User:Mauriziok/National team appearances in the FIFA World Cup

This article lists the performances of each of the national teams which have made at least one appearance in the FIFA World Cup.

As of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, 79 national teams have competed at the final tournaments.^[1] Brazil is the only team to have appeared in all 21 tournaments to date, with Germany having participated in 19, Italy in 18, Argentina in 17 and Mexico in 16.^[2] To date, eight nations have won the tournament. The inaugural winners in 1930 were Uruguay; the current champions are France. The most successful nation in the competition are currently Brazil, who have won the cup on five occasions.^[3] Five teams have appeared in FIFA World Cup finals without winning,^[4] while eleven more have appeared in semi-finals.^[5]

Ranking of teams by number of appearances

Team	Appearances	Record streak	Active streak	Debut	Most recent	Best result (* = hosts)
Brazil	22	22	22	1930	2022	Champions (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002)
Germany	20	18	18	1934	2022	Champions (1954, 1974*, 1990, 2014)
Argentina	18	13	13	1930	2022	Champions (1978*, 1986)
Italy	18	14	0	1934	2014	Champions (1934*, 1938, 1982, 2006)
Mexico	17	8	8	1930	2022	Quarterfinals (1970, 1986)
Spain	16	12	12	1934	2022	Champions (2010)
France	16	7	7	1930	2022	Champions (1998*, 2018)
England	16	7	7	1950	2022	Champions (1966*)
Belgium	14	6	4	1930	2022	Third place (2018)
Uruguay	14	4	4	1930	2022	Champions (1930*, 1950)
Serbia	13	4	2	1930	2022	Fourth place (1930, 1962)
Switzerland	12	5	5	1934	2022	Quarterfinals (1934, 1938, 1954*)
Sweden	12	3	0	1934	2018	Runners-up (1958*)
South Korea	11	10	10	1954	2022	Fourth place (2002*)
United States	11	7	1	1930	2022	Third place (1930)
Netherlands	11	3	1	1934	2022	Runners-up (1974, 1978, 2010)
Russia	11	4	0	1958	2018	Fourth place (1966)
Poland	9	4	2	1938	2022	Third place (1974, 1982)
Hungary	9	4	0	1934	1986	Runners-up (1938, 1954)
Czech Republic	9	3	0	1934	2006	Runners-up (1934, 1962)
Chile	9	2	0	1930	2014	Third place (1962*)
Portugal	8	6	6	1966	2022	Third place (1966)
Cameroon	8	4	1	1982	2022	Quarterfinals (1990)
Scotland	8	5	0	1954	1998	Group Stage
Paraguay	8	4	0	1930	2010	Quarterfinals (2010)
Japan	7	7	7	1998	2022	Round of 16 (2002*, 2010, 2018)
Bulgaria	7	4	0	1962	1998	Fourth place (1994)
Romania	7	3	0	1930	1998	Quarterfinals (1994)
Austria	7	2	0	1934	1998	Third place (1954)
Australia	6	5	5	1974	2022	Round of 16 (2006)
Iran	6	3	3	1978	2022	Group Stage
Costa Rica	6	3	3	1990	2022	Quarterfinals (2014)
Croatia	6	3	3	1998	2022	Runners-up (2018)
Saudi Arabia	6	4	2	1994	2022	Round of 16 (1994)
Tunisia	6	3	2	1978	2022	Group Stage
Morocco	6	2	2	1970	2022	Round of 16 (1986)
Denmark	6	2	2	1986	2022	Quarterfinals (1998)
Colombia	6	3	0	1962	2018	Quarterfinals (2014)
Nigeria	6	3	0	1994	2018	Round of 16 (1994, 1998, 2014)
Peru	5	2	0	1930	2018	Quarterfinals (1970, 1978)
Ghana	4	3	1	2006	2022	Quarterfinals (2010)
Ecuador	4	2	1	2002	2022	Round of 16 (2006)
Algeria	4	2	0	1982	2014	Round of 16 (2014)
Senegal	3	2	2	2002	2022	Quarterfinals (2002)
Ivory Coast	3	3	0	2006	2014	Group Stage
Norway	3	2	0	1938	1998	Round of 16 (1938, 1998)
Northern Ireland	3	2	0	1958	1986	Quarterfinals (1958)
Honduras	3	2	0	1982	2014	Group Stage
Republic of Ireland	3	2	0	1990	2002	Quarterfinals (1990)
Greece	3	2	0	1994	2014	Round of 16 (2014)
South Africa	3	2	0	1998	2010	Group Stage
Bolivia	3	1	0	1930	1994	Group Stage
Egypt	3	1	0	1934	2018	First Round (1934)
Wales	2	1	1	1958	2022	Quarterfinals (1958)
Canada	2	1	1	1986	2022	Group Stage
Turkey	2	1	0	1954	2002	Third place (2002)
North Korea	2	1	0	1966	2010	Quarterfinals (1966)
El Salvador	2	1	0	1970	1982	Group Stage
New Zealand	2	1	0	1982	2010	Group Stage
Slovenia	2	1	0	2002	2010	Group Stage
Cuba	1	1	0	1938	1938	Quarterfinals (1938)
Indonesia	1	1	0	1938	1938	First Round (1938)
Israel	1	1	0	1970	1970	Group Stage
DR Congo	1	1	0	1974	1974	Group Stage
Haiti	1	1	0	1974	1974	Group Stage
Kuwait	1	1	0	1982	1982	Group Stage
Iraq	1	1	0	1986	1986	Group Stage
United Arab Emirates	1	1	0	1990	1990	Group Stage
Jamaica	1	1	0	1998	1998	Group Stage
China	1	1	0	2002	2002	Group Stage
Angola	1	1	0	2006	2006	Group Stage
Togo	1	1	0	2006	2006	Group Stage
Trinidad and Tobago	1	1	0	2006	2006	Group Stage
Ukraine	1	1	0	2006	2006	Quarterfinals (2006)
Slovakia	1	1	0	2010	2010	Round of 16 (2010)
Bosnia and Herzegovina	1	1	0	2014	2014	Group Stage
Iceland	1	1	0	2018	2018	Group Stage
Panama	1	1	0	2018	2018	Group Stage
Qatar	1	1	0	2022	2022	TBD

