1994 FIFA World Cup knockout stage

The 1994 FIFA World Cup knockout stage was the second and final stage of the 1994 FIFA World Cup finals in the United States. The stage began on July 2, 1994, and ended with the final at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on July 17, 1994.

Sixteen teams advanced to the knockout stage to compete in a single-elimination style tournament: The top two teams from each of the six groups, as well as the best four third-placed teams. In the round of 16, the four third-placed teams played against four of the group winners from group A-D, with the remaining two group winners from group E and F taking on two of the group runners-up; the remaining four runners-up were paired off against each other. The winners of the eight round of 16 matches were then paired together in the quarterfinals, the winners of which played against each other in the semifinals.

The ties in each round were played over a single match; in the event that scores were level after 90 minutes, the teams would play an additional 30 minutes of extra time, divided into two 15-minute halves, to determine the winner. If the scores remained level after extra time, the teams would contest a penalty shootout.

A match for third place was also held on the day before the final, between the two losing teams of the semifinals.

The top two placed teams from each of the six groups, plus the four best-placed third teams, qualified for the knockout stage.

Based on group results, the matches would be the following in Round of 16:

The pairings for matches 1, 4, 6, and 7 depended on who the best third places were that qualified for the round of 16. The following table, published in Section 28 of the tournament regulations, shows the different options to define the rivals of the winners of groups A, B, C, and D.

Saudi Arabia suffered a major setback with the absence of captain Majed Abdullah. An early strike from Martin Dahlin in the first half and a second-half brace by Kennet Andersson saw Sweden go through to the quarterfinals. Substitute Fahad Al-Ghesheyan pulled one back for the Saudis five minutes from the end.^[1]

Two quick goals by Dumitrescu and one more by Hagi in the second half sealed the victory for Romanians. After Batistuta's penalty kick and Balbo's rebound Argentina attacked desperately but couldn't score for the third time.^[2][3]

This was the third time that Brazil defeated the host nation of tournament, after Sweden in 1958 and Chile in 1962 (coincidentally, on these three occasions Brazil became world champion). Since the kick off, Brazil set the pace, controlling ball possession and playing it on United States field. Left-back Leonardo was the main source of attacking, but during the last minute of the first half, after a ball dispute just by sideline, he threw his elbow at Tab Ramos' jaw, breaking it, knocking the North American down and being sent off. Later, Leonardo was handed a four-match suspension, keeping him out of the remainder of the tournament.

In the second half, Carlos Alberto Parreira put right-back Cafu on the left-back, benching Zinho. Even with one man down, Brazil kept the pace. At 72th minute, Romário recovery a ball possession on midfield, ran to opposite box and delivered it to Bebeto, who shoot just between Tony Meola and the post, giving Brazil the lead and the victory.

• "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.