List of FIFA World Cup records and statistics

Last updated

This is a list of records of the FIFA World Cup and its qualification matches.

Contents

General statistics by tournament

YearHostChampionWinning coachTop scorer(s)Best player award [1] [2] [3]
1930 Flag of Uruguay.svg  Uruguay Flag of Uruguay.svg  Uruguay Flag of Uruguay.svg Alberto Suppici Flag of Argentina.svg Guillermo Stábile (8) Flag of Uruguay.svg José Nasazzi
1934 Flag of Italy (1861-1946).svg  Italy Flag of Italy (1861-1946).svg  Italy Flag of Italy (1861-1946).svg Vittorio Pozzo Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Oldřich Nejedlý (5) Flag of Italy (1861-1946).svg Giuseppe Meazza
1938 Flag of France (1794-1815, 1830-1958).svg  France Flag of Italy (1861-1946).svg  Italy Flag of Italy (1861-1946).svg Vittorio Pozzo Flag of Brazil (1889-1960).svg Leônidas (7) Flag of Brazil (1889-1960).svg Leônidas
1950 Flag of Brazil (1889-1960).svg  Brazil Flag of Uruguay.svg  Uruguay Flag of Uruguay.svg Juan López Flag of Brazil (1889-1960).svg Ademir (9) Flag of Brazil (1889-1960).svg Zizinho
1954 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland Flag of Germany.svg  West Germany Flag of Germany.svg Sepp Herberger Flag of Hungary (1949-1956; 1-2 aspect ratio).svg Sándor Kocsis (11) Flag of Hungary (1949-1956; 1-2 aspect ratio).svg Ferenc Puskás
1958 Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden Flag of Brazil (1889-1960).svg  Brazil Flag of Brazil (1889-1960).svg Vicente Feola Flag of France (1794-1815, 1830-1958).svg Just Fontaine (13) Flag of Brazil (1889-1960).svg Didi
1962 Flag of Chile.svg  Chile Flag of Brazil (1960-1968).svg  Brazil Flag of Brazil (1960-1968).svg Aymoré Moreira Flag of Brazil (1960-1968).svg Garrincha (4)
Flag of Brazil (1960-1968).svg Vavá (4)
Flag of Chile.svg Leonel Sánchez (4)
Flag of Hungary.svg Flórián Albert (4)
Flag of the Soviet Union.svg Valentin Ivanov (4)
Flag of Yugoslavia (1946-1992).svg Dražan Jerković (4)
Flag of Brazil (1960-1968).svg Garrincha
1966 Flag of England.svg  England Flag of England.svg  England Flag of England.svg Alf Ramsey Flag of Portugal.svg Eusébio (9) Flag of England.svg Bobby Charlton
1970 Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico Flag of Brazil (1968-1992).svg  Brazil Flag of Brazil (1968-1992).svg Mário Zagallo Flag of Germany.svg Gerd Müller (10) Flag of Brazil (1968-1992).svg Pelé
1974 Flag of Germany.svg  West Germany Flag of Germany.svg  West Germany Flag of Germany.svg Helmut Schön Flag of Poland (1928-1980).svg Grzegorz Lato (7) Flag of the Netherlands.svg Johan Cruyff
1978 Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina Flag of Argentina.svg César Luis Menotti Flag of Argentina.svg Mario Kempes (6) Flag of Argentina.svg Mario Kempes
1982 Flag of Spain.svg  Spain Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Flag of Italy.svg Enzo Bearzot Flag of Italy.svg Paolo Rossi (6) Flag of Italy.svg Paolo Rossi
1986 Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina Flag of Argentina.svg Carlos Bilardo Flag of England.svg Gary Lineker (6) Flag of Argentina.svg Diego Maradona
1990 Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Flag of Germany.svg  West Germany Flag of Germany.svg Franz Beckenbauer Flag of Italy.svg Salvatore Schillaci (6) Flag of Italy.svg Salvatore Schillaci
1994 Flag of the United States.svg  United States Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil Flag of Brazil.svg Carlos Alberto Parreira Flag of Bulgaria.svg Hristo Stoichkov (6)
Flag of Russia.svg Oleg Salenko (6)
Flag of Brazil.svg Romário
1998 Flag of France (lighter variant).svg  France Flag of France (lighter variant).svg  France Flag of France (lighter variant).svg Aimé Jacquet Flag of Croatia.svg Davor Šuker (6) Flag of Brazil.svg Ronaldo
2002 Flag of South Korea (1997-2011).svg  South Korea
Flag of Japan.svg  Japan
Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil Flag of Brazil.svg Luiz Felipe Scolari Flag of Brazil.svg Ronaldo (8) Flag of Germany.svg Oliver Kahn
2006 Flag of Germany.svg  Germany Flag of Italy (2003-2006).svg  Italy Flag of Italy (2003-2006).svg Marcello Lippi Flag of Germany.svg Miroslav Klose (5) Flag of France (lighter variant).svg Zinedine Zidane
2010 Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa Flag of Spain.svg  Spain Flag of Spain.svg Vicente del Bosque Flag of Germany.svg Thomas Müller (5)
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Wesley Sneijder (5)
Flag of Spain.svg David Villa (5)
Flag of Uruguay.svg Diego Forlán (5)
Flag of Uruguay.svg Diego Forlán
2014 Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil Flag of Germany.svg  Germany Flag of Germany.svg Joachim Löw Flag of Colombia.svg James Rodríguez (6) Flag of Argentina.svg Lionel Messi
2018 Flag of Russia.svg  Russia Flag of France (lighter variant).svg  France Flag of France (lighter variant).svg Didier Deschamps Flag of England.svg Harry Kane (6) Flag of Croatia.svg Luka Modrić

Teams: Tournament position

Note: In case there are teams with equal quantities, they will be mentioned in chronological order of tournament history (the teams that attained the quantity first, are listed first). If the quantity was attained by more than one team in the same tournament, the teams will be listed alphabetically.

Most titles won
5, Brazil (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002):
Most finishes in the top two
8, Germany (1954, 1966, 1974, 1982, 1986, 1990, 2002, 2014)
Most finishes in the top three
12, Germany (1934, 1954, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1982, 1986, 1990, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014)
Most finishes in the top four
13, Germany (1934, 1954, 1958, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1982, 1986, 1990, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014)
For a detailed list of top four appearances, see FIFA World Cup results
Most finishes in the top eight
18, Brazil (every tournament except 1934, 1966 and 1990) [lower-alpha 1]
Most finishes in the top 16
21, Brazil (every tournament)
Most World Cup appearances
22, Brazil (every tournament)
For a detailed list, see National team appearances in the FIFA World Cup .
Most second-place finishes
4, Germany (1966, 1982, 1986, 2002)
Most third-place finishes
4, Germany (1934, 1970, 2006, 2010)
Most fourth-place finishes
3, Uruguay (1954, 1970, 2010)
Most eliminated in semi-final
5, Germany (1934, 1958, 1970, 2006, 2010)
Most eliminated in quarter-final
8, England (1950, 1954, 1962, 1970, 1982, 1986, 2002, 2006) [lower-alpha 2]
Most eliminated in round of 16
14, Mexico (1930, 1950, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1978, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018) [lower-alpha 3]
Most eliminated in first round
8, South Korea (1954, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2006, 2014, 2018), and Scotland (1954, 1958, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1998)
Most titles won by a confederation
12, UEFA (1934, 1938, 1954, 1966, 1974, 1982, 1990, 1998, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018)
Most final appearances by confederation
28, UEFA (2 in 1934, 2 in 1938, 2 in 1954, 1958, 1962, 2 in 1966, 1970, 2 in 1974, 1978, 2 in 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2 in 2006, 2 in 2010, 2014, 2 in 2018)
Confederation with highest percentage of teams who qualified for the finals at least once
90% (9 out of 10), CONMEBOL (all but Venezuela)
Confederation with lowest percentage of teams who qualified for the finals at least once
15.38% (2 out of 11 current and 2 former), OFC (only Australia and New Zealand)

Consecutive

Most consecutive championships
2, Italy (1934–1938) and Brazil (1958–1962)
Most consecutive finishes in the top two
3, Germany (1982–1990) and Brazil (1994–2002)
Most consecutive finishes in the top three
4, Germany (2002–2014)
Most consecutive finishes in the top four
4, Germany (2002–2014)
Most consecutive finishes in the top eight
16, Germany (1954–2014)
Most consecutive finishes in the top 16
21, Brazil (1930–2018) [lower-alpha 4]
Most consecutive finals tournaments
22, Brazil (1930–2022)
Most consecutive second-place finishes
2, Netherlands (1974–1978) and West Germany (1982–1986)
Most consecutive third-place finishes
2, Germany (2006–2010)
Most consecutive fourth-place finishes
No country has finished 4th in two consecutive tournaments
Most consecutive 3rd–4th-place finishes
2, Sweden (1938–1950), Brazil (1974–1978), France (1982–1986), Germany (2006–2010)
Most consecutive 5th–8th-place finishes
4, Switzerland (1934–1954) [lower-alpha 5]
Most consecutive 9th–16th-place finishes
7, Mexico (1994–2018)
Most consecutive 17th–32nd-place finishes
4, South Korea (1986–1998)
Biggest improvement in position in consecutive tournaments
Did not participate/qualify, then champion, Italy (1930–1934), Uruguay (1938–1950), West Germany (1950–1954), France (1994–1998)
Most consecutive championships by a confederation
4, UEFA (2006–2018)
Most consecutive top two appearances by confederation
17, UEFA (1954–2018)
Most consecutive top three appearances by confederation
20, UEFA (1934–2018)
Most consecutive top four appearances by confederation
21, UEFA (1930–2018)

Gaps

Longest gap between successive titles
44 years, Italy (1938–1982)
Longest gap between successive appearances in the top two
48 years, Argentina (1930–1978)
Longest gap between successive appearances in the top three
48 years, Argentina (1930–1978)
Longest gap between successive appearances in the top four
60 years, Spain (1950–2010)
Longest gap between successive appearances in the finals
64 years, Wales (1958–2022)
Longest holding of the world champion title
Italy: 16 years, 1 month and 6 days (10 June 1934 – 16 July 1950)