Former countries

Team	Appearances	Record streak	Active streak	Debut	Most recent	Best result (* = hosts)
East Germany	1	1	0	1974	1974	Round 2 (1974)

Debut of teams

Each successive World Cup has had at least one team appearing for the first time.

Year	Debuting teams			Successor teams
Year	Teams	No.	Cum.	Successor teams
1930	Argentina, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, France, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Romania, United States, Uruguay, Yugoslavia^[a]	13	13
1934	Austria, Czechoslovakia,^[b] Egypt, Germany,^[c] Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland	10	23
1938	Cuba, Dutch East Indies,^[d] Norway, Poland	4	27
1950	England	1	28
1954	South Korea, Scotland, Turkey	3	31	West Germany^[c]
1958	Northern Ireland, Soviet Union,^[e] Wales	3	34
1962	Bulgaria, Colombia	2	36
1966	North Korea, Portugal	2	38
1970	El Salvador, Israel, Morocco	3	41
1974	Australia, East Germany,^[c] Haiti, Zaire^[f]	4	45
1978	Iran, Tunisia	2	47
1982	Algeria, Cameroon, Honduras, Kuwait, New Zealand	5	52
1986	Canada, Denmark, Iraq	3	55
1990	Costa Rica, Republic of Ireland, United Arab Emirates	3	58
1994	Greece, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia	3	61	Germany,^[c] Russia^[e]
1998	Croatia,^[a] Jamaica, Japan, South Africa	4	65	FR Yugoslavia^[a]
2002	China, Ecuador, Senegal, Slovenia^[a]	4	69
2006	Angola, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Ukraine^[e]	6	75	Czech Republic^[b]
2010	Slovakia^[b]	1	76	Serbia^[a]
2014	Bosnia and Herzegovina^[a]	1	77
2018	Iceland, Panama	2	79
2022	Qatar	1	80

The total number of teams which have participated in the World Cup through 2018 is 79, using FIFA's view on successor teams.

