Revisiting the Bay Area's key role in the 1994 World Cup

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State of play: Stanford Stadium, located on the Stanford campus, just 35 miles south of San Francisco, hosted three Brazil group stage matches, a July 4 showdown between the U.S. and Brazil and a nail-biting quarterfinal.

* Brazil dominated with wins over Russia (2-0) and Cameroon (3-0) and tied Sweden (1-1) before eliminating the U.S. with a 1-0 win on Independence Day.

* Sweden beat Romania on penalties after a 2-2 draw during the quarterfinal, the last match held at the stadium.

Zoom in: Despite soccer's lower profile in the U.S., World Cup games drew massive sold-out crowds.

* Nearly half a million fans attended the six matches held at Stanford Stadium, contributing to the total tournament attendance of more than 3.5 million -- which broke a record for the World Cup at the time.

Between the lines: The stadium, built in 1921 for American football, was retrofitted with $5.4 million in infrastructure upgrades to host up to 86,000 fans.

* Candlestick Park, the former longtime home of the San Francisco Giants, was ruled out due to scheduling conflicts with baseball games.

The big picture: The 1994 championship ended with Brazil claiming victory after defeating Italy 3-2 on penalties at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

What's next: The U.S. will co-host the 2026 World Cup with Mexico and Canada next summer, with 14 matches slated for California: Eight at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles and six at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara.