Group A of the 1994 FIFA World Cup was one of six groups of four teams competing at the

1994 World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football, soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the countr ...

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 The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football,, ; french: Confédération de football d'Amérique du Nord, d'Amérique centrale et des Caraïbes, . Dutch uses the English name. abbreviated as CONCACAF ( ; typese ...

team, the host

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

; two

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...

teams,

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

and

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

; and one

CONMEBOL The South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL, , or CSF; es, Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol; pt, Confederação Sul-Americana de Futebol) is the continental governing body of football in South America (apart from Guyana, Suri ...

team,

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

. 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

Matches

All times listed are

local time Local time is the time observed in a specific locality. There is no canonical definition. Originally it was mean solar time, but since the introduction of time zones it is generally the time as determined by the time zone in effect, with daylight s ...

United States vs Switzerland

Colombia vs Romania

Romania vs Switzerland

Note: Switzerland's fourth goal is also credited to

Georges Bregy Georges Bregy (born 17 January 1958, in Raron) is a retired Swiss football striker and midfielder. He was capped 54 times and scored 12 goals for the Swiss national team between 1984 and 1994. He played four games at the 1994 FIFA World Cup, a ...

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 Andrés Escobar Saldarriaga (; 13 March 1967 – 2 July 1994) was a Colombian footballer who played as a defender. He played for Atlético Nacional, BSC Young Boys, and the Colombia national team. Nicknamed ''The Gentleman'', he was known ...

turned a United States cross into his own net. The United States extended their lead early in the second half through

Earnie Stewart Earnest Lee Stewart Jr. (born March 28, 1969) is an American former soccer player who played as a striker or a midfielder. His career spanned 17 years from 1988 until his retirement in 2005, with the majority of them spent in the Netherlands, th ...

, while Colombia could only manage a last-minute consolation goal and ended up losing 2–1. The result 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.

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 took the lead through

Hernán Gaviria Hermán Gaviria Carvajal (27 November 1969 – 24 October 2002) was a Colombian footballer, who played as a central midfielder. Football career During his career, Gaviria played for Atlético Nacional, Deportes Tolima, Deportivo Cali, Atlétic ...

just before half-time. Gaviria was substituted late in the second half, and his replacement,

Harold Lozano John Harold Lozano Prado (born 30 March 1972) is a Colombian retired footballer who played mainly as a defensive midfielder. He spent most of his 13-year professional career in Spain, amassing La Liga totals of 134 matches and five goals, almos ...

, doubled Colombia's lead in the last minute of the game. Colombia had managed the win they needed, but they still required the United States to beat Romania in the group's other final game.

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 Daniel Vasile Petrescu (; born 22 December 1967) is a Romanian football manager and former player, who is currently in charge of Liga I club CFR Cluj. As a player, Petrescu was deployed as a full-back or a winger and represented Premier Lea ...

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.

References

* * {{1994 FIFA World Cup Group A 1994 FIFA World Cup

Group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic iden ...

Group A Group A is a set of motorsport regulations administered by the FIA covering production derived vehicles intended for competition, usually in touring car racing and rallying. In contrast to the short-lived Group B and Group C, Group A vehicles w ...