FIFA World Cup

The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international
FIFA World Cup
association football competition among the senior men's national teams of the
members of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's
global governing body. The tournament has been held every four years since the Organising FIFA
inaugural tournament in 1930, with the exception of 1942 and 1946 due to the Second body
World War. The reigning champions are Argentina, who won their third title at the Founded 1930
2022 tournament.[1] Region International

The contest starts with the qualification phase, which takes place over the preceding Number of 32
three years to determine which teams qualify for the tournament phase. In the teams (48 from 2026 onwards)
tournament phase, 32 teams compete for the title at venues within the host nation(s) Related FIFA Women's World
over the course of about a month. The host nation(s) automatically qualify for the competitions Cup
group stage of the tournament. The competition is scheduled to expand to 48 teams, FIFA U-20 World Cup
starting with the 2026 tournament. FIFA U-17 World Cup
Current Argentina (3rd title)
As of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, 22 final tournaments have been held since the event's
champions
inception in 1930, and a total of 80 national teams have competed. The trophy has
been won by eight national teams. Brazil, with five wins, are the only team to have Most Brazil (5 titles)
played in every tournament. The other World Cup winners are Germany and Italy, successful
with four titles each; Argentina, with three titles; France and inaugural winner team(s)
Uruguay, each with two titles; and England and Spain, with one title each. Website Official website (https://
www.fifa.com/tournam
The World Cup is the most prestigious association football tournament in the world, ents/mens/worldcup)
as well as the most widely viewed and followed single sporting event in the
world.[2][3] The viewership of the 2018 World Cup was estimated to be 3.57 billion, 2026 FIFA World Cup
close to half of the global population,[4][5] while the engagement with the 2022 World
Cup was estimated to be 5 billion, with about 1.5 billion people watching the final match.[6]

Seventeen countries have hosted the World Cup, most recently Qatar, who hosted the 2022 event. The 2026 tournament
will be jointly hosted by Canada, the United States and Mexico, which will give Mexico the distinction of being the first
country to host games in three World Cups.

History

Previous international competitions

The world's first international football match was a challenge match played in Glasgow in 1872 between Scotland and
England.[7] The first international tournament for nations, the inaugural British Home Championship, took place in 1884
and included games between England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland.[8] As football grew in popularity in other parts of the
world at the start of the 20th century, it was held as a demonstration sport with no medals awarded at the 1900 and 1904
Summer Olympics; however, the International Olympic Committee has retroactively upgraded their status to official
events, as well as the 1906 Intercalated Games.[9]

After FIFA was founded in 1904, it tried to arrange an international football tournament between nations outside the
Olympic framework in Switzerland in 1906. These were very early days for international football, and the official history of
FIFA describes the competition as having been unsuccessful.[10]

At the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, football became an official Olympic sport. Planned by The Football Association
(FA), England's football governing body, the event was for amateur players only and was regarded suspiciously as a show
rather than a competition. Great Britain (represented by the England national amateur football team) won the gold medals.
They repeated the feat at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm.[11]
With the Olympic event continuing to be a contest between amateur teams only, Sir Thomas Lipton organised the Sir
Thomas Lipton Trophy tournament in Turin in 1909. The Lipton tournament was a championship between individual
clubs (not national teams) from different nations, each of which represented an entire nation. The competition is
sometimes described as The First World Cup,[12] and featured the most prestigious professional club sides from Italy,
Germany and Switzerland, but the FA of England refused to be associated with the competition and declined the offer to
send a professional team. Lipton invited West Auckland, an amateur side from County Durham, to represent England
instead. West Auckland won the tournament and returned in 1911 to successfully defend their title.[13] Prior to the Lipton
competition, from 1876 to 1904, games that were considered to be the "football world championship" were meetings
between leading English and Scottish clubs, such as the 1895 game between Sunderland A.F.C. and the Heart of Midlothian
F.C., which Sunderland won.[14]

In 1914, FIFA agreed to recognise the Olympic tournament as a "world football championship for amateurs", and took
responsibility for managing the event.[15] This paved the way for the world's first intercontinental football competition for
nations, at the 1920 Summer Olympics, contested by Egypt and 13 European teams, and won by Belgium.[16] Uruguay won
the next two Olympic football tournaments in 1924 and 1928. Those were also the first two open world championships, as
1924 was the start of FIFA's professional era, and is the reason why Uruguay is allowed to wear 4 stars.[17][18]

World Cups before World War II

Due to the success of the Olympic football tournaments, FIFA, with President Jules Rimet as the
driving force, again started looking at staging its own international tournament outside of the
Olympics. On 28 May 1928, the FIFA Congress in Amsterdam decided to stage a world
championship.[19] With Uruguay now two-time official football world champions and to
celebrate their centenary of independence in 1930, FIFA named Uruguay as the host country of
the inaugural World Cup tournament.[20]

The national associations of selected nations were invited to send a team, but the choice of
Uruguay as a venue for the competition meant a long and costly trip across the Atlantic Ocean
for European sides, especially in the midst of the Great Depression. As such, no European
country pledged to send a team until two months before the start of the competition. Rimet
FIFA president Jules
eventually persuaded teams from Belgium, France, Romania, and Yugoslavia to make the trip.[20]
Rimet convinced the In total, 13 nations took part: seven from South America, four from Europe, and two from North
confederations to America.[21]
promote an international
football tournament The first two World Cup matches took place simultaneously on
13 July 1930, and were won by France and the United States,
who defeated Mexico 4–1 and Belgium 3–0 respectively. The
first goal in World Cup history was scored by Lucien Laurent of France.[22] In the final,
Uruguay defeated Argentina 4–2 in front of 93,000 spectators in Montevideo, and became
the first nation to win the World Cup.[23] After the creation of the World Cup, FIFA and the
IOC disagreed over the status of amateur players; football was dropped from the 1932
Estadio Centenario, the location
Summer Olympics.[24][25] After the IOC and FIFA worked out their differences, Olympic of the first World Cup final in 1930
football returned at the 1936 Summer Olympics, but was now overshadowed by the more in Montevideo, Uruguay
prestigious World Cup.[24]

