1994 FIFA World Cup final tournament remains the highest in World Cup history, despite the expansion of the competition from 24 to 32 teams (and from 52 to 64 games), which was first introduced at the 1998 World Cup and is the current format. Brazil won the tournament after beating Italy 3–2 in a penalty shoot-out at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California near Los Angeles, after the game had ended 0–0 after extra time. It was the first World Cup final to be decided on penalties. The victory made Brazil the first nation to win four World Cup titles. There were four new
History of the FIFA World Cup instituted a policy to award three points for a win in the 1994 World Cup. Although goals for was already a tiebreaker, FIFA hoped to create an additional incentive for teams to pursue victory. The first team affected by the rule was Paraguay in 1998, which would have won its group on goal differential over Nigeria under prior FIFA rules. Paraguay advanced to the knockout phase as group runner-up and was defeated by host nation and eventual champion France in the round of 16. It is not possible under the new point system to be eliminated from the group stage