Football World Cup

This article covers the men's world championships. See also Women's World Cup and other World Cup competitions (disambiguation) .

Football World Cup
Full name	FIFA World Cup
abbreviation	WM
Association	FIFA
First edition	1930
Teams	32 (finals, since 1998)
Game mode	Round-robin tournament  (8 groups of 4 teams each) Knockout system (from the round of 16)
Title holder	France (2nd title)
Record winner	Brazil (5 tracks)
Record player	Lothar Matthäus (25 games)
Record scorer	Miroslav Klose (16 goals)
Website	de.fifa.com

The men's soccer world championship is a competition for national teams . Every four years they can qualify for the finals of the World Cup. In a final four-week tournament, the best national team as world champions will be determined. The world football association FIFA organizes and markets the tournament under the official label FIFA World Cup or FIFA World Cup. The respective host country organizes the tournament. Measured by the number of TV viewers worldwide, this final tournament is the largest sporting event in the world and, along with the Olympic Games, is considered the most important sporting event in the world.

The 2018 tournament was held in Russia from June 14th to July 15th, 2018 and ended with the victory of the French national team .

history

The time of organized football began in 1863 with the founding of the English Football Association in London , which, for the first time in history , set itself apart from rugby football in its rules for association football and, for example, forbade the controversial handball, which led to withdrawals led to the new association and the withdrawal of the treasurer. On January 9, 1864, the world's first football game based on the rules of the FA took place with selected players. At that time the British Empire was the most influential power in the world, it had bases around the world and British ships could be found in every port. This historical peculiarity was the basis for the worldwide spread of the English football rules within a generation. The first games outside of the British Isles were organized by British sailors in seaports, among other places.

During the late 19th century, many national associations were founded in Europe and America, which made it possible to organize international meetings for the first time. The first game between representatives of national associations took place on November 30, 1872 on Hamilton Crescent , in what is now the Partick district of Glasgow , between Scotland and England , the match ended goalless.

On May 1, 1904, the first international match between the national teams of Belgium and France took place in Uccle / Ukkel in Belgium (3: 3). It was suggested to found an international football organization. On 21 May 1904, then by Robert Guerin , secretary of the football department Union des Sociétés Françaises de Sports Athlétiques , and Carl Anton Wilhelm Hirschmann , secretary of the Nederlandse Voetbal Bond , in Paris the FIFA founded and thus a purely national thinking of the associations prevented. Nevertheless, it would take many decades before FIFA was able to assert itself against the supremacy of the English FA and before the American associations were able to exert a significant influence on the policies of FIFA, which were shaped by the European associations.

The second FIFA Congress took place in July 1905, and Vice-President Carl Anton Wilhelm Hirschmann proposed a world tournament. He had already created a game plan for this purely European event, and the country was to be Switzerland. The congress participants were enthusiastic, but many words were not followed by actions due to the lack of interest.

Up until the first soccer World Cup in Uruguay in 1930 , the Olympic tournaments had the status of a world championship. From the point of view of the Olympic officials, football was unsuitable for the Games, as it was not a competitive sport, but only a game, and they viewed this sport as a show performance. In 1896 football was not part of the Olympic program, and four years later in Paris only three club teams from France, Belgium and Great Britain were present for a demonstration competition. In 1904 in St. Louis , three North American teams competed against each other.

A stroke of luck for the future of international football was the award of the Games to London in 1908 . In the home country of football, one could expect professional organization from the FA. In addition, FIFA has now been led by the British Daniel Burley Woolfall . In addition to Great Britain, the associations from Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands put on a team. France even sent two teams to the British capital. The winners were the English who defeated Denmark, the strongest team in continental Europe at the time , in the final. In 1912 , 11 teams took part in the Olympic football tournament. The final encounter was repeated, with a 4-2 the English were able to win the gold medal again.

In 1920 Antwerp was the center of the football world and 14 teams battled it out to win the Olympic Games. Belgium and Czechoslovakia faced each other in the final. During the game, the Czechoslovaks felt disadvantaged by the referee and left the field, Belgium was declared the winner. The 1924 Olympic Games became the first world football tournament. In addition to the Europeans, Egypt sent a team. There was also an American selection, which, however, largely consisted of European immigrants, as well as the team from Uruguay .

The unexpectedly superior performance of South American football four years earlier meant that many teams from South America were invited to guest appearances in Europe before the 1928 Olympic tournament . The Olympians had to be amateurs , which led to the cancellation of some important countries. It was becoming increasingly clear to FIFA that the IOC's amateur rule was a problem. That is why it decided on May 28, 1929 to organize an independent World Cup after FIFA President Jules Rimet and the Uruguayan patron Enrique Buero had been working towards it since 1924. In addition to Uruguay, some European countries also wanted to make this event possible. Their group quickly became smaller, and in the end only Italy, Hungary and Uruguay were left. The Argentine delegate Adrian Beccar Varela gave a speech for his neighboring country, which convinced the two European competitors. Thus, Montevideo was determined to host the first soccer world championship .

Set of rules

Official name

The official German spelling of the World Cup is FIFA World Cup . The spelling of the football component corresponds to the official German spelling rules (Section 25 E2, the world football association FIFA has its headquarters in Zurich , Switzerland ), but not the space after FIFA (see Section 44, Paragraph 1).

Award procedure for the venue

See also : List of World Cup awards

Organizer of the World Cup
dark green: 2 ×, light green: 1 ×, weakly highlighted: future, dark gray: event canceled

The FIFA Executive Committee decides on the location of the World Cup. In the event of a tie, the FIFA President's vote counts twice. Since 1958, all soccer world championships have been held alternately in Europe and another continent.

