1994 FIFA World Cup Group A

Group A of the 1994 FIFA World Cup was one of six groups of four teams competing at the 1994 World Cup in the United States. The first matches were played June 18, 1994, and the final games took place simultaneously on June 26, 1994.

The group consisted of one CONCACAF team, the host United States; two UEFA teams, Switzerland and Romania; and one CONMEBOL team, Colombia. Romania won the group, Switzerland finished second and also the United States advanced to the knockout stage as one of the best third-placed teams. Colombia finished last with only three points.

Standings

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Romania	3	2	0	1	5	5	0	6	Advance to knockout stage
2	Switzerland	3	1	1	1	5	4	+1	4
3	United States (H)	3	1	1	1	3	3	0	4
4	Colombia	3	1	0	2	4	5	−1	3

Source: FIFA
(H) Hosts

Matches

All times listed are local time.

United States vs Switzerland

United States	1–1	Switzerland
Wynalda 45'	Report	Bregy 39'

June 18, 1994

11:30 a.m. EDT (UTC–4)

Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac

Attendance: 73,425

Referee: Francisco Oscar Lamolina (Argentina)

United States

Switzerland

GK 1 Tony Meola (c) SW 17 Marcelo Balboa RB 4 Cle Kooiman CB 22 Alexi Lalas LB 20 Paul Caligiuri RM 9 Tab Ramos CM 16 Mike Sorber CM 5 Thomas Dooley LM 6 John Harkes  89' CF 8 Earnie Stewart  81' CF 11 Eric Wynalda  58' Substitutions: FW 10 Roy Wegerle  58' FW 13 Cobi Jones  81' Manager: Bora Milutinović

GK 1 Marco Pascolo SW 5 Alain Geiger (c) RB 2 Marc Hottiger CB 4 Dominique Herr  26' LB 3 Yvan Quentin CM 6 Georges Bregy CM 10 Ciriaco Sforza  77' RW 8 Christophe Ohrel AM 16 Thomas Bickel  72' LW 7 Alain Sutter CF 11 Stéphane Chapuisat Substitutions: FW 14 Nestor Subiat  82'  72' MF 21 Thomas Wyss  77' Manager: Roy Hodgson

Assistant referees: Ernesto Taibi (Argentina) Venancio Zarate (Paraguay) Fourth official: Ernesto Filippi (Uruguay)

Colombia vs Romania

Colombia	1–3	Romania
Valencia 43'	Report	Răducioiu 16', 89' Hagi 34'

June 18, 1994

4:30 p.m. PDT (UTC–7)

Rose Bowl, Pasadena

Attendance: 91,856

Referee: Jamal Al Sharif (Syria)

Colombia

Romania

GK 1 Óscar Córdoba RB 4 Luis Herrera  36' CB 2 Andrés Escobar CB 15 Luis Carlos Perea LB 20 Wilson Pérez CM 6 Gabriel Gómez CM 14 Leonel Álvarez  70' AM 10 Carlos Valderrama (c)  53' AM 19 Freddy Rincón CF 11 Adolfo Valencia CF 21 Faustino Asprilla Manager: Francisco Maturana

GK 12 Bogdan Stelea SW 4 Miodrag Belodedici CB 3 Daniel Prodan CB 14 Gheorghe Mihali RM 2 Dan Petrescu CM 6 Gheorghe Popescu CM 5 Ioan Lupescu CM 7 Dorinel Munteanu LM 10 Gheorghe Hagi (c) CF 9 Florin Răducioiu  39'  90' SS 11 Ilie Dumitrescu  68' Substitutions: DF 13 Tibor Selymes  68' DF 19 Corneliu Papură  90' Manager: Anghel Iordănescu

Assistant referees: Yousif Abdullah Al Ghattan (Bahrain) Douglas Micael James (Trinidad and Tobago) Fourth official: Alberto Tejada Noriega (Peru)

Romania vs Switzerland

Romania	1–4	Switzerland
Hagi 35'	Report	Sutter 16' Chapuisat 52' Knup 65', 72'

June 22, 1994

4:00 p.m. EDT (UTC–4)

Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac

Attendance: 61,428

Referee: Neji Jouini (Tunisia)

Romania

Switzerland

GK 12 Bogdan Stelea SW 4 Miodrag Belodedici  47' CB 3 Daniel Prodan CB 14 Gheorghe Mihali  32' RM 2 Dan Petrescu CM 5 Ioan Lupescu  40'  85' CM 6 Gheorghe Popescu LM 7 Dorinel Munteanu AM 10 Gheorghe Hagi (c) CF 9 Florin Răducioiu SS 11 Ilie Dumitrescu  70' Substitutions: MF 15 Basarab Panduru  85' FW 16 Ion Vlădoiu  73'  70' Manager: Anghel Iordănescu

GK 1 Marco Pascolo RB 2 Marc Hottiger CB 4 Dominique Herr CB 5 Alain Geiger (c) LB 3 Yvan Quentin RM 8 Christophe Ohrel  83' CM 6 Georges Bregy CM 10 Ciriaco Sforza LM 7 Alain Sutter  71' CF 9 Adrian Knup CF 11 Stéphane Chapuisat Substitutions: MF 16 Thomas Bickel  71' MF 20 Patrick Sylvestre  83' Manager: Roy Hodgson

Assistant referees: Abdel-Magid Hassan (Egypt) Davoud Fanaei (Iran) Fourth official: Joël Quiniou (France)

Note: Switzerland's fourth goal is also credited to Georges Bregy.

United States vs Colombia

The match between the United States and Colombia saw the United States go ahead with just over 10 minutes to play in the first half, when Colombia defender Andrés Escobar turned a United States cross into his own net. The United States extended their lead early in the second half through Earnie Stewart, while Colombia could only manage a last-minute consolation goal and ended up losing 2–1. The result was the first United States's win in a FIFA World Cup match since the historic United States vs. England in 1950 and meant Colombia's chances of qualifying were no longer in their own hands; they would need to beat Switzerland and hope the United States would beat Romania to stand any chance of qualifying as one of the four best third-placed teams. Escobar was blamed for the result by Colombians and was murdered shortly after returning to the country.^[1]

United States	2–1	Colombia
Escobar 34' (o.g.) Stewart 52'	Report	Valencia 90'

June 22, 1994

4:30 p.m. PDT (UTC–7)

Rose Bowl, Pasadena

Attendance: 93,869

Referee: Fabio Baldas (Italy)

United States

Colombia

GK 1 Tony Meola (c) RB 21 Fernando Clavijo CB 17 Marcelo Balboa CB 22 Alexi Lalas  48' LB 20 Paul Caligiuri RM 9 Tab Ramos CM 16 Mike Sorber CM 5 Thomas Dooley LM 6 John Harkes CF 11 Eric Wynalda  61' CF 8 Earnie Stewart  66' Substitutions: FW 10 Roy Wegerle  61' MF 13 Cobi Jones  66' Manager: Bora Milutinović

GK 1 Óscar Córdoba RB 4 Luis Herrera CB 2 Andrés Escobar CB 15 Luis Carlos Perea LB 20 Wilson Pérez RM 19 Freddy Rincón CM 14 Leonel Álvarez CM 5 Hernán Gaviria LM 10 Carlos Valderrama (c) CF 21 Faustino Asprilla  45' CF 7 Antony de Ávila  24'  45' Substitutions: FW 9 Iván Valenciano  45' FW 11 Adolfo Valencia  45' Manager: Francisco Maturana

Assistant referees: Domenico Ramicone (Italy) El Jilali Rharib (Morocco) Fourth official: Lim Kee Chong (Mauritius)

Switzerland vs Colombia

To have any hope of finishing in third place and a potential spot in the round of 16, Colombia needed a victory against already-qualified Switzerland and also needed Romania to lose to the United States in the match played simultaneously. They took the lead through Hernán Gaviria just before half-time. Gaviria was substituted late in the second half, and his replacement, Harold Lozano, doubled Colombia's lead in the last minute of the game. Colombia had managed the win they needed, but were eliminated anyways because the United States lost 1-0 to Romania.

