FIFA World Cup History

 The FIFA World Cup (also called the Football World Cup, the Soccer World Cup, or simply the World Cup) is an international association football competition contested by the men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's global governing body.

 During the 19 tournaments that have been held, eight national teams have won the title. Brazil have won the World Cup a record five times, and they are the only team to have played in every tournament. Italy have won four titles, and Germany are next with three titles. The other former champions are Uruguay, winners of the inaugural tournament, and Argentina, with two titles each. England and France have won a single title each, both at home, while Spain( which is their first advance to final match ever) or the Netherlands will win their first World Cup in South Africa, which is also the first win of a European team outside Europe.

From Uruguay 1930 to Germany 2006, the World Cup has given birth to innumerable legends.If you are a football fan - here's a brush-up of your memory...

World Cup 1930

Winners Uruguay
Teams 13
Teams in qualifiers N/A
Notable absentees Of the major European countries, only France took part
Surprises USA, who finished third
Golden Boot Guillermo Stábile (Argentina) - 8
Stats A total of 70 goals were scored (3.89 per match); Argentina (18) scored the most
Format One group of four and three groups of three in the qualifying stage, with the top from each group going into the semi-finals
Number of matches 18

World Cup 1934

Winners Italy
Teams 16
Teams in qualifiers 32
Notable absentees Holders Uruguay, England
Surprises Egypt
Golden Boot Oldrich Nejedlý (Czechoslovakia) - 5
Stats A total of 70 goals were scored (4.12 per match); Italy (12) scored the most
Format Straight knockout, replays for drawn matches
Number of matches 17

World Cup 1938

Winners Italy
Teams 15
Teams in qualifiers 37
Notable absentees Argentina, England, Spain, Uruguay
Surprises Dutch East Indies (Indonesia), Cuba
Golden Boot Leônidas (Brazil) - 7
Stats A total of 84 goals were scored (4.67 per match); Hungary (15) scored the most
Format Straight knockout, replays for drawn matches
Number of matches 18

World Cup 1950

Winners Uruguay

Teams 13

Teams in qualifiers 34

Notable absentees France, Germany, Hungary

Surprises Bolivia

Golden Boot Ademir (Brazil) - 9

Stats A total of 88 goals were scored (4.00 per match); Brazil (22) scored the most

Format Four groups, with the winners of each progressing to a four-team round-robin final group. Withdrawals meant there were two groups of four, one of three and one of two

Number of matches 22

World Cup 1954

Winners West Germany

Teams 16

Teams in qualifiers 45

Notable absentees Spain

Surprises Korean Republic

Golden Boot Sándor Kocsis (Hungary) - 11

Stats A total of 140 goals were scored (5.38 per match); Hungary (27) scored the most

Format Four groups of four with two seeded and two unseeded teams in each group. However, the teams played just two matches per group rather than the usual three, with the seeded sides facing unseeded sides. Where teams ended up tied for the second qualifying position by points, they required a play-off. The two teams finishing at the top of their group went through to the quarter-finals

Number of matches 26

World Cup 1958

Winners Brazil

Teams 16

Teams in qualifiers 45

Notable absentees Italy, Uruguay

Surprises Wales, Northern Ireland

Golden Boot Just Fontaine (France) - 13

Stats A total of 126 goals were scored (3.60 per match); France (23) scored the most

Format Four groups of four, with the top two progressing to the quarter-finals

Number of matches 35

World Cup 1962

Winners Brazil

Teams 16

Teams in qualifiers 56

Notable absentees Sweden

Surprises Colombia

Golden Boot Garrincha, Vavá (Brazil), Leonel Sánchez (Chile), Drazan Jerkovic (Yugoslavia) , Flórián Albert (Hungary), Valentin Ivanov (USSR) - 4

Stats A total of 89 goals were scored (2.78 per match); Brazil (14) scored the most

Format Four groups of four, with the top two progressing to the quarter-finals

Number of matches 32

World Cup 1966

Winners England

Teams 16

Teams in qualifiers 70

Notable absentees None

Surprises North Korea

Golden Boot Eusébio (Portugal) - 9

Stats A total of 89 goals were scored (2.78 per match); Portugal (17) scored the most