Host team

Best finish by host team
Champion: Uruguay (1930), Italy (1934), England (1966), West Germany (1974), Argentina (1978), France (1998)
Worst finish by host team
17th–32nd position (FIFA final ranking of 20th): South Africa (2010)

Defending champion

Best finish by defending champion
Champion: Italy (1938), Brazil (1962)
Worst finish by defending champion
Did not participate: Uruguay (1934)
Worst finish by defending champion who participates in the next tournament
Group stage: Italy (1950), Brazil (1966), France (2002), Italy (2010), Spain (2014), Germany (2018)

Debuting teams

Best finish by a debuting team
Champion: Uruguay (1930), Italy (1934) [lower-alpha 6]
Best finish by a debuting team after 1934
Third place: Portugal (1966), Croatia (1998)

Other

Most finishes in the top two without ever being champion
3, Netherlands (1974, 1978, 2010)
Most finishes in the top three without ever being champion
4, Netherlands (1974, 1978, 2010, 2014)
Most finishes in the top four without ever being champion
5, Netherlands (1974, 1978, 1998, 2010, 2014)
Most appearances, never progressing from the first round
8, Scotland (1954, 1958, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1998) [lower-alpha 7]
Most finals played, never lost
2, Uruguay (1930,1950)
Most semi-finals played, never lost
5, Argentina (1930, 1978, 1986, 1990, 2014) [lower-alpha 8]
Most quarter-finals (or best eight round) played, never lost
2, Croatia (1998, 2018), Portugal (1966, 2006) and Áustria (1934, 1954)
Most round of 16 (from 1986 to date) played, never lost
8, Germany (1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014)
Most appearances, never winning a match
3, Bolivia (1930, 1950, 1994), Honduras (1982, 2010, 2014), Egypt (1934, 1990, 2018)
Most played final
3, Argentina vs Germany (1986, 1990, 2014)
Most played match
7, Argentina vs Germany (1958, 1966, 1986, 1990, 2006, 2010, 2014), Brazil vs Sweden (1938, 1950, 1958, 1978, 1990, 1994 (2x))

Teams: Tournament progress

All time

Most appearances in the first round
22, Brazil (every tournament)
Progressed from the first round the most times
18, Brazil (every tournament except 1930, 1934 and 1966)
Progressed from the first round as group winners the most times
15, Brazil (1950, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1970, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018)
Eliminated in the first round the most times (and therefore most appearances without reaching the second round)
8, Scotland (1954, 1958, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1998)
Most appearances without elimination from the first round
3, Republic of Ireland (1990, 1994, 2002) [lower-alpha 9]
Fewest appearances, reaching quarter-finals
1, Cuba (1938), East Germany (1974), Ukraine (2006)
Most appearances without reaching quarter-finals
8, Scotland (1954, 1958, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1998)
Fewest appearances, reaching semi-finals
2, Turkey (2002)
Most appearances, without reaching semi-finals
16, Mexico (1930, 1950, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1978, 1986, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018)
Fewest appearances, reaching a final
5, Croatia (2018)
Most appearances without reaching a final
16, Mexico (1930, 1950, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1978, 1986, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018)
Fewest appearances, winning a title
14, Uruguay (1930, 1950)
Most appearances without winning a title
16, Mexico (1930, 1950, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1978, 1986, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018)

Consecutive

Most consecutive appearances in the first round
22, Brazil (every tournament)
Most consecutive progressions from the first round
16, Germany (1954–2014)
Most consecutive progressions from the first round as group winners
10, Brazil (1982–2018)
Most consecutive eliminations from the first round
5, Mexico (1950–1966), Scotland (1974–1990)
Most consecutive result by the same team
7, Round of 16, Mexico (1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018)

All-time table

Players

Most championships
3, Pelé (Brazil, 1958, 1962 (only played in first two matches; medal awarded retroactively by FIFA in 2007) [4] and 1970)
See here for a list of players who have won multiple FIFA World Cups .
Most man of the match awards in one tournament
4, Lionel Messi (Argentina) in 2014 [5]
Most tournament appearances
5, Antonio Carbajal (Mexico, 1950–1966), Lothar Matthäus (Germany, 1982–1998), Rafael Márquez (Mexico, 2002–2018), Lionel Messi (Argentina, 2006–2022) [1] [6]
Most finishes in the top two
3, Nílton Santos (Brazil; 1950, 1958, 1962), Carlos José Castilho (Brazil; 1950, 1958, 1962), Pelé (Brazil; 1958, 1962, 1970), Pierre Littbarski (West Germany; 1982, 1986, 1990), Lothar Matthäus (West Germany; 1982, 1986, 1990), Cafu (Brazil; 1994, 1998, 2002)
(Ronaldo of Brazil had also appeared in 3 occasions, 1994–2002, but did not play in 1994)
Most finishes in the top three
4, Miroslav Klose (Germany, 2002–2014)
Most appearances in All-Star Team
3, Djalma Santos (Brazil, 1954–1962), Franz Beckenbauer (West Germany, 1966–1974), Philipp Lahm (Germany, 2006–2014)
Most matches played
25, Lothar Matthäus (Germany, 1982–1998)
Most knockout games played
14, Miroslav Klose (Germany, 2002–2014)
Most minutes played
2,217 minutes, Paolo Maldini (Italy, 1990–2002)
Most qualifier matches played
68, Iván Hurtado (Ecuador, 1994–2010)
Most matches won
17, Miroslav Klose (Germany, 2002–2014)
Most appearances in a World Cup final
3, Cafu (Brazil; 1994, 1998, 2002) [lower-alpha 10]
Most different teams played in tournaments
2, Luis Monti (Argentina, 1930 and Italy, 1934), Robert Prosinečki and Robert Jarni (Yugoslavia, 1990 and Croatia, 1998 and 2002), Ferenc Puskás (Hungary, 1954 and Spain, 1962)
Most appearances as captain
17, Rafael Márquez (Mexico, 2002–2018) [7]
Most tournaments as captain
5, Rafael Márquez (Mexico, 2002–2018) [7]
Most appearances as substitute
11, Denílson (Brazil, 1998–2002)
Youngest player
17 years, 41 days, Norman Whiteside (Northern Ireland), vs Yugoslavia, 17 June 1982
Youngest player, final
17 years, 249 days, Pelé (Brazil), vs Sweden, 29 June 1958
Youngest player, qualifying match
13 years, 310 days, Souleymane Mamam (Togo), vs Zambia, 6 May 2001, 2002 CAF Group 1 [lower-alpha 11]
Youngest captain
21 years, 109 days, Tony Meola (United States), vs Czechoslovakia, 10 June 1990 [lower-alpha 12]
Youngest player to ever be named to a FIFA World Cup squad
16 years, 339 days, Edu (Brazil), 1966
Oldest player
45 years, 161 days, Essam El-Hadary (Egypt), vs Saudi Arabia, 25 June 2018
Oldest player, final
40 years, 133 days, Dino Zoff (Italy), vs West Germany, 11 July 1982
Oldest player, qualifying match
46 years, 175 days, MacDonald Taylor Sr. (United States Virgin Islands), vs Saint Kitts and Nevis, 18 February 2004, 2006 CONCACAF First Round [9]
Oldest captain
45 years, 161 days, Essam El-Hadary (Egypt), vs Saudi Arabia, 25 June 2018
Oldest player to debut in a World Cup finals tournament
45 years, 161 days, Essam El-Hadary (Egypt), vs Saudi Arabia, 25 June 2018
Oldest player to ever be named to a FIFA World Cup squad
45 years, 150 days, Essam El-Hadary (Egypt), 2018 [10]
Largest age difference on the same team
24 years and 42 days, 1994, Cameroon (Rigobert Song: 17 years and 358 days; Roger Milla: 42 years and 35 days)
Largest age difference on a champion team
21 years and 297 days, 1982, Italy (Dino Zoff: 40 years and 133 days; Giuseppe Bergomi: 18 years and 201 days)
Longest period between World Cup finals appearances as a player
15 years and 363 days, Faryd Mondragón (Colombia, 1998–2014)
Longest span of World Cup finals appearances as a player
16 years, Antonio Carbajal (Mexico, 1950–1966); Elías Figueroa (Chile, 1966–1982); Hugo Sánchez (Mexico, 1978–1994); Giuseppe Bergomi (Italy, 1982–1998); Lothar Matthäus (Germany, 1982–1998); Rigobert Song (Cameroon, 1994–2010); Faryd Mondragón (Colombia, 1998–2014); Samuel Eto'o (Cameroon, 1998–2014); Rafael Márquez (Mexico, 2002–2018)
Longest period between World Cup finals appearances, overall
44 years, Tim (Brazil, 1938, as a player; and Peru, 1982, as coach)