Switzerland	0–2	Colombia
	Report	Gaviria 44' Lozano 90'

June 26, 1994

1:00 p.m. PDT (UTC–7)

Stanford Stadium, Stanford

Attendance: 83,401

Referee: Peter Mikkelsen (Denmark)

Switzerland

Colombia

GK 1 Marco Pascolo RB 2 Marc Hottiger CB 4 Dominique Herr CB 5 Alain Geiger (c) LB 3 Yvan Quentin RM 8 Christophe Ohrel CM 6 Georges Bregy  85' CM 10 Ciriaco Sforza LM 7 Alain Sutter  82' CF 9 Adrian Knup  39'  82' CF 11 Stéphane Chapuisat Substitutions: FW 14 Nestor Subiat  82' FW 15 Marco Grassi  82' Manager: Roy Hodgson

GK 1 Óscar Córdoba RB 4 Luis Herrera CB 2 Andrés Escobar CB 3 Alexis Mendoza LB 20 Wilson Pérez RM 14 Leonel Álvarez  80' CM 5 Hernán Gaviria  58'  79' CM 10 Carlos Valderrama (c)  62' LM 19 Freddy Rincón CF 11 Adolfo Valencia  64' CF 21 Faustino Asprilla Substitutions: FW 7 Antony de Ávila  64' MF 8 Harold Lozano  79' Manager: Francisco Maturana

Assistant referees: Carl-Johan Meyer Christensen (Denmark) Douglas Micael James (Trinidad and Tobago) Fourth official: Arturo Brizio Carter (Mexico)

United States vs Romania

Starting the day in third place, Romania needed a win to guarantee progress to the knockout phase. The United States' qualification was already practically assured, but a win for the host nation would open the door for Colombia to qualify ahead of Romania with victory over Switzerland. That prospect was ended in the 18th minute, when Dan Petrescu scored the only goal of the game for Romania, giving them a 1–0 win. Combined with Switzerland's loss to Colombia, that meant Romania finished top of the group, followed by Switzerland, with the United States in third. The United States ultimately qualified as one of the four best third-placed teams.

United States	0–1	Romania
	Report	Petrescu 18'

June 26, 1994

1:00 p.m. PDT (UTC–7)

Rose Bowl, Pasadena

Attendance: 93,869

Referee: Mario van der Ende (Netherlands)

United States

Romania

GK 1 Tony Meola (c) RB 21 Fernando Clavijo  48' CB 22 Alexi Lalas CB 17 Marcelo Balboa LB 20 Paul Caligiuri CM 5 Thomas Dooley CM 6 John Harkes  41' RM 16 Mike Sorber  75' LM 9 Tab Ramos  64' CF 8 Earnie Stewart CF 11 Eric Wynalda Substitutions: FW 10 Roy Wegerle  75' MF 13 Cobi Jones  64' Manager: Bora Milutinović

GK 1 Florin Prunea SW 4 Miodrag Belodedici  89' CB 3 Daniel Prodan CB 13 Tibor Selymes RM 2 Dan Petrescu  73' CM 5 Ioan Lupescu CM 6 Gheorghe Popescu LM 7 Dorinel Munteanu AM 10 Gheorghe Hagi (c) CF 9 Florin Răducioiu  62'  84' SS 11 Ilie Dumitrescu Substitutions: DF 14 Gheorghe Mihali  89' MF 18 Constantin Gâlcă  84' Manager: Anghel Iordănescu

Assistant referees: Jan Dolstra (Netherlands) Gordon Dunster (Australia) Fourth official: Jamal Al Sharif (Syria)

See also

• Colombia at the FIFA World Cup
• Romania at the FIFA World Cup
• Switzerland at the FIFA World Cup
• United States at the FIFA World Cup

References

1. "Andres Escobar: The World Cup Own Goal That Killed the Colombia Defender". May 13, 2018. Archived from the original on August 31, 2020. Retrieved August 12, 2020.

• "1994 FIFA World Cup USA". fifa.com. Archived from the original on December 20, 2013. Retrieved July 31, 2014.
• "World Cup 1994". RSSSF. Retrieved July 31, 2014.