The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th tournament for men’s national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. Brazil won the tournament after beating Italy 3–2 in a penalty shoot-out at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
About 1994 FIFA World Cup in brief
The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th tournament for men’s national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. 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. Despite soccer’s relative lack of popularity in the host nation, the tournament was the most financially successful in World Cup history. It broke tournament records with overall attendance of 3,587,538 and an average of 68,991 per match. The official mascot was Striker, the World Cup Pup, a dog wearing a red, white and blue soccer uniform with a ball. A dog was picked as the mascot because dogs are a common pet in the U.S. and the official game ball was the Adidas Questra. There were three new entrants in the tournament: Greece, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia plus Russia, following the breakup of the Soviet Union, and for the first time since 1938, a unified Germany took part in the event. The United States had previously bid to host the 1986 World Cup, after Colombia withdrew as the host country 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. 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.
One condition FIFA imposed was the creation of a professional soccer league—Major League Soccer was founded in 1993 and began operating in 1996. US Soccer spent USD 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. All stadiums had a capacity of at least 53,000, and their usual tenants were professional or college American football teams. Other considered venues in Atlanta, Denver, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Miami, Minneapolis, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Seattle and Tampa were not used. Several modern venues, including Joe Robbie Stadium in San Francisco and Candlestick Park in Miami, were rejected because of conflicts with Major League Baseball. The venue used most was the Pontiac Silverdome near Detroit, the first indoor stadium used in a World Cup. The Pontiac was also the only venue that was used in the group stage, with four group games and the third-place semi-final, among them one of the second round, and the final of the final. The final was the first World Cup final to be decided on penalties. The victory made Brazil the first nation to win four World Cup titles. The games were played in nine cities including Annapolis, Maryland; Columbus, Ohio; Corvallis, Oregon; and New Haven, Connecticut.
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This page is based on the article 1994 FIFA World Cup published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 10, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