Goalscoring

Individual

Most goals scored, finals
16, Miroslav Klose (Germany, 2002–2014) [7]
Most goals scored, qualifying
39, Carlos Ruiz (Guatemala, 2002–2016) [11]
Most goals scored, single tournament
13, Just Fontaine (France, 1958) [7]
Most goals scored in a match
5, Oleg Salenko (Russia), vs Cameroon, 1994 [7]
Most goals scored in a lost match
4, Ernst Wilimowski (Poland), vs Brazil, 1938 [lower-alpha 13]
Most goals scored in a qualifying match
13, Archie Thompson (Australia), vs American Samoa, 2002 OFC Group 1
Most goals scored in a final match
3, Geoff Hurst (England), vs West Germany, 1966
Most goals scored in all final matches
3, Vavá (Brazil), 2 vs Sweden in 1958 & 1 vs Czechoslovakia in 1962; Pelé (Brazil), 2 vs Sweden in 1958 & 1 vs Italy in 1970; Geoff Hurst (England), 3 vs West Germany in 1966 and Zinedine Zidane (France), 2 vs Brazil in 1998 & 1 vs Italy in 2006
Scored goal(s) in multiple final matches
Vavá (Brazil, 1958 & 1962), Pelé (Brazil, 1958 & 1970), Paul Breitner (West Germany, 1974 & 1982) and Zinedine Zidane (France, 1998 & 2006)
Most matches with at least one goal
11, Ronaldo (Brazil, 1998–2006), Miroslav Klose (Germany, 2002–2014)
Most consecutive matches with at least one goal
6, Just Fontaine (France, 1958) and Jairzinho (Brazil, 1970)
Most matches with at least two goals
4, Sándor Kocsis (Hungary, 1954), Just Fontaine (France, 1958), Ronaldo (Brazil, 1998–2006) and Miroslav Klose (Germany, 2002–2010)
Most consecutive matches with at least two goals
4, Sándor Kocsis (Hungary, 1954)
Most hat-tricks
2, Sándor Kocsis (Hungary, 1954), Just Fontaine (France, 1958), Gerd Müller (West Germany, 1970) and Gabriel Batistuta (Argentina, 1994 & 1998) [12]
Most consecutive hat-tricks
2, Sándor Kocsis (Hungary, 1954) and Gerd Müller (West Germany, 1970) [12]
Fastest hat-trick
8 minutes, László Kiss (Hungary), scored at 69', 72' and 76', vs El Salvador, 1982
Most goals scored by a substitute in a match
3, László Kiss (Hungary), vs El Salvador, 1982
Olympic goals (goals from a corner) scored in a World Cup
1, Marcos Coll (Colombia), vs Soviet Union, 1962
Hat-tricks of penalty kicks
Never occurred in the final tournament, four times in qualification: Kubilay Türkyilmaz (Switzerland), vs Faroe Islands, 7 October 2000, 2002 UEFA Group 1; Henrik Larsson (Sweden), vs Moldova, 6 June 2001, 2002 UEFA Group 4; Ronaldo (Brazil), vs Argentina, 2 June 2004, 2006 CONMEBOL; Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon), vs Niger, 15 June 2013, 2014 CAF Second Round Group E
Scoring in every match of a team in a World Cup (at least three matches)
György Sárosi (Hungary), 5 goals in 4 matches (1938), Arne Nyberg (Sweden), 3 goals in 3 matches (1938), Alcides Ghiggia (Uruguay), 4 goals in 4 matches (1950), Just Fontaine (France), 13 goals in 6 matches (1958), Omar Oreste Corbatta (Argentina), 3 goals in 3 matches (1958), Ferenc Bene (Hungary), 4 goals in 4 matches (1966), Jairzinho (Brazil), 7 goals in 6 matches (1970), Teófilo Cubillas (Peru), 5 goals in 4 matches (1970), James Rodríguez (Colombia), 6 goals in 5 matches (2014)
Most tournaments with at least one goal
4, Pelé (Brazil, 1958–1970), Uwe Seeler (West Germany, 1958–1970), Miroslav Klose (Germany, 2002–2014) Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal, 2006–2018), and Lionel Messi (Argentina; 2006, 2014–2022)
Most tournaments with at least two goals
4, Uwe Seeler (West Germany, 1958–1970) and Miroslav Klose (Germany, 2002–2014)
Most tournaments with at least three goals
3, Jürgen Klinsmann (Germany, 1990–1998), Ronaldo (Brazil, 1998–2006) and Miroslav Klose (Germany, 2002–2010)
Most tournaments with at least four goals
3, Miroslav Klose (Germany, 2002–2010)
Most tournaments with at least five goals
2, Teófilo Cubillas (Peru, 1970, 1978), Miroslav Klose (Germany), (2002–2006) and Thomas Müller (Germany, 2010–2014)
Most qualification tournaments with at least one goal
5, Rafael Márquez (Mexico, 2002–2018) and Carlos Ruiz (Guatemala, 2002–2018)
Longest period between a player's first and last goals overall
16 years, Lionel Messi (Argentina, 16 June 2006 – 22 November 2022)
Longest period between successive goals
12 years, Michael Laudrup (Denmark, 1986–1998) and Ivica Olić (Croatia, 2002–2014)
First goalscorer
Lucien Laurent (France), vs Mexico, 13 July 1930 [12]
100th goal goalscorer
Angelo Schiavio (Italy), vs United States, 27 May 1934 [12]
1000th goal goalscorer
Rob Rensenbrink (Netherlands), vs Scotland, 11 June 1978 [12]
2000th goal goalscorer
Marcus Allbäck (Sweden), vs England, 20 June 2006 [12]
Youngest goalscorer
17 years, 239 days, Pelé (Brazil), vs Wales, 19 June 1958
Youngest hat-trick scorer
17 years, 244 days, Pelé (Brazil), vs France, 24 June 1958 (the youngest hat-trick scorer after Pelé is Edmund Conen who scored hat trick on 1934 FIFA World Cup at 19 years, 194 days [13]
Youngest goalscorer, final
17 years, 249 days, Pelé (Brazil), vs Sweden, 29 June 1958
The youngest player who received "at least Bronze Boot" for being top goalsorer on the tournament
Pelé 17 years, 249 days, the youngest such player after Pelé who received the award is Edmund Conen who did it at 19 years, 208 days
Oldest goalscorer
42 years, 39 days, Roger Milla (Cameroon), vs Russia, 28 June 1994
Oldest debut goal
38 years, 19 days, Roger Milla, the oldest debut goal after Milla scored Gunnar Gren (37 years 236 days) in 1958. [14]
Oldest hat-trick scorer
33 years, 130 days, Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), vs Spain, 15 June 2018 (the oldest hat-trick scorer after Cristiano is Rob Rensenbrink who scored hat trick of FIFA 1978 World Cup at 30 years, 335 days) [15]
Oldest goalscorer, final
35 years, 264 days, Nils Liedholm (Sweden), vs Brazil, 29 June 1958
The oldest player who received "at least Bronze Boot" for being top goalsorer on the tournament
Roger Milla 38 years, 49 days, the oldest such player after Milla is Hernán Crespo who received Silver Ball in 2006 at 31 years, 4 days
Only player to score in his teens, his twenties and his thirties
Lionel Messi (Argentina) (2006, 2014, 2018 and 2022) [16] [17]
Most penalties scored (excluding shoot-outs)
4, Eusébio (Portugal, 4 in 1966), Rob Rensenbrink (Netherlands, 4 in 1978) – both records for one tournament – and Gabriel Batistuta (Argentina, 2 each in 1994 and 1998)
Most penalties missed (excluding during shoot-outs)
2, Asamoah Gyan (Ghana), vs Czech Republic, 2006 and vs Uruguay, 2010
First substitute winning goalscorer, final
Came on 86th minute, Mario Götze (Germany), vs Argentina, 2014
Fastest goal from kick-off
11 seconds, Hakan Şükür (Turkey), vs South Korea, 2002
Fastest goal by a substitute
16 seconds, Ebbe Sand (Denmark), vs Nigeria, 1998
Fastest goal in a final
90 seconds, Johan Neeskens (Netherlands), vs West Germany, 1974 final
Fastest goal in a qualifying match
8.1 seconds, Christian Benteke (Belgium), vs Gibraltar, 2018 UEFA Group H [18]
Fastest brace scored
69 seconds, Toni Kroos (Germany), vs Brazil, 2014
Latest goal in regular time
90+13th minute, Mehdi Taremi (Iran), vs England, 2022 [19]
Latest goal from kick-off
121st minute, Alessandro Del Piero (Italy), vs Germany, 2006 and Abdelmoumene Djabou (Algeria), vs Germany, 2014
Latest goal from kick-off in a final
120th minute, Geoff Hurst (England), vs Germany, 1966 (see "They think it's all over")
Latest goal from kick-off, with no goals scored between
119th minute, David Platt (England), vs Belgium, 1990 and Fabio Grosso (Italy), vs Germany, 2006
Latest goal from kick-off in a final, with no goals scored between
116th minute, Andrés Iniesta (Spain), vs Netherlands, 2010

Team

Biggest margin of victory
9, Hungary 9–0 South Korea, 1954; [20] Yugoslavia 9–0 Zaire, 1974 [20] and Hungary 10–1 El Salvador, 1982 [20]
Biggest margin of victory, qualifying match
31, Australia 31–0 American Samoa, 11 April 2001, 2002 OFC Group 1
Most goals scored in a match, one team
10, Hungary 10–1 El Salvador, 1982
Most goals scored in a match, both teams
12, Austria 7–5 Switzerland, 1954
Highest scoring draw
4–4, England vs Belgium (a.e.t.), 1954 and Soviet Union vs Colombia, 1962
Largest deficit overcome in a win
3 goals, Austria, 1954 (coming from 0–3 down to win 7–5 vs Switzerland) and Portugal, 1966 (coming from 0–3 down to win 5–3 vs North Korea)
Largest deficit overcome in a draw
3 goals, Colombia, 1962 (coming from 0–3 down to draw 4–4 vs Soviet Union) and Uruguay, 2002 (coming from 0–3 down to draw 3–3 vs Senegal)
Most goals scored in extra time, both teams
5, Italy 3–2 West Germany, 1970
Most goals scored in a final, one team
5, Brazil, 1958
Most goals scored in a final, both teams
7, Brazil 5–2 Sweden, 1958
Fewest goals scored in a final, both teams
0, Brazil 0–0 Italy, 1994
Biggest margin of victory in a final
3, Brazil 5–2 Sweden, 1958; Brazil 4–1 Italy, 1970 and France 3–0 Brazil, 1998
Largest deficit overcome in a win in a final
2, West Germany, 1954 (coming from 0–2 down to win 3–2 vs Hungary)
Most goals in a tournament, one team
27, Hungary, 1954
Most individual goalscorers for one team, one match
7, Yugoslavia, vs Zaire, 1974 (Dušan Bajević, Dragan Džajić, Ivica Šurjak, Josip Katalinski, Vladislav Bogićević, Branko Oblak and Ilija Petković)
Most individual goalscorers for one team, one tournament
11, incl. an own goal by an opponent, Belgium, 2018 (Michy Batshuayi, Nacer Chadli, Kevin De Bruyne, Marouane Fellaini, Eden Hazard, Adnan Januzaj, Romelu Lukaku, Dries Mertens, Thomas Meunier, Jan Vertonghen and an own goal by Brazil's Fernandinho) [lower-alpha 14]
Largest goal difference improvement in consecutive matches
[lower-alpha 15] +10: Turkey (1954) – lost 1–4 to West Germany, then won 7–0 over South Korea; and West Germany (1954) – lost 8–3 to Hungary, then won 7–2 over Turkey
Largest goal difference worsening in consecutive matches
−12: Sweden (1938) – won 8–0 over Cuba, then lost 5–1 to Hungary; Turkey (1954) – won 7–0 over South Korea, then lost 7–2 to West Germany and Hungary (1982) – won 10–1 over El Salvador, then lost 1–4 to Argentina