The issues facing the early World Cup tournaments were the difficulties of intercontinental travel, and war. Few South
American teams were willing to travel to Europe for the 1934 World Cup and all North and South American nations except
Brazil and Cuba boycotted the 1938 tournament. Brazil was the only South American team to compete in both. The 1942
and 1946 competitions, which Germany and Brazil sought to host,[26] were cancelled due to World War II.[27]

World Cups after World War II

The 1950 World Cup, held in Brazil, was the first to include British football associations. Scotland, England, Wales, and
Northern Ireland had withdrawn from FIFA in 1920, partly out of unwillingness to play against the countries they had been
at war with, and partly as a protest against foreign influence on football.[28] The teams rejoined in 1946 following FIFA's
invitation.[29] The tournament also saw the return of 1930 champions Uruguay, who had boycotted the previous two World
Cups. Uruguay won the tournament again after defeating the host nation Brazil, in the match called "Maracanazo"
(Portuguese: Maracanaço).[30]
In the tournaments between 1934 and 1978, 16 teams competed in each tournament,
except in 1938, when Austria was absorbed into Germany after qualifying, leaving the
tournament with 15 teams, and in 1950, when India, Scotland, and Turkey withdrew,
leaving the tournament with 13 teams.[31] Most of the participating nations were from
Europe and South America, with a small minority from North America, Africa, Asia, and
Oceania. These teams were usually defeated easily by the European and South American
teams. Until 1982, the only teams from outside Europe and South America to advance out
of the first round were: United States, semi-finalists in 1930; Cuba, quarter-finalists in
1938; North Korea, quarter-finalists in 1966; and Mexico, quarter-finalists in 1970. The opening game of the
Maracanã Stadium in Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil, shortly before the
Expansion to 24 and 32 teams 1950 FIFA World Cup

The tournament was expanded to 24 teams in 1982,[32] and then to 32 in 1998,[33] allowing
more teams from Africa, Asia and North America to take part. Since then, teams from
these regions have enjoyed more success, with several having reached the quarter-finals:
Mexico, quarter-finalists in 1986; Cameroon, quarter-finalists in 1990; South Korea,
finishing in fourth place in 2002; Senegal, along with USA, both quarter-finalists in 2002;
Ghana, quarter-finalists in 2010; Costa Rica, quarter-finalists in 2014; and Morocco,
finishing in fourth place in 2022. European and South American teams continue to
dominate, e.g., the quarter-finalists in 1994, 1998, 2006 and 2018 were all from Europe or
South America and so were the finalists of all tournaments so far.
Inside Soccer City in
Johannesburg, South Africa,
Two hundred teams entered the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds. 198 nations during a match at the 2010 FIFA
attempted to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. A record 204 countries entered World Cup
qualification for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.[34]

Expansion to 48 teams
In October 2013, Sepp Blatter spoke of guaranteeing the Caribbean Football Union's region a position in the World Cup.[35]
In the edition of 25 October 2013 of the FIFA Weekly Blatter wrote that: "From a purely sporting perspective, I would like to
see globalisation finally taken seriously, and the African and Asian national associations accorded the status they deserve
at the FIFA World Cup. It cannot be that the European and South American confederations lay claim to the majority of the
berths at the World Cup."[36] Those two remarks suggested to commentators that Blatter could be putting himself forward
for re-election to the FIFA Presidency.[37]

Following the magazine's publication, Blatter's would-be opponent for the FIFA Presidency, UEFA President Michel Platini,
responded that he intended to extend the World Cup to 40 national associations, increasing the number of participants by
eight. Platini said that he would allocate an additional berth to UEFA, two each to the Asian Football Confederation and the
Confederation of African Football, two shared between CONCACAF and CONMEBOL, and a guaranteed place for the
Oceania Football Confederation.[38] Platini was clear about why he wanted to expand the World Cup. He said: "[The World
Cup is] not based on the quality of the teams because you don't have the best 32 at the World Cup ... but it's a good
compromise. ... It's a political matter so why not have more Africans? The competition is to bring all the people of all the
world. If you don't give the possibility to participate, they don't improve."[38]

In October 2016, FIFA president Gianni Infantino stated his support for a 48-team World Cup in 2026.[39] On 10 January
2017, FIFA confirmed the 2026 World Cup will have 48 finalist teams.[40]

2015 FIFA corruption case

By May 2015, the games were under a particularly dark cloud because of the 2015 FIFA corruption case, allegations and
criminal charges of bribery, fraud and money laundering to corrupt the issuing of media and marketing rights (rigged
bids) for FIFA games,[41] with FIFA officials accused of taking bribes totaling more than $150 million over 24 years. In late
May, the U.S. Department of Justice announced a 47-count indictment with charges of racketeering, wire fraud and money
laundering conspiracy against 14 people. Arrests of over a dozen FIFA officials were made since that time, particularly on
29 May and 3 December.[42] By the end of May 2015, a total of nine FIFA officials and five executives of sports and
broadcasting markets had already been charged on corruption. At the time, FIFA president Sepp Blatter announced he
would relinquish his position in February 2016.[43]
On 4 June 2015, Chuck Blazer while co-operating with the FBI and the Swiss authorities admitted that he and the other
members of FIFA's then-executive committee were bribed in order to promote the 1998 and 2010 World Cups.[44] On 10
June 2015, Swiss authorities seized computer data from the offices of Sepp Blatter.[45] The same day, FIFA postponed the
bidding process for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in light of the allegations surrounding bribery in the awarding of the 2018
and 2022 tournaments. Then-secretary general Jérôme Valcke stated, "Due to the situation, I think it's nonsense to start any
bidding process for the time being."[46] On 28 October 2015, Blatter and FIFA VP Michel Platini, a potential candidate for
presidency, were suspended for 90 days; both maintained their innocence in statements made to the news media.[47]

On 3 December 2015 two FIFA vice-presidents were arrested on suspicion of bribery in the same Zurich hotel where seven
FIFA officials had been arrested in May.[48] An additional 16 indictments by the US Department of Justice were announced
on the same day.[49]

