Editing 1994 FIFA World Cup (section)

==Aftermath and legacy==
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[[File:WorldCup1994GiantsStadiumQF.jpg|thumb|The large capacity stadiums enabled huge crowds to attend the games, such as this one at the [[Giants Stadium]] quarterfinal game.]]
* Although USA '94 marked the seventh time FIFA hosted the World Cup in the Americas (after being held in [[1930 FIFA World Cup|Uruguay]], [[1950 FIFA World Cup|Brazil]], [[1962 FIFA World Cup|Chile]], [[1978 FIFA World Cup|Argentina]], and twice by Mexico in [[1970 FIFA World Cup|1970]] and [[1986 FIFA World Cup|1986]]), the United States became the first host in the Americas outside of the Latin American spectrum, and the first in the Anglosphere outside of England.{{cn|date=March 2025}}
* The game between the [[United States men's national soccer team|United States]] and [[Switzerland national football team|Switzerland]] at the [[Pontiac Silverdome]] on June 18 was the first to be played indoors in World Cup history: grass was grown by [[Michigan State University]] and was the first time since 1965 (the failed attempt at the [[Astrodome]]) that natural turf was used in an indoor stadium in the United States. To date, only [[Sapporo Dome]] in 2002 and [[Arena AufSchalke]] in 2006 have subsequently hosted indoor games in World Cup history.
* [[Oleg Salenko]] of [[Russia national football team|Russia]] became the first player to score five goals in a single World Cup finals game in his country's group stage win over [[Cameroon national football team|Cameroon]]. Cameroon's [[Roger Milla]] also scored a goal in the same game, becoming the oldest player to score a goal in a World Cup. At 42, he was also the oldest player to appear in a World Cup, a record held until 2014, when [[Faryd Mondragón]] (43 years, 3 days) of [[Colombia national football team|Colombia]] broke the record in their game against [[Japan national football team|Japan]] at the [[2014 FIFA World Cup]]. In turn, goalkeeper [[Essam El Hadary]] (45 years, 161 days) of [[Egypt national football team|Egypt]] would surpass Mondragón against [[Saudi Arabia national football team|Saudi Arabia]], in the Volgograd Arena, Volgograd, Russia, on June 25, 2018. However, Milla remains the oldest outfield player to perform in the World Cup.
* For the first time, the FIFA Anthem, composed by Franz Lambert, was played during the players' entrance onto the field.
* [[Gianluca Pagliuca]] of [[Italy national football team|Italy]] became the first goalkeeper to be sent off in a World Cup game, dismissed for handling outside his area against [[Norway national football team|Norway]].
* Brazil's eleven goals in their seven games was a record for the lowest average goals scored per game for any World Cup-winning side, but this record was broken by Spain's eight goals in 2010. The three goals Brazil conceded in those seven games were, at the time, also the lowest average goals conceded per game, although this was subsequently surpassed by France in 1998, Italy in 2006, and Spain in 2010.
* The finals were the first time FIFA decided to experiment with the style of jerseys worn by officials, forgoing the traditional black. Officials could choose between burgundy, yellow, or silver shirts depending on what was necessary to avoid a clash of colors between the two competing teams. This custom has since been followed, but black shirts were added as an option later.
* The finals were also the first time that players had their shirt numbers printed on the center front (or on the right or left breast, in Morocco's and Russia's case, respectively) of the shirt, as well as their names printed on the back of their jerseys in a World Cup, just as other American sports did, to make their identification easier for sportscasters. This custom followed from [[UEFA Euro 1992|Euro 92]] and has continued ever since (although numbers printed on the center front had been experimented with during the [[1991 FIFA World Youth Championship|1991 FIFA U-20 World Cup]] held in Portugal).
* The finals were the first to award [[Three points for a win|3 points for a win]] in the group stage to motivate teams to play an attacking style.
* In disciplinary matters, for the first time [[Misconduct (football)|yellow cards]] accumulated in the group stage were wiped clean after its completion, and players started with a clean slate at the start of the knockout stage. Previously, players were suspended for one game if they accumulated two yellow cards throughout the tournament. Now, players were suspended for one game after accumulating two yellow cards in the group stage or two yellow cards in the knockout stage. This was in response to the situation in 1990, where players such as [[Claudio Caniggia]] and [[Paul Gascoigne]] were suspended for the later games.
* The 1994 World Cup revolutionized{{peacock term|date=March 2025}} television coverage of sports in the United States and worldwide through the sponsored scoreboard and game clock constantly shown on screen throughout the game. Being fully privately funded, television sports coverage in the United States had long relied upon commercial breaks, a feature suitable for sports such as [[baseball]], [[basketball]], [[ice hockey]], and [[American football]] (which all have breaks in the action), but long considered incompatible with soccer, due to the long stretches of uninterrupted play. Led by [[NFL on Fox|Fox Sports]], which debuted its NFL coverage about a month following the completion of the World Cup, virtually every television network included their version of the scoreboard clock by the decade's end.{{or|date=March 2025}}
* The 1994 World Cup final was the first (and to date only) goalless final in World Cup history. It was also the first to be decided by a penalty shootout, followed by the [[2006 FIFA World Cup Final|2006]] and [[2022 FIFA World Cup Final|2022]] finals.
* This was the last World Cup in which games other than the last two in each group were played simultaneously. However, this only happened once in this tournament: Saudi Arabia vs. Morocco and Belgium vs. Netherlands in Group F. From [[1998 FIFA World Cup|France '98]] onwards, each game in the first two rounds of group play and the whole knockout stage have been played separately to maximize television audiences.
* This was the last World Cup featuring 24 nations, and the up to the 2022 tournament, the last in which third-placed teams progressed to the round of 16. From 1998 to 2022, 32 nations competed, with only the top two in each group progressing. With 48 nations competing starting in [[2026 FIFA World Cup|2026]] onwards, the best eight third-placed teams across 12 groups advance to a round of 32.