FIFA World CupFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaThis article
is about the men's competition. For the women's competition,
seeFIFA Women's World Cup. For other uses, seeWorld Cup.
FIFA World Cup
Founded1930
Number of teams32 (finals)204 (qualifiers for 2010)
Current championsSpain(1st title)
Most successful team(s)Brazil(5 titles)
WebsiteOfficial website
2014 FIFA World Cup
Tournaments
1930 1934 1938 1942 1946 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1974 1978
1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 2026
2030
TheFIFA World Cup, often simply theWorld Cup, is an
internationalassociation footballcompetition contested by the
seniormen's national teamsof the members ofFdration Internationale
de Football Association(FIFA), the sport's global governing body.
The championship has been awarded every four years since
theinaugural tournament in 1930, except in 1942 and 1946 when it
was not held because of theSecond World War. The current champions
areSpain, who won the2010 tournamentinSouth Africa.The current
format of the tournament involves 32 teams competing for the title
at venues within the host nation(s) over a period of about a month;
this phase is often called theWorld Cup Finals. Aqualification
phase, which currently takes place over the preceding three years,
is used to determine which teams qualify for the tournament
together with the host nation(s).The 19 World Cup tournaments have
been won by eight different national teams.Brazilhave won five
times, and they are the only team to have played in every
tournament. The other World Cup winners areItaly, with four
titles;West Germany, with three titles;Argentinaand inaugural
winnersUruguay, with two titles each; andEngland,France, andSpain,
with one title each.The World Cup is among the world's most widely
viewed sporting events; an estimated 715.1 million people watched
thefinal matchof the2006 FIFA World Cupheld inGermany.[1]The next
three World Cups will be hosted byBrazilin2014,Russiain2018,
andQatarin2022.Contents[hide] 1History 1.1Previous international
competitions 1.2World Cups before World War II 1.3World Cups after
World War II 1.4Expansion to 32 teams 1.5Possible expansion to 40
teams 1.6Other FIFA tournaments 2Trophy 3Format 3.1Qualification
3.2Final tournament 4Hosts 4.1Selection process 4.2Performances
5Organisation and media coverage 5.1Attendance 6Results 6.1Teams
reaching the top four 6.2Best performances by continental zones
7Awards 8Records and statistics 9See also 10Notes and references
11Bibliography 12External linksHistoryMain article:History of the
FIFA World CupPrevious international competitionsThe world's first
international football match was a challenge match played
inGlasgowin 1872 betweenScotlandandEngland,[2]which ended in a 00
draw. The first international tournament, the inaugural edition of
theBritish Home Championship, took place in 1884.[3]As football
grew in popularity in other parts of the world at the turn of the
20th century, it was held as ademonstration sportwith no medals
awarded at the1900and1904 Summer Olympics(however, the IOC has
retroactively upgraded their status to official events), and at
the1906 Intercalated Games.[4]AfterFIFAwas 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 a
failure.[5]At the1908 Summer OlympicsinLondon, football became an
official competition. Planned byThe Football Association(FA),
England's football governing body, the event was foramateurplayers
only and was regarded suspiciously as a show rather than a
competition. Great Britain (represented by theEngland national
amateur football team) won thegold medals. They repeated the feat
in1912inStockholm.With the Olympic event continuing to be contested
only between amateur teams,Sir Thomas Liptonorganised theSir Thomas
Lipton Trophytournament inTurinin 1909. The Lipton tournament was a
championship between individual clubs (not national teams) from
different nations, each one of which represented an entire nation.
The competition is sometimes described asThe First World Cup,[6]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 invitedWest Auckland, an amateur side
fromCounty Durham, to represent England instead. West Auckland won
the tournament and returned in 1911 to successfully defend their
title.In 1914, FIFA agreed to recognise theOlympic tournamentas a
"world football championship for amateurs", and took responsibility
for managing the event.[7]This paved the way for the world's first
intercontinental football competition, at the1920 Summer Olympics,
contested byEgyptand thirteen European teams, and won
byBelgium.[8]Uruguaywon the next two Olympic football tournaments
in1924and1928. Those were also the first two open world
championships, as 1924 was the start of FIFA's professional
era.World Cups before World War II
Estadio Centenario, the location of the first World Cup final in
1930 inMontevideo,UruguayDue to the success of the Olympic football
tournaments, FIFA, withPresidentJules Rimetas the driving force,
again started looking at staging its own international tournament
outside of the Olympics. On 28 May 1928, the FIFA Congress
inAmsterdamdecided to stage a world championship itself.[9]With
Uruguay now two-time official football world champions and to
celebrate theircentenaryof independence in 1930, FIFA
namedUruguayas the host country of theinaugural World Cup
tournament.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. Indeed, no European country pledged to
send a team until two months before the start of the competition.
