List of national teams with no FIFA World Cup appearances

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Luxembourg (pictured before a qualifier in 1969) are the only country to enter all 20 World Cup qualification tournaments and never qualify. Luxembourg football team 1969.jpg
Luxembourg (pictured before a qualifier in 1969) are the only country to enter all 20 World Cup qualification tournaments and never qualify.

The FIFA World Cup™ is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) the sport's global governing body. The first tournament took place in 1930 and it has occurred every four years since then, except for 1942 and 1946 when it was not held because of the Second World War. Iceland is the least populous nation to ever qualify for a World Cup, doing so in 2018.

FIFA World Cup association football competition for mens national teams

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 champion is France, which won its second title at the 2018 tournament in Russia.

Association football Team field sport

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played with a spherical ball between two teams of eleven players. It is played by 250 million players in over 200 countries and dependencies, making it the world's most popular sport. The game is played on a rectangular field called a pitch with a goal at each end. The object of the game is to score by moving the ball beyond the goal line into the opposing goal.

A sports governing body is a sports organization that has a regulatory or sanctioning function. Sports governing bodies come in various forms, and have a variety of regulatory functions. Examples of this can include disciplinary action for rule infractions and deciding on rule changes ye in the sport that they govern. Governing bodies have different scopes. They may cover a range of sport at an International level, such as the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee, or only a single sport at a national level, such as the Rugby Football League. National bodies may or may not be affiliated to international bodies for the same sport. The first international federations were formed at the end of the 19th century.

Contents

Every World Cup tournament other than the first has involved a qualification phase to determine which teams qualify for the tournament itself, often referred to as the World Cup finals (as distinct from the World Cup final, which refers to the final match of the tournament, played to determine the overall winners). 132 of the 211 current FIFA affiliates have not appeared in a World Cup finals tournament. In the tables below all qualification tournaments where the national team played at least one game are counted as attempts to qualify, even if the team subsequently withdrew or were disqualified. Withdrawals and disqualifications before the start of the qualification are excluded, as are occasions where teams withdrew or were disqualified during their campaign and had all their results from that campaign annulled.

The FIFA World Cup qualification is the process that a national association football team goes through to qualify for the FIFA World Cup finals. The FIFA World Cup is the largest international team sport competition in the world with a qualification process required to reduce the large field of countries from 211 to just 32 for the World Cup finals.

By confederation

AFC countries

34 out of the 46 active FIFA and AFC members have not appeared in the FIFA World Cup final tournament.

Asian Football Confederation governing body of association football in Asia

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is the governing body of association football in Asia and Australia. It has 47 member countries, mostly located on the Asian and Australian continent, but excludes the transcontinental countries with territory in both Europe and Asia – Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkey – which are instead members of UEFA. Three other states located geographically along the western fringe of Asia – Cyprus, Armenia and Israel – are also UEFA members. On the other hand, Australia, formerly in the OFC, joined the Asian Football Confederation in 2006, and the Oceanian island of Guam, a territory of the United States, is also a member of AFC, in addition to Northern Mariana Islands, one of the Two Commonwealths of the United States. Hong Kong and Macau, although not independent countries, are also members of the AFC.

CountryQualifying attempts
NumberFirstLast
Flag of Syria.svg  Syria 14 1950 2018
Flag of Hong Kong.svg  Hong Kong 12 1974 2018
Flag of Malaysia.svg  Malaysia 12 1974 2018
Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand 12 1974 2018
Flag of Chinese Taipei (FIFA).svg  Chinese Taipei 11 1978 2018
Flag of Singapore.svg  Singapore 11 1978 2018
Flag of Bahrain.svg  Bahrain 10 1978 2018
Flag of Bangladesh.svg  Bangladesh 9 1986 2018
Flag of Jordan.svg  Jordan 9 1986 2018
Flag of Macau.svg  Macau 9 1982 2018
Flag of Yemen.svg  Yemen [upper-alpha 1] 9 1986 2018
Flag of India.svg  India 8 1986 2018
Flag of Oman.svg  Oman 8 1990 2018
Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan 8 1990 2018
Flag of Vietnam.svg  Vietnam [upper-alpha 2] 8 1974 2018
Flag of Lebanon.svg  Lebanon 7 1994 2018
Flag of Nepal.svg  Nepal 7 1986 2018
Flag of Sri Lanka.svg  Sri Lanka 7 1994 2018
Flag of Kyrgyzstan.svg  Kyrgyzstan 6 1998 2018
Flag of Maldives.svg  Maldives 6 1998 2018
Flag of Tajikistan.svg  Tajikistan 6 1998 2018
Flag of Turkmenistan.svg  Turkmenistan 6 1998 2018
Flag of Uzbekistan.svg  Uzbekistan 6 1998 2018
Flag of Cambodia.svg  Cambodia 5 1998 2018
Flag of Mongolia.svg  Mongolia 5 2002 2018
Flag of Palestine.svg  Palestine 5 2002 2018
Flag of Afghanistan.svg  Afghanistan 4 2006 2018
Flag of Laos.svg  Laos 4 2002 2018
Flag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines 4 1998 2018
Flag of Brunei.svg  Brunei 3 1986 2018
Flag of Myanmar.svg  Myanmar 3 2010 2018
Flag of East Timor.svg  Timor-Leste 3 2010 2018
Flag of Guam.svg  Guam 2 2002 2018
Flag of Bhutan.svg  Bhutan 1 2018 2018

CAF countries

41 out of the 54 active FIFA and CAF members have not appeared in the FIFA World Cup final tournament.