In 2000, FIFA decided on a so-called rotation process , according to which World Cups will be held alternately between the six continental associations from 2010 onwards. This procedure was abolished in 2007 by the Executive Committee. Only the continental associations in which the last two World Championships took place are excluded. For the 2018 World Cup , this meant that countries were excluded from the African Football Association and the South American Football Association as hosts. On December 19, 2008, the FIFA Executive Committee decided at its meeting in Tokyo to award the 2018 World Cup and the 2022 World Cup at the same time. With the FIFA Statutes in force since 2016, the only restriction is not to award a World Cup to members of the same confederation twice in a row.

qualification

In order to be able to participate in the final round of the World Cup, the teams usually have to prevail in the qualifying round. Only the host country is automatically entitled to start in the final round. In the finals from 1938 up to and including 2002, both the host country and the reigning world champion were automatically qualified.

The qualification will take place within the individual continental associations . Each continental federation is entitled to a fixed number of final round participants, although there are also “half” starting places that have to prevail in an intercontinental relegation.

The mode in the qualifying tournaments differs from continent to continent. In the South American zone, all ten national teams play in one group. The four best teams in the group are qualified for the finals, while the fifth-placed national team plays for another starting place in relegation games against a North American representative. In the other continental associations, the participants are also determined in group games or in the knockout system .

Finals

The qualified teams play with the previously determined host country in a four-week competition for the title of world champion, which is awarded every four years. The mode of the finals has changed several times throughout history. Previous modes are described below. The currently valid mode has been in use since 1998.

In the first tournament phase (group phase), the teams are randomly divided into several groups of four teams each, with some teams being selected according to certain criteria (hosts, world champions, FIFA rankings) and the other teams being drawn from predominantly regionally oriented pots. This is to prevent the tournament favorites from clashing in the group stage or a group consisting only of national teams from one continent .

Each team has to play three games against their group opponents in the group stage. As is the global standard in football, a win earns three points (since 1994, previously two), a draw one point and a defeat no point. The last two teams in each group are eliminated after the three games in the group stage. If two or more teams are tied, the ranking in the group will be determined as follows in accordance with Art. 42 (5) of the FIFA Rules for the 2014 World Cup: The first criterion is the goal difference from all group matches. If this is the same, the higher number of goals scored in all group matches counts. If two or more teams agree on all of these criteria, the direct comparison of these teams (again in the order of points, goal difference and number of goals scored from the games between these teams) and ultimately the lot will decide .

In the coming rounds the knockout system applies , i.e. H. only the winner goes to the next round. If there is a tie at the end of the regular 90-minute playing time, the game goes into overtime . In the meantime, the golden goal rule applied to the decision in extra time . Since the 2006 World Cup, extra time has taken place again in the classic form: After a break of five minutes, the game is played twice for 15 minutes without another break (only with a change of sides). The team that scores more goals in extra time wins. If there is still no winner after extra time, a penalty shoot-out decides .

After half of the teams were eliminated in the group stage, there are 16 teams left to fight for progress in the round of 16 games. Each group leader plays against the group runner-up from another group. The winners of the round of 16 play one of four games known as the quarter-finals. The four winners of these games are allowed to move into one of two semi-finals.

The two losers of the semi-finals contest the game for third place in the World Cup, which takes place on the evening before the final and is also referred to as the "small final". The final of the soccer world championship is one of the most prestigious and popular sporting events a soccer player can experience. The winning team of the final game receives the trophy and can call themselves world champions for four years.

The mode of competition is changing

An overview of the delivery modes

year	Host	Tournament form
		(1.) Group stage	Final round
1930	Uruguay	1 group of 4 3 groups of 3	Semifinals final
1934	Italy		Round of 16 quarter - finals semi - finals 3rd place / final
1938	France
1950	Brazil	2 groups of 4 1 group of 3 1 group of 2	1 group of 4
1954	Switzerland	4 groups of 4	Quarter - finals, semi - finals, 3rd place / final
1958	Sweden
1962	Chile
1966	England
1970	Mexico
1974	Germany		2 groups of 4, 3rd place / final
1978	Argentina
1982	Spain	6 groups of 4	4 groups of 3 semi-finals 3rd place / final
1986	Mexico		Round of 16 quarter - finals semi - finals 3rd place / final
1990	Italy
1994	United States
1998	France	8 groups of 4
2002	South Korea Japan
2006	Germany
2010	South Africa
2014	Brazil
2018	Russia
2022	Qatar
2026	Canada Mexico United States	16 groups of 3	Round of last sixteen quarter-finals semi-finals 3rd place / Final

The hosting mode of the soccer world championships has been changed several times. The first tournament in 1930 should actually be carried out entirely in the knockout system. However, since only 13 teams had come, it was decided to carry out a group phase with three groups of three and one group of four teams before the start. This should also guarantee that the four European teams who had traveled a long time by ship would not have to start their return journey immediately. The composition of the groups was drawn after the arrival of all participants shortly before the tournament. The winners of the four groups played against each other in the semi-finals, the two winners contested the final. For the only time in World Cup history, the game for third place has not yet been played.

In 1934 and 1938 the tournament, beginning with a round of 16, was carried out entirely in the knockout system, with all games in one round taking place at the same time. If there was a tie after extra time, there was a replay one day (1934) or two to five days (1938) later. After that, the lot might have decided. In 1934, the host Italy first had to qualify in terms of sport, the defending champion waived in protest against a tournament in Europe; In 1938, when Austria was annexed, one team was lost and instead became part of the German team.