Biennial World Cup proposition

A biennial World Cup plan was first proposed by the Saudi Arabian Football Federation at the 71st FIFA Congress on 21
May 2021 and prominently backed by former Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger and national federations in Africa and
Asia.[50] Continental confederations such as UEFA and CONMEBOL are not on board with the plan[51][52] but, in total, the
idea is supported by 166 of the 210 member associations of FIFA.[53]

Other FIFA tournaments

An equivalent tournament for women's football, the FIFA Women's World Cup, was first
held in 1991 in China.[54] The women's tournament is smaller in scale and profile than the
men's, but is growing; the number of entrants for the 2007 tournament was 120, more
than double that of 1991.[55]

Men's football has been included in every Summer Olympic Games except 1896 and 1932.
Unlike many other sports, the men's football tournament at the Olympics is not a top-level BC Place in Vancouver hosting a
tournament, and since 1992, an under-23 tournament with each team allowed three over- 2015 Women's World Cup match
age players.[56] Women's football made its Olympic debut in 1996.

The FIFA Confederations Cup was a tournament held one year before the World Cup at the World Cup host nation(s) as a
dress rehearsal for the upcoming World Cup. It is contested by the winners of each of the six FIFA confederation
championships, along with the FIFA World Cup champion and the host country.[57] The first edition took place in 1992 and
the last edition was played in 2017. In March 2019, FIFA confirmed that the tournament would no longer be active owing to
an expansion of the FIFA Club World Cup in 2021.[58]

FIFA also organises international tournaments for youth football (FIFA U-20 World Cup, FIFA U-17 World Cup, FIFA U-20
Women's World Cup, FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup), club football (FIFA Club World Cup), and football variants such as
futsal (FIFA Futsal World Cup) and beach soccer (FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup). The latter three do not have a women's
version, although a FIFA Women's Club World Cup has been proposed.[59]

The FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup is held biannually, including the year before each Women's World Cup. Both
tournaments were awarded in a single bidding process on three occasions, with the U-20 tournament serving as a dress
rehearsal for the larger competition each time (2010, 2014 and 2018).[60]

Trophy
From 1930 to 1970, the Jules Rimet Trophy was awarded to the World Cup winning team. It was originally simply known as
the World Cup or Coupe du Monde, but in 1946 it was renamed after the FIFA president Jules Rimet who set up the first
tournament. In 1970, Brazil's third victory in the tournament entitled them to keep the trophy permanently. However, the
trophy was stolen in 1983 and has never been recovered, apparently melted down by the thieves.[61]

After 1970, a new trophy, known as the FIFA World Cup Trophy, was designed. The experts of FIFA, coming from seven
countries, evaluated the 53 presented models, finally opting for the work of the Italian designer Silvio Gazzaniga. The new
trophy is 36 cm (14.2 in) high, made of solid 18 carat (75%) gold and weighs 6.175 kg (13.6 lb).[62]

The base contains two layers of semi-precious malachite while the bottom side of the trophy bears the engraved year and
name of each FIFA World Cup winner since 1974.[62] The description of the trophy by Gazzaniga was: "The lines spring out
from the base, rising in spirals, stretching out to receive the world. From the remarkable dynamic tensions of the compact
body of the sculpture rise the figures of two athletes at the stirring moment of victory."[63]
 This new trophy is not awarded to the winning nation permanently. World
Cup winners retain the trophy only until the post-match celebration is
finished. They are awarded a gold-plated replica rather than the solid gold
original immediately afterwards.[64]

All members (players, coaches, and managers) of the top three teams
receive medals with an insignia of the World Cup Trophy; winners' (gold),
runners-up' (silver), and third-place (bronze). In the 2002 edition, fourth-
place medals were awarded to hosts South Korea. Before the 1978
tournament, medals were only awarded to the eleven players on the pitch
at the end of the final and the third-place match. In November 2007, FIFA Jules Rimet trophy,
The current trophy announced that all members of World Cup-winning squads between 1930 awarded from 1930 to
(held by Kylian
and 1974 were to be retroactively awarded winners' medals.[65][66][67] 1970
Mbappé in 2018) was
designed by Italian
Since 2006, winners of the competition are also awarded the right to wear
Silvio Gazzaniga and
the FIFA Champions Badge, up until the time at which the winner of the next competition is
first awarded in 1974
decided.[68]

Format

Qualification
Since the second World Cup in 1934, qualifying tournaments have been held to thin the field for the final tournament.[69]
They are held within the six FIFA continental zones (Africa, Asia, North and Central America and Caribbean, South
America, Oceania, and Europe), overseen by their respective confederations. For each tournament, FIFA decides the
number of places awarded to each of the continental zones beforehand, generally based on the relative strength of the
confederations' teams.

The qualification process can start as early as almost three years before the final tournament and last over a two-year
period. The formats of the qualification tournaments differ between confederations. Usually, one or two places are
awarded to winners of intercontinental play-offs. For example, the winner of the Oceanian zone and the fifth-placed team
from the Asian zone entered a play-off for a spot in the 2010 World Cup.[70] From the 1938 World Cup onwards, host
nations receive automatic qualification to the final tournament. This right was also granted to the defending champions
between 1938 and 2002, but was withdrawn from the 2006 FIFA World Cup onward, requiring the champions to qualify.
Brazil, winners in 2002, were the first defending champions to play qualifying matches.[71]

Final tournament
The final tournament format since 1998 has had 32 national teams competing over the course of a month in the host
nations. There are two stages: the group stage, followed by the knockout stage.[72]

In the group stage, teams compete within eight groups of four teams each. Eight teams are seeded, including the hosts, with
the other seeded teams selected using a formula based on the FIFA World Rankings or performances in recent World Cups,
and drawn to separate groups.[73] The other teams are assigned to different "pots", usually based on geographical criteria,
and teams in each pot are drawn at random to the eight groups. Since 1998, constraints have been applied to the draw to
ensure that no group contains more than two European teams or more than one team from any other confederation.[74]

Each group plays a round-robin tournament in which each team is scheduled for three matches against other teams in the
same group. This means that a total of six matches are played within a group. The last round of matches of each group is
scheduled at the same time to preserve fairness among all four teams.[75] The top two teams from each group advance to
the knockout stage. Points are used to rank the teams within a group. Since 1994, three points have been awarded for a
win, one for a draw and none for a loss (before, winners received two points).

