WORLD CUP USA ’94 / THE FIRST ROUND : SPOTLIGHT : SELLOUTS A MIRAGE

Despite reports that all games at the Rose Bowl are sold out, there were hundreds of empty seats Sunday. Most were at the top of the stadium in four sections, but many were near midfield.

The official attendance was 83,959.

World Cup officials said before the games that they wanted to avoid the large blocks of empty seats that were evident during the 1990 World Cup in Italy largely because they make a bad impression on television viewers.