Rimet eventually persuaded teams fromBelgium,France,Romania,
andYugoslaviato make the trip. In total thirteen nations took part:
seven from South America, four from Europe and two from North
America.The first two World Cup matches took place simultaneously
on 13 July 1930, and were won byFranceandUSA, who defeatedMexico41
andBelgium30 respectively. The first goal in World Cup history was
scored byLucien Laurentof France.[10]In
thefinal,UruguaydefeatedArgentina42 in front of a crowd of 93,000
people inMontevideo, and in doing so became the first nation to win
the World Cup.[11]After the creation of the World Cup, the1932
Summer Olympics, held inLos Angeles, did not plan to include
football as part of the schedule due to the low popularity ofthe
sport in the United States, asAmerican footballhad been growing in
popularity. FIFA and theIOCalso disagreed over the status of
amateur players, and so football was dropped from the
Games.[12]Olympic football returned at the1936 Summer Olympics, but
was now overshadowed by the more prestigious World Cup.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 the1934and1938tournaments,
withBrazilthe only South American team to compete in both. The 1942
and 1946 competitions, whichNazi GermanyandBrazilsought to
host,[13]were cancelled due toWorld War IIand its aftermath.World
Cups after World War IIThe1950 World Cup, held inBrazil, was the
first to include British participants.British teamswithdrew 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,[14]but rejoined in 1946
following FIFA's invitation.[15]The tournament also saw the return
of 1930 championsUruguay, 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:Maracanao).
In the tournaments between 1934 and1978, 16 teams competed in
each tournament, except in 1938,
whenAustriawasabsorbedintoGermanyafter qualifying, leaving the
tournament with 15 teams, and in 1950,
whenIndia,ScotlandandTurkeywithdrew, leaving the tournament with 13
teams.[16]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:USA, semi-finalists in 1930;Cuba, quarter-finalists in
1938;Korea DPR, quarter-finalists in1966; andMexico,
quarter-finalists in1970.Expansion to 32 teamsThe tournament was
expanded to 24 teams in1982,[17]and then to 32 in1998,[18]also
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 in1986;Cameroon, quarter-finalists in1990;Korea
Republic, finishing in fourth place in2002;Senegal, along withUSA,
both quarter-finalists in 2002; andGhanaas quarter-finalists in
2010. Nevertheless, European and South American teams continue to
dominate, e.g., the quarter-finalists in 1994, 1998 and 2006 were
all from Europe or South America.Two hundred teams entered the2002
FIFA World Cupqualification rounds; 198 nations attempted to
qualify for the2006 FIFA World Cup, while a record 204 countries
entered qualification for the2010 FIFA World Cup.[19]Possible
expansion to 40 teamsIn October 2013, Sepp Blatter spoke of
guaranteeing theCaribbean Football Union's region a position in the
World Cup.[20]In the 25 October 2013 edition of theFIFA
WeeklyBlatter 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"[21]Those two remarks suggested to
commentators that Blatter could be putting himself forward for
re-election to the FIFA Presidency.[22]Following the magazine's
publishment, Blatter's would-be opponent for the FIFA
Presidency,UEFAPresident 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 toUEFA, two toAsia Football
ConfederationandConfederation of African Football, two shared
betweenCONCACAFandCONMEBOLand a guaranteed place for theOceania
Football Confederation.[23]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."[23]Other FIFA tournamentsAn
equivalent tournament forwomen's football, theFIFA Women's World
Cup, was first held in1991in thePeople's Republic of China.[24]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.Football has been included in
everySummer Olympic Gamesexcept 1896 and 1932. Unlike many other
sports, the men'sfootball tournament at the Olympicsis not a
top-level tournament, and since 1992, an under-23 tournament with
each team allowed three over-age players.[25]Women's football made
its Olympic debut in 1996, and is contested between full national
sides with no age restrictions.TheFIFA Confederations Cupis 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.[26]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 asfutsal(FIFA Futsal World
Cup) andbeach soccer(FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup). Since the 2010
edition, the U-20 Women's World Cup has played the same role in
women's football as the Confederations Cup plays in the men's game.