Considering six matches in a group each with three possible outcomes (win, draw, loss), there are 729 (= 36) possible final
table outcomes for the 40 possible combinations of the four teams' points.[76] However, 14 of the 40 points combinations
(or 207 of the 729 possible outcomes) lead to ties between the second and third places. In such case, the ranking among
these teams is determined by:[77]

1. Greatest combined goal difference in all group matches

2. Greatest combined number of goals scored in all group matches
3. If more than one team remain level after applying the above criteria, their ranking will be determined as follows:
1. Greatest number of points in head-to-head matches among those teams
2. Greatest goal difference in head-to-head matches among those teams
3. Greatest number of goals scored in head-to-head matches among those teams
4. Fair play points, defined by the number of yellow and red cards received in the group stage:
1. Yellow card: minus 1 point
2. Indirect red card (as a result of a second yellow card): minus 3 points
3. Direct red card: minus 4 points
4. Yellow card and direct red card: minus 5 points
4. If any of the teams above remain level after applying the above criteria, their ranking will be determined by the drawing of
lots
The knockout stage is a single-elimination tournament in which teams play each other in one-off matches, with extra time
and penalty shootouts used to decide the winner if necessary. It begins with the round of 16 (or the second round) in which
the winner of each group plays against the runner-up of another group. This is followed by the quarter-finals, the semi-
finals, the third-place match (contested by the losing semi-finalists), and the final.[72]

On 10 January 2017, FIFA approved a new format, the 48-team World Cup (to accommodate more teams), which was to
consist of 16 groups of three teams each, with two teams qualifying from each group, to form a round of 32 knockout stage,
to be implemented by 2026.[78] On 14 March 2023, FIFA approved a revised format of the 2026 tournament, which features
12 groups of four teams each, with the top 8 third-placed teams joining the group winners and runners-up in a new round
of 32.[79][80]

Hosts

Selection process
Early World Cups were given to countries at meetings of FIFA's
congress. The locations were controversial because South America
and Europe were by far the two centres of strength in football and
travel between them required three weeks by boat. The decision
to hold the first World Cup in Uruguay, for example, led to only
four European nations competing.[81] The next two World Cups
were both held in Europe. The decision to hold the second of these
in France was disputed, as the South American countries
understood that the location would alternate between the two
A map of FIFA World Cup final hosts, 1930–2022. Green:
continents. Both Argentina and Uruguay thus boycotted the 1938
once; dark green: twice; light green: planned
FIFA World Cup.[82]

Since the 1958 FIFA World Cup, to avoid future boycotts or

controversy, FIFA began a pattern of alternating the hosts between the Americas and Europe, which continued until the
1998 FIFA World Cup. The 2002 FIFA World Cup, hosted jointly by South Korea and Japan, was the first one held in Asia,
and the first tournament with multiple hosts.[83] South Africa became the first African nation to host the World Cup in
2010. The 2014 FIFA World Cup was hosted by Brazil, the first held in South America since Argentina 1978,[84] and was the
first occasion where consecutive World Cups were held outside Europe.[85]

The host country is now chosen in a vote by FIFA's Council. This is done under an
exhaustive ballot system. The national football association of a country desiring to host
the event receives a "Hosting Agreement" from FIFA, which explains the steps and
requirements that are expected from a strong bid. The bidding association also receives a
form, the submission of which represents the official confirmation of the candidacy. After
this, a FIFA designated group of inspectors visit the country to identify that the country
meets the requirements needed to host the event and a report on the country is produced.
The decision on who will host the World Cup is usually made six or seven years in Russian delegates celebrate
advance of the tournament. There have been occasions where the hosts of multiple future being chosen as the host of the
2018 FIFA World Cup
tournaments were announced at the same time, as was the case for the 2018 and 2022
World Cups, which were awarded to Russia and Qatar, with Qatar becoming the first
Middle Eastern country to host the tournament.[86][87]
For the 2010 and 2014 World Cups, the final tournament was rotated between confederations, allowing only countries from
the chosen confederation (Africa in 2010, South America in 2014) to bid to host the tournament. The rotation policy was
introduced after the controversy surrounding Germany's victory over South Africa in the vote to host the 2006 tournament.
However, the policy of continental rotation did not continue beyond 2014, so any country, except those belonging to
confederations that hosted the two preceding tournaments, can apply as hosts for World Cups starting from 2018.[88] This
is partly to avoid a similar scenario to the bidding process for the 2014 tournament, where Brazil was the only official
bidder.[89]

The 2026 FIFA World Cup was chosen to be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico, marking the first time a World
Cup has been shared by three host nations.[90] The 2026 tournament will be the biggest World Cup ever held, with 48 teams
playing 104 matches. Sixty matches will take place in the US, including all matches from the quarter-finals onward, while
Canada and Mexico will host 10 games each.[90]

Selection results
Total of World Cup competitions hosted by each confederation (1930–2026)
Confederation and year in bold has an upcoming competition.

Confederation Total Hosts

2002: South Korea, Japan

Asian Football Confederation
3 2022: Qatar
(AFC)
2034: Saudi Arabia

Confederation of African Football 2010: South Africa

2
(CAF) 2030: Morocco

1970: Mexico
Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football 1986: Mexico
4
(CONCACAF) 1994: United States
2026: Canada, Mexico, United States
1930: Uruguay
1950: Brazil
South American Football Confederation
5 1962: Chile
(CONMEBOL)
1978: Argentina
2014: Brazil
Oceania Football Confederation
0
(OFC)

1934: Italy
1938: France
1954: Switzerland
1958: Sweden
1966: England
Union of European Football Associations 1974: West Germany*
12
(UEFA) 1982: Spain
1990: Italy
1998: France
2006: Germany*
2018: Russia
2030: Spain, Portugal

1942
Two competitions cancelled due to World War II 0
1946

* West Germany was the host of the 1974 Cup, and (reunited) Germany host to the one in 2006