Overall team records

The system used in the World Cup up to 1990 was 2 points for a win. In this ranking 3 points are awarded for a win, 1 for a draw and 0 for a loss. As per statistical convention in football, matches decided in extra time are counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by penalty shoot-outs are counted as draws. Teams are ranked by total points, then by goal difference, then by goals scored.^[6]

As of 2018 FIFA World Cup

Rank	Team	Part	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Brazil	21	109	73	18	18	229	105	+124	237
2	Germany^[g]	19	109	67	20	22	226	125	+101	221
3	Italy	18	83	45	21	17	128	77	+51	156
4	Argentina	17	81	43	15	23	137	93	+44	144
5	France	15	66	34	13	19	120	77	+43	115
6	England	15	69	29	21	19	91	64	+27	108
7	Spain	15	63	30	15	18	99	72	+27	105
8	Netherlands	10	50	27	12	11	86	48	+38	93
9	Uruguay	13	56	24	12	20	87	74	+13	84
10	Sweden	12	51	19	13	19	80	73	+7	70
11	Belgium	13	48	20	9	19	68	72	−4	69
12	Russia^[h]	11	45	19	10	16	77	54	+23	67
13	Serbia^[i]	12	46	18	8	20	66	63	+3	62
14	Mexico	16	57	16	14	27	60	98	−38	62
15	Poland	8	34	16	5	13	46	45	+1	53
16	Hungary	9	32	15	3	14	87	57	+30	48
17	Portugal	7	30	14	6	10	49	35	+14	48
18	Switzerland	11	37	12	8	17	50	64	−14	44
19	Czech Republic^[j]	9	33	12	5	16	47	49	−2	41
20	Austria	7	29	12	4	13	43	47	−4	40
21	Chile	9	33	11	7	15	40	49	−9	40
22	Croatia	5	23	11	4	8	35	26	+9	37
23	Denmark	5	20	9	5	6	30	26	+4	32
24	Paraguay	8	27	7	10	10	30	38	−8	31
25	Colombia	6	22	9	3	10	32	30	+2	30
26	United States	10	33	8	6	19	37	62	−25	30
27	Romania	7	21	8	5	8	30	32	−2	29
28	South Korea	10	34	6	9	19	34	70	−36	27
29	Nigeria	6	21	6	3	12	23	30	−7	21
30	Japan	6	21	5	5	11	20	29	−9	20
31	Costa Rica	5	18	5	5	8	19	28	−9	20
32	Scotland	8	23	4	7	12	25	41	−16	19
33	Cameroon	7	23	4	7	12	18	43	−25	19
34	Peru	5	18	5	3	10	21	33	−12	18
35	Bulgaria	7	26	3	8	15	22	53	−31	17
36	Turkey	2	10	5	1	4	20	17	+3	16
37	Ghana	3	12	4	3	5	13	16	−3	15
38	Republic of Ireland	3	13	2	8	3	10	10	0	14
39	Northern Ireland	3	13	3	5	5	13	23	−10	14
40	Ecuador	3	10	4	1	5	10	11	−1	13
41	Senegal	2	8	3	3	2	11	10	+1	12
42	Algeria	4	13	3	3	7	13	19	−6	12
43	Morocco	5	16	2	5	9	14	22	−8	11
44	Saudi Arabia	5	16	3	2	11	11	39	−28	11
45	Ivory Coast	3	9	3	1	5	13	14	−1	10
46	South Africa	3	9	2	4	3	11	16	−5	10
47	Tunisia	5	15	2	4	9	13	25	−12	10
48	Iran	5	15	2	4	9	9	24	−15	10
49	Australia	5	16	2	4	10	13	31	−18	10
50	Norway	3	8	2	3	3	7	8	−1	9
51	Greece	3	10	2	2	6	5	20	−15	8
52	Ukraine	1	5	2	1	2	5	7	−2	7
53	Wales	1	5	1	3	1	4	4	0	6
54	Slovakia	1	4	1	1	2	5	7	−2	4
55	Slovenia	2	6	1	1	4	5	10	−5	4
56	Cuba	1	3	1	1	1	5	12	−7	4
57	North Korea	2	7	1	1	5	6	21	−15	4
58	Bosnia and Herzegovina	1	3	1	0	2	4	4	0	3
59	Jamaica	1	3	1	0	2	3	9	−6	3
60	New Zealand	2	6	0	3	3	4	14	−10	3
61	Honduras	3	9	0	3	6	3	14	−11	3
62	Angola	1	3	0	2	1	1	2	−1	2
63	Israel	1	3	0	2	1	1	3	−2	2
64	Egypt	3	7	0	2	5	5	12	−7	2
65	Iceland	1	3	0	1	2	2	5	−3	1
66	Kuwait	1	3	0	1	2	2	6	−4	1
67	Trinidad and Tobago	1	3	0	1	2	0	4	−4	1
68	Bolivia	3	6	0	1	5	1	20	−19	1
69	Iraq	1	3	0	0	3	1	4	−3	0
70	Togo	1	3	0	0	3	1	6	−5	0
71	Canada	1	3	0	0	3	0	5	−5	0
72	Indonesia^[k]	1	1	0	0	1	0	6	−6	0
73	Panama	1	3	0	0	3	2	11	−9	0
74	United Arab Emirates	1	3	0	0	3	2	11	−9	0
75	China PR	1	3	0	0	3	0	9	−9	0
76	Haiti	1	3	0	0	3	2	14	−12	0
77	Congo DR^[l]	1	3	0	0	3	0	14	−14	0
78	El Salvador	2	6	0	0	6	1	22	−21	0

