W. C. Football 1994

The 1994 FIFA World Cup, the 15th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in the United States from 17 June to 17 July 1994. The United States was chosen as hosts by FIFA on 4 July 1988. Brazil became the first nation to win four World Cup titles when they beat Italy 3-2 in a penalty shootout after the game ended 0-0 after extra-time, the first World Cup final to be decided on penalties.Average attendance was nearly 69,000, which broke records that had stood since 1950, due to the bigger capacities of the American stadiums compared to those of Europe and Latin America. 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 (and from 52 to 64 matches) in 1998. It was also the highest-attended single sport event in U.S. history.

Host country: United States

Dates: 17 June – 17 July

Teams: 24

Champions: Brazil

Runner-up: Italy

Third place: Sweden

Top scorer(s): Hristo Stoichkov (Bulgaria), Oleg Salenko (Russaia) (6 goals)

Best player: Romário (Brazil)

(Brazil's 1994 World Cup winners. Top row from left: Taffarel, Jorginho, Aldair, Mauro Silva, Marcio Santos and Branco. Bottom row from left: Mazinho, Romario, Dunga, Bebeto and Zinho)