Performances
Six of the eight champions have won one of their titles while playing in their own homeland, the exceptions being Brazil,
who finished as runners-up after losing the deciding match on home soil in 1950 and lost their semi-final against Germany
in 2014, and Spain, which reached the second round on home soil in 1982. England (1966) won its only title while playing
as a host nation. Uruguay (1930), Italy (1934), Argentina (1978), and France (1998) won their first titles as host nations but
have gone on to win again, while Germany (1974) won their second title on home soil.[91][92]

Other nations have also been successful when hosting the tournament. Switzerland (quarter-finals 1954), Sweden
(runners-up in 1958), Chile (third place in 1962), South Korea (fourth place in 2002), Russia (quarter-finals 2018), and
Mexico (quarter-finals in 1970 and 1986) all have their best results when serving as hosts.[92][93] So far, South Africa (2010)
and Qatar (2022) failed to advance beyond the first round.[94][95]
Attendance
Total Highest attendances ‡
Venues/ Average
Year Hosts attendance Matches
Cities attendance
† Number Venue Game(s)

Estadio Centenario, Uruguay 6–1

1930 Uruguay 3/1 590,549 18 32,808 93,000
Montevideo Yugoslavia, semi-final

Stadio Nazionale PNF, Italy 2–1

1934 Italy 8/8 363,000 17 21,353 55,000
Rome Czechoslovakia, final

Olympique de France 1–3 Italy,

1938 France 10/9 375,700 18 20,872 58,455
Colombes, Paris quarter-final

Maracanã Stadium, Rio Brazil 1–2 Uruguay,

1950 Brazil 6/6 1,045,246 22 47,511 173,850[96] de Janeiro deciding match

Wankdorf Stadium, West Germany 3–2

1954 6/6 768,607 26 29,562 63,000
Switzerland Bern Hungary, final

Ullevi Stadium, Brazil 2–0 Soviet Union,

1958 Sweden 12/12 819,810 35 23,423 50,928
Gothenburg group stage

Estadio Nacional, Brazil 4–2 Chile, semi-

1962 Chile 4/4 893,172 32 27,912 68,679
Santiago final

Wembley Stadium, England 4–2 West

1966 England 8/7 1,563,135 32 48,848 98,270
London Germany, final

Estadio Azteca, Mexico Mexico 1–0 Belgium,

1970 Mexico 5/5 1,603,975 32 50,124 108,192
City group stage

West Olympiastadion, West Germany 1–0

1974 9/9 1,865,753 38 49,099 83,168
Germany Munich Chile, group stage

Estadio Monumental, Italy 1–0 Argentina,

1978 Argentina 6/5 1,545,791 38 40,679 71,712
Buenos Aires group stage

Argentina 0–1 Belgium,

1982 Spain 17/14 2,109,723 52 40,572 95,500 Camp Nou, Barcelona
Opening match

Mexico 1–1 Paraguay,

Estadio Azteca, Mexico group stage
1986 Mexico 12/11 2,394,031 52 46,039 114,600
City Argentina 3–2 West
Germany, final

West Germany 4–1

1990 Italy 12/12 2,516,215 52 48,389 74,765 San Siro, Milan
Yugoslavia, group stage

United Rose Bowl, Pasadena, Brazil 0–0 (3–2p) Italy,

1994 9/9 3,587,538 52 68,991 94,194
States California final

Stade de France,
1998 France 10/10 2,785,100 64 43,517 80,000 Brazil 0–3 France, final
Saint-Denis

South
International Stadium, Brazil 2–0 Germany,
2002 Korea 20/20 2,705,197 64 42,269 69,029
Yokohama, Japan final
Japan

Germany 1–1 (4–2p)

2006 Germany 12/12 3,359,439 64 52,491 72,000 Olympiastadion, Berlin
Argentina, quarter-final

South Soccer City, Spain 1–0 Netherlands,

2010 10/9 3,178,856 64 49,670 84,490
Africa Johannesburg final

Maracanã Stadium, Rio Germany 1–0 Argentina,

2014 Brazil 12/12 3,429,873 64 53,592 74,738
de Janeiro final

Luzhniki Stadium, France 4–2 Croatia,

2018 Russia 12/11 3,031,768 64 47,371 78,011
Moscow final

Argentina 3–3 (4–2p)

2022 Qatar 8/5 3,404,252 64 53,191 88,966 Lusail Stadium, Qatar
France, final

Canada
Mexico
2026 16/16 104
United
States
Morocco
2030[n 1] Portugal 104
Spain
Overall 43,936,730 964 45,577 173,850[96] Maracanã Stadium, Rio
de Janeiro (1950)
 Total Highest attendances ‡
Venues/ Average
Year Hosts attendance Matches
Cities attendance Number Venue Game(s)
†

Saudi
2034 104
Arabia
Overall 43,936,730 964 45,577 173,850[96] Maracanã Stadium, Rio
de Janeiro (1950)

† Source: FIFA[97]

‡ The best-attended single match has been the final in 11 of the 21 World Cups as of 2018. Another match or matches drew
more attendance than the final in 1930, 1938, 1958, 1962, 1970–1982, 1990, and 2006.

Broadcasting and promotion

The World Cup was first televised in 1954 and as of 2006 is the most widely viewed and followed
sporting event in the world. The cumulative viewership of all matches of the 2006 World Cup
was estimated to be 26.29 billion.[2] 715.1 million individuals watched the final match of the
tournament, almost a ninth of the entire population of the planet. The 2006 World Cup draw,
which decided the distribution of teams into groups, was watched by 300 million viewers.[98]
The World Cup attracts major sponsors such as Coca-Cola, McDonald's and Adidas. For these
companies and many more, being a sponsor strongly impacts their global brands. Host countries
typically experience a multimillion-dollar revenue increase from the month-long event.