When the U-20 Women's World Cup is held the year before the Women's
World Cup, both tournaments are awarded in a single bidding
process, with the U-20 tournament serving as a dress rehearsal for
the larger competition.TrophyMain article:FIFA World Cup Trophy
FIFA World Cup Trophyon a GermanstampFrom 1930 to 1970, theJules
Rimet Trophywas awarded to the World Cup winning team. It was
originally simply known as theWorld CuporCoupe du Monde, but in
1946 it was renamed after the FIFA presidentJules Rimetwho set up
the first tournament. In1970,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.[27]After 1970, a new trophy,
known as theFIFA World Cup Trophy, was designed. The experts of
FIFA, coming from seven different countries, evaluated the 53
presented models, finally opting for the work of the Italian
designerSilvio Gazzaniga. The new trophy is 36cm (14.2in) high,
made of solid 18carat(75%) gold and weighs 6.175kg (13.6lb). The
base contains two layers of semi-preciousmalachitewhile the bottom
side of the trophy bears the engraved year and name of each FIFA
World Cup winner since1974. 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."[28]This
new trophy is not awarded to the winning nation permanently. World
Cup winners retain the trophy until the next tournament and are
awarded a gold-plated replica rather than the solid gold
original.[29]At the present, all members (players, coaches, and
managers) of the top three teams receive medals with an insignia of
theWorld Cup Trophy; winners' (gold), runner-ups' (silver), and
third-place (bronze). In the2002 edition, fourth-place medals were
awarded to hostsSouth Korea. Prior to 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
announced that all members of World Cup-winning squads between 1930
and 1974 were to be retroactively awarded winners'
medals.[30][31][32]FormatQualificationMain article:FIFA World Cup
qualificationSince the second World Cup in1934, qualifying
tournaments have been held to thin the field for the final
tournament.[33]They are held within the six FIFA continental zones
(Africa,Asia,North and Central America and Caribbean,South
America,Oceania, andEurope), 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 intercontinentalplay-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 the2010 World Cup.[34]From the1938 World
Cuponwards, 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 the2006
FIFA World Cuponward, requiring the champions to qualify.Brazil,
winners in2002, were the first defending champions to play
qualifying matches.[35]Final tournamentFor the various formats used
in previous tournaments, seeHistory of the FIFA World Cup#Format of
each final tournament.
TheSpanish national teamwon in the year 2010, their very first
FIFA World Cup, held inSouth Africa.The current final tournament
features 32 national teams competing over a month in the host
nation(s). There are two stages: the group stage followed by the
knockout stage.[36]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 theFIFA World Rankingsand/or performances in recent World Cups,
and drawn to separate groups.[37]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. Since1998,
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.[38]Each group plays around-robin
tournament, in which each team is scheduled for three matches
against other teams in the same group. The last round of matches of
each group is scheduled at the same time to preserve fairness among
all four teams.[39]The top two teams from each group advance to the
knockout stage. Points are used to rank the teams within a group.
Since1994,three points have been awarded for a win, one for a draw
and none for a loss (before, winners received two points).The
ranking of each team in each group is determined as follows:[40]1.
Greatest number of points in group matches2. Greatest goal
difference in group matches3. Greatest number of goals scored in
group matches4. 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
teams2. Greatest goal difference in head-to-head matches among
those teams3. Greatest number of goals scored in head-to-head
matches among those teams5. If any of the teams above remain level
after applying the above criteria, their ranking will be determined
by the drawing of lotsThe knockout stage is asingle-elimination
tournamentin which teams play each other in one-off matches,
withextra timeandpenalty shootoutsused 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, thethird-place match(contested by the losing
semi-finalists), and the final.[36]HostsMain article:FIFA World Cup
hostsSelection processWikinews has related news:FIFA receives
eleven bids for 2018 and 2022 World Cups
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 thefirst World Cupin Uruguay, for example, led to only four
European nations competing.[41]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 continents. Both Argentina
and Uruguay thus boycotted the1938 FIFA World Cup.[42]Since the1958
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 the1998 FIFA World Cup. The2002 FIFA World
Cup, hosted jointly by South Korea and Japan, was the first one
held in Asia, and the only tournament with multiple hosts.[43]South
Africa became the first African nation to host the World Cup
in2010. The2014 FIFA World Cupwill be hosted by Brazil, the first
held in South America since1978,[44]and will be the first occasion
where consecutive World Cups are held outside Europe.The host
country is now chosen in a vote by FIFA's Executive Committee. This
is done under anexhaustive ballotsystem. 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 advance of
the tournament. However, there have been occasions where the hosts
of multiple future tournaments were announced at the same time, as
was the case for the2018 and 2022 World Cups, which were awarded
toRussiaandQatarrespectively.For the 2010 and 2014 World Cups, the
final tournament is 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 thecontroversysurrounding Germany's victory
over South Africa in the vote to host the2006 tournament. However,
the policy of continental rotation will 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 from2018.[45]This is partly to avoid a similar
scenario to the bidding process for the 2014 tournament, where
Brazil was the only official bidder.PerformancesSee also:Results of
host nations in the FIFA World CupSix of the eight champions have
won one of their titles while playing in their own homeland, the
exceptions beingBrazil, who finished as runners-up after losing
thedeciding matchon home soil in 1950, andSpain, which reached the
second round on home soil in 1982.England(1966) andFrance(1998) won
their only titles while playing as host
nations.Uruguay(1930),Italy(1934) andArgentina(1978) won their
first titles as host nations but have gone on to win again,
whileGermany(1974) won their second title on home soil.Other
nations have also been successful when hosting the
tournament.Sweden(runners-up in 1958),Chile(third place in
1962),Korea Republic(fourth place in 2002),
andMexico(quarter-finals in 1970 and 1986) all have their best
results when serving as hosts. So far,South Africa(2010) was the
only host nation to fail to advance beyond the first
round.Organisation and media coverageSee also:List of FIFA World
Cup broadcastersThe World Cup was first televised in 1954 and is
now the most widely viewed and followed sporting event in the
world, exceeding even theOlympic Games. The cumulative audience of
all matches of the 2006 World Cup is estimated to be 26.29
billion.[1]715.1 million individuals watched the final match of
this tournament (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.[46]The World Cup
attracts many sponsors such as Coca-Cola, McDonalds and Adidas. For
these companies and many more, spending the money to be a sport
sponsorship at the World Cup strongly impacts their global brands.
