Group A
Group A will be remembered for two historic moments in international football. First was that the match between the United States and Switzerland would be the first ever to take place indoors, having been played under the roof at the Pontiac Silverdome. The second was the murder of Colombian defender Andrés Escobar - shot dead on his return to Colombia, after his own goal had contributed to his country's elimination from the tournament.
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 let the Swiss move past the Americans into second place on goal difference, although the hosts qualified for the second round as one of the best third-placed teams.
Team
| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Romania | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 6 |
 Switzerland | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 4 |
 United States | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
 Colombia | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 3 |
Group B
Group B produced two of the four semi-finalists of this World Cup, and was also one of the two groups in which two, rather than three, sides would progress to the second round. Brazil and Sweden proved to be far stronger than Cameroon and Russia in every department. The match between the latter two broke two World Cup records. Oleg Salenko of Russia became the first – and remains the only – man ever to score five goals in a single World Cup match as Russia ran out 6–1 winners against their African opponents. The goals also ensured that Salenko finished the tournament joint-top scorer with six goals, having previously bagged one against Sweden. Cameroon left a mark too as Roger Milla, at the age of 42, became the oldest World Cup goalscorer of all time as he grabbed his side's consolation goal in the match. The result was not enough to take Russia through following heavy defeats at the hands of both Brazil and Sweden. Brazil overcame Cameroon with similar ease before a draw with Sweden confirmed top spot. The Swedes also progressed, finishing in second place with five points.
Team
| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Brazil | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | +5 | 7 |
 Sweden | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 5 |
 Russia | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 6 | +1 | 3 |
 Cameroon | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 11 | −8 | 1 |
Group C
Holders Germany, and Spain progressed to round two. Coming from two goals down with four minutes left to snatch a 2–2 draw against Spain, the 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 were held to a 0–0 draw against Bolivia in their other group match when a win would have seen them through. Instead, only two teams progressed; Spain's late implosion against the 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 match, finished with seven points. Spain had to settle for second place despite leading in all three matches.
Team
| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Germany | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 7 |
 Spain | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 5 |
 South Korea | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 2 |
 Bolivia | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 1 |
Group D
Argentina collected a maximum of six points from their opening two matches after beating Greece 4–0 in Foxboro before coming from behind to overcome the feisty Nigerians 2–1 on the same field four days later, yet still only finished third. The match against Greece had been won in style thanks mainly to a hat-trick from Gabriel Batistuta, yet it was the other goal in the match – from Diego Maradona – that hit the headlines. Nigeria had been very impressive on their World Cup debut, and despite the narrow loss to Argentina, had emerged as group winners following comfortable victories against Bulgaria and Greece. The Bulgarians also surprised many. Having never won a single match at the World Cup finals prior to this tournament, their fortunes seemed unlikely to change in the aftermath of the 3–0 defeat by Nigeria in their first game. However a 4–0 demolition of the Greeks (who had suffered exactly the same fate five days earlier against Argentina) and a win against Argentina had seen them advance in style. Argentina had actually been winning the group going into injury-time, while Bulgaria played the last 25 minutes with ten men; however, a 91st-minute strike from Nasko Sirakov meant that they dropped two places and finished third.
Team
| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Nigeria | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 6 |
 Bulgaria | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 6 |
 Argentina | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 6 |
 Greece | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 | −10 | 0 |
Group E
Group E remains the only group in World Cup history in which all four teams finished with the same points. It began when Ray Houghton's chip ensured that Ireland would gain revenge on Italy by reversing a 1–0 scoreline the Italians had beaten them by in the quarter-finals of the previous World Cup. The next day in Washington, Kjetil Rekdal's goal five minutes from time proved decisive in an equally tense encounter as Norway beat Mexico. Mexico however was much more comfortable playing in Orlando, the setting for their next match against Ireland, where the heat proved to be a key factor. Garcia's double had them 2–0 up and in control of the game before a disagreement on the touchline resulted in fines for both Republic of Ireland's manager, Jack Charlton, and their striker John Aldridge. Fortunately for Ireland, Aldridge was able to re-gain concentration in time to score six minutes from the end of the game. Though Ireland still lost the match 2–1, Aldridge's goal proved crucial in the final group standings. The previous day in New Jersey, Italy's World Cup hopes seemed to be diminishing fast as goalkeeper Gianluca Pagliuca was sent off with the game still at 0–0. Yet despite this, Italy were 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 matches 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, whilst midfielders Massaro and Bernal traded strikes as Italy were held 1–1 by Mexico. That result meant that Mexico won the group on goals scored with Ireland and Italy also progressing having finished with identical records (Ireland finishing second on account of the fact that they had beaten Italy when the teams played one another). Norway's shortcomings in attack had ultimately let them down.
