 Brazil (4th title)
|
| Runners-up |  Italy |
| Third place |  Sweden |
| Fourth place |  Bulgaria |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 52 |
| Goals scored | 141 (2.71 per match) |
| Attendance | 3,587,538 (68,991 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |
Hristo Stoichkov Oleg Salenko(6 goals each) |
| Best player |
Romário
|
| Best young player |
 Marc Overmars
|
| Best goalkeeper |
 Michel Preud'homme
|
| Fair play award | Brazil |
The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, held in nine cities across the United States from 17 June to 17 July 1994. The United States was chosen as the host by FIFA on 4 July 1988. Despite the host nation's lack of a national top-level football league, the tournament was the most financially successful in World Cup history; aided by the large capacity stadia in the US it broke the World Cup average attendance record with nearly 69,000 spectators per game, a mark that still stands. The total attendance of nearly 3.6 million for the final tournament remains the highest in World Cup history, despite the expansion of the competition from 24 to 32 teams (and from 52 to 64 games) in the 1998 World Cup.
Brazil won the tournament after beating Italy 3–2 in a penalty shootout 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. Greece, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia made their first-ever appearances at the tournament, as did Russia, following the breakup of the Soviet Union.
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.
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