As a host country, they can foresee a multi-million dollar revenue
increase with just this month long event. It is predicted that
Brazil is expecting to bring in more than $11 billion in revenue
for the 2014 World Cup.Each FIFA World Cup since 1966 has its
ownmascotor logo.World Cup Willie, the mascot for the 1966
competition, was the firstWorld Cup mascot.[47]Recent World Cups
have also featuredofficial match ballsspecially designed for each
World Cup.AttendanceSee also:List of sports attendance figuresYear
& hostTotal attendance# matchesAvg attendance
1930590,5491832,808
1934363,0001721,353
1938375,7001820,872
19501,045,2462247,511
1954768,6072629,562
1958819,8103523,423
1962893,1723227,912
19661,563,1353248,848
19701,603,9753250,124
19741,865,7533849,099
19781,545,7913840,679
19822,109,7235240,572
19862,394,0315246,039
19902,516,2155248,389
19943,587,5385268,991
19982,785,1006443,517
20022,705,1976442,269
20063,359,4396452,491
20103,178,8566449,670
Source:[48]ResultsSee also:List of FIFA World Cup
finalsYearHostWinnersScoreRunners-upThird placeScoreFourth
placeNumber of teams
1930DetailsUruguayUruguay42ArgentinaUnited States[note
1]Yugoslavia13
1934DetailsItalyItaly21(aet)CzechoslovakiaGermany32Austria16
1938DetailsFranceItaly42HungaryBrazil42Sweden16/15[note 2]
1950DetailsBrazilUruguay[note 3]BrazilSweden[note
3]Spain16/13[note 4]
1954DetailsSwitzerlandWest
Germany32HungaryAustria31Uruguay16
1958DetailsSwedenBrazil52SwedenFrance63West Germany16
1962DetailsChileBrazil31CzechoslovakiaChile10Yugoslavia16
1966DetailsEnglandEngland42(aet)West GermanyPortugal21Soviet
Union16
1970DetailsMexicoBrazil41ItalyWest Germany10Uruguay16
1974DetailsWest GermanyWest
Germany21NetherlandsPoland10Brazil16
1978DetailsArgentinaArgentina31(aet)NetherlandsBrazil21Italy16
1982DetailsSpainItaly31West GermanyPoland32France24
1986DetailsMexicoArgentina32West
GermanyFrance42(aet)Belgium24
1990DetailsItalyWest Germany10ArgentinaItaly21England24
1994DetailsUnited StatesBrazil00(32p)ItalySweden40Bulgaria24
1998DetailsFranceFrance30BrazilCroatia21Netherlands32
2002DetailsSouth Korea&JapanBrazil20GermanyTurkey32South
Korea32
2006DetailsGermanyItaly11(53p)FranceGermany31Portugal32
2010DetailsSouth
AfricaSpain10(aet)NetherlandsGermany32Uruguay32
aet: after extra time p: after penalty shoot-outNotes1. Jump
up^There was no official World Cup Third Place match in 1930; The
United States and Yugoslavia lost in the semi-finals. FIFA now
recognises the United States as the third-placed team and
Yugoslavia as the fourth-placed team, using the overall records of
the teams in the tournament.[49]2. Jump up^Austria withdrew after
the draw as a result of theAnschlusswith Germany: some Austrian
players subsequently joined the German squad, leaving the
tournament with 15 teams.3. ^Jump up to:abThere was no official
World Cup final match in 1950.[50]The tournament winner was decided
by a final round-robin group contested by four teams (Uruguay,
Brazil, Sweden, and Spain). Coincidentally, one of the last two
matches of the tournament pitted the two top ranked teams against
each other, withUruguay's 21 victory over Brazilthus often being
considered as the de facto final of the 1950 World
Cup.[51]Likewise, the game between the lowest ranked teams, played
at the same time as Uruguay vs Brazil, can be considered equal to a
Third Place match, with Sweden's 31 victory over Spain ensuring
that they finished third.4. Jump up^Only 13 teams played the 1950
FIFA World Cup.[52]16 teams entered the seeding groups draw.
