In terms of attendance, the event was a rousing success. The average attendance of nearly 69,000 shattered a record that had stood since 1950. The total attendance for the final tournament remains the greatest in World Cup history, despite the expansion of the competition to 32 teams in 1998.
The format of the competition stayed the same as in 1990: 24 teams qualified, divided into six groups of four. 16 teams would qualify for the knockout competition: six group winners, six second place finishers, and four best third place finishers.
Greece and Saudi Arabia played in the World Cup for the first time: there were also a record three teams representing Africa.
The USA-Switzerland match in the Pontiac Silverdome was the first to be played indoors in World Cup history: grass had to be shipped in at great expense from California.
Brazil became the first country to win the World Cup four times.
Oleg Salenko of Russia became the first player to score 5 goals in a single World Cup finals game in his country's group stage win over Cameroon.