In Group D, Nigeria, Bulgaria and Argentina finished the group stage in that order with two wins and one loss each, and all reached the round of 16. Greece as the fourth team, arguably the weakest team in the tournament, went home after the preliminary round. The three leading teams had exciting encounters with each other, with Nigeria in particular making a positive impression and only suffering a 1: 2 defeat against Argentina. The Bulgarians, who, under the direction of Stoitchkov, Ivanov and Letchkov, defeated the Argentines 2-0, were also strong.
In the game between Bulgaria and Mexico, the score of 1: 1, which was reached after 18 minutes, survived until the end of extra time, after which the penalty shoot-out brought the decision in favor of the Eastern Europeans. While only Krassimir Balakov missed his penalty for the Bulgarians, Aspe, Bernal and Rodriguez could not put the ball in the goal for Mexico, which meant for Bulgaria the quarter-finals for the first time in its World Cup history.
After the first half went without goals, Klinsmann was awarded a penalty shortly after the break, which Lothar Matthäus converted to 1-0. But the close deficit was turned by the Bulgarians. Goals by Stoitchkov, who overcame Illgner with a free kick and a header from Letchkov, turned the match in favor of the Bulgarians. The running of the Germans in the last minutes of the game no longer equalized and Bulgaria moved into the semi-finals.
Two goals from Roberto Baggio were enough for the Italians to win the 2-1 semi-final against Bulgaria, which defending champions Germany had defeated but failed to match their performance in the quarter-finals. Hristo Stoitchkov managed to score a penalty goal, but the defensively strong Italians held their lead until the final whistle.
Over 83,000 spectators followed the "small final" in Boston and saw a superior 4-0 victory for the Swedes over the Bulgarians, which Brolin, Mild, Larsson and Kennet Andersson secured against the seemingly barely motivated Eastern Europeans in the first half.
Sweden
Bulgaria
France
Austria
Finland
Israel
Neuchâtel Xamax
Hamburger SV
UD Mérida
Sporting Lisbon
Ipswich Town
Nigeria
Argentina
Greece
Mexico
Italy