However, Turkey and Scotland both withdrew before the draw; France
(eliminated in qualifying) was invited as a replacement, leaving
the tournament to be held with 15 teams. After the draw, India and
France both withdrew, so only 13 teams participated in the
tournament.In all, 76 nations haveplayed in at least one World
Cup.[53]Of these, eight national teams have won the World Cup, and
they have addedstars to their badges, with each star representing a
World Cup victory. (Uruguay, however, choose to display four stars
on their badge, representing their two gold medals at the 1924 and
1928 Summer Olympics 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 haveplayed in every World Cup(19)
to date,[54]and they will host the 20th in 2014. Italy (1934 and
1938) and Brazil (1958 and 1962) are the only nations to have won
consecutive titles. West Germany (19821990) and Brazil (19942002)
are the only nations to appear in three consecutive World Cup
finals. Germany have made the most top-four finishes, with twelve,
while sharing the record of most top-two finishes with Brazil, with
seven.Teams reaching the top fourSee also:FIFA World Cup
comprehensive team results by tournamentTeamTitlesRunners-upThird
placeFourth placeTop 4finishes
Brazil5 (1958,1962,1970,1994,2002)2 (1950*,1998)2 (1938,1978)1
(1974)10
Italy4 (1934*,1938,1982,2006)2 (1970,1994)1 (1990*)1 (1978)8
Germany^3 (1954,1974*,1990)4 (1966,1982,1986,2002)4
(1934,1970,2006*,2010)1 (1958)12
Argentina2 (1978*,1986)2 (1930,1990)4
Uruguay2 (1930*,1950)3 (1954,1970,2010)5
France1 (1998*)1 (2006)2 (1958,1986)1 (1982)5
England1 (1966*)1 (1990)2
Spain1 (2010)1 (1950)2
Netherlands3 (1974,1978,2010)1 (1998)4
Czechoslovakia#2 (1934,1962)2
Hungary2 (1938,1954)2
Sweden1 (1958*)2 (1950,1994)1 (1938)4
Poland2 (1974,1982)2
Austria1 (1954)1 (1934)2
Portugal1 (1966)1 (2006)2
United States1 (1930)1
Chile1 (1962*)1
Croatia1 (1998)1
Turkey1 (2002)1
Yugoslavia#2 (1930,1962)2
Soviet Union#1 (1966)1
Belgium1 (1986)1
Bulgaria1 (1994)1
South Korea1 (2002*)1
* = hosts^ = includes resultsrepresenting West Germany between
1954 and 1990#=states that have since split into two or more
independent nations[53]Best performances by continental zonesSee
also:FIFA World Cup results by confederationTo date, the final of
the World Cup has only been contested byEuropeanandSouth
Americanteams. European nations have won ten titles; South American
teams have won nine. Only two teams from outside these two
continents have ever reached the semi-finals of the
competition:USA(North, Central America and Caribbean) in 1930
andSouth Korea(Asia) who reached the semis in 2002. The best result
of anAfricanteam is reaching the quarter-finals:Cameroonin
1990,Senegalin 2002 andGhanain 2010. Only
oneOceanianqualifier,Australiain 2006, has advanced to the second
round.[55]Brazil,Argentina, andSpainare the only teams to win a
World Cup outside their continental confederation; Brazil came out
victorious inEurope(1958),North America(1970and1994) andAsia(2002),
Argentina won a North American World Cup in1986, while Spain won
the only African World Cup in2010. Only on three occasions have
consecutive World Cups been won by teams from the same
continentItalyand Brazil successfully defended their titles in 1938
and 1962 respectively, while Spain's 2010 triumph followed Italy's
in 2006.AwardsMain article:FIFA World Cup awardsAt 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 currently six awards:[56] TheGolden Ballfor
the best player, determined by a vote of media members (first
awarded in 1982); theSilver Balland theBronze Ballare awarded to
the players finishing second and third in the voting
respectively;[57] TheGolden Boot(sometimes called theGolden Shoe)
for the top goalscorer (first awarded in 1982, but retrospectively
applied to all tournaments from 1930); most recently, theSilver
Bootand theBronze Boothave been awarded to the second and third top
goalscorers respectively;[58] TheGolden Glove Award(formerly
theYashin Award) for the bestgoalkeeper, decided by the FIFA
Technical Study Group (first awarded in 1994);[59] TheBest Young
Player Awardfor the best player aged 21 or younger at the start of
the calendar year, decided by the FIFA Technical Study Group (first
awarded in 2006).[60] TheFIFA Fair Play Trophyfor the team with the
best record offair play, according to the points system and
criteria established by the FIFA Fair Play Committee (first awarded
in 1978);[60] TheMost Entertaining Teamfor the team that has
entertained the public the most during the World Cup, determined by
a poll of the general public (first awarded in 1994);[60]AnAll-Star