After the Second World War, they returned to group mode in the preliminary round in 1950. Since three qualified teams did not participate, there were two groups with four, one group with three and one with only two teams, i.e. a single game. This was criticized in the next round, as the Uruguayan team had only played one game with it, while the Brazilian team had three games. The four group winners then played the world champion in a further group round, so there was no official final. However, it turned out that the two best-ranked teams met in the third game. At the time, the tournament host still determined the mode, which is still unique today.

In 1954 the preliminary round was carried out in a very unusual group mode with four groups: two teams were set up per group that did not even have to play against each other. If games ended in a draw in the group stage, they were extended by 15 minutes twice before the final result counted. If the second and third were equal, there was a playoff, and a drawing of lots between the first and second. The goal difference played no role. The attempt to spare favored teams through the betting mode in the preliminary round, however, only resulted in low point yields, which made a total of two playoffs and drawing lots necessary. Then there was a knockout round, in which the group winners, some of which were drawn, played against the second. For the first time, the teams wore fixed numbers .

In 1958, the preliminary round was also played in group mode, but without seeded teams, but if there was a tie there were still playoffs. The knockout round was again carried out in a crossover comparison (first against second in another group).

From 1962 to 1970, the goal difference (quotient) was used for the first time to determine the group winners and runners-up in the event of a tie ; since 1974 it has been the goal difference, as is still common today. In 1970 the yellow and red cards and the option of two substitutions were introduced.

In 1974 and 1978, the preliminary round with 16 teams was followed by an intermediate round, in which two group winners and two group runners-up in two groups each played off each of the finalists. The two second rounds played off third place. So there were no semi-finals.

In 1982 a tournament with 24 teams was held for the first time. After the preliminary round in the now usual group mode, there was an intermediate round with four groups of three teams. The group winners played the two finalists against each other in the semi-finals. At this tournament, a penalty shoot- out was carried out for the first time if a game was still drawn after extra time.

From 1986 to 1994, in addition to the six group winners and runners-up, the four best thirds in the group qualified for the first sixteen since 1938.

The tournament has been held with 32 teams since 1998. The eight group winners and runners-up qualify for the round of 16, whereby two teams from the same group can only meet again in the final or in the game for third place. In 2002, however, the aim was to prevent the two organizers (Japan and South Korea) from clashing too early, so that two teams from the same group (Brazil and Turkey) played against each other again in the semi-finals. There was also the golden goal in 1998 and 2002 , which meant that overtime with the first goal scored was automatically decided before the end of the game.

Since 2006, the reigning world champion is no longer automatically qualified, only the host.

On January 10, 2017, FIFA decided that from 2026 48 teams will take part in a total of 16 groups of three teams each, with the top two in the group qualifying for the knockout phase. The number of preliminary round games remains the same (48 games), but in the knockout system there is the round of the sixteenth finals with 16 additional games, so that the total number of games increases from 64 to 80.

trophies

At the first soccer world championship in 1930 it was announced that the association whose selection wins the world cup three times may keep it. When the Brazilian national team won the third World Cup in 1970, the trophy, which was named after the FIFA President Coupe Jules Rimet in 1946 , became the property of the Brazilian Football Association. The original was stolen in 1983 and presumably melted down.

The FIFA World Cup trophy designed by the Italian Silvio Gazzaniga was selected from 53 designs and has been awarded to the tournament winner since 1974. The challenge cup is 36.8 cm high, weighs 6175 g and is made of 18- carat gold and two rings made of malachite . Initially, the reigning soccer world champion was allowed to keep the trophy until the next World Cup. At FIFA's request, the original trophy must now be returned to FIFA upon departure from the host country of the final tournament at the latest. The world champion receives a gold-plated replica. The replica also remains the property of FIFA and must be returned upon request. Since 2006, the trophy has been sent on a world tour of several months before each final round as part of the “ FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour ” and then presented in the host country.

The teams in first, second and third place receive medals made of gold, silver or bronze.

First participations

A total of 211 national football associations are registered in FIFA (as of May 13, 2016). Up to and including the 2018 World Cup, 79 of these associations were represented at a World Cup finals with their own selection. The following list gives an overview of the World Cup premieres of all previous participants including the designation of their state or sub-state valid at the time.

• Teams in bold became world champions when they first participated.
• Teams marked with an ^* were also hosts when they participated for the first time.
• Teams written in italics belonged to the legal successors of dissolved states or associations and had adopted the full results and titles of their predecessors in the official FIFA statistics (see also footnotes).

year	First time participant
1930	Argentina	Belgium	Bolivia	Brazil
	Chile	France	Yugoslavia	Mexico
	Paraguay	Peru	Romania	Uruguay *
	United States
1934	Egypt	Germany	Italy *	Netherlands
	Austria	Sweden	Switzerland	Spain
	Czechoslovakia	Hungary
1938	Cuba	Dutch East Indies	Norway	Poland
1950	England
1954	Scotland	South Korea	Turkey
1958	Northern Ireland	Soviet Union	Wales
1962	Bulgaria	Colombia
1966	North Korea	Portugal
1970	El Salvador	Israel	Morocco
1974	Australia	GDR	Haiti	Zaire
1978	Iran	Tunisia
1982	Algeria	Honduras	Cameroon	Kuwait
	New Zealand
1986	Denmark	Iraq	Canada
1990	Costa Rica	Ireland	UA Emirates
1994	Greece	Nigeria	Russia	Saudi Arabia
1998	Jamaica	Japan	Croatia	South Africa
	BR Yugoslavia
2002	China	Ecuador	Senegal	Slovenia
2006	Angola	Ivory Coast	Ghana	Togo
	Trinidad and Tobago	Ukraine	Czech Republic	Serbia and Montenegro
2010	Slovakia	Serbia
2014	Bosnia and Herzegovina
2018	Iceland	Panama
2022	Qatar *

