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Soccer

Who won the 1994 World Cup? Golden Boot winner, key stories from USA ‘94

Who won the 1994 World Cup? Golden Boot winner, key stories from USA ‘94DAZN

The 1994 World Cup was certainly a tournament to remember.

From Diana Ross' missed penalty at the opening ceremony to one of the world's most iconic players returning a positive drugs test, it was a month full of intriguing storylines and iconic moments. 

DAZN takes a look at the key moments from the tournament below. 

When did the 1994 World Cup take place? 

The 15th edition of world football's biggest tournament took place from June 17 to July 17. 

Who hosted the 1994 World Cup?

The United States were chosen as the hosts for this competition on July 4, 1998.

There were some doubts as to whether it would be a success due to the World Cup being staged in a country where football wasn't the most popular sport, however, the 1994 edition is currently the most financially successful.

Despite the lack of relevance football had in the U.S., the World Cup certainly captured the imagination of the American people with tournament records being broken when it came to attendances.

The overall attendance for the whole tournament was 3,587,538 with an average of 68,991, numbers which are yet to be surpassed. 

Who won the 1994 World Cup?

Brazil were crowned world champions after beating Italy 3-2 in a penalty shootout.

This was the first time a World Cup final had to be decided on penalties. 

Who claimed the Golden Boot at the 1994 World Cup?

Bulgaria's Hristo Stoichkov and Russia's Oleg Salenko claimed the Golden Boot in 1994 after both players scored six goals. 

Key stories from the 1994 World Cup

Maradona's positive drugs test

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Whenever Argentina's Diego Maradona featured in the World Cup, there was no surprise that there was a huge amount of attention, but in 1994 it was for all the wrong reasons.

The forward tested positive for ephedrine during the group stages this sparked massive fallout, something which is delved into on the DAZN Orignals documentary 'Maradona: The Fall'.

Al Qwairwan's magic moment 

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When it came to discussing what was the best goal scored at the 1994 World Cup, many wouldn't have expected it to be scored by a player from Saudi Arabia.

Saeed Al Qwairan however produced a moment of magic for his country, running from deep in his own half, navigating numerous challenges from his Belgian opponents and finished off this iconic run with a goal from close range.

Ireland shock Italy 

When Ireland faced Italy in the opening game of Group E, many expected Ireland to be easy pickings for a team full of star names.

That wasn't the case. Backed by thousands of fans at New York's Giants Stadium, Ray Houghton managed to slot the ball home after 12 minutes following a mistake from Italian defender Franco Baresi.

Ireland managed to hold onto their 1-0 advantage for the rest of match and made the perfect start to their 1994 World Cup campaign. 

Heartbreak for Baggio in World Cup final

The final in 1994 was contested between Italy and Brazil, and for the Azzuri, their hopes rested on the shoulders of attacker Robert Baggio. 

Baggio had been magnificent in this tournament and played a huge role in Italy's path to the final, but when it came to final hurdle, he faltered. 

For the first time in World Cup history, the final went to penalties after the two teams played out a goalless draw after 120 minutes and all seemed to be going well for Italy until Daniele Emilio Massaro missed his spot-kick to put Brazil 3-2 up in the shootout.

Up stepped Baggio whose penalty if scored would give Italy a glimmer of hope, but exactly a month removed from Diana Ross' missed penalty, the Italian sent the ball over the crossbar which saw Brazil crowned champions.