Teamconsisting of the best players of the tournament has also been
announced for each tournament since 1998.Records and statisticsMain
article:FIFA World Cup recordsTwo players share the record
forplaying in the most World Cups;Mexico'sAntonio
Carbajal(19501966) andGermany'sLothar Matthus(19821998) both played
in five tournaments.[61]Matthus has played the most World Cup
matches overall, with 25 appearances.[62]West Germany'sFranz
Beckenbauer(19661974) is the only player to be named to three
FinalsAll-Star Teams.In November 2007, FIFA announced that all
members of World Cup-winning squads between 1930 and 1974 were to
be retroactively awarded winners' medals.[30]This
madeBrazil'sPelthe 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),[63]with20 other players who have won two
winners' medals. Six players have collected all three types of
World Cup medals (winners', runner- ups', and third-place); five
players were fromWest Germany's squad of 19661974 includingFranz
Beckenbauer, and the most recent has been Italy'sFranco
Baresi(1982, 1990, 1994).Theoverall top goalscorer in World Cupsis
Brazil'sRonaldo, scorer of 15 goals (19982006). Germany'sMiroslav
Klose(20022010) and West Germany'sGerd Mller(19701974) are second,
with 14 goals.[64]The fourth placed goalscorer,France'sJust
Fontaine, holds the record for the most goals scored in a single
World Cup; all his 13 goals were scored in the 1958
tournament.[65]Brazil'sMrio Zagalloand West Germany'sFranz
Beckenbauerare 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.[66]Beckenbauer won in 1974 as captain and in
1990 as head coach.[67]Italy'sVittorio Pozzois the only head coach
to ever win two World Cups (1934 and 1938).[68]All World Cup
winning head coaches were natives of the country they coached to
victory.Among the national teams, Germany have played the most
World Cup matches, with 99,[69]while Brazil have scored the most
World Cup goals, with 210.[70]The two teams have played each other
only once in the World Cup, in the2002 final.See also:All-time
table of the FIFA World CupSee also Book: FIFA World Cup
National team appearances in the FIFA World Cup FIFA Women's
World Cup List of other competitions named World Cup 1980
Mundialito, a tournament held in Uruguay to celebrate the 50-year
anniversary of the World Cup FIFA World Cup All-Time Team FIFA
World Cup Dream Team FIFA World Cup official songsNotes and
references1. ^Jump up to:ab"2006 FIFA World Cup broadcast wider,
longer and farther than ever before".FIFA.com.Fdration
Internationale de Football Association. 6 February 2007. Retrieved
11 October 2009.2. Jump up^"England National Football Team Match
No. 1". England Football Online. Retrieved 19 November 2007.3. Jump
up^"British PM backs return of Home Nations championship". Agence
France-Presse. Retrieved 16 December 2007.4. Jump up^Elbech, Sren;
Stokkermans, Karel (26 June 2008)."Intermediate Games of the IV.
Olympiad".rec.sport.soccer Statistics Foundation.5. Jump
up^"History of FIFA FIFA takes shape".FIFA.com. Fdration
Internationale de Football Association. Retrieved 19 November
2007.[dead link]6. Jump up^"'The First World Cup'. The Sir Thomas
Lipton Trophy".Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council. 10 October
2003. Archived fromthe originalon 29 November 2003. Retrieved 11
April 2006.7. Jump up^"History of FIFA More associations
follow".FIFA.com. Fdration Internationale de Football Association.
Retrieved 19 November 2007.[dead link]8. Jump up^Reyes, Macario (18
October 1999)."VII. Olympiad Antwerp 1920 Football Tournament".
rec.sport.soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 10 June 2006.9.
Jump up^"History of FIFA The first FIFA World Cup".FIFA.com.
Fdration Internationale de Football Association. 19 November
2007.[dead link]10. Jump up^Molinaro, John F."Lucien Laurent: The
World Cup's First Goal Scorer".CBC. Retrieved 6 May 2007.[dead
link]11. Jump up^"FIFA World Cup Origin"(PDF).FIFA.com. Fdration
Internationale de Football Association. Retrieved 19 November
2007.12. Jump up^"The Olympic Odyssey so far... (Part 1:
19081964)".FIFA.com. Fdration Internationale de Football
Association. Retrieved 8 January 2008.[dead link]13. Jump up^"Los
datos ms curiosos de la Fiesta del Ftbol - Brasil 1950". Archived
fromthe originalon 1 July 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2012.14. Jump
up^"Scotland and the 1950 World Cup". BBC. Retrieved 13 May
2007.15. Jump up^Glanville16. Jump up^Glanville, p4517. Jump
up^Glanville, p23818. Jump up^Glanville, p35919. Jump up^"Record
number of 204 teams enter preliminary competition".FIFA.com.
