Oleg Anatolyevich Salenko is a Russian-Ukrainian former footballer who played as a forward. He scored a record five goals in a group-stage match in the 1994 World Cup, helping him earn the Golden Boot as joint-top tournament goalscorer.
Salenko in 2014
The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States was chosen as the host by FIFA on July 4, 1988. Despite soccer's relative lack of popularity in the host nation, the tournament was the most financially successful in World Cup history. It broke tournament records with overall attendance of 3,587,538 and an average of 68,991 per game, figures that stood unsurpassed as of 2022 despite the expansion of the competition from 24 to 32 teams starting with the 1998 World Cup.
Lothar Matthäus scoring a penalty kick in Germany's quarter-final against Bulgaria at Giants Stadium on July 10. Bulgaria came back to win the game.
President Bill Clinton (left, white shirt) and First Lady Hillary Clinton (in blue, wearing sunglasses) watching the opening match in Chicago.
Italy and Norway getting ready to play at Giants Stadium
The large capacity stadiums enabled huge, enthusiastic crowds to attend the games, such as this one at the Giants Stadium quarter-final game.