Predecessor countries

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Points
Czechoslovakia (1934–1990)	30	11	5	14	44	45	−1	38
Germany (1934–1938)	6	3	1	2	14	13	+1	10
West Germany (1954–1990)	62	36	14	12	131	77	+54	122
Soviet Union (1958–1990)	31	15	6	10	53	34	+19	51
Yugoslavia (1930)	3	2	0	1	7	7	0	6
Yugoslavia (1950–1990)	30	12	7	11	48	35	+13	43
FR Yugoslavia (1998)	4	2	1	1	5	4	+1	7
Serbia and Montenegro (2006)	3	0	0	3	2	10	−8	0

Former countries

Team	Part	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Points
East Germany	1	6	2	2	2	5	5	0	8

Medal table

Comprehensive team results by tournament

Hosts

Results of host nations
Year	Host Nation	Finish
1930	Uruguay	Champions
1934	Italy	Champions
1938	France	Quarter-Final
1950	Brazil	Runners-up
1954	Switzerland	Quarter-Final
1958	Sweden	Runners-up
1962	Chile	Third Place
1966	England	Champions
1970	Mexico	Quarter-Final
1974	West Germany	Champions
1978	Argentina	Champions
1982	Spain	Round 2 (top 12)
1986	Mexico	Quarter-Final
1990	Italy	Third Place
1994	United States	Round of 16
1998	France	Champions
2002	South Korea	Fourth Place
2002	Japan	Round of 16
2006	Germany	Third Place
2010	South Africa	Group Stage
2014	Brazil	Fourth Place
2018	Russia	Quarter-Final
2022	Qatar	TBD
2026	Canada	TBD
	Mexico
	United States

Results of defending finalists

The defending World Cup champions were formerly granted an automatic spot in the Cup finals field. As of the 2006 tournament, this berth is no longer guaranteed.^[7] However, no defending World Cup champion has yet failed to qualify. Automatic berths have never been given for defending World Cup runners-up. Defending runners-up have qualified 16 times in 19 attempts for the following World Cup.