Fdration Internationale de Football Association. 30 March 2007.
Retrieved 19 November 2007.[dead link]20. Jump up^Whittaker, James
(23 October 2013)."Caribbean pro league can work". Cayman Islands:
CompassCayman.com. Retrieved 28 October 2013.21. Jump up^Blatter,
Sepp (25 October 2013)."A level playing field for Africa!"(PDF).
FIFA Weekly. p.29. Retrieved 28 October 2013.22. Jump up^Morley,
Gary (25 October 2013)."Sepp Blatter calls for more African nations
at World Cup finals". CNN. Retrieved 28 October 2013.23. ^Jump up
to:abDickinson, Matt (28 October 2013)."Michel Platini sets out his
plan for the new world order". The Times. Retrieved 28 October
2013.24. Jump up^"FIFA Women's World Cup".FIFA.com. Fdration
Internationale de Football Association. Retrieved 22 December
2007.25. Jump up^"Regulations Men's Olympic Football Tournament
2008"(PDF).FIFA.com. Fdration Internationale de Football
Association. Retrieved 22 December 2007.26. Jump up^"FIFA
Confederations Cup".FIFA.com. Fdration Internationale de Football
Association. Retrieved 22 December 2007.27. Jump up^"Jules Rimet
Trophy".FIFA.com. Fdration Internationale de Football Association.
Retrieved 19 November 2007.[dead link]28. Jump up^"FIFA World Cup
Trophy".FIFA.com. Fdration Internationale de Football Association.
Retrieved 19 November 2007.[dead link]29. Jump up^"FIFA Assets
Trophy".FIFA.com. Fdration Internationale de Football Association.
Archived fromthe originalon 4 November 2007. Retrieved 19 November
2007.30. ^Jump up to:ab"122 forgotten heroes get World Cup
medals".ESPNSoccernet.com(ESPN). 25 November 2007.31. Jump
up^"World Cup 1966 winners honoured". BBC Sport. 10 June 2009.32.
Jump up^"Jimmy Greaves finally gets his 1966 World Cup
medal".Mirror.co.uk(MGN).33. Jump up^"FIFA World Cup qualifying:
Treasure-trove of the weird and wonderful".FIFA. Retrieved 23
December 2007.34. Jump up^"2010 World Cup
Qualifying".ESPNSoccernet.com(ESPN). 26 November 2009. Retrieved 23
December 2009.35. Jump up^"History of the FIFA World Cup
Preliminary Competition (by year)"(PDF).FIFA.com. Fdration
Internationale de Football Association.36. ^Jump up to:ab"Formats
of the FIFA World Cup final competitions 19302010"(PDF).FIFA.com.
Fdration Internationale de Football Association. Retrieved 1
January 2008.37. Jump up^"FIFA World Cup: seeded teams
19302010"(PDF).FIFA.com. Fdration Internationale de Football
Association. Retrieved 2014-05-12.38. Jump up^Previously, due to
there being fewer finals places and a bigger ratio of European
finalists, there had been several occasions where three European
teams were in a single group, for example, 1986 (West Germany,
Scotland, and Denmark), 1990 (Italy, Czechoslovakia, and Austria),
and 1994 (Italy, Republic of Ireland, and Norway). ("History of the
World Cup Final Draw"(PDF).FIFA.com. Fdration Internationale de
Football Association. Retrieved 2014-05-12.)39. Jump up^This
practice has been installed since the1986 FIFA World Cup. In some
cases during previous tournaments, for example, Argentina 60 Peru
inArgentina 1978andWest Germany 10 AustriainSpain 1982, teams that
played the latter match were perceived to gain an unfair advantage
by knowing the score of the earlier match, and
subsequentlyobtaining a result that ensured advancement to the next
stage. ("1978 Argentina". CBC.[dead link];"1982 Spain". CBC.[dead
link])40. Jump up^"Regulations of the 2010 FIFA World
Cup"(PDF).FIFA.com. Fdration Internationale de Football
Association. p.41. Retrieved 21 June 2010.41. Jump up^"Uruguay
1930". BBC Sport. 11 April 2002. Retrieved 13 May 2006.42. Jump
up^"France 1938". BBC Sport. 17 April 2002. Retrieved 13 May
2006.43. Jump up^"Asia takes World Cup center stage". CNN. 3 June
2002. Retrieved 1 January 2008.44. Jump up^"Brazil will stage 2014
World Cup". BBC Sport. 10 October 2007. Retrieved 1 January
2008.45. Jump up^"Rotation ends in 2018".FIFA.com. Fdration
Internationale de Football Association. 29 October 2007. Retrieved
30 March 2013.46. Jump up^"Socceroos face major challenge:
Hiddink".ABC Sport. 10 December 2005. Archived fromthe originalon
30 April 2006. Retrieved 13 May 2006.47. Jump up^"FIFA Assets
Mascots".FIFA.com. Fdration Internationale de Football Association.