1. ↑ ^{a b c d} Serbia is rated by FIFA as the successor to the following “three countries”: 1.) Yugoslavia (debut 1930), 2.) Federal Republic of Yugoslavia or the rest of Yugoslavia (“debut” 1998 under the name of Yugoslavia ) and 3 .) Serbia and Montenegro (name of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from February 2003 until the split from Montenegro, "debut" 2006 under the name Serbia and Montenegro ). The results of all these teams will be allocated to Serbia in FIFA statistics. The year 1930 is considered to be Serbia's debut. See the country statistics for Serbia at FIFA . Serbia first appeared under its own name at a World Cup in 2010.
2. ↑ ^{a b} The German Football Association (DFB) is a founding member of FIFA and has represented Germany in international football from 1904 to the Second World War and since 1990. The first World Cup participation took place in 1934. After the war, a DFB was founded again in western Germany and accepted into FIFA under the full state name "Federal Republic of Germany", just in time for the 1954 World Cup, at which the FRG reached first place. The DFV was founded in eastern Germany and accepted by FIFA as a representative of its own state (only participation in a World Cup final was 1974). After German reunification, the national football associations were also reunited and, from 1994 onwards, ran again under the name “Germany” in FIFA. In 1990, however, the “Federal Republic of Germany” became world champions. See the country statistics for Germany at FIFA .
3. ↑ ^{a b c} Both the Czech Republic (“Debut” under this name in 2006) and Slovakia (“Debut” under this name in 2010) were initially both considered by FIFA to be the successors of Czechoslovakia (debut in 1934). As a result, Czechoslovakia results were allocated to both the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Therefore, the year 1934 was considered a World Cup debut for both countries. See the country statistics for the Czech Republic at FIFA. FIFA now sees 2010 as the year Slovakia will participate for the first time. Nevertheless, the statistics of Slovak players who played for Czechoslovakia are assigned to the Slovak team. See the FIFA statistics for Slovakia .
4. ↑ Today Indonesia . 
5. ↑ ^{a b} Russia is regarded by FIFA as the successor to the USSR. The results of the Soviet team are assigned to Russia in the FIFA statistics. As a debut of Russia thus the year 1958. applies under his own name entered Russia , starting in 1994 at a World Cup on. See the country statistics for Russia from FIFA .
6. ↑ Today the Democratic Republic of the Congo . 
7. ↑ As part of the USSR, Ukraine took part in the tournaments from 1958 to 1990. Ukrainian players were important players in the Soviet national team at this time. B. Oleh Blochin , who took part in the World Cup with the USSR in 1982 and 1986. In 1994, with Sergei Juran , Yuri Nikiforow , Wladislaw Ternawski and Ilja Zymbalar , players who were still born in Ukraine played for Russia at the World Cup. The results of the USSR are only attributed to Russia and the Ukraine's first World Cup participation is 2006.

See also : Football World Cup / Overview of Participants

Tournaments at a glance

year	host		final				Game for third place
			winner	Result	2nd place		3rd place	Result	4th Place
1930	Uruguay		Uruguay	4: 2	Argentina		United States	not carried out 1	Yugoslavia
1934	Italy		Italy	2: 1 a.d.	Czechoslovakia		Germany	3: 2	Austria
1938	France		Italy	4: 2	Hungary		Brazil	4: 2	Sweden
1950 2	Brazil		Uruguay	3Final round 3	Brazil		Sweden	Final round 3	Spain
1954	Switzerland		BR Germany	3: 2	Hungary		Austria	3: 1	Uruguay
1958	Sweden		Brazil	5: 2	Sweden		France	6: 3	BR Germany
1962	Chile		Brazil	3: 1	Czechoslovakia		Chile	1-0	Yugoslavia
1966	England		England	4: 2 a.d.	BR Germany		Portugal	2: 1	USSR
1970	Mexico		Brazil	4: 1	Italy		BR Germany	1-0	Uruguay
1974	BR Germany		BR Germany	2: 1	Netherlands		Poland	1-0	Brazil
1978	Argentina		Argentina	3: 1 a.d.	Netherlands		Brazil	2: 1	Italy
1982	Spain		Italy	3: 1	BR Germany		Poland	3: 2	France
1986	4th Mexico 4		Argentina	3: 2	BR Germany		France	4: 2 a.d.	Belgium
1990	Italy		BR Germany	1-0	Argentina		Italy	2: 1	England
1994	United States		Brazil	0: 0 n.v. 3: 2 i. E.	Italy		Sweden	4-0	Bulgaria
1998	France		France	3-0	Brazil		Croatia	2: 1	Netherlands
2002	South Korea / Japan		Brazil	2-0	Germany		Turkey	3: 2	South Korea
2006	Germany		Italy	1: 1 n.v. 5: 3 i. E.	France		Germany	3: 1	Portugal
2010	South Africa		Spain	1: 0 a.d.	Netherlands		Germany	3: 2	Uruguay
2014	Brazil		Germany	1: 0 a.d.	Argentina		Netherlands	3-0	Brazil
2018	Russia		France	4: 2	Croatia		Belgium	2-0	England
2022	Qatar
2026	Canada / Mexico / USA
2030	not yet taken
2034	not yet taken

¹In 1930 the game for 3rd place between the losers in the semi-finals USA and Yugoslavia was not played. However, FIFA leads the USA in third place as the team fared better over the tournament.

