The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th staging of the tournament and the first World Cup to be hosted by the United States.
Brazil won their fourth title that year, beating Italy and becoming the first nation to win the final by penalty shootout after extra-time ended with a 0-0 scoreline.
Notable for being the best attended World Cup in history despite its later expansion from 24 teams to 32 teams and subsequently 52 matches to 64 matches in 1998. The average attendance was nearly 69,000 and 3.6 million in total.
1994 was also the first year that teams were awarded three points for a win instead of two to counter the very defensive performances seen in Italia ‘90.
Sweden finished 3rd that year and Bulgaria 4th. Hristo Stoichkov and Oleg Salenko were the joint top scorers with 6 goals and Romario was named the best player.
The final was held at the 91,794 capacity Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
Source: DSG