Year	Defending champions	Finish	Defending runners-up	Finish
1934	Uruguay	Did not enter	Argentina	Round of 16
1938	Italy	Champions	Czechoslovakia	Quarter-Final
1950	Italy	Group Stage	Hungary	Did not enter
1954	Uruguay	Fourth Place	Brazil	Quarter-Final
1958	West Germany	Fourth Place	Hungary	Group Stage
1962	Brazil	Champions	Sweden	Did not qualify
1966	Brazil	Group Stage	Czechoslovakia	Did not qualify
1970	England	Quarter-Final	West Germany	Third Place
1974	Brazil	Fourth Place	Italy	Group Stage
1978	West Germany	Round 2 (top 8)	Netherlands	Runners-up
1982	Argentina	Round 2 (top 12)	Netherlands	Did not qualify
1986	Italy	Round of 16	West Germany	Runners-up
1990	Argentina	Runners-up	West Germany	Champions
1994	Germany	Quarter-Final	Argentina	Round of 16
1998	Brazil	Runners-up	Italy	Quarter-Final
2002	France	Group Stage	Brazil	Champions
2006	Brazil	Quarter-Final	Germany	Third Place
2010	Italy	Group Stage	France	Group Stage
2014	Spain	Group Stage	Netherlands	Third Place
2018	Germany	Group Stage	Argentina	Round of 16
2022	France	TBD	Croatia	TBD

Results by confederation

AFC

	1930 (13)	1934 (16)	1938 (15)	1950 (13)	1954 (16)	1958 (16)	1962 (16)	1966 (16)	1970 (16)	1974 (16)	1978 (16)	1982 (24)	1986 (24)	1990 (24)	1994 (24)	1998 (32)	2002 (32)	2006 (32)	2010 (32)	2014 (32)	2018 (32)	2022 (32)	Total
Teams	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	1	1	0	1	1	2	2	2	4	4	4	4	4	5	6	43
Top 16	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	0^[m]	0	0	1	0	2	0	2	0	1		6
Top 8	—	0	0	—	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0^[m]	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0		2
Top 4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0		1
Top 2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0
1st																							0
2nd																							0
3rd																							0
4th																							1

CAF

	1930 (13)	1934 (16)	1938 (15)	1950 (13)	1954 (16)	1958 (16)	1962 (16)	1966 (16)	1970 (16)	1974 (16)	1978 (16)	1982 (24)	1986 (24)	1990 (24)	1994 (24)	1998 (32)	2002 (32)	2006 (32)	2010 (32)	2014 (32)	2018 (32)	2022 (32)	Total
Teams	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	2	2	2	3	5	5	5	6	5	5	5	49
Top 16	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	0^[m]	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	0		9
Top 8	—	0	0	—	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0^[m]	0	1	0	0	1	0	1	0	0		3
Top 4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0
Top 2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0
1st																							0
2nd																							0
3rd																							0
4th																							0

CONCACAF

	1930 (13)	1934 (16)	1938 (15)	1950 (13)	1954 (16)	1958 (16)	1962 (16)	1966 (16)	1970 (16)	1974 (16)	1978 (16)	1982 (24)	1986 (24)	1990 (24)	1994 (24)	1998 (32)	2002 (32)	2006 (32)	2010 (32)	2014 (32)	2018 (32)	2022 (32)	Total
Teams	2	1	1	2	1	1	1	1	2	1	1	2	2	2	2	3	3	4	3	4	3	4	46
Top 16	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	0^[m]	1	1	2	1	2	1	2	3	1		14
Top 8	—	0	1	—	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0^[m]	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0		5
Top 4	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		1
Top 2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0
1st																							0
2nd																							0
3rd																							1
4th																							0

CONMEBOL

	1930 (13)	1934 (16)	1938 (15)	1950 (13)	1954 (16)	1958 (16)	1962 (16)	1966 (16)	1970 (16)	1974 (16)	1978 (16)	1982 (24)	1986 (24)	1990 (24)	1994 (24)	1998 (32)	2002 (32)	2006 (32)	2010 (32)	2014 (32)	2018 (32)	2022 (32)	Total
Teams	7	2	1	5	2	3	5	4	3	4	3	4	4	4	4	5	5	4	5	6	5	4	89
Top 16	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	2^[m]	4	4	2	4	2	3	5	5	4		33
Top 8	—	0	1	—	2	1	2	2	3	2	3	2^[m]	2	1	1	2	1	2	4	3	2		35
Top 4	2	0	1	2	1	1	2	0	2	1	2	0	1	1	1	1	1	0	1	2	0		22
Top 2	2	0	0	2	0	1	1	0	1	0	1	0	1	1	1	1	1	0	0	1	0		14
1st																							9
2nd																							5
3rd																							3
4th																							5