Format Four groups of four, with the top two progressing to the quarter-finals

Number of matches 32

World Cup 1970

Winners Brazil

Teams16

Teams in qualifiers 75

Number of matches 32

Notable absentees Argentina, France, Portugal, Spain

Surprises Morocco, the first African qualifiers since World War II

Golden Boot Gerd Muller (Germany) - 10

World Cup 1974

Winners West Germany

Teams 16

Teams in qualifiers 99

Notable absentees England, France, Hungary, Spain, USSR

Surprises Australia, Haiti and Zaire

Golden Boot Grzegorz Lato (Poland) - 7

Stats A total of 97 goals were scored (2.55 per match); Poland (16) scored the most

Format Four groups of four in the qualifying stage, with the top two from each group going into a second round of two four-team groups and the winners facing each other in the final

Number of matches 38

World Cup 1978

Winners Argentina
Teams 16
Teams in qualifiers 107
Notable absentees England, Czechoslovakia, USSR
Surprises Iran, Tunisia
Golden Boot Mario Kempes (Argentina) - 6
Stats A total of 102 goals were scored (2.68 per match); Argentina and Netherlands (15) scored the most
Format Four groups of four in the qualifying stage, with the top two from each group into a second round of two groups of four, the top side in each progressing into the final
Number of matches 38

World Cup 1982

Winners Italy
Teams 24
Teams in qualifiers 109
Notable absentees Netherlands, Mexico
Surprises Algeria, Cameroon, Honduras, Kuwait, New Zealand
Golden Boot Paolo Rossi (Italy) - 6
Stats A total of 146 goals were scored (2.81 per match); France (16) scored the most
Format Six groups of four, with the top two teams in each group advancing to the second round, where they split into four groups of three. The winners of each group advanced to the semi-finals
Number of matches 52

World Cup 1986

Winners Argentina
Teams 24
Teams in qualifiers 121
Notable absentees Netherlands
Surprises Canada, Iraq
Golden Boot Gary Lineker (England) - 6
Stats A total of 132 goals were scored (2.54 per match); Argentina (14) scored the most
Format Six groups of four, with the top two teams in each group advancing to a knockout round of 16, plus four best third-place finishers
Number of matches 52

World Cup 1990

Winners West Germany
Teams 24
Teams in qualifiers 116
Notable absentees Denmark, France, Portugal
Surprises Costa Rica, Republic of Ireland, UAE
Golden Boot Salvatore Schillaci (Italy) - 6
Stats A total of 115 goals were scored (2.21 per match), which was the lowest goals-per-match ratio in World Cup history; West Germany (15) scored the most
Format Six groups of four, with the top two teams in each group advancing to a knockout round of 16, plus four best third place finishers
Number of matches 52

World Cup 1994

Winners Brazil
Teams 24
Teams in qualifiers 147
Notable absentees England, France
Surprises Greece, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia
Golden Boot Hristo Stoichkov (Bulgaria), Oleg Salenko (Russia) - 6
Stats A total of 141 goals were scored (2.71 per match); Sweden (15) scored the most
Format Six groups of four, with the top two teams in each group advancing to a knockout round of 16, plus four best 3rd place finishers
Number of matches 52

World Cup 1998

Winners France
Teams 32
Teams in qualifiers 174
Notable absentees Russia
Surprises Jamaica, Japan, South Africa
Golden Boot Davor Suker (Croatia) - 6
Stats A total of 171 goals were scored (2.67 per match); France (15) scored the most
Format Eight groups of four, with the top two teams in each group advancing to a knockout round of 16
Number of matches 64

World Cup 2002

Winners Brazil

Teams 32

Teams in qualifiers 199

Notable absentees Netherlands

Surprises Senegal, South Korea, Turkey

Golden Boot Ronaldo (Brazil) - 8

Stats A total of 161 goals were scored (2.52 per match); Brazil (18) scored the most

Format Eight groups of four, with the top two teams in each group advancing to a knockout round of 16

Number of matches 64

World Cup 2006

Winners Italy

Teams 32

Teams in qualifiers 198

Notable Absentees Cameroon, Nigeria

Surprises Angola, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Trinidad & Tobago

Golden Boot Miroslav Klose (Germany) - 5

Stats A total of 147 goals were scored (2.30 per match); Germany (14) scored the most

Format Eight groups of four, with the top two teams in each group advancing to a knockout round of 16

Number of matches 64

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