Tournament

Most goals scored in a tournament
171 goals, 1998 and 2014
Fewest goals scored in a tournament
70 goals, 1930 and 1934
Most goals per match in a tournament
5.38 goals per match, 1954
Fewest goals per match in a tournament
2.21 goals per match, 1990
Most matches without a scoreless draw
63 matches, 2018
Most consecutive matches without a scoreless draw
36 matches, 2018
Most knockout matches without a scoreless draw
16 matches, 2018
Most scorers in a tournament
122, 2018
Most players scoring at least two goals in a tournament
37, 1998
Most players scoring at least three goals in a tournament
21, 1954
Most players scoring at least four goals in a tournament
11, 1954
Most players scoring at least five goals in a tournament
6, 1994Hristo Stoichkov (Bulgaria), Oleg Salenko (Russia), Romário (Brazil), Jürgen Klinsmann (Germany), Roberto Baggio (Italy) and Kennet Andersson (Sweden)
Most players scoring at least six goals in a tournament
4, 1954 – Sándor Kocsis (Hungary), Erich Probst (Austria), Max Morlock (West Germany) and Josef Hügi (Switzerland)
Most players scoring at least seven goals in a tournament
2, 1970Gerd Müller (West Germany) and Jairzinho (Brazil)
Longest distance covered by a player in a tournament
84 km, 2014 – Thomas Müller (Germany) [21]

Own goals

Top scoring teams by tournament

Teams listed in bold won the tournament. Fewer than half of all World Cup tournaments have been won by the highest scoring team.

Goal scoring by tournament

Assisting

Most assists provided, overall finals
10, Pelé (Brazil, 1958–1970) [22]
Most assists provided in a tournament
6, Pelé (Brazil, 1970) [23]
Most assists provided in final matches
3, Pelé (Brazil, 1 in 1958, 2 in 1970) [24]
Most tournaments with at least one assist
4, Lionel Messi (Argentina, 2006–2018) [25]
Most consecutive tournaments with at least one assist
4, Lionel Messi (Argentina, 2006–2018) [25]

Penalties

By team

Most awarded
18, Spain
Most converted
15, Spain
Most missed or saved
4, Brazil

By tournament

Most awarded
29, 2018 [26]
Most converted
22, 2018
Most not converted
7, 2018

Penalty shoot-outs

By team

Most played
5, Argentina (1990, 1990, 1998, 2006, 2014)
Most played in one tournament
2, Argentina (1990), Spain (2002), Costa Rica and Netherlands (2014), Croatia and Russia (2018)
Most won
4, Germany (1982, 1986, 1990, 2006) and Argentina (1990, 1990, 1998, 2014)
Most won in one tournament
2, Argentina (1990) and Croatia (2018)
Most lost
3, England (1990, 1998, 2006), Italy (1990, 1994, 1998) and Spain (1986, 2002, 2018)
Most played shoot-out
2, France vs Italy (1998, 2006)

By tournament

Most played
4, 1990, 2006, 2014, 2018
Fewest played (since the introduction in 1978)
0, 1978

Extra time

By team

Most played
11, Germany (1938, 1966, 1970 (2), 1982, 1986, 1990, 2006 (2), 2014 (2)) and Italy (1934 (2), 1934, 1938, 1970, 1990, 1994 (2), 1998, 2002, 2006 (2))
Most tournaments playing extra time
8, Germany (1938, 1966, 1970, 1982, 1986, 1990, 2006, 2014) and Italy (1934, 1938, 1970, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006)
Most consecutive tournaments playing extra time
5, Italy (1990–2006)
Most played in one tournament
3, Belgium (1986), England (1990), Argentina (2014) and Croatia (2018)
Most consecutive played in one tournament
3, England (1990) and Croatia (2018)
Most won (excluding replays and shoot-outs)
5, Italy (1934, 1938, 1970, 1994, 2006)
Most lost (excluding replays and shoot-outs)
3, Germany (1966, 1970, 2006)
Most won in one tournament (excluding replays and shoot-outs)
2, England (1990) and Germany (2014)
Most consecutive won in one tournament (excluding replays and shoot-outs)
2, England (1990)
Most played match
3, England vs Germany (1966, 1970, 1990)
Most consecutive played match
2, England vs Germany (1966–1970)

By tournament

Most played
8, 1990, 2014
Most played, not ending in replays or shoot-outs
4, 1990, 2014
Most played ending in replays
3, 1938
Most played ending in shoot-outs
4, 1990, 2006, 2014, 2018
Most played ending in a golden goal (sudden death)
3, 2002
Fewest played
0, 1930, 1950, 1962, 1974

Tiebreakers

Cases when replays were used
Cases when play-offs were used
Cases when drawing of lots was used
Cases when fair play was used

Goalkeeping

Most clean sheets (matches without conceding)
10, Peter Shilton (England, 1982–1990) and Fabien Barthez (France, 1998–2006) [7]
Most consecutive minutes without conceding a goal (finals)
517 mins (5 consecutive clean sheets), Walter Zenga (Italy, 1990)
Most consecutive minutes without conceding a goal (qualifying)
921 mins (9 consecutive clean sheets [lower-alpha 16] ), Richard Wilson (New Zealand, 1982)
Most goals conceded
25, Antonio Carbajal (Mexico) and Mohamed Al-Deayea (Saudi Arabia)
Most goals conceded, one tournament
16, Hong Duk-Yung (South Korea), 1954
Most goals conceded, one match
10, Luis Guevara Mora (El Salvador), 1982 (vs Hungary)
Fewest goals conceded, one tournament, champions
2, Fabien Barthez (France), 1998, Gianluigi Buffon (Italy, 2006) and Iker Casillas (Spain, 2010)
Fewest goals conceded, one tournament
0, Pascal Zuberbühler (Switzerland), 2006 [lower-alpha 17]
Fewest goals conceded, penalty shoot-outs, one match
0, Oleksandr Shovkovskyi (Ukraine), vs Switzerland, 2006
Most saves, one match
16, Tim Howard (United States), vs Belgium, 2014 [27]
Most penalties saved, one tournament (excluding during shoot-outs)
2, Jan Tomaszewski (Poland), 1974 and Brad Friedel (United States), 2002
Most penalties saved overall (excluding during shoot-outs)
2, Jan Tomaszewski (Poland, both in 1974), Brad Friedel (United States, both in 2002), and Iker Casillas (Spain, 1 in 2002 and 1 in 2010)
Most penalties saved in one penalty shoot-out
3, Ricardo (Portugal), vs England, 2006 and Danijel Subašić (Croatia), vs Denmark, 2018
Most penalties saved overall in penalty shoot-outs
4, Harald Schumacher (Germany, 2 vs France in 1982 and 2 vs Mexico in 1986), Sergio Goycochea (Argentina, 2 vs Yugoslavia in 1990 and 2 vs Italy in 1990), and Danijel Subašić (Croatia, 3 vs Denmark, 2018 and 1 vs Russia, 2018) [28]
Youngest goalkeeper
19 years, 191 days, Lee Chang-myung (North Korea), vs Soviet Union, 12 July 1966
Youngest goalkeeper to save a penalty (excluding during shoot-outs)
21 years, 27 days, Iker Casillas (Spain), vs Republic of Ireland, 16 June 2002
Youngest goalkeeper to save a penalty in a shoot-out
21 years, 27 days, Iker Casillas (Spain), vs Republic of Ireland, 16 June 2002
Oldest goalkeeper
45 years, 161 days, Essam El-Hadary (Egypt), vs Saudi Arabia, 25 June 2018
Oldest goalkeeper to save a penalty (excluding during shoot-outs)
45 years, 161 days, Essam El-Hadary (Egypt), vs Saudi Arabia, 25 June 2018
Oldest goalkeeper to save a penalty in a shoot-out
36 years, 232 days, Jens Lehmann (Germany), vs Argentina, 30 June 2006