²At its congress in 1939, FIFA was unable to come to an agreement between Brazil and Germany to host the 1942 World Cup and postponed the decision. A short time later the Second World War broke out and ruined all plans. Because of the ongoing war, FIFA postponed the next World Cup indefinitely.

³Uruguay ( 2-1 against hosts Brazil ) and Sweden (3-1 against Spain) won the decisive games on the final day of the finals .

^4thColombia was originally intended to host the 1986 World Cup. For financial reasons, Colombia finally canceled the tournament on November 5, 1982. On May 20, 1983, Mexico was named substitute host of the 1986 World Cup by FIFA.

Leaderboards

See also : Football World Cup / Eternal Table

by country

rank	country	title	Year (s)	2nd place	3rd place	4th Place		final	Semifinals
1	Brazil	5	1958 , 1962 , 1970 , 1994 , 2002	2	2	2		6 (7 5 )	8 (11 6 7 8 )
2	Germany	4th	1954 , 1974 , 1990 , 2014	4th	4th	1		8th	12 (13 7 )
3	Italy	4th	1934 , 1938 , 1982 , 2006	2	1	1		6th	7 (8 8 )
4th	Argentina	2	1978 , 1986	3				5	4 (5 8 )
5	France	2	1998 , 2018	1	2	1		3	6th
6th	Uruguay	2	1930 , 1950			3		1 (2 5 )	4 (5 6 )
7th	England	1	1966			2		1	3
8th	Spain	1	2010			1		1	1 (2 6 )
9	Netherlands			3	1	1		3	3 (5 7 8 )
10	Czech Republic 10			2				2	2
	Hungary			2				2	2
12	Sweden			1	2	1		1	3 (4 6 )
13	Croatia			1	1			1	2
14th	Poland				2				1 (2 7 )
15th	Belgium				1	1			2
	Austria				1	1			2
	Portugal				1	1			2
18th	Chile				1				1
	Turkey				1				1
	United States				9 1 9				1
21st	Serbia 11					9 2 9			2
22nd	Bulgaria					1			1
	Russia 12					1			1
	South Korea					1			1
Respective record

⁵There was no real final at the 1950 World Cup, but the final game between Brazil and Uruguay decided on the world championship title and is often viewed as a final.

^6th At the 1950 World Cup there was no actual semi-final, the round of the last four with Brazil, Sweden, Spain and Uruguay is often viewed as a semi-final.

^7th At the 1974 World Cup, there was no actual semi-final, but the final intermediate round matches between Germany and Poland as well as Brazil and the Netherlands decided on the entry into the final and are often viewed as semi-finals.

^8thAt the 1978 World Cup, there was no actual semi-final, but the final intermediate round game between Italy and the Netherlands decided on the entry into the final as did the second game of the other intermediate round group between Argentina and Brazil. They are often viewed as semi-finals.

⁹At the first World Cup in 1930, the game for third place was not played. However, FIFA lead the USA in third place as the team conceded one less goal than Yugoslavia in the course of the tournament.

¹⁰ According to FIFA, the Czech Republic is regarded as the successor to Czechoslovakia.

¹¹ According to FIFA, Serbia is the successor of both the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia / Serbia and Montenegro and the socialist federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY).

¹² According to FIFA, Russia is considered the successor to the Soviet Union.

For some years now, the number of world championship titles acquired to date has been represented by stars, which are usually placed above the football association's logos on the national team's jerseys. In 1971, Brazil was the first team to wear three stars, today there are five (see also champions star ).

after confederations

rank	confederacy	title	2.	3.	4th
1	UEFA	12	16	17th	15th
2	CONMEBOL	9	5	3	5
3	CONCACAF			1
4th	AFC				1
5	CAF
	OFC

Record player

Most of the World Cup finals

If the number of participants is the same, the order is based on the year in which the last participation took place. Players marked
with * became world champions (the respective year is also marked).
The years of tournaments without stakes are shown in italics .

rank	player	Participation (with commitment)	Tournaments
1	Antonio Carbajal	5 (5)	1950, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1966
	Lothar Matthäus *		1982, 1986, 1990 *, 1994, 1998
	Rafael Marquez		2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018
4th	Gianluigi Buffon *	5 (4)	1998 , 2002, 2006 *, 2010, 2014
5	Djalma Santos *	4 (4)	1954, 1958 *, 1962 *, 1966
	Pelé *		1958 *, 1962 *, 1966, 1970 *
	Karl-Heinz Schnellinger		1958, 1962, 1966, 1970
	Uwe Seeler		1958, 1962, 1966, 1970
	Gianni Rivera		1962, 1966, 1970, 1974
	Pedro Rocha		1962, 1966, 1970, 1974
	Wladyslaw Żmuda		1974, 1978, 1982, 1986
	Diego Maradona *		1982, 1986 *, 1990, 1994
	Giuseppe Bergomi *		1982 *, 1986, 1990, 1998
	Enzo Scifo		1986, 1990, 1994, 1998
	Franky Van Der Elst		1986, 1990, 1994, 1998
	Andoni Zubizarreta		1986, 1990, 1994, 1998
	Paolo Maldini		1990, 1994, 1998, 2002
	Cafu *		1994 *, 1998, 2002 *, 2006
	Ronaldo *		1994 * , 1998, 2002 *, 2006
	Fabio Cannavaro *		1998, 2002, 2006 *, 2010
	Denis Caniza		1998, 2002, 2006, 2010
	Thierry Henry *		1998 *, 2002, 2006, 2010
	Rigobert Song		1994, 1998, 2002, 2010
	DaMarcus Beasley		2002, 2006, 2010, 2014
	Iker Casillas *		2002, 2006, 2010 *, 2014
	Samuel Eto'o		1998, 2002, 2010, 2014
	Miroslav Klose *		2002, 2006, 2010, 2014 *
	Xavi *		2002, 2006, 2010 *, 2014
	Valon Behrami		2006, 2010, 2014, 2018
	Cristiano Ronaldo		2006, 2010, 2014, 2018
	Andrés Guardado		2006, 2010, 2014, 2018
	Andrés Iniesta *		2006, 2010 *, 2014, 2018
	Javier Mascherano		2006, 2010, 2014, 2018
	Lionel Messi		2006, 2010, 2014, 2018
	Sergio Ramos *		2006, 2010 *, 2014, 2018
	Tim Cahill		2006, 2010, 2014, 2018

