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.
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.
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'
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'
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)
wikipedia, wiki, encyclopedia, book, library, article, read, free download, Information about 1994 FIFA World Cup Group A, What is 1994 FIFA World Cup Group A? What does 1994 FIFA World Cup Group A mean?