Which U.S. cities hosted World Cup games in 1994?
Ahead of the confirmation of the 16 host cities for the 2026 World Cup, a look back at the nine 1994 World Cup venues.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup (featuring 48 participating nations) will be staged in the USA/Mexico and Canada with the decision to confirm the 16 host cities set to be announced by FIFA on 16 June in New York City.
Four years after FIFA selected the tri-country North American bid, world football’s governing body will announce the host cities after a lengthy process shrouded in mystery.
With 22 host cities still in the running this week, according to FIFA, many expect the United States to see 10 of its candidates chosen with Vancouver, Edmonton and Toronto in contention to the north.
In Mexico, where soccer is less a sport than a religion, three candidate cities - Guadalajara, Mexico City and Monterrey - are all but assured the gig.
Of course, anything can happen ahead of Thursday’s media spectacle in New York City.
Remembering 1994
The 1994 competition was exclusively staged in the United States at nine stadiums and saw 24 participating nations who played 52 games with Brazil ultimately being crowned world champions after a penalty shoot-out win over Italy at a packed Pasadena Rose Bowl in front of 90,000 fans.
The Rose Bowl was one of of the two West Coast venues with the Los Angeles ground accompanying the San Francisco Stanford stadium.
The North East was served by three stadiums: The Foxboro Stadium in Massachusetts, Giants Stadium in East Rutherford (NJ) and the Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington DC.
The Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida received plenty of criticism due to the high humidity levels and Dallas’ Cotton Bowl was the Texas representative.
Both Chicago’s Soldier Field and Detroit’s Silverdome with it’s retractable roof completed the nine venues at USA ‘94.