Coaching

Most matches coached
25, Helmut Schön (West Germany, 1966–1978)
Most matches won
16, Helmut Schön (West Germany, 1966–1978)
Most tournaments won
2, Vittorio Pozzo (Italy, 1934–1938)
Most tournaments
6, Carlos Alberto Parreira (1982, 1990–1998, 2006, 2010)
Most nations coached
5, Bora Milutinović (Mexico, 1986; Costa Rica, 1990; United States, 1994; Nigeria, 1998; China, 2002), and Carlos Alberto Parreira (Kuwait, 1982; United Arab Emirates, 1990; Brazil, 1994 and 2006; Saudi Arabia, 1998, South Africa, 2010)
Most period of work of the head coach in the final part
28, Mario Zagallo (1970-1998), Carlos Alberto Parreira (1982-2010), Oscar Tabarez (1990-2018)
Most consecutive tournaments
5, Bora Milutinović (Mexico, 1986; Costa Rica, 1990; United States, 1994; Nigeria, 1998; China, 2002) [29]
Most consecutive tournaments with same team
4, Walter Winterbottom (England, 1950–1962); Helmut Schön (West Germany, 1966–1978) (note that Sepp Herberger took Germany/West Germany to four tournaments, (1938, 1954, 1958, 1962) omitting the 1950 competition from which Germany was banned)
Most consecutive wins
11, Luiz Felipe Scolari (Brazil, 2002, 7 wins; Portugal, 2006, 4 wins – Portugal "won" its next match, the quarter-final against England, by penalty shoot-out, which technically counts as a draw)
Most consecutive matches without a loss
12, Luiz Felipe Scolari (Brazil, 2002, 7 matches; Portugal, 2006, 5 matches)
Youngest coach
27 years, 267 days, Juan Jose Tramutola (Argentina, 1930)
Youngest coach, champions
31 years, 252 days, Alberto Suppici (Uruguay, 1930)
Oldest coach
71 years, 317 days, Otto Rehhagel (Greece, 2010)
Oldest coach, champions
59 years, 200 days, Vicente del Bosque (Spain, 2010)
Quickest substitution made
4th minute, Cesare Maldini, Giuseppe Bergomi for Alessandro Nesta (Italy, vs Austria, 1998); Sven-Göran Eriksson, Peter Crouch for Michael Owen (England, vs Sweden, 2006)
Most championship wins as player and head coach
3, Mário Zagallo, Brazil (1958 & 1962 as player, 1970 as coach) [lower-alpha 18]
Most tournament appearances as player and head coach
5, Mário Zagallo, Brazil (1958 & 1962 as player, 1970, 1974 & 1998 as coach); Franz Beckenbauer, West Germany (1966–1974 as player, 1986 & 1990 as coach); Berti Vogts, West Germany (1970–1978 as player, 1994 & 1998 as coach); Diego Maradona, Argentina (1982–1994 as player, 2010 as coach)
Won tournaments as both player and head coach
Mário Zagallo, Brazil (1958 & 1962 as player, 1970 as coach), Franz Beckenbauer, West Germany (1974 as player, 1990 as coach) and Didier Deschamps, France (1998 as player, 2018 as coach)
First World Cup player to coach a team in a World Cup
Milorad Arsenijević, Serbia (1930 as player, 1950 as coach, both times for Yugoslavia)
Won tournament as a foreign head coach
No foreign coach has won a tournament (all winning head coaches were natives of the country they coached)
Best finish for a foreign head coach
Runners-up, George Raynor (England, coached Sweden in 1958) and Ernst Happel (Austria, coached Netherlands in 1978)

Refereeing

Most tournaments
3 – John Langenus (Belgium, 1930–1938), Ivan Eklind (Sweden, 1934–1950), Benjamin Griffiths (Wales, 1950–1958), Arthur Ellis (England, 1950–1958), Juan Gardeazábal (Spain, 1958–1966), Erik Fredriksson (Sweden, 1982–1990), Jamal Al Sharif (Syria, 1986–1994), Joël Quiniou (France, 1986–1994), Ali Mohamed Bujsaim (United Arab Emirates, 1994–2002), Óscar Ruiz (Colombia, 2002–2010), Carlos Eugênio Simon (Brazil, 2002–2010), Marco Rodríguez (Mexico, 2006–2014), Joel Aguilar (El Salvador, 2010–2018), Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan, 2010–2018)
Most matches refereed, overall
11 – Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan, 2010–2018)
Most matches refereed, one tournament
5 – Benito Archundia (Mexico, 2006), Horacio Elizondo (Argentina, 2006), Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan, 2010) and Néstor Pitana (Argentina, 2018)
Youngest referee
24 years and 193 days – Juan Gardeazábal (Spain, 1958)
Oldest referee
53 years and 236 days – George Reader (England, 1950)

Discipline

Note: There are no official records for cautions issued in tournaments before the introduction of yellow cards in 1970. [30]

Fastest caution
11 seconds, Jesús Gallardo (Mexico), vs Sweden, 2018
Fastest sending off
56 seconds, José Batista (Uruguay), vs Scotland, 1986
Fastest sending off, qualification
37 seconds, Rashed Al Hooti (Bahrain), vs Iran, 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
Latest caution
during penalty shoot-out: Edinho (Brazil), vs France, 1986; Carlos Roa (Argentina), vs England, 1998
Latest sending off
after penalty shoot-out: Leandro Cufré (Argentina), vs Germany, 2006 (Cufré was red carded for kicking Per Mertesacker in an altercation following the match)
Sent off from the bench
Claudio Caniggia (Argentina), vs Sweden, 2002
Most cards (all-time, player)
7, Javier Mascherano (Argentina, 2006–2018) [31]
Most cautions (all-time, player)
7, Javier Mascherano (Argentina, 2006–2018) [31]
Most sendings off (all-time, player)
2, Rigobert Song (Cameroon, 1994 and 1998) and Zinedine Zidane (France, 1998 and 2006)
Most sendings off (tournament)
28 (in 64 games), 2006
Most sendings off (all-time, team)
11 (in 97 games), Brazil
Most sendings off (match, both teams)
4 (2 each) in Portugal vs Netherlands, 2006 (also known as Battle of Nuremberg)
Most sendings off (final match)
2, Pedro Monzón & Gustavo Dezotti (both Argentina), v West Germany, 1990
Most cautions (tournament)
345 (in 64 matches), 2006
Most cautions (all-time, team)
88 (in 64 games until 2006), Argentina [32]
Most cautions (match, one team)
9, Portugal, 2006, vs Netherlands & Netherlands, 2010, vs Spain
Most cautions (match, both teams)
16 – Portugal vs Netherlands, 25 June 2006; [33] and Cameroon v Germany, 11 June 2002 [34]
Most cautions (match, player)
3 (61', 90', 93') Josip Šimunić (Croatia), vs Australia, 2006 (referee: Graham Poll) [lower-alpha 19]
Most cautions (final match, both teams)
14, 5 (Spain) and 9 (Netherlands) 2010 [35]
Most suspensions (tournament, player)
2, André Kana-Biyik (Cameroon 1990) [lower-alpha 20]

Suspension

OffenceQualifyingFinal Round
Doping Many cases
Misconduct
  • 10 matches, Josip Šimunić (Croatia vs Iceland, 2013) for shouting fascist Ustaše salute after the game. [37]
Fair Play Violation
  • Life (amnestied after 12 years): Roberto Rojas (Chile vs Brazil, 1989) for feigning injury from a firecracker, leading to a match being abandoned. [41]
none

Fine

OffenceQualifyingFinal Round
Doping Many cases
Misconduct
  • (Have other sanction) CHF 30,000, Josip Šimunić (Croatia vs Iceland, 2013) for shouting fascist Ustaše salute after the game. [37]
  • (Only fined) CHF 50,000, Croatia (Kosovo vs Croatia, 2016) for anti-Serbia chants by fans.
Fair Play Violationnonenone
Othernonenone

Other sanctions

OffenceQualifyingFinal Round
Doping Many casesnone
Misconduct
  • Empty stadium, many cases
none
Fair Play ViolationChile banned from the qualifiers for the 1994 FIFA World Cup none
OtherRussia banned from the qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, due to invading Ukraine, significantly escalating the war between both countries started in 2014none

Teams: Matches played/goals scored

All time

Most matches played
109, Germany, Brazil
Fewest matches played
1, Indonesia (as Dutch East Indies)
Most wins
73, Brazil
Most losses
27, Mexico
Most draws
21, Italy, England
Most points
237, Brazil
Most average points/match
2.17, Brazil
Highest draw rate (participating in more than one finals)
61.5%, Republic of Ireland (8 draws from 13 matches)
Most matches played without a point (win or a draw)
6, El Salvador
Most matches played without a win
9, Honduras
Most matches played until first win
17, Bulgaria
Most goals scored
229, Brazil
Most goalscorers
80, Brazil
Most goals conceded
125, Germany
Fewest goals scored
0, Canada, China, Indonesia (as Dutch East Indies), Trinidad and Tobago and DR Congo (as Zaire)
Fewest goals conceded
2, Angola
Best goal difference
+124, Brazil
Worst goal difference
–38, Mexico
Most matches played without scoring a goal
3, Canada, China, Trinidad and Tobago and DR Congo (as Zaire)
Most matches played always conceding a goal
6, El Salvador
Highest average of goals scored per match
2.72, Hungary (87 goals in 32 matches)
Lowest average of goals conceded per match
0.67, Angola (2 goals in 3 matches)
Highest average of goals conceded per match
6, Indonesia (as Dutch East Indies)
Lowest average of goals both scored and conceded per match
1, Angola
Highest average of goals both scored and conceded per match
6, Indonesia (as Dutch East Indies)
Most meetings between two teams
7 times, Brazil vs Sweden (1938, 1950, 1958, 1978, 1990 and twice in 1994), Germany vs Yugoslavia/Serbia (1954, 1958, 1962, 1974, 1990, 1998 and 2010) and Argentina vs Germany (1958, 1966, 1986, 1990, 2006, 2010 and 2014)
Most meetings between two teams in the knockout stage
5 times, Argentina vs Germany (1986 final, 1990 final, 2006 quarter-final, 2010 quarter-final and 2014 final)
Most meetings between two teams, final-four or final (not counting 3rd place match)
3 times, Argentina vs Germany (1986 final, 1990 final, 2014 final), Brazil vs Sweden (1950 final group, 1958 final, 1994 semi-final), Brazil vs Italy (1938 semi-final, 1970 final, 1994 final), Germany vs Italy (1970 semi-final, 1982 final, 2006 semi-final)
Most meetings between two teams in the group stage
6 times, Brazil vs Yugoslavia/Serbia (1930 group 2, 1950 group 1, 1954 group 1, 1974 group 2, 2018 group E, 2022 group G).
Most meetings between two teams, final match
3 times, Argentina vs Germany (1986, 1990, 2014)
Most frequent matchup without a loss
Brazil vs Sweden, 5 wins and 2 draws
Most frequent matchup with a perfect record
Argentina vs Nigeria, 5 wins (1994, 2002, 2010, 2014, 2018)
Most frequent matchup in the knockout stage with a perfect record
Brazil eliminated Chile 4 times (1962 semi-final, 1998 round of 16, 2010 round of 16 and 2014 round of 16)
Most consecutive meetings between two teams
5 times, Italy vs Argentina (1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990)
Most consecutive meetings between two teams in the knockout stage
3 times, Germany vs Yugoslavia/Serbia (1954 quarter-final, 1958 quarter-final and 1962 quarter-final), Argentina vs Germany (2006 quarter-final, 2010 quarter-final and 2014 final)
Most consecutive meetings between two teams, final match
2 times, Argentina vs Germany (1986–1990)
Most knockout wins
[lower-alpha 21] 35, Germany
Most knockout losses
[lower-alpha 22] 14, Germany
Most tournaments unbeaten
[lower-alpha 23] 7, Brazil (1958, 1962, 1970, 1978, 1986, 1994, 2002)
Most tournaments eliminated without having lost a match
[lower-alpha 23] 3, England (1982, 1990, [lower-alpha 24] 2006)
Most tournaments eliminated without having won a match
6, Mexico (1930, 1950, 1954, 1958, 1966, 1978) and Bulgaria (1962, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1986, 1998)

