1994 FIFA World Cup

The 1994 FIFA World Cup is the 15th edition of the men's FIFA World Cup tournament. The 1994 World Cup is the first World Cup hosted by the United States. Germany (previously known as West Germany) was the defending champion, but was upset in the quarterfinals by Bulgaria.

The 1994 World Cup is considered to be one of the best World Cups, with a record 68,991 average people per match, a record that still stands. The attendance of 3.58 million remains the highest in World Cup history, despite the extension in 1998 from 24 to 32 teams and the number of games from 52 to 64.

Brazil won their fourth World Cup title, defeating Italy 3-2 in a penalty shootout; the final went to a penalty shootout for the first time ever.

Host selection
The United States was selected as host. It was the third World Cup to be held in North America, the first two were both hosted by Mexico, in 1970 and 1986 as a replacement for Colombia.

Qualified teams
This is the known last World Cup with 24 teams. Four teams qualified for the first time, Greece, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and Russia who was previously known as the USSR.

Some of football's most successful nations, France and 1990 World Cup semifinalist England, did not qualify. Paraguay failed to qualify for the last time until 2014.