The governing body of the sport, FIFA, generated $4.8 billion in revenue from the 2014
tournament,[99] and $6.1 billion from the 2018 tournament.[100]

Each FIFA World Cup since 1966 has its own mascot or logo.
World Cup Willie, the mascot for the 1966 competition, was the A Coca-Cola bottle
first World Cup mascot.[101] World Cups feature official match promoting the 2002 World
balls specially designed for each tournament. After Slazenger Cup in South Korea and
Japan
produced the ball for the 1966 World Cup Adidas became the
official supplier to FIFA.[102] Each World Cup also has an official
song, which have been performed by artists ranging from Shakira to Will Smith.[103][104]
Manufactured by Adidas since the Other songs, such as “Nessun dorma”, performed by The Three Tenors at four World Cup
1970 World Cup, official match
concerts, have also become identified with the tournament.[105]
balls displayed at FIFA
headquarters in Zürich
Forming a partnership with FIFA in 1970, Panini published its first sticker album for the
1970 World Cup.[106] Since then, collecting and trading stickers and cards has become part
of the World Cup experience, especially for the younger generation.[107] FIFA has licensed World Cup video games since
1986, sponsored by Electronic Arts.[106]

Results
Key

aet: result/match won after extra time

p: match won after penalty shoot-out
TBD: to be determined
 Final Third-place play-off No. of
Ed. Year Host
Champion Score Runner-up Third Score Fourth teams

1 1930 Uruguay 4–2 United – [n 2] 13

Uruguay Argentina States Yugoslavia

2–1
2 1934 Italy 3–2 16
Italy (a.e.t.) Czechoslovakia Germany Austria

3 1938 France 4–2 4–2 15

Italy Hungary Brazil Sweden

– 1942
(Not held because of World War II)
– 1946

3–1
4 1950 Brazil 2–1[n 3] [n 3] 13
Uruguay Brazil Sweden Spain

5 1954 Switzerland West 3–2 3–1 16

Hungary Austria Uruguay
Germany

6 1958 Sweden 5–2 6–3 West 16

Brazil Sweden France
Germany

7 1962 Chile 3–1 1–0 16

Brazil Czechoslovakia Chile Yugoslavia

4–2
8 1966 England 2–1 Soviet 16
England (a.e.t.) West Germany Portugal
Union

9 1970 Mexico 4–1 West 1–0 16

Brazil Italy Uruguay
Germany

10 1974 West Germany West 2–1 1–0 16

Netherlands Poland Brazil
Germany

3–1
11 1978 Argentina 2–1 16
Argentina (a.e.t.) Netherlands Brazil Italy

12 1982 Spain 3–1 3–2 24

Italy West Germany Poland France

4–2
13 1986 Mexico 3–2 24
Argentina West Germany France (a.e.t.) Belgium

14 1990 Italy West 1–0 2–1 24

Argentina Italy England
Germany

0–0
15 1994 United States (a.e.t.) 4–0 24
Brazil Italy Sweden Bulgaria
(3–2 p)

16 1998 France 3–0 2–1 32

France Brazil Croatia Netherlands

South Korea
17 2002 2–0 3–2 South 32
Japan Brazil Germany Turkey
Korea

1–1
18 2006 Germany (a.e.t.) 3–1 32
Italy France Germany Portugal
(5–3 p)
 Final Third-place play-off No. of
Ed. Year Host
Champion Score Runner-up Third Score Fourth teams

1–0
19 2010 South Africa 3–2 32
Spain (a.e.t.) Netherlands Germany Uruguay

1–0
20 2014 Brazil 3–0 32
Germany (a.e.t.) Argentina Netherlands Brazil

21 2018 Russia 4–2 2–0 32

France Croatia Belgium England

3–3
22 2022 Qatar (a.e.t.) 2–1 32
Argentina France Croatia Morocco
(4–2 p)

Canada
23 2026 Mexico 48
United States

Morocco
24 2030[n 1] Portugal 48
Spain

25 2034 Saudi Arabia 48

Notes

1. Opening three games hosts:

Argentina
Paraguay
Uruguay
2. There was no third place match in 1930; the two losing semi-finalists are ranked according to their overall records in the
tournament.[108]
3. The final stage in 1950 was a round-robin group of four teams. Coincidentally, one of the last two matches pitted
together the top two teams (and the only two who could win the title), and the other was between the bottom two teams.
Uruguay v Brazil is often considered the de facto final of the 1950 World Cup.[109][110]
In all, 80 nations have played in at least one World Cup.[a] Of these, eight national teams have won the World Cup,[115] and
they have added stars to their badges, with each star representing a World Cup victory. Uruguay, however, chose to display
four stars on their badge, representing their two gold medals at the 1924 and 1928 Summer Olympics, which are
recognized by FIFA as World Championships, and their two World Cup titles in 1930 and 1950.

With five titles, Brazil are the most successful World Cup team and also the only nation to have played in every World Cup
(22) to date.[116] Brazil were also the first team to win the World Cup for the third (1970), fourth (1994) and fifth (2002) time.
Italy (1934 and 1938) and Brazil (1958 and 1962) are the only nations to have won consecutive titles. West Germany (1982–
1990) and Brazil (1994–2002) are the only nations to appear in three consecutive World Cup finals. Germany has made the
most top-four finishes (13), medals (12), as well as the most finals (8).
 Map of countries' best results

Teams reaching the top four

Teams reaching the top four
Top
Team Titles Runners-up Third place Fourth place 4
total

5 (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994,

Brazil 2 (1950 *, 1998) 2 (1938, 1978) 2 (1974, 2014 *) 11
2002)
4 (1966, 1982, 1986, 4 (1934, 1970, 2006 *,
Germany1 4 (1954, 1974 *, 1990, 2014)
2002) 2010)
1 (1958) 13

Italy 4 (1934 *, 1938, 1982, 2006) 2 (1970, 1994) 1 (1990 *) 1 (1978) 8

Argentina 3 (1978 *, 1986, 2022) 3 (1930, 1990, 2014) 6

France 2 (1998 *, 2018) 2 (2006, 2022) 2 (1958, 1986) 1 (1982) 7

3 (1954, 1970,
Uruguay 2 (1930 *, 1950) 5
2010)