Confederation of African Football governing body of association football in Africa

The Confederation of African Football or CAF is the administrative and controlling body for African association football.

CountryQualifying attempts
NumberFirstLast
Flag of Zambia.svg  Zambia 13 1970 2018
Flag of Guinea.svg  Guinea 12 1974 2018
Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 12 1974 2018
Flag of Sudan.svg  Sudan 12 1958 2018
Flag of Ethiopia.svg  Ethiopia 11 1962 2018
Flag of Libya.svg  Libya 10 1970 2018
Flag of Malawi.svg  Malawi 10 1978 2018
Flag of Sierra Leone.svg  Sierra Leone 10 1974 2018
Flag of Zimbabwe.svg  Zimbabwe 10 1970 2014
Flag of the Republic of the Congo.svg  Congo 9 1974 2018
Flag of Liberia.svg  Liberia 9 1982 2018
Flag of Madagascar.svg  Madagascar 9 1982 2018
Flag of Tanzania.svg  Tanzania 9 1974 2018
Flag of Uganda.svg  Uganda 9 1978 2018
Flag of Benin.svg  Benin 8 1974 2018
Flag of Burkina Faso.svg  Burkina Faso 8 1978 2018
Flag of Gabon.svg  Gabon 8 1990 2018
Flag of The Gambia.svg  Gambia 8 1982 2018
Flag of Mozambique.svg  Mozambique 8 1982 2018
Flag of Lesotho.svg  Lesotho 7 1974 2018
Flag of Mauritius.svg  Mauritius 7 1974 2018
Flag of Namibia.svg  Namibia 7 1994 2018
Flag of Niger.svg  Niger 7 1978 2018
Flag of Swaziland.svg  Swaziland 7 1994 2018
Flag of Botswana.svg  Botswana 6 1994 2018
Flag of Burundi.svg  Burundi 6 1994 2018
Flag of Guinea-Bissau.svg  Guinea-Bissau 6 1998 2018
Flag of Mauritania.svg  Mauritania 6 1978 2018
Flag of Rwanda.svg  Rwanda 6 1998 2018
Flag of Somalia.svg  Somalia 6 1982 2018
Flag of Cape Verde.svg  Cape Verde 5 2002 2018
Flag of Chad.svg  Chad 5 2002 2018
Flag of Equatorial Guinea.svg  Equatorial Guinea 5 2002 2018
Flag of Mali.svg  Mali 5 2002 2018
Flag of the Seychelles.svg  Seychelles 5 2002 2018
Flag of Djibouti.svg  Djibouti 4 2002 2018
Flag of Eritrea.svg  Eritrea 4 2002 2018
Flag of Sao Tome and Principe.svg  São Tomé and Príncipe 4 2002 2018
Flag of the Central African Republic.svg  Central African Republic 3 2002 2018
Flag of the Comoros.svg  Comoros 3 2010 2018
Flag of South Sudan.svg  South Sudan 1 2018 2018

CONCACAF countries

24 out of the 35 active FIFA and CONCACAF members have not appeared in the FIFA World Cup final tournament.

CONCACAF International sport governing body

The Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football is the continental governing body for association football in North America, which includes Central America and the Caribbean region. Three geographically South American entities — the independent nations of Guyana and Suriname and the French overseas department of French Guiana — are also members. CONCACAF's primary functions are to organize competitions for national teams and clubs, and to conduct World Cup and Women's World Cup qualifying tournaments.

CountryQualifying attempts
NumberFirstLast
Flag of Curacao.svg  Curaçao [upper-alpha 3] 16 1958 2018
Flag of Guatemala.svg  Guatemala 15 1958 2018
Flag of Suriname.svg  Suriname 14 1962 2018
Flag of Antigua and Barbuda.svg  Antigua and Barbuda 10 1974 2018
Flag of Guyana.svg  Guyana 10 1978 2018
Flag of Puerto Rico.svg  Puerto Rico 9 1974 2018
Flag of Barbados.svg  Barbados 8 1978 2018
Flag of the Dominican Republic.svg  Dominican Republic 8 1978 2018
Flag of Bermuda.svg  Bermuda 7 1970 2018
Flag of Grenada.svg  Grenada 7 1982 2018
Flag of Nicaragua.svg  Nicaragua 7 1994 2018
Flag of Saint Lucia.svg  Saint Lucia 7 1994 2018
Flag of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.svg  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 7 1994 2018
Flag of Aruba.svg  Aruba 6 1998 2018
Flag of Belize.svg  Belize 6 1998 2018
Flag of the Cayman Islands.svg  Cayman Islands 6 1998 2018
Flag of Dominica.svg  Dominica 6 1998 2018
Flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis.svg  Saint Kitts and Nevis 6 1998 2018
Flag of Anguilla.svg  Anguilla 5 2002 2018
Flag of the Bahamas.svg  Bahamas 5 2002 2018
Flag of the British Virgin Islands.svg  British Virgin Islands 5 2002 2018
Flag of Montserrat.svg  Montserrat 5 2002 2018
Flag of the Turks and Caicos Islands.svg  Turks and Caicos Islands 5 2002 2018
Flag of the United States Virgin Islands.svg  U.S. Virgin Islands 5 2002 2018

