USA 1994

Brazil became the first four-time World Cup winners

The 1994 World Cup saw Brazil become the first team to win the tournament four times as they beat Italy on penalties.

Despite initial concerns about taking the event to the United States, huge crowds ensured the tournament was a great success.

The hosts did their bit on the pitch by reaching the second round, where they lost 1-0 to the eventual champions, and they were not the only lesser side to distinguish themselves.

Sweden and Bulgaria both reached the last four, with the Scandinavians beating Bulgaria 4-0 to finish third.

Andres Escobar was murdered in Colombia

However, there was a shocking postscript to the match between Colombia and the United States when Andres Escobar was murdered on his return to the troubled South American country.

Escobar had conceded an own goal in a surprise 2-1 defeat.

Diego Maradona was banned mid-tournament after taking illegal, performance-enhancing drugs, and none of the British teams even made it as far as America.

The tournament saw far better football than the dour play that affected Italia 90 and it got off to an entertaining start in the group stages.

The Republic of Ireland scored a notable 1-0 win over Italy courtesy of a Ray Houghton goal, and the Italians were lucky to scrape through the group stages.

Arrigo Sacchi's constant tactical changes unsettled the team, and the eventual finalists were also fortunate to beat Nigeria to reach the quarter-finals.

Ireland fell in the last 16, losing 2-0 to Holland, but Europe dominated the last eight, with seven teams reaching the stage for the first time since 1958.

Carried the flag

South American giants Argentina, unable to cope without Maradona, missed out after losing 3-2 to Romania.

The only non-European side to make the quarter-finals were Brazil, who eased past the hosts in the last 16, and they carried the flag for the rest of the world by beating Holland 3-2.

The shock of the round came when Bulgaria came back from a one-goal deficit to beat Germany 2-1 through goals from the legendary Hristo Stoichkov and Iordan Letchkov.

In the semi-finals, Brazil squeezed past an inspired Swedish team thanks to a single Romario goal to set up a final against fellow three-time winners Italy.

The Azzurri beat Bulgaria 2-1 with a brace from Roberto Baggio.

The opening ceremony was a typically lavish affair

The "Divine Ponytail" was Italy's best player throughout the tournament, but the final was to be a bitter disappointment for the skillful Italian.

The two sides had an audience of 94,000 fans at the Rose Bowl in Los Angeles, but they produced a poor match that was out of keeping with the rest of the tournament.

It finally became the first World Cup to be decided on penalties.

After Franco Baresi and Daniele Massaro had missed for Italy, and Marcio Santos had failed for Brazil, Dunga stroked the ball home to put the pressure on Baggio.

If he missed, it was all over for Italy. And he shot it into the crowd to hand Brazil their record-breaking fourth title.

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Group 1 results:
United States 1-1 Switzerland
Romania 3-1 Colombia
Switzerland 4-1 Romania
United States 2-1 Colombia
Romania 1-0 United States
Colombia 2-0 Switzerland

Group 2 results:
Cameroon 2-2 Sweden
Brazil 2-0 Russia
Sweden 3-1 Russia
Brazil 3-0 Cameroon
Brazil 1-1 Sweden
Russia 6-1 Cameroon

Group 3 results:
Germany 1-0 Bolivia
Spain 2-2 South Korea
Germany 1-1 Spain
South Korea 0-0 Bolivia
Spain 3-1 Bolivia
Germany 3-2 South Korea

Group 4 results:
Argentina 4-0 Greece
Nigeria 3-0 Bulgaria
Argentina 2-1 Nigeria
Bulgaria 4-0 Greece
Nigeria 2-0 Greece
Bulgaria 2-0 Argentina

Group 5 results:
Rep of Ireland 1-0 Italy
Norway 1-0 Mexico
Italy 1-0 Norway
Mexico 2-1 Rep of Ireland
Rep of Ireland 0-0 Norway
Italy 1-1 Mexico

Group 6 results:
Belgium 1-0 Morocco
Holland 2-1 Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia 2-1 Morocco
Belgium 1-0 Holland
Holland 2-1 Morocco
Saudi Arabia 1-0 Belgium

Second round results:
Germany 3-2 Belgium
Spain 3-0 Switzerland
Sweden 3-1 Saudi Arabia
Romania 3-2 Argentina
Holland 2-0 Rep of Ireland
Brazil 1-0 United States
Italy 2-1 Nigeria (aet)
Bulgaria 1-1 Mexico (aet)
(Bulgaria win 3-1 on penalties)

Quarter-finals results:
Italy 2-1 Spain
Brazil 3-2 Holland
Bulgaria 2-1 Germany
Sweden 2-2 Romania (aet)
(Sweden win 5-4 on penalties)

Semi-finals results:
Brazil 1-0 Sweden
Italy 2-1 Bulgaria

3rd/4th place play-off:
Sweden 4-0 Bulgaria

World Cup Final:
Brazil 0-0 Italy
(Brazil win 3-2 on penalties)