The 1994 World Cup was hosted in U.S.A., marking the first time ever that the North Americans hosted the tournament. The U.S. was both excited and well-prepared for the World Cup, with many artists scheduled to perform at the event, taking place from June 17 to July 17. This World Cup tournament had the highest number of attendees in World Cup history: 3,587,835 in total, an average of 68,991 per game, mainly because the stadiums in the U.S. were bigger than those in Europe and South America. Still, soccer in the U.S. didn't have the widespread appeal of basketball, baseball or American football, and it came as a surprise to many when the country was granted the honor of hosting the FIFA World Cup.

Greece, Nigeria, and Saudi Arabia qualified for the World Cup finals for the first time. Africa was given three spots in the World Cup tournament for the first time (Nigeria, Cameroon and Morocco). This tournament also marked the end of Diego Maradona's World Cup career, after he was disqualified from the games due to testing positive for ephedrine, a weight loss drug.

The format of the 1994 World Cup tournament was the same as it had been in 1990. Twenty-four teams qualified, which were divided into six groups of four. Sixteen teams would go on to the knockout round, and four into the semi-finals. The four teams that went on to the World Cup semi-finals were Bulgaria, Brazil, Italy, and Sweden. Bulgaria and Sweden were somewhat of a surprise as semi-final contenders, having a growing soccer presence rather than an established one.

There were plenty of goals – 141, the highest since 1982 – and no shortage of drama. Bulgaria provided the biggest challenge when they beat Germany to enter the semi-finals though they had never won a single World Cup before. Bulgaria went on to win fourth place in the semi-finals, and the U.S. won third.

During the final between Brazil and Italy, there wasn't much action; both teams were very cautious, making for a bit of an uninteresting game. The World Cup finals ended with Brazil celebrating their first world title since 1970. The Italian player Baggio is forever remembered as the man who missed a penalty shot and cost his nation the Cup.

More awards were given out at the 1994 World Cup than during previous tournaments. The U.S provided extra awards such as Best Goal Keeper and Fairest Nation. The Adidas Golden Ball award was given to Romário de Souza Faria, a Brazilian forward who was a good performer and a good striker for his team. The Adidas Golden Shoe Award was given to Oleg Salenko of Russia and Hristo Stoichkov of Bulgaria. They shared the title since both had equal points and equally captivating mid-field action. The Yashin Award for the best goal keeper was given to Michel Preudhomme of Belgium, the first award he'd won.