The 1994 FIFA World Cup, the 15th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in nine cities across the United States from June 17 to July 17, 1994. The United States was chosen as the hostFIFA on July 4, 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. The official match ball was the Adidas Questra. by
Average attendance was nearly 69,000, which broke records that had stood since the 1950 World Cup, because of the bigger capacities of the American stadiums compared to those of Europe and Latin America. The total attendance of nearly 3.6 million for the final tournament 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 the 1998 World Cup.
The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event twice. Teams representing 116 national football associations from all six populated continents entered the competition, with its qualification process beginning in April 1988. Twenty-two teams qualified from this process, along with host nation Italy and defending champion Argentina, for the finals tournament. The official match ball was the Adidas Etrusco Unico.
The tournament was won by West Germany, who claimed their third World Cup title by defeating reigning champions Argentina 1–0 in the final, a rematch of the previous final four years earlier. Hosts Italy beat England 2–1 to finish third after both lost their semi-finals in penalty shootouts.
The 1990 World Cup is widely regarded as one of the poorest World Cups ever.[1][2][3][4] It generated a record low goals-per-game average of just 2.21 and a then-record 16 red cards were handed out, including the first ever dismissal in a final.
Despite the low goalscoring, the 1990 World Cup stands as one of the most watched events in television history, garnering an estimated 26.69 billion non-unique viewers, compiled over the course of the tournament.[5] At the time it was the most watched World Cup in history in non-unique viewers, but has subsequently been bettered by the 1994 and 2002 FIFA World Cups.[6]
The 1986 FIFA World Cup, the 13th FIFA World Cup, was held in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June.
Colombia had been originally chosen to host the competition by FIFA but, largely due to economic reasons, was not able to host the competition and officially resigned in 1982. Mexicowas selected as the new host in May 1983. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-team format; unlike in the previous tournament in 1982, the second round was played on a knock-out basis rather than groups.
It was won by Argentina (their second title, after also winning in 1978), led by Diego Maradonasame quarter-final against England. These were two of the five goals that Maradona scored during the tournament, and he also created another five for his team-mates.[1] Argentina beat West Germany 3–2 in the final at Mexico City's Estadio Azteca. Total attendance was 2,393,031, an average per match of 46,019.[2]who scored the infamous "Hand of God goal", and also a goal voted as "Goal of the Century", in the
The 1982 FIFA World Cup, the 12th FIFA World Cup, was held in Spain from 13 June to 11 July. Spain was chosen as the host by FIFA in July 1966. The tournament was won by Italy, after beating West Germany 3–1 in the final. Italy became the first team to advance from the first round without winning a game, drawing all three (while Cameroon were eliminated in the same way), and also the only World Cup winner to draw or lose three matches at the Finals. By winning, Italy equalled Brazil's record of winning the World Cup three times. Italy's total of twelve goals scored in seven matches set a new low for average goals scored per game by a World Cup winning side (subsequently exceeded by Spain in 2010), while Italy's aggregate goal difference of +6 for the tournament remains a record low for a champion, equalled by Spain. For the first time, the World Cup was expanded to feature 24 teams, eight more than in the previous tournament 1978. The official match football was the Adidas Tango España.
Italy's Paolo Rossi won both the Golden Boot as the tournament's top goalscorer, and the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player (handed out for the first time), and 40-year-old captain-goalkeeper Dino Zoff became the oldest-ever player to win the World Cup. This was the first World Cup in which teams from all six continental confederations participated in the finals
The 1978 FIFA World Cup, the 11th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in Argentinahosts by FIFA in July 1966. The 1978 World Cup was won by Argentina who beat the Netherlands 3–1 after extra time in the final. This win was the first World Cup title for Argentina, who became the fifth team (after Uruguay, Italy, England, and West Germany), to be both hosts and world champions. The official match ball was the Adidas Tango. between 1 June and 25 June. Argentina was chosen as
The 1974 FIFA World Cup, the tenth staging of the World Cup, was held in West Germany from 13 June to 7 July. West Germany had been chosen in July 1966 as hosts by FIFA. The tournament marked the first time that the current trophy, the FIFA World Cup Trophy, created by the Italian sculptor Silvio Gazzaniga, was awarded. The previous trophy, the Jules Rimet Trophy, had been won for the third time by Brazil in 1970 and awarded permanently to the Brazilians. The host nation won the title beating the Netherlands in the final, 2–1. The victory was the second for West Germany, who had also won in 1954.
The 1970 FIFA World Cup, the ninth staging of the World Cup, was held in Mexico, from 31 May to 21 June. Mexico was chosen as the host nation by FIFA in October 1964. The 1970 tournament was the first World Cup hosted in North America, and the first held outside South America and Europe. In a match-up of two-time World Cup champions, the final was won by Brazil, who beat Italy 4–1. With their third World Cup triumph, Brazil were allowed to keep the Jules Rimet Trophy permanently.
The Brazilian team, featuring Pelé (who was in his fourth and final World Cup), Carlos Alberto, Clodoaldo, Gérson, Jairzinho, Rivelino, and Tostão, is usually regarded as the greatest attacking World Cup team ever. They won all of their 6 games on the way to the title, and had also won all of their 6 qualifying games on their way to Mexico. This tournament saw the return of free-flowing, attacking play after the physical battles of 1962 and 1966, and is still considered by many fans to be the finest World Cup in history.