In one tournament

Most wins
7, Brazil, 2002 [lower-alpha 25]
Fewest wins, champions
3, Uruguay, 1950 (out of 4) [lower-alpha 26]
Most matches not won, champions
3, Italy, 1982 (out of 7)
Most wins by non-champion (excluding third-place playoff)
[lower-alpha 27] 6, Netherlands, 2010 [lower-alpha 28]
Most matches not won
[lower-alpha 23] 5, Yugoslavia, 1974; Argentina, 1974; West Germany, 1978; Belgium, 1986; Republic of Ireland, 1990; Argentina, 1990
Most matches not won in regulation time
6, Belgium in 1986 and England in 1990
Most losses
3 (28 teams, of which only Mexico has accomplished this feat at three different tournaments: 1930, 1950, and 1978)
Most losses, champions
1, Germany, 1954 and 1974; Argentina, 1978; Spain, 2010
Most victories over former World Cup winning teams
[lower-alpha 23] 3, Brazil, 1970; Italy, 1982; Argentina, 1986; Germany, 2010 and 2014 [lower-alpha 29]
Most matches against former World Cup champions and staying unbeaten
[lower-alpha 23] 4, Argentina, 1986 [lower-alpha 30]
Most matches between former World Cup champions
[lower-alpha 23] 7, 1970 [lower-alpha 31]
All matches won without extra time, replays, penalty shoot-outs or playoffs
Uruguay in 1930 (4 matches), Brazil in 1970 (6 matches), and Brazil in 2002 (7 matches)
Highest finish without winning a match
[lower-alpha 23] Quarter-finals, Republic of Ireland (1990)
Highest finish, winning at most one match
[lower-alpha 23] Fourth, Sweden (1938) [lower-alpha 32]
Most goals scored
27, Hungary, 1954 [lower-alpha 33]
Fewest goals conceded
0, Switzerland, 2006 [lower-alpha 33]
Most goals conceded
16, South Korea, 1954 [lower-alpha 33]
Most matches gone into extra time
3, Belgium, 1986; England, 1990; Argentina, 2014; Croatia, 2018
Most minutes without conceding a goal
517 mins, Italy, 1990 [lower-alpha 33]
Highest goal difference
+17, Hungary, 1954 [lower-alpha 33]
Highest goal difference, champions
+14, Brazil, 2002; Germany, 2014 [lower-alpha 33]
Lowest goal difference
−16, South Korea, 1954 [lower-alpha 33]
Lowest goal difference, champions
+6, Italy, 1938 and 1982; Spain, 2010 [lower-alpha 33]
Highest average of goals scored per match
5.40, Hungary, 1954; [lower-alpha 33]
Highest average goal difference per match
+3.2, Hungary, 1954
Highest average goal difference per match, champions
+3.0, Uruguay, 1930
Most goals scored, champions
25, West Germany, 1954 [lower-alpha 33]
Fewest goals scored, champions
8, Spain, 2010 [lower-alpha 33]
Fewest goals scored, finalists
5, Argentina, 1990 [lower-alpha 33]
Fewest goals conceded, champions
2, France, 1998; Italy, 2006; Spain, 2010 [lower-alpha 33]
Most goals conceded, champions
14, West Germany, 1954 [lower-alpha 33]
Lowest average of goals scored per match, champions
1.14, Spain, 2010 [lower-alpha 33]
Most unbeaten teams
5, 2006 (Switzerland, Argentina, England, France, Italy) [lower-alpha 23]
Fewest unbeaten teams
0, 1954
Most matches to qualify for World Cup finals
22, Australia (2018)
Longest distance travelled in a single qualifying campaign
155,000 miles: Australia (2018)
Most brothers in the same team in the finals
3, Honduras (Johnny Palacios, Jerry Palacios, Wilson Palacios, 2010) [42]

Teams: Overall performance (winning percentage)

In one tournament

All time

Best overall performance
TeamPldWDLWin %GFGAGDGD/MGF/M
Flag of Uruguay.svg  Uruguay (1930)4400100153+12+3.03.8
Flag of Brazil (1968-1992).svg  Brazil (1970)6600100197+12+2.03.2
Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil (2002)7700100184+14+2.02.6
Flag of Italy (1861-1946).svg  Italy (1938)44*00100115+6+1.52.8

* one of the wins was after extra time

Worst overall performance (Because a large number of teams have lost all their matches in a World Cup, only teams with a goal difference/match <= −4.0 are included.)
TeamPldWDLWin %GFGAGDGD/MGF/M
Flag of South Korea (1949-1984).svg  South Korea (1954)20020016−16−8.00.0
Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg  Bolivia (1950)1001008−8−8.00.0
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Dutch East Indies (1938)1001006−6−6.00.0
Flag of the United States (1912-1959).svg  United States (1934)1001017−6−6.01.0
Flag of Zaire (1971-1997).svg  Zaire (1974)30030014−14−4.70.0
Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia (2002)30030012−12−4.00.0
Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg  Bolivia (1930)2002008−8−4.00.0
Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland (1954)2002008−8−4.00.0
Flag of El Salvador.svg  El Salvador (1982)30030113−12−4.00.3
Flag of Haiti (1964-1986).svg  Haiti (1974)30030214−12−4.00.7

Host team

Best overall performance
TeamPldWDLWin %GFGAGD
Flag of Uruguay.svg  Uruguay (1930)4400100153+12
Worst overall performance
TeamPldWDLWin %GFGAGD
Flag of Spain.svg  Spain (1982)51222045−1

Defending champion

Best overall performance
TeamPldWDLWin %GFGAGDGD/MGF/M
Flag of Italy (1861-1946).svg  Italy (1938)44*00100115+6+1.52.8

* one of the wins was after extra time

Worst overall performance
TeamPldWDLWin %GFGAGDGD/MGF/M
Flag of France.svg  France (2002)3012003−3−1.00.0

Champion

Best overall performance (see all-time best overall performance above)
Worst overall performance
TeamPldWDLWin %GFGAGDGD/MGF/M
Flag of Italy.svg  Italy (1982)743057126+6+0.9+1.7

* one of the wins was after extra time

Non-champion

Best overall performance
TeamPldWDLWin %GFGAGDGD/MGF/M
Flag of Italy.svg  Italy (1990)761086102+8+1.1+1.4
Worst overall performance (see all-time worst overall performance above)

Upsets

Teams eliminated by penalty shoot-outs are not considered as defeated.

Biggest upset in the group stage, per FIFA rankings
+74 – South Africa (2010) ranked 83 – won 2–1 over France (ranked 9)
Biggest upset in the knockout stage, per FIFA rankings
+34 – South Korea (2002) ranked 40 – won 2–1 over Italy (ranked 6) [lower-alpha 34]
Biggest upset of a former champion, per FIFA rankings
+74 – South Africa (2010) ranked 83 – won 2–1 over France (ranked 9)
Biggest upset of a defending champion, per FIFA rankings
+56 – South Korea (2018) ranked 57 – won 2–0 over Germany (ranked 1)
Biggest upset of a top ranked team, per FIFA rankings
+56 – South Korea (2018) ranked 57 – won 2–0 over Germany (ranked 1)

Continental Records

Biggest upset by an African team, per FIFA rankings
+74 – South Africa (2010) ranked 83 – won 2–1 over France (ranked 9)
Biggest upset by an Asian team, per FIFA rankings
+56 – South Korea (2018) ranked 57 – won 2–0 over Germany (ranked 1)
Biggest upset by a European team, per FIFA rankings
+29 – Slovakia (2010) ranked 34 – won 3–2 over Italy (ranked 5)
Biggest upset by an Oceanian team, per FIFA rankings
+24 – Australia (2006) ranked 42 – won 3–1 over Japan (ranked 18)
Biggest upset by a North American team, per FIFA rankings
+21 – Costa Rica (2014) ranked 28 – won 3–1 over Uruguay (ranked 7)
Biggest upset by a South American team, per FIFA rankings
+15 – Ecuador (2002) ranked 36 – won 1–0 over Croatia (ranked 21)

National prize-winners who did not qualify for the World Championship for the longest time

The reigning gold medalist who missed the most finals after that

2, Uruguay (1934, 1938)

Current silver medalist who missed the most finals after that

2, Sweden, (1962, 1966), Netherlands, (1982, 1986)

Current bronze medalist who missed the most finals after that

5, Turkey, (2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022)

Hat-tricks

Most hat-tricks in a single World Cup
8, 1954
Fewest hat-tricks in a single World Cup
0, 2006