Most World Cup finals appearances

This table lists players with at least 18 World Cup finals appearances. It is irrelevant whether a player played less than a minute or the entire game. In the year marked in bold , the players and their teams became world champions.

If the number of games is the same, the order is alphabetical.

rank	player	Games	Tournaments
1	Lothar Matthäus	25th	1982, 1986, 1990 , 1994, 1998
2	Miroslav Klose	24	2002, 2006, 2010, 2014
3	Paolo Maldini	23	1990, 1994, 1998, 2002
4th	Diego Maradona	21st	1982, 1986 , 1990, 1994
	Uwe Seeler	21st	1958, 1962, 1966, 1970
	Wladyslaw Żmuda	21st	1974, 1978, 1982, 1986
7th	Cafu	20th	1994 , 1998, 2002 , 2006
	Philipp Lahm	20th	2006, 2010, 2014
	Grzegorz Lato	20th	1974, 1978, 1982
	Javier Mascherano	20th	2006, 2010, 2014, 2018
	Bastian Schweinsteiger	20th	2006, 2010, 2014

Most World Cup finals goals

Miroslav Klose, the player with the most World Cup goals (2012)

In the year marked in bold , the players and their teams became world champions.

rank	player	Gates	Tournaments
1	Miroslav Klose	16	2002 (5), 2006 (5), 2010 (4), 2014 (2)
2	Ronaldo	15th	1998 (4), 2002 (8), 2006 (3)
3	Gerd Müller	14th	1970 (10), 1974 (4)
4th	Just Fontaine	13	1958 (13)
5	Pelé	12	1958 * (6), 1962 (1), 1966 (1), 1970 (4)
6th	Sándor Kocsis	11	1954 (11)
	Jürgen Klinsmann		1990 (3), 1994 (5), 1998 (3)
8th	Helmut Rahn	10	1954 (4), 1958 (6)
	Teófilo Cubillas		1970 (5), 1978 (5)
	Grzegorz Lato		1974 (7), 1978 (2), 1982 (1)
	Gary Lineker		1986 (6), 1990 (4)
	Gabriel Batistuta		1994 (4), 1998 (5), 2002 (1)
	Thomas Müller		2010 (5), 2014 (5), 2018 (0)

→ Main article : World Cup / Records # players

→ Main article : List of soccer world championship coaches

Awards

At the 2018 World Cup, Luka Modrić (left) received the Golden Ball as the best player of the tournament and Kylian Mbappé the trophy as "Best Young Player"

At the end of every soccer world championship, several awards are given to the best players and the fairest team. No official awards were given until the 1966 World Cup. There are currently five different awards:

• FIFA Fairplay Award for the fairest team
• adidas golden shoe for the most successful goalscorer

→ Main article : List of top scorers of the men's soccer world championships

• adidas Golden Ball for the best player
• adidas Golden Glove ( Lev Yashin Prize until 2006 ) for the best goalkeeper
• Hyundai “Best Young Player” for the best player under the age of 21

A nominated player must not be older than 21 years and must play his first World Cup. The assessment criteria of the FIFA Technical Study Group responsible for this are technical skills, but also fair play. The trophy is a 30 cm high and 4.2 kg cup made of a copper-zinc alloy.

The winner will also receive the FIFA Champions Badge . The badge may be worn for four years after winning the World Cup. The badge was introduced for men in September 2008 and for women in April 2009. The badge shows the trophy and is complemented by the words “FIFA World Champions”. A second badge shows the name of the winning country and the year of the victory.

year	FIFA Fair Play Award	Golden Shoe (Gates)	Golden ball	Golden Glove (until 2006 Lev Yashin Prize )	Best young player
1970	Peru	not forgiven	not forgiven	not forgiven	not forgiven
1974	BR Germany
1978	Argentina	Mario Kempes (6)
1982	Brazil	Paolo Rossi (6)	Paolo Rossi
1986	Brazil	Gary Lineker (6)	Diego Maradona
1990	England	Salvatore Schillaci (6)	Salvatore Schillaci
1994	Brazil	Oleg Salenko  / Christo Stoitschkow (6 each)	Romario	Michel Preud'homme
1998	England / France	Before Šuker (6)	Ronaldo	Fabien Barthez
2002	Belgium	Ronaldo (8)	Oliver Kahn	Oliver Kahn
2006	Brazil / Spain	Miroslav Klose (5)	Zinedine Zidane	Gianluigi Buffon	Lukas Podolski
2010	Spain	Thomas Muller (5)	Diego Forlan	Iker Casillas	Thomas Müller
2014	Colombia	James Rodríguez (6)	Lionel Messi	Manuel Neuer	Paul Pogba
2018	Spain	Harry Kane (6)	Luka Modrić	Thibaut Courtois	Kylian Mbappé

1. ↑ 2006 Gillette sponsored award.
2. ↑ Ranking was determined based on the number of assists / minutes of play. In addition to Müller, David Villa ( Spain ), Wesley Sneijder ( Netherlands ) and Diego Forlán ( Uruguay ) also scored five goals.