Team
| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Mexico | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
 Republic of Ireland | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
 Italy | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
 Norway | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
Group F
Morocco lost each of their matches only by a single goal. Belgium's campaign went the same way as Argentina's; finishing third despite winning their first two matches. After 1–0 victories against Morocco and the Netherlands, Belgium were ultimately beaten after Saudi player Saaed Al-Owairian ran from his own half through a maze of Belgian players to score the game's only goal. Both teams went through. For the much-fancied Dutch however, progression to the second round was a somewhat nervier experience. The opening 2–1 victory against Saudi Arabia was followed by defeat against the Belgians before another 2–1 victory – this time at the expense of Morocco – eventually saw them win the group. Winger Bryan Roy scored the winner a mere twelve minutes from time.
Team
| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Netherlands | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 6 |
 Saudi Arabia | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 6 |
 Belgium | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 6 |
 Morocco | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 0 |
Ranking of third-placed teams
| Group | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | Argentina | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 6 |
| F | Belgium | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 6 |
| A | United States | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| E | Italy | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| B | Russia | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 6 | +1 | 3 |
| C | South Korea | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 2 |
| Round of 16 | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | |||||||||||
| 3 July – Pasadena | ||||||||||||||
| Romania | 3 | |||||||||||||
| 10 July – Stanford | ||||||||||||||
| Argentina | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Romania | 2 (4) | |||||||||||||
| 3 July – Dallas | ||||||||||||||
| Sweden (p) | 2 (5) | |||||||||||||
| Saudi Arabia | 1 | |||||||||||||
| 13 July – Pasadena | ||||||||||||||
| Sweden | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Sweden | 0 | |||||||||||||
| 4 July – Orlando | ||||||||||||||
| Brazil | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Netherlands | 2 | |||||||||||||
| 9 July – Dallas | ||||||||||||||
| Republic of Ireland | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Netherlands | 2 | |||||||||||||
| 4 July – Stanford | ||||||||||||||
| Brazil | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Brazil | 1 | |||||||||||||
| 17 July – Pasadena | ||||||||||||||
| United States | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Brazil (p) | 0 (3) | |||||||||||||
| 5 July – East Rutherford | ||||||||||||||
| Italy | 0 (2) | |||||||||||||
| Mexico | 1 (1) | |||||||||||||
| 10 July – East Rutherford | ||||||||||||||
| Bulgaria (p) | 1 (3) | |||||||||||||
| Bulgaria | 2 | |||||||||||||
| 2 July – Chicago | ||||||||||||||
| Germany | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Germany | 3 | |||||||||||||
| 13 July – East Rutherford | ||||||||||||||
| Belgium | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Bulgaria | 1 | |||||||||||||
| 5 July – Foxborough | ||||||||||||||
| Italy | 2 | Third place | ||||||||||||
| Nigeria | 1 | |||||||||||||
| 9 July – Foxborough | 16 July – Pasadena | |||||||||||||
| Italy | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Italy | 2 | Sweden | 4 | |||||||||||
| 2 July – Washington | ||||||||||||||
| Spain | 1 | Bulgaria | 0 | |||||||||||
| Spain | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Switzerland | 0 | |||||||||||||
| World Cup '94 | |
|---|---|
1994 FIFA World Cup official logo
| |
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | United States |
| Dates | 17 June – 17 July 1994 (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) |
| Best player | Romário |