Streaks

Most consecutive successful qualification attempts
[lower-alpha 35] 10, Spain (1986–2022)
Most consecutive failed qualification attempts
21, Luxembourg (1934–2022)
Most consecutive wins
11, Brazil, from 2–1 Turkey (2002) to 3–0 Ghana (2006)
Most consecutive matches without a loss
13, Brazil, from 3–0 Austria (1958) (group stage) to 2–0 Bulgaria (1966) (group stage)
Most consecutive losses
9, Mexico, from 1–4 France (1930) to 0–3 Sweden (1958)
Most consecutive matches without a win
17, Bulgaria, from 0–1 Argentina (1962) to 0–3 Nigeria (1994)
Most consecutive draws
5, Belgium, from 0–0 Netherlands (1998) to 1–1 Tunisia (2002)
Most consecutive matches without a draw
16, Portugal, from 3–1 Hungary (1966) to 1–0 Netherlands (2006)
Most consecutive matches scoring at least one goal
18, Brazil (1930–1958) and Germany (1934–1958)
Most consecutive matches scoring at least two goals
11, Uruguay (1930–1954)
Most consecutive matches scoring at least three / four goals
4, Uruguay (1930–1950) and Hungary (1954) (four goals); also Portugal (1966), West Germany (1970), Brazil (1970)
Most consecutive matches scoring at least six / eight goals
2, Hungary (1954) (eight goals); also Brazil (1950) (six goals)
Most consecutive matches without scoring a goal
5, Bolivia (1930, 1950 and 1994), Algeria (1986 and 2010), and Honduras (1982 and 2010–2014)
Most consecutive matches without conceding a goal (clean sheets)
5, Italy (1990) and Switzerland (2006–2010)
Most consecutive minutes without conceding a goal
559, Switzerland (1994, 2006–2010) [43] [44]
Most consecutive matches conceding at least one goal
22, Switzerland (1934–1994)
Most consecutive matches conceding at least two goals
9, Mexico (1930–1958)
Most consecutive matches conceding at least three goals
5, Mexico (1930–1950)
Most consecutive matches conceding at least four goals
3, Bolivia (1930–1950), Mexico (1930–1950)
Most consecutive matches conceding at least five / six / seven goals
2, South Korea (1954) (seven goals); also United States (1930–1934) (six goals); also Austria (1954) (five goals)

Host records

Most times hosted
2, Mexico, 1970 and 1986; Italy, 1934 and 1990; France, 1938 and 1998; Germany, 1974 and 2006; Brazil, 1950 and 2014
Most times hosted, continent
11, Europe (1934, 1938, 1954, 1958, 1966, 1974, 1982, 1990, 1998, 2006, 2018)
Best performance by host
Winners, 6 times: Uruguay, 1930; Italy, 1934; England, 1966; West Germany, 1974; Argentina, 1978; France, 1998
Worst performance by host
South Africa in 2010 became the first host to be eliminated in the first round. [45] Two other hosts: United States in 1994 and Spain in 1982 both reached the second round but finished with a worse overall W–D–L record than South Africa's, 1–1–1. However, South Africa had a worse goal difference of −2 and both United States and Spain finished the first round with a goal difference of 0.
Had its best performance as hosts
Champions: Uruguay (1930), Italy (1934), England (1966), [lower-alpha 36] West Germany (1974), Argentina (1978), France (1998) [46] [47]
Runners-up: Sweden (1958)
Third place: Chile (1962)
Fourth place: South Korea (2002)
Quarter-finals: Switzerland (1954), [lower-alpha 37] Mexico (1970, 1986), Russia (2018) [lower-alpha 38]
Round of 16: Japan (2002) [lower-alpha 39]
Group stage of 32: South Africa (2010) [lower-alpha 40]
Stadium to host most World Cup matches
Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico, 19 (10 in 1970 and 9 in 1986)
Most times a stadium hosted a World Cup final
2, Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico (1970 and 1986) and Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (1950 and 2014)
City to host most World Cup matches
Mexico City, Mexico, 23 (19 at Estadio Azteca and 4 at Estadio Olimpico Universitario)
Most times a city hosted a World Cup final
2, Mexico City, Mexico (1970 and 1986); Rome, Italy (1934 and 1990); Paris, France (1938 and 1998); Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (1950 and 2014)

Attendance

Final
114,600, Argentina v West Germany, 29 June 1986, Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico, 1986
Decisive match
199,854, Uruguay v Brazil, 16 July 1950, Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1950 [lower-alpha 41]
Lowest match attendance in a World Cup tournament
300, Romania vs Peru, 14 July 1930, Estadio Pocitos, Montevideo, Uruguay, 1930
Highest match attendance in a World Cup qualifying match
162,764, Brazil vs Colombia, 9 March 1977, Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1978 CONMEBOL Group 1
Highest average of attendance per match
68,991, 1994
Highest attendance (tournament)
3,570,000, 1994
Lowest average of attendance per match
23,235, 1934
Lowest attendance (tournament)
390,000, 1934

Others

Most players provided by a club overall
128, Juventus [48]
Most players provided by a club in one tournament
16, Seoul Army Club (1954), [49] Manchester City (2018) [10]
Most players provided by a club for champions squads overall
25 (22 Italians), Juventus [50]
Most players provided by a football association overall
1022, Premier League [48]
Most players provided by a football association in one tournament
117, The Football Association (2010)
Most players provided by a football association for champions squads overall
113 (89 Italians), Serie A

Footnotes

  1. In the 1930, 1950 and 1982 competitions, FIFA retrospective rankings were used to determine 5th–8th places. If these rankings are excluded from consideration, then Brazil's 1930 and 1982 results drop out, and the leader is Germany with 17 (all tournaments except 1930, 1938, 1950 and 2018).
  2. In the 1930, 1950 and 1982 competitions, FIFA retrospective rankings were used. If these rankings are excluded from consideration, then England still has the most 5th–8th-place finishes (6).
  3. In the 1930, 1950 and 1982 competitions, FIFA retrospective rankings were used. If these rankings are excluded from consideration, then Mexico still has the most 9th–16th-place finishes (12).
  4. Until 1978 inclusive, all tournaments had 16 teams or fewer.
  5. In the 1930, 1950 and 1982 competitions FIFA retrospective rankings were used. If these rankings are excluded from consideration, then the record is 2, shared by several countries: Switzerland (1934–1938), Yugoslavia (1954–1958), Soviet Union (1958–1962), Hungary (1962–1966), Germany (1994–1998), England (2002–2006), Argentina (2006–2010), and Brazil (2006–2010).
  6. In 1954, the West Germany ("Germany FR") team became world champions in what was the team's debut appearance representing the name and territory of West Germany. However, Germany (since 1949 officially Federal Republic of Germany) is since 1904 represented by the same governing body (Deutscher Fußball-Bund, DFB), and FIFA officially attributes all international results of the DFB team since 1908 to Germany, including the results of 1954–1990, when the team was often called West Germany. Thus, the 1954 participation is counted as the third appearance of the team, as Germany had previously appeared in the 1934 and 1938 World Cups.
  7. Other teams never progressing from the first round in at least two appearances are as follows: 5 appearances Tunisia (1978, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2018) and Iran (1978, 1998, 2006, 2014, 2018); 3 appearances Bolivia (1930, 1950, 1994), South Africa (1998, 2002, 2010), Honduras (1982, 2010, 2014), Ivory Coast (2006, 2010, 2014) and Egypt (1934, 1990, 2018); 2 appearances El Salvador (1970, 1982), New Zealand (1982, 2010) and Slovenia (2002, 2010).
  8. Although there were no semi-finals in the 1978 tournament, Argentina won second round group ahead of Brazil, who played in the third-place match against Italy; Argentina's second group round match against Brazil ended in a 0–0 draw.
  9. Other teams who have qualified only for one tournament so far progressed from the first round in their debut. These are Cuba (1938), Wales(1958), Ukraine (2006) and Slovakia (2010). East Germany’s only appearance in 1974 before reunification with West Germany also saw the progress past the first round.
  10. Pelé, Lothar Matthäus, Pierre Littbarski and Ronaldo each appeared three times in the squads of the teams that reached the finals, but none of them played in all three games.
  11. FIFA official records claim he was born in 1987, but other sources claim he was born in 1985, which would mean he was 15 years and 320 days old when he played the match.
  12. According to the Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation, [8] Fuad Anwar Amin of Saudi Arabia would have been the youngest captain, at 21 years & 250 days in the 1994, but the source does not specify the match in which he was captain. It is listed that the starting captain was substituted in both the match against the Netherlands and the one against Sweden, in which Amin may have been given the armband on the captains' substitutions, but this information has not been verified. In any case, Meola still is the youngest starting captain, and players who received the captain's armband during the course of the match are generally not regarded as official captains.
  13. This was Wilimowski's only finals match. Uniquely, he therefore averages four goals per match.
  14. If own goals are excluded, then Belgium shares the record of 10 goalscorers with France in 1982 and Italy in 2006.
  15. Matches within one tournament. Otherwise, Hungary had a +11 swing between 2–4 v Italy in 1938 and 9–0 v South Korea in 1954 and again between 1–3 v France in 1978 and 10–1 v El Salvador in 1982 and likewise Germany between 0–3 v Croatia in 1998 and 8–0 v Saudi Arabia in 2002.
  16. 9 consecutive clean sheets, 5 of them away from home over 2 qualifying rounds against 5 different oppositions from 2 Confederations.
  17. Zuberbühler kept goal throughout every minute of Switzerland's four matches. Other keepers have kept clean sheets only playing part of their team's matches. These are: Velloso (Brazil, 1930, 1 match of 2); Pedro Benítez (Paraguay, 1930, 1 of 2); József Háda (Hungary, 1938, 1 of 4); Giuseppe Moro (Italy, 1950, 1 of 2); István Ilku (Hungary, 1958, 1 of 4); Lorenzo Buffon (Italy, 1962, 2 of 3); Rogelio Domínguez (Argentina, 1962, 1 of 3); Adán Godoy (Chile, 1962, 1 of 6); Antonio Carbajal (Mexico, 1966, 1 of 3); Horst Wolter (West Germany, 1970, 1 of 6); József Szendrei (Hungary, 1986, 1 of 3); Viktor Chanov (USSR, 1986, 1 of 4); Manuel Bento (Portugal, 1986, 1 of 3); Plamen Nikolov (Bulgaria, 1994, 45 mins of 7); Vincent Enyeama (Nigeria, 2002, 1 of 3); Rami Shaaban (Sweden, 2006, 1 of 4); Santiago Cañizares (Spain, 2006, 1 of 4).
  18. Zagallo was also an assistant coach when Brazil won in 1994.
  19. Šimunić was given three yellow cards in the match as the referee failed to send him off the pitch after the second yellow, and was only red carded after the third yellow. The original FIFA match report listed all three cautions, however was revised shortly after, with the second caution (90') not being recorded; it is unknown whether this was for consistency in the reports, or whether the caution was retrospectively overturned.
  20. Biyik missed the team's second game after receiving a red card in the first; and then missed their fifth game after yellow cards in the third and fourth. Others, including Zinedine Zidane in 2006, have earned a second suspension in their team's final match of the tournament, not servable during the tournament.
  21. Including penalty shoot-out progressions
  22. Including penalty shoot-out eliminations
  23. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A match decided by a penalty shoot-out is considered a draw for both sides.
  24. England did lose the third-place playoff in 1990, but had already been eliminated from any chance of winning the World Cup.
  25. In 1998, France had 6 match wins; however, the Italy match is regarded as drawn although France progressed via penalties. In addition, France's win against Paraguay happened after extra time, while Brazil won all their matches in regular time.
  26. Uruguay also qualified for the 1950 finals without playing a match as a result of withdrawals by other teams in South America.
  27. Poland in 1974, Italy in 1990, and Belgium in 2018 also won 6 matches, but one of them was the third-place playoff. Playing fewer matches, Argentina in 1930, Czechoslovakia in 1934, and Hungary in 1938 and 1954 won all the games but lost the final.
  28. Netherlands also won all eight of their qualification matches.
  29. Details as follows: Brazil in 1970 beat England (first round), Uruguay (semi-final) and Italy (final). Italy in 1982 beat Argentina (second group stage), Brazil (second group stage) and West Germany (final). Argentina in 1986 beat Uruguay (round of 16), England (quarter-final), and West Germany (final). Germany in 2010 beat England (round of 16), Argentina (quarter-final) and Uruguay (third-place match). In 2014, Germany beat France (quarter-final), Brazil (semi-final) and Argentina (final).
  30. Excluding Argentina themselves, there were 5 former World Cup champions in 1986. They draw Italy at group stage, then beat Uruguay (round of 16), England (quarter-final), and West Germany (final).
  31. Even though only five nations were crowned before 1970, the 1970 tournament obtained the most matches between former champions of totally. All five former champions qualified to the tournament, they all advanced to the knockout stage, and 4 of them advanced into semi-finals. Those seven matches were: Italy vs Uruguay and Brazil vs England (group stage), England vs West Germany (quarter-final), Brazil vs Uruguay and Italy vs West Germany (semi-final), Uruguay vs West Germany (third place), Brazil vs Italy (final).
  32. Sweden progressed to the last eight without playing a single match as a result of the withdrawal of Austria.
  33. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Successful kicks in a penalty shoot-out are not counted as goals (but penalties scored in the normal course of play are counted).
  34. If penalty shoot-outs are considered, then the biggest knockout stage upset is Russia (ranked 70) winning over Spain (ranked 10) on penalties in the 2018 Round of 16.
  35. Excluding automatic qualification as hosts, as reigning champion, or by invitation.
  36. Also had its only title at home.
  37. Switzerland's best position, the sixth place in 1950, relies on retrospective rankings, and had them eliminated in the group stage. While the Swiss also reached the quarter-finals in 1934 and 1938, both tournaments only required one win, in contrast to 1954's group stage format. 1954 also marked the last time Switzerland reached the top 8.
  38. Not counting the results as Soviet Union, who reached the semi-finals in 1966.
  39. Also reached this stage in 2010 and 2018.
  40. 2010 had hosts South Africa matching their 2002 record, falling in the group stage with one win, one tie and one draw, even if with a lower goal difference.
  41. Although the decisive match of the 1950 tournament, it was simply the last game of a final four-team group format to decide the winner. This is also the highest attendance for any World Cup match, or indeed any soccer match anywhere.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FIFA World Cup</span> Association football mens competition

