1994 FIFA World Cup final

1994 FIFA World Cup final
Rose Bowl stadium, the final venue, photographed in 2018.
Event1994 FIFA World Cup
Brazil Italy
0 0
After extra time
Brazil won 3–2 on penalties
DateJuly 17, 1994
VenueRose Bowl, Pasadena, California
RefereeSándor Puhl (Hungary)
Attendance94,194
WeatherScattered clouds
100 °F (38 °C)[1]
← 1990
1998 →

The 1994 FIFA World Cup final was a soccer game that took place at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, United States, on July 17, 1994, to determine the winner of the 1994 FIFA World Cup. Brazil beat Italy 3–2 on penalties to claim its fourth World Cup title when the game finished 0–0 after extra time;[2] this was the first new FIFA World Cup Trophy for Brazil, as its previous three trophies, last won in 1970, were secured as Jules Rimet Trophy.

It was the first, and to date, only World Cup final to be scoreless both in regular and extra time and to be decided by a penalty shootout. Silver Ball winner Roberto Baggio missed the decisive penalty for Italy.[3] Brazil had previously beaten Italy in the 1970 final, marking the 1994 final as the second time that the same teams had met in two different World Cup finals, after Argentina and Germany met in 1986 and 1990.[4][5] Played at 12:30 pm local time, this was the most recent World Cup final to be played in broad daylight.

FIFA awarded the final game of the tournament to the famous college sports stadium near Los Angeles on June 30, 1992; the Rose Bowl was the largest stadium used for the tournament.[6] With over 94,000 spectators, the 1994 final is the most recent World Cup final to have an attendance of 90,000 or more as of 2022.

The Brazilian team dedicated its win to the late triple Formula One motor racing world champion Ayrton Senna, who had died in an accident at that year's San Marino Grand Prix in Italy two and a half months before.[7] With Italy finishing as runner-up, Franco Baresi became the sixth player in history to win gold, silver, and bronze medals at the FIFA World Cup.[8] Previously this result was attained in 1974 by five German players: Sepp Maier, Franz Beckenbauer, Wolfgang Overath, Jürgen Grabowski, and Horst-Dieter Höttges.

  1. ^ "FACTBOX-Dates and weather at previous World Cups". Eurosport. July 17, 1994. Retrieved June 29, 2019.
  2. ^ "1994 FIFA World Cup Final Details". Planet World Cup. Archived from the original on June 22, 2004. Retrieved October 11, 2012.
  3. ^ "Divine by moniker, divine by magic". FIFA.com. Retrieved June 1, 2014
  4. ^ "The Story of the 1994 World Cup". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on May 30, 2010. Retrieved October 11, 2012.
  5. ^ Molinaro, John F. (November 21, 2009). "1994 World Cup: Coming to America". CBC Sports (CBC/Radio-Canada). Archived from the original on March 28, 2014. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
  6. ^ Tempest, Rone (June 30, 1992). "Rose Bowl Gets Final of World Cup". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 8, 2019.(subscription required)
  7. ^ Bellos, Alex (April 22, 2004). "Brazil still in thrall to the Senna legend". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
  8. ^ Milan and Italy's imperial sweeper. Franco BARESIArchived January 10, 2014, at the Wayback Machine