In addition, the following are elected via internet voting:

• The most entertaining team
• Man of the Match for the best player in each final game

year	Most entertaining team	Man of the Match (Final)
1994	Brazil	not forgiven
1998	France
2002	South Korea
2006	Portugal	Andrea Pirlo
2010	- 1	Andrés Iniesta
2014	-	Mario Götze
2018	-	Antoine Griezmann

¹ For 2010, FIFA also started an internet vote in which Germany led Uruguay, but which was not officially ended and evaluated.

Best Young Player 1958-2002

FIFA subsequently determined the best young player for the World Cups from 1958 to 2002 using an internet vote.

competition	Best Young Player
1958 Sweden	Pelé
1962 Chile	Flórián Albert
1966 England	Franz Beckenbauer
1970 Mexico	Teófilo Cubillas
1974 Germany	Wladyslaw Żmuda
1978 Argentina	Antonio Cabrini
1982 Spain	Manuel Amoros
1986 Mexico	Enzo Scifo
1990 Italy	Robert Prosinečki
1994 USA	Marc Overmars
1998 France	Michael Owen
2002 Japan and South Korea	Landon Donovan

Varia

competition	places	Stages	Messages 10	Teams	Games		O	spectator	Audience ø		O		O		O
1930	01	03	013	13	18th	070	3.89	.0590,549	32,808					01	0.05
1934	08th	08th	032	16	17th	070	4.12	.0363,000	21,353					01	0.06
1938	10	10	036	15th	18th	084	4.67	.0375,700	20,872					04th	0.22
1950	06th	06th	034	13	22nd	088	4.00	1,045,246	47,511					00	0.00
1954	06th	06th	038	16	26th	140	5.38	.0768,607	29,562					03	0.11
1958	12	12	052	16	35	126	3.60	.0819.810	23,423					03	0.09
1962	04th	04th	054	16	32	089	2.78	.0893.172	27,912					06th	0.18
1966	07th	08th	071	16	32	089	2.78	1,563,135	48,848					05	0.16
1970	05	05	071	16	32	095	2.97	1,603,975	50,124	033	1.03			00	0.00
1974	09	09	099	16	38	097	2.55	1,865,753	49,099	087	2.29			05	0.13
1978	05	06th	106	16	38	102	2.68	1,545,791	40,679	058	1.53			03	0.08
1982	14th	17th	107	24	52	146	2.81	2,109,723	40,572	098	1.88			05	0.10
1986	09	12	121	24	52	132	2.54	2,394,031	46,039	133	2.55			08th	0.15
1990	12	12	112	24	52	115	2.21	2,516,215	48,389	163	3.75			16	0.31
1994	09	09	143	24	52	141	2.71	3,587,538	68.991	228	4.38	07th	0.13	08th	0.15
1998	10	10	166	32	64	171	2.67	2,785,100	43,517	250	3.91	04th	0.06	18th	0.28
2002	20th	20th	198	32	64	161	2.52	2,705,197	42,269	266	4.16	06th	0.09	11	0.17
2006	12	12	198	32	64	147	2.30	3,359,439	52,491	326	5.09	19th	0.30	09	0.14
2010	09	10	205	32	64	145	2.27	3,178,856	49,670	245	3.83	08th	0.13	09	0.14
2014	12	12	204	32	64	171	2.67	3,429,873	53,592	181	2.83	03	0.05	07th	0.11
2018	11	12	11211 11	32	64	169	2.64	3,031,768	47,371	219	3.42	02	0.03	02	0.03
2022	07th	12		32	64
2026				48	80
Highest value / lowest value in the respective category 

¹⁰The reports submitted on time are counted regardless of whether, before the start of the qualification, they may have been withdrawn, not started or an association has been excluded; including defending champions and hosts.

¹¹ Gibraltar and Kosovo were accepted into FIFA after the registration deadline and still eligible for qualification.

Doping cases

The following footballers have been convicted of doping in the context of football World Cups :

• 1974: Ernest Jean Joseph ( asthma drug ) 
• 1978: Willie Johnston ( Fencamfamin ) 
• 1986: Ramon Calderé ( ephedrine ; later acquittal because the drug was taken due to Salmonella infection) 
• 1994: Diego Maradona ( ephedrine ) 

So-called world champion curse

The term world champion curse is used in sports journalism in particular to describe the statistical conspicuousness that the reigning soccer world champions in the last two decades were always eliminated at an early stage in the subsequent soccer world championship. The statistics of the last five tournaments are used for this:

year	Reigning world champion	Time of departure
2002	France	Preliminary round
2006	Brazil	Quarter finals
2010	Italy	Preliminary round
2014	Spain	Preliminary round
2018	Germany	Preliminary round

Before that, only Italy in 1950 and Brazil in 1966 had been eliminated as reigning world champions in the group stage. A year before the World Cup, however, Italy had lost a large part of the regular team due to the plane crash of Superga and had to compete for the World Cup with a team in which no player had played more than 12 international matches.

The cause of the phenomenon is unknown. A sport-scientific investigation does not exist. Statistical randomness is conceivable . However, it is also possible that with the ever increasing density of performance in top football, minor but systematic psychological factors are causing the phenomenon.