The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The championship has been awarded every four years since the inaugural tournament in 1930, except in 1942 and 1946 when it was not held because of the Second World War. The current champions are France, who won their second title at the 2018 tournament in Russia.

{{Infobox national football team | Name = Brazil | Badge = Brazilian Football Confederation logo.svg | Badge_size = 170px | FIFA Trigramme = BRA | Nickname = A Seleção
Canarinho | Association = Confederação Brasileira de Futebol (CBF) | Confederation = CONMEBOL | Coach = Tite | Captain =Thiago Silva | Most caps = Cafu (142) | Top scorer = Pelé (77) | FIFA Rank = 1 | FIFA max = 1 | FIFA max year = 159 times on 8 occasions | FIFA min = 22 | FIFA min date = 6 June 2013 | Elo Rank = 1 | Elo max = 1 | Elo max year = 8,640 days on 40 occasions | Elo min = 20 | Elo min date = 7 November 2001 | Home Stadium = Various | pattern_la1 = _bra22h | pattern_b1 = _bra22h | pattern_ra1 = _bra22h | pattern_sh1 = _bra22h | pattern_so1 = _bra22hl | leftarm1 = FFCC00 | body1 = FFCC00 | rightarm1 = FFCC00 | shorts1 = 003CFF | socks1 = FFFFFF | pattern_la2 = _bra22a | pattern_b2 = _bra22a | pattern_ra2 = _bra22a | pattern_sh2 = _bra22a | pattern_so2 = _bra22al | leftarm2 = 0000FF | body2 = 0000FF | rightarm2 = 0000FF | shorts2 = FFFFFF | socks2 = 0000FF | First game =  Argentina 3–0 Brazil 
(Buenos Aires, Argentina; 20 September 1914) | Largest win =  Brazil 10–1 Bolivia 
(São Paulo, Brazil; 10 April 1949)
 Brazil 9–0 Colombia 
(Lima, Peru; 24 March 1957) | Largest loss =  Uruguay 6–0 Brazil 
(Viña del Mar, Chile; 18 September 1920)
 Brazil 1–7 Germany 
(Belo Horizonte, Brazil; 8 July 2014) | World cup apps = 22 | World cup first = 1930 | World cup best = Champions | Confederations cup apps = 7 | Confederations cup first = 1997 | Confederations cup best = Champions | Regional name = Copa América | Regional cup apps = 37 | Regional cup first = 1916 | Regional cup best = Champions | 2ndRegional name = Panamerican Championship | 2ndRegional cup apps = 3 | 2ndRegional cup first = 1952 | 2ndRegional cup best = Champions | medaltemplates = |- ! Olympic Games |- | | 2020 tokyo Olympics|Team

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1990 FIFA World Cup</span> Association football tournament in Italy

The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second time. Teams representing 116 national football associations entered and qualification began in April 1988. 22 teams qualified from this process, along with host nation Italy and defending champions Argentina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Germany national football team</span> Mens football team representing Germany

The Germany national football team represents Germany in men's international football and played its first match in 1908. The team is governed by the German Football Association, founded in 1900. Between 1949 and 1990, separate German national teams were recognised by FIFA due to Allied occupation and division: the DFB's team representing the Federal Republic of Germany, the Saarland team representing the Saar Protectorate (1950–1956) and the East Germany team representing the German Democratic Republic (1952–1990). The latter two were absorbed along with their records; the present team represents the reunified Federal Republic. The official name and code "Germany FR (FRG)" was shortened to "Germany (GER)" following reunification in 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Argentina national football team</span> Mens association football team representing Argentina

The Argentina national football team represents Argentina in men's international football and is administered by the Argentine Football Association, the governing body for football in Argentina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Korea national football team</span> Mens national association team

The South Korea national football team represents South Korea in men's international football and is governed by the Korea Football Association. South Korea has developed and emerged as a major football power in Asia since the 1980s and is historically the most successful Asian football team, having participated in ten consecutive and eleven overall FIFA World Cup tournaments, the most for any Asian country. Despite initially going through five World Cup tournaments without winning a match, South Korea became the only Asian team to reach the semi-final stages when they co-hosted the 2002 tournament with Japan. South Korea also won two AFC Asian Cup titles, and finished as runners-up on four occasions. Furthermore, the team won three gold medals and three silver medals at the senior Asian Games.

The FIFA World Cup was first held in 1930, when FIFA, the world's football governing body, decided to stage an international men's football tournament under the era of FIFA president Jules Rimet who put this idea into place. The inaugural edition, held in 1930, was contested as a final tournament of only thirteen teams invited by the organization. Since then, the World Cup has experienced successive expansions and format remodeling, with its current 32-team final tournament preceded by a two-year qualifying process, involving over 200 teams from around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brazil at the FIFA World Cup</span> Participation of Brazils national football team in the FIFA World Cup

This article summarizes the results and overall performance of Brazil at the FIFA World Cup not true the qualification phase and the final phase, officially called the World Cup Finals. The qualification phase, which currently takes place over the three years preceding the Finals, is used to determine which teams qualify for the Finals. The current format of the Finals involves 32 teams competing for the title, at venues within the host nation over a period of about a month. The World Cup Finals is the most widely viewed sporting event in the world, with an estimated over 1 billion people watching the 2014 tournament final.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Argentina at the FIFA World Cup</span>

This is a record of Argentina's results at the FIFA World Cup. Argentina is one of the most successful national football teams in the world, having won two World Cups in 1978 and 1986. Argentina has been runners up three times: in 1930, 1990 and 2014. In 19 World Cup tournaments, Argentina had 47 victories in 82 matches. The team was present in all but four of the World Cups, being behind only Brazil and Germany in number of appearances.

This is a list of Brazil national football team's all kinds of competitive records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">African nations at the FIFA World Cup</span>

Association football is the most popular sport in nearly every African country, and thirteen members of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) have competed at the sport's biggest event – the men's FIFA World Cup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Germany at the FIFA World Cup</span> Overview of Germany at the FIFA World Cup

This is a record of Germany and West Germany's results at the FIFA World Cup. The FIFA World Cup, sometimes called the Football World Cup, but usually referred to simply as the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the men's national teams of the members of FIFA, the sport's global governing body.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belgium at the FIFA World Cup</span> Overview of Belgium at the FIFA World Cup

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This article lists various team and individual football records in relation to the Belgian national football team. The page currently shows the records as of 23 November 2022.

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