The FIFA World Cup 1994 – Present Day

The 1994 World Cup was the first, and only, time the event has been held in the continent of North America when the United States played host, much to the delight of Unibet betting fans over there. It was an event that saw records broken, controversy and downright outrage as Diego Maradona was kicked out of the tournament for using recreational drugs, Oleg Salenko of Russian became the first player to score five goals in a single match, and the Colombian defender Andres Escobar was murdered just 10-days after scoring an own goal that resulted in the elimination of his team.

Two more records were achieved in the final as Brazil defeated Italy 3-2 on penalties (a first) to take their fourth World Cup title (a record).

The French played host to the 1998 World Cup, and as is so often the case, they duly went on to win it for the first time in their history after mauling Brazil 3-0 in the final.

The 2002 World Cup was the first event to be held on the continent of Asia as South Korea and Japan pulled together to jointly host the event. It was amazing success with the Koreans reaching the last eight. Brazil took the title by beating Germany 2-0 for the record breaking fifth success.

2006 saw the tournament return to Europe as Germany played host to the finals. This time Italy would take the title – their fourth title – with a 5-3 penalty shootout, in a match that will always be remembered for Zinedine Zidane’s sending off after head-butting the Italian defender Marcio Materazzi.

South Africa hosted the 2010 tournament making it the first event of its kind to be played on African soil. The Spaniards won the title, and it was Holland who were the Bridesmaids for the third time in their World Cup history, after going down 1-0 to an extra time goal by Andres Iniesta.

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