See also

• List of soccer world championship venues
• Soccer World Cup / mascot
• Football World Cup / sponsors
• Soccer World Cup / Records
• Pelé-Cup : Senior World Cup (over 34) from 1987 to 1995

Alternative concepts for the FIFA World Cup include: B .:

• Nasazzi rod
• Unofficial Football World Championships

literature

• Winfried Bergmann, Karl-Heinz Huba, Karl-Heinz Mrazek: The History of the Soccer World Cup. Copress-Verlag, 1991, ISBN 3-7679-0311-3 .
• Bernd M. Beyer, Dietrich Schulze-Marmeling: The golden book of the soccer world championship. Verlag Die Werkstatt, Göttingen 2014, ISBN 978-3-7307-0159-1 .
• Wolfgang Fuhr: Football World Championships. AGON Sportverlag, Kassel, 2005, ISBN 3-89784-265-3 .
• Hardy Greens : Football World Cup Encyclopedia. 1930-2006. AGON Sportverlag, Kassel 2002, ISBN 3-89784-205-X .
• Waldemar Hartmann, Günter Netzer, Robert Kauer: People, goals & sensations. History and stories. WM 1930–2006. Wero Press, 2002, ISBN 3-9806973-7-1 .
• Dietrich Schulze-Marmeling: The history of the soccer world championship. Verlag Die Werkstatt , Göttingen 2014, ISBN 978-3-7307-0136-2 .

Web links

Commons : Soccer World Cup  - Collection of Pictures, Videos and Audio Files

Wiktionary: Football World Cup  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

• Scientific Services of the German Bundestag: History of the Soccer World Cup ( Memento from October 22, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
• World Cup History - The history of the World Cup from 1930 to 2010

Individual evidence

1. ↑ The biggest sporting events in the world. In: www.sport-insider.de. Sport Insider (C3 Creative Code and Content GmbH), February 5, 2017, accessed on June 22, 2018 . 
2. ↑ Filip van der Elst, Maarten Verdoodt: Ganzenvijver Ukkel . Bruzz No. 1580, August 25, 2017, pages 24-25.
3. ↑ Football: Fifa abolishes World Cup rotation, Israel does not allow Palestine's players to travel. In: spiegel.de. Spiegel Online , October 29, 2007, accessed July 28, 2013 . 
4. ↑ Open candidacy procedure for the FIFA World Cup finals from 2018. In: fifa.com. FIFA , October 29, 2007, accessed October 25, 2012 . 
5. ↑ 2018 World Cup and 2022 World Cup will be awarded at the same time: FIFA confirms combined World Cup bid. In: kicker.de. Kicker (sports magazine) , December 20, 2008, accessed on July 28, 2013 . 
6. ↑ FIFA Statutes. Edition April 2016 (German). (PDF) In: fifa.com. FIFA , April 2016, accessed June 14, 2018 . 
7. ↑ Regulations for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil. (PDF; 421 kB) (No longer available online.) In: fifa.com. FIFA, archived from the original on June 29, 2014 ; Retrieved June 18, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
8. ↑ Meeting in Zurich: From 2026 - FIFA decides the World Cup with 48 teams. In: sportschau.de. Sportschau , January 10, 2017, accessed on January 10, 2017 . 
9. ↑ From 2026: 48 teams - Fifa enlarges the World Cup. In: spiegel.de. Spiegel Online , January 10, 2017, accessed January 10, 2017 . 
10. ↑ Jules Rimet Cup. In: fifa.com. FIFA, accessed September 21, 2013 . 
11. ↑ FIFA World Cup trophy. In: fifa.com. FIFA, accessed September 21, 2013 . 
12. ^ Regulations for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa ^TM . (PDF; 271 kB) In: fifa.com. FIFA, p. 52 , accessed September 21, 2013 . 
13. ↑ History and facts about the FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour. In: fifa.com. FIFA, September 10, 2013, accessed July 2, 2014 . 
14. ^ Trophy Tour. In: fifa.com. FIFA, accessed July 2, 2014 . 
15. ↑ FIFA Congress heralds a new era, first FIFA General Secretary appointed. In: fifa.com. FIFA, accessed June 26, 2018 . 
16. ↑ ^{a b} FIFA World Cup: Milestones, facts & figures - Statistical Kit 7. (PDF; 517 kB) In: fifa.com. FIFA, March 26, 2013, archived from the original on May 21, 2013 ; accessed on October 12, 2013 . 
17. ↑ FIFA.com: Real Madrid receive FIFA World Champions Badge in Japan . In: FIFA.com . December 17, 2016 ( fifa.com [accessed August 6, 2018]).
18. ↑ adidas Golden Shoe - FIFA World Cup. In: fifa.com. FIFA, archived from the original on April 5, 2013 ; Retrieved October 12, 2013 . 
19. ↑ ITALY - FRANCE (Game 64): Anheuser Busch Bud Man of the Match: Andrea Pirlo (ITA). In: fifa.com. FIFA, April 25, 2006, accessed October 25, 2012 . 
20. ^ FIFA World Cup 2010 - Man of the Match. In: fifa.com. FIFA, accessed October 25, 2012 . 
21. ↑ 2014 FIFA World Cup - Man of the Match. (No longer available online.) In: fifa.com. FIFA, formerly in the original ; Retrieved July 13, 2014 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.    
22. ↑ What was the best moment of the tournament for you? In: fifa.com. FIFA, July 11, 2010, accessed November 10, 2010 . 
23. ↑ Jonas Krämer: Like France, Italy, Spain: Germany also caught the world champion curse. In: Hamburger Morgenpost . June 28, 2018, accessed December 20, 2018 . 
24. ↑ Tim Wohlbold: World Cup 2018: What is it about the world champion curse? In: stuttgarter-nachrichten.de . June 18, 2018, accessed December 20, 2018 .