England 1 (1966 *) 2 (1990, 2018) 3

Spain 1 (2010) 1 (1950) 2

Netherlands 3 (1974, 1978, 2010) 1 (2014) 1 (1998) 5

Hungary 2 (1938, 1954) 2

Czech Republic2 2 (1934, 1962) 2

Sweden 1 (1958 *) 2 (1950, 1994) 1 (1938) 4

Croatia 1 (2018) 2 (1998, 2022) 3

Poland 2 (1974, 1982) 2

Austria 1 (1954) 1 (1934) 2

Portugal 1 (1966) 1 (2006) 2

Belgium 1 (2018) 1 (1986) 2

United States 1 (1930) 1

Chile 1 (1962 *) 1

Turkey 1 (2002) 1

Serbia3 2 (1930, 1962) 2

Russia4 1 (1966) 1

Bulgaria 1 (1994) 1

South Korea 1 (2002 *) 1

Morocco 1 (2022) 1

* hosts
1 includes results representing
West Germany between 1954 and 1990
2
 2 includes results representing Czechoslovakia
3 includes results representing Yugoslavia and FR Yugoslavia
4 includes results representing the Soviet Union and CIS

Best performances by confederations

To date, the final of the World Cup has only been contested by teams from the UEFA
(Europe) and CONMEBOL (South America) confederations. European nations have won
twelve titles, while South American nations have won ten. Only three teams from
outside these two continents have ever reached the semi-finals of the competition:
United States (North, Central America and Caribbean) in 1930; South Korea (Asia) in
2002; and Morocco (Africa) in 2022. Only one Oceanian qualifier, Australia in 2006, has
advanced to the second round, a feat they later reaccomplished in 2022.[b]

Brazil, Argentina, Spain and Germany are the only teams to win a World Cup hosted
outside their continental confederation; Brazil came out victorious in Europe (1958), South Koreans watching their nation
on the big screens in Seoul Plaza
North America (1970 and 1994) and Asia (2002). Argentina won a World Cup in North
during the 2002 World Cup when
America in 1986 and in Asia in 2022. Spain won in Africa in 2010. In 2014, Germany they became the first Asian country
became the first European team to win in the Americas. Only on five occasions have to reach the semi-finals
consecutive World Cups been won by teams from the same continent; the longest
streak of tournaments won by a single confederation is four, with the 2006, 2010, 2014,
and 2018 tournaments all won by UEFA teams (Italy, Spain, Germany, and France, respectively).

Total times teams qualified by confederation

Confederation AFC CAF CONCACAF CONMEBOL OFC UEFA Total

Teams 43 49 46 89 4 258 489

Top 16 9 11 15 37 1 99 172

Top 8 2 4 5 36 0 105 152

Top 4 1 1 1 23 0 62 88
Top 2 0 0 0 15 0 29 44

4th 1 1 0 5 0 15 22
3rd 0 0 1 3 0 18 22

2nd 0 0 0 5 0 17 22

1st 0 0 0 10 0 12 22

Records and statistics

Six players share the record for playing in the most World Cups; Mexico's Antonio Carbajal
(1950–1966). Rafael Márquez (2002–2018), and Andrés Guardado (2006–2022); Germany's Lothar
Matthäus (1982–1998); Argentina's Lionel Messi (2006–2022); and Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo
(2006–2022) all played in five tournaments, with Ronaldo also being the first and only player to
score in five tournaments.[117][118] Messi has played the most World Cup matches overall, with
26 appearances.[119] Brazil's Djalma Santos (1954–1962), West Germany's Franz Beckenbauer
(1966–1974), and Germany's Philipp Lahm (2006–2014) are the only players to be named to three
World Cup All-Star Teams.[120]

Miroslav Klose of Germany (2002–2014) is the all-time top scorer at the World Cup with 16 goals.
He broke Ronaldo of Brazil's record of 15 goals (1998–2006) during the 2014 semi-final match
against Brazil. West Germany's Gerd Müller (1970–1974) is third, with 14 goals.[121] The fourth-
Argentina's Lionel Messi
placed goalscorer, France's Just Fontaine, holds the record for the most goals scored in a single has played a record 26
World Cup; all his 13 goals were scored in the 1958 tournament.[122] World Cup matches
across a joint-record five
In November 2007, FIFA announced that all members of World Cup-winning squads between tournaments.
1930 and 1974 were to be retroactively awarded winners' medals.[65] This made Brazil's Pelé the
only player to have won three World Cup winners' medals (1958, 1962, and 1970, although he did
not play in the 1962 final due to injury),[123] with 20 other players who have won two winners' medals. Seven players have
collected all three types of World Cup medals (winners', runner- ups', and third-place); five players were from West
Germany's squad of 1966–1974: Franz Beckenbauer, Jürgen Grabowski, Horst-Dieter Höttges,
Sepp Maier, and Wolfgang Overath (1966–1974), Italy's Franco Baresi (1982, 1990, 1994) and the
most recent has been Miroslav Klose of Germany (2002–2014) with four consecutive medals.[124]

Brazil's Mário Zagallo, West Germany's Franz Beckenbauer and France's Didier Deschamps are
the only people to date to win the World Cup as both player and head coach. Zagallo won in 1958
and 1962 as a player and in 1970 as head coach.[125] Beckenbauer won in 1974 as captain and in
1990 as head coach,[126] and Deschamps repeated the feat in 2018, after having won in 1998 as
captain.[127] Italy's Vittorio Pozzo is the only head coach to ever win two World Cups (1934 and
1938).[128] All World Cup-winning head coaches were natives of the country they coached to
victory.[129]

Among the national teams, Brazil has played the most World Cup matches (114), Germany
appeared in the most finals (8), semi-finals (13), and quarter-finals (16), while Brazil has Cristiano Ronaldo is the
appeared in the most World Cups (22), has the most wins (76) and has scored the most goals first and only player to
(237).[130][131] The two teams have played each other twice in the World Cup, in the 2002 final score in five tournaments.
and in the 2014 semi-final.[132]

Top goalscorers

Individual

Players in bold are still active.