CONMEBOL countries

Venezuela (pictured before a 2008 qualifier) is the only CONMEBOL nation to never qualify for the World Cup SeleccionVenezuela2008.jpg
Venezuela (pictured before a 2008 qualifier) is the only CONMEBOL nation to never qualify for the World Cup

Only one of the 10 active FIFA and CONMEBOL members has never appeared in the FIFA World Cup final tournament.

CONMEBOL governing body of association football in South America

The South American Football Confederation is the continental governing body of football in South America and it is one of FIFA's six continental confederations. The oldest continental confederation in the world, its headquarters are located in Luque, Paraguay, near Asunción. CONMEBOL is responsible for the organization and governance of South American football's major international tournaments. With 10 member football associations, it has the fewest members of all the confederations in FIFA.

CountryQualifying attempts
NumberFirstLast
Flag of Venezuela (state).svg  Venezuela 13 1966 2018

OFC countries

10 out of the 11 active FIFA and OFC members have not appeared in the FIFA World Cup final tournament.

CountryQualifying attempts
NumberFirstLast
Flag of Fiji.svg  Fiji 9 1982 2018
Flag of the Solomon Islands.svg  Solomon Islands 7 1994 2018
Flag of French Polynesia.svg  Tahiti 7 1994 2018
Flag of Vanuatu.svg  Vanuatu 7 1994 2018
Flag of the Cook Islands.svg  Cook Islands 6 1998 2018
Flag of Samoa.svg  Samoa 6 1998 2018
Flag of Tonga.svg  Tonga 6 1998 2018
Flag of American Samoa.svg  American Samoa 5 2002 2018
New Caledonia flags merged (2017).svg  New Caledonia 4 2006 2018
Flag of Papua New Guinea.svg  Papua New Guinea 4 1998 2018

UEFA countries

22 out of the 55 active FIFA and UEFA members have not appeared in the FIFA World Cup final tournament.

CountryQualifying attempts
NumberFirstLast
Flag of Luxembourg.svg  Luxembourg 20 1934 2018
Flag of Finland.svg  Finland 19 1938 2018
Flag of Cyprus.svg  Cyprus 15 1962 2018
Flag of Albania.svg  Albania 12 1966 2018
Flag of Malta.svg  Malta 12 1974 2018
Flag of Estonia.svg  Estonia 9 1934 2018
Flag of Lithuania.svg  Lithuania 9 1934 2018
Flag of Latvia.svg  Latvia 8 1938 2018
Flag of the Faroe Islands.svg  Faroe Islands 7 1994 2018
Flag of San Marino.svg  San Marino 7 1994 2018
Flag of Armenia.svg  Armenia 6 1998 2018
Flag of Azerbaijan.svg  Azerbaijan 6 1998 2018
Flag of Belarus.svg  Belarus 6 1998 2018
Flag of Georgia.svg  Georgia 6 1998 2018
Flag of Kazakhstan.svg  Kazakhstan 6 1998 2018
Flag of Liechtenstein.svg  Liechtenstein 6 1998 2018
Flag of Macedonia.svg  Macedonia 6 1998 2018
Flag of Moldova.svg  Moldova 6 1998 2018
Flag of Andorra.svg  Andorra 5 2002 2018
Flag of Montenegro.svg  Montenegro 3 2010 2018
Flag of Gibraltar.svg  Gibraltar 1 2018 2018
Flag of Kosovo.svg  Kosovo 1 2018 2018

Former countries

Two defunct national football teams took part in qualification but never appeared in the final tournament. This excludes teams whose record has been inherited by successor nations.

CountryQualifying attempts
NumberTournaments
Flag of Saar (1947-1956).svg  Saar 1 1954 [1]
Flag of South Yemen.svg  South Yemen 1 1986 [2]

Footnotes

  1. Figures include Flag of North Yemen.svg  North Yemen records.
  2. Figures include Flag of South Vietnam.svg  South Vietnam records.
  3. Figures include Flag of the Netherlands Antilles.svg  Netherlands Antilles records.

References

  1. Stokkermans, Karel; Jarreta, Sergio Henrique (12 June 2009). "World Cup 1954 Qualifying". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
  2. Stokkermans, Karel; Jarreta, Sergio Henrique (3 January 2000). "World Cup 1986 Qualifying". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 11 September 2014.

See also