Archived fromthe originalon 4 November 2007. Retrieved 19 November
2007.48. Jump up^"FIFA World Cup competition
records"(PDF).FIFA.com.Fdration Internationale de Football
Association. p.2. Retrieved 30 January 2013.49. Jump up^"1930 FIFA
World Cup".FIFA.com. Fdration Internationale de Football
Association. Retrieved 5 March 2009.50. Jump up^"1950 FIFA World
Cup".FIFA.com. Fdration Internationale de Football Association.
Retrieved 5 March 2009.[dead link]51. Jump up^"FIFA World Cup
Finals since 1930"(PDF).FIFA.com. Fdration Internationale de
Football Association. Retrieved 5 March 2009.52. Jump up^"1950 FIFA
World Cup".FIFA.com. Fdration Internationale de Football
Association. Retrieved 15 August 2011.[dead link]53. ^Jump up
to:abFIFA considers that the national team ofRussiasucceeds
theUSSR, the national team ofSerbiasucceeds theYugoslavia/Serbia
and Montenegro, and the national team ofCzech Republicsucceeds
theCzechoslovakia. ("Russia".FIFA.com. Fdration Internationale de
Football Association.;"Serbia".FIFA.com. Fdration Internationale de
Football Association.;"Czech Republic".FIFA.com. Fdration
Internationale de Football Association. Retrieved 2014-05-12.).54.
Jump up^"Brazil".FIFA.com. Fdration Internationale de Football
Association. Retrieved 2014-05-12.55. Jump up^Australia's
qualification in 2006 was through the Oceanian zone as they were a
member of theOFCmember during qualifying. However, on 1 January
2006, they left the Oceania Football Confederation and joined
theAsian Football Confederation.56. Jump up^"FIFA World Cup
awards".FIFA.com. Fdration Internationale de Football Association.
Retrieved 5 March 2009.57. Jump up^"Golden Ball for Zinedine
Zidane".Soccerway. 10 July 2006. Retrieved 31 December 2007.58.
Jump up^"adidas Golden Shoe FIFA World Cup Final".FIFA.com.
Fdration Internationale de Football Association. Retrieved 4 March
2009.[dead link]59. Jump up^"Kahn named top keeper". BBC Sport. 30
June 2002. Retrieved 31 December 2007.60. ^Jump up to:abcPierrend,
Jos Luis (18 May 2007)."FIFA Awards". rec.sport.soccer Statistics
Foundation. Retrieved 8 January 2008.61. Jump up^Yannis, Alex (10
November 1999)."Matthaus Is the Latest MetroStars Savior".New York
Times. Retrieved 23 December 2007.62. Jump up^"World Cup Hall of
Fame: Lothar Matthaeus". CNN. Retrieved 23 December 2007.63. Jump
up^Kirby, Gentry (5 July 2006)."Pele, King of Futbol". ESPN.
Retrieved 23 December 2007.64. Jump up^Chowdhury, Saj (27 June
2006)."Ronaldo's riposte". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 December
2007.65. Jump up^"Goal machine was Just superb". BBC Sport. 4 April
2002. Retrieved 23 December 2007.66. Jump up^Hughes, Rob (11 March
1998)."No Alternative to Victory for National Coach: 150 Million
Brazilians Keep Heat on Zagalo".International Herald Tribune.
Archived fromthe originalon 26 February 2008. Retrieved 31 December
2007.67. Jump up^Brewin, John (21 December 2007)."World Cup Legends
Franz Beckenbauer".ESPNSoccernet.com(ESPN). Retrieved 31 December
2007.68. Jump up^"1938 France". CBC. Retrieved 31 December
2007.[dead link]69. Jump up^"Germany move ahead of
Brazil".FIFA.com. Fdration Internationale de Football Association.
6 July 2010. Retrieved 6 July 2010.[dead link]70. Jump up^"Planet
World Cup All time table". Planet World Cup. Retrieved 26 January
2008.BibliographyGlanville, Brian (2005).The Story of the World
Cup. Faber. p.44.ISBN0-571-22944-1.External linksWikimedia Commons
has media related toFIFA World Cup.
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