Rank Player Goals Matches Goals per game

1 Miroslav Klose 16 24 0.67

2 Ronaldo 15 19 0.84
3 Gerd Müller 14 13 1.08 Pelé is the only person to
Just Fontaine 13 6 2.17 win the World Cup three
4 times as a player.
Lionel Messi 13 26 0.50
Kylian Mbappé 12 14 0.86
6
Pelé 12 14 0.86

Sándor Kocsis 11 5 2.20

8
Jürgen Klinsmann 11 17 0.65
Helmut Rahn 10 10 1.00

Gabriel Batistuta 10 12 0.83

Gary Lineker 10 12 0.83 Miroslav Klose scored a

10 record 16 goals across
Teófilo Cubillas 10 13 0.77
four World Cups.
Thomas Müller 10 19 0.53

Grzegorz Lato 10 20 0.50

Country
 Rank National team Goals scored

1 Brazil 237

2 Germany 232
3 Argentina 152

4 France 136

5 Italy 128

6 Spain 108

7 England 104
8 Netherlands 96

9 Uruguay 89

10 Hungary 87

Awards
At the end of each World Cup, awards are presented to the players and teams for accomplishments other than their final
team positions in the tournament.

There are five post-tournament awards from the FIFA Technical Study Group:[133][134]

the Golden Ball (named for its sponsor "Adidas Golden Ball") for best player, first awarded
in 1982;
the Golden Boot (named for its sponsor "Adidas Golden Boot", formerly known as the
"adidas Golden Shoe" from 1982 to 2006) for top goalscorer, first awarded in 1982;
the Golden Glove (named for its sponsor "Adidas Golden Glove", formerly known as the
"Lev Yashin Award" from 1994 to 2006) for best goalkeeper, first awarded in 1994;
the FIFA Young Player Award (formerly known as the "Best Young Player Award" from
2006 to 2010) for best player under 21 years of age at the start of the calendar year, first
awarded in 2006;
the FIFA Fair Play Trophy for the team that advanced to the second round with the best
record of fair play, first awarded in 1970.
There is currently one award voted on by fans during the tournament.:
Diego Maradona (holding
the Player of the Match (currently commercially termed "Budweiser Player of the Match",
the World Cup) received
formerly known as the "Man of the Match" from 2002 to 2018) for outstanding
the Golden Ball for best
performance during each match of the tournament, first awarded in 2002.
player at the 1986 World
There are two awards voted on by fans after the conclusion of the tournament: Cup.
the Goal of the Tournament, (currently commercially termed "Hyundai Goal of the
Tournament") for the fans' best goal scored during the tournament, first awarded in 2006;
the Most Entertaining Team during the World Cup final tournament, as determined by a poll of the general public.
One other award was given between 1994 and 2006:[135]
an All-Star Team comprising the best players of the tournament chosen by the FIFA Technical Study Group. From
2010 onwards, all Dream Teams or Statistical Teams are unofficial, as reported by FIFA itself.
 Clean FIFA Young Player FIFA Fair Play
World Cup Golden Ball Golden Boot Goals Golden Glove
sheets Award Trophy

Guillermo
1930 Uruguay 8
Stábile

Oldřich
1934 Italy 5
Nejedlý
Not Awarded
1938 France Leônidas 7
1950 Brazil Ademir 8

Sándor
1954 Switzerland 11
Kocsis

Just
1958 Sweden 13 Pelé
Fontaine Not Awarded
Flórián
Albert
Garrincha
Not Awarded Vavá
Valentin
1962 Chile 4 Flórián Albert
Ivanov
Dražan
Jerković Not Awarded N/A
Leonel
Sánchez

Franz
1966 England Eusébio 9
Beckenbauer
Gerd Teófilo
1970 Mexico 10 Peru
Müller Cubillas

1974 West Grzegorz Władysław

7 West Germany
Germany Lato Żmuda

Mario Antonio
1978 Argentina 6 Argentina
Kempes Cabrini

Paolo Paolo Manuel

1982 Spain 6 Brazil
Rossi Rossi Amoros
Diego Gary
1986 Mexico 6 Enzo Scifo Brazil
Maradona Lineker

Salvatore Salvatore Robert

1990 Italy 6 England
Schillaci Schillaci Prosinečki

Oleg
1994 United Salenko Michel Marc
Romário 6 2 Brazil
States Hristo Preud'homme Overmars
Stoichkov

Davor England
1998 France Ronaldo 6 Fabien Barthez 5 Michael Owen
Šuker France

2002 South Landon

Oliver Kahn Ronaldo 8 Oliver Kahn 5 Belgium
Korea/Japan Donovan
Zinedine Miroslav Gianluigi Lukas Brazil
2006 Germany 5 5
Zidane Klose Buffon Podolski Spain

Diego Thomas Thomas

2010 South Africa 5 Iker Casillas 5 Spain
Forlán Müller Müller

Lionel James
2014 Brazil 6 Manuel Neuer 4 Paul Pogba Colombia
Messi Rodríguez

Luka Thibaut Kylian

2018 Russia Harry Kane 6 3 Spain
Modrić Courtois Mbappé

Lionel Kylian Emiliano Enzo

2022 Qatar 8 3 England
Messi Mbappé Martínez Fernández

See also
List of FIFA World Cup finals Association
FIFA World Cup records and statistics football portal
FIFA World Cup awards Sports portal
FIFA U-20 World Cup Olympics portal
FIFA U-17 World Cup
 FIFA Club World Cup World portal
FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup
FIFA Futsal World Cup
FIFA Confederations Cup
List of association football competitions

Notes
a. FIFA considers that the national team of Russia succeeds the Soviet Union, the national team of Serbia succeeds the
Yugoslavia/Serbia and Montenegro, and the national teams of Czech Republic and Slovakia succeeds the
Czechoslovakia.[111][112][113][114]
b. Australia's qualification in 2006 was through the Oceanian zone as they were a member of the OFC member during
qualifying. However, on 1 January 2006, they left the Oceania Football Confederation and joined the Asian Football
Confederation. In 2022, they again reached the second round, albeit representing Asia.

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Cited works
Glanville, Brian (2005). The Story of the World Cup. Faber. ISBN 0-571-22944-1.

External links
Official website (https://www.fifa.com/tournaments/mens/worldcup)
World Cup overview (https://www.rsssf.org/tablesw/worldcup.html) at the RSSSF

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