OFC

	1930 (13)	1934 (16)	1938 (15)	1950 (13)	1954 (16)	1958 (16)	1962 (16)	1966 (16)	1970 (16)	1974 (16)	1978 (16)	1982 (24)	1986 (24)	1990 (24)	1994 (24)	1998 (32)	2002 (32)	2006 (32)	2010 (32)	2014 (32)	2018 (32)	2022 (32)	Total
Teams	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	4
Top 16	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	0^[m]	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1
Top 8	—	0	0	—	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0^[m]	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Top 4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Top 2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1st																							0
2nd																							0
3rd																							0
4th																							0

UEFA

	1930 (13)	1934 (16)	1938 (15)	1950 (13)	1954 (16)	1958 (16)	1962 (16)	1966 (16)	1970 (16)	1974 (16)	1978 (16)	1982 (24)	1986 (24)	1990 (24)	1994 (24)	1998 (32)	2002 (32)	2006 (32)	2010 (32)	2014 (32)	2018 (32)	2022 (32)	Total
Teams	4	12	12	6	12	12	10	10	9	9	10	14	14	14	13	15	15	14	13	13	14	13	258
Top 16	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	10^[m]	10	10	10	10	9	10	6	6	10		91
Top 8	—	8	6	—	6	7	6	5	4	6	5	10^[m]	5	6	7	6	4	6	3	4	6		100
Top 4	1	4	3	2	3	3	2	4	2	3	2	4	3	3	3	3	2	4	3	2	4		60
Top 2	0	2	2	0	2	1	1	2	1	2	1	2	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	1	2		28
1st																							12
2nd																							16
3rd																							17
4th																							15

Active consecutive participations

This is a list of active consecutive participations of national teams in the FIFA World Cup

Team	Confederation	Managed to qualify since	Consecutive participations
Brazil	CONMEBOL	1930	22
Germany	UEFA	1954	18^[n]
Argentina	CONMEBOL	1974	13
Spain	UEFA	1978	12
South Korea	AFC	1986	10
Mexico	CONCACAF	1994	8
England	UEFA	1998	7
France	UEFA	1998	7
Japan	AFC	1998	7
Portugal	UEFA	2002	6
Switzerland	UEFA	2006	5
Australia	AFC	2006	5
Uruguay	CONMEBOL	2010	4
Belgium	UEFA	2014	3
Croatia	UEFA	2014	3
Iran	AFC	2014	3
Costa Rica	CONCACAF	2014	3
Denmark	UEFA	2018	2
Serbia	UEFA	2018	2^[o]
Saudi Arabia	AFC	2018	2
Senegal	CAF	2018	2
Poland	UEFA	2018	2
Tunisia	CAF	2018	2
Morocco	CAF	2018	2

Droughts

This section is a list of droughts associated with the participation of national football teams in the FIFA World Cups. 1942 and 1946, when the tournament was not held due to World War II, are not included in the calculation of a drought.

Longest active World Cup appearance droughts

Updated to 14 June 2022, including qualification for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Does not include teams that have not yet made their first appearance or teams that no longer exist.

Team	Last appearance	WC Missed
Cuba	1938	19
Indonesia	1938	19
Israel	1970	13
DR Congo	1974	12
Haiti	1974	12
El Salvador	1982	10
Kuwait	1982	10
Hungary	1986	9
Iraq	1986	9
Northern Ireland	1986	9
United Arab Emirates	1990	8
Bolivia	1994	7
Austria	1998	6
Bulgaria	1998	6
Jamaica	1998	6
Norway	1998	6
Romania	1998	6
Scotland	1998	6
China	2002	5
Republic of Ireland	2002	5
Turkey	2002	5
Angola	2006	4
Czech Republic	2006	4
Togo	2006	4
Trinidad and Tobago	2006	4
Ukraine	2006	4
New Zealand	2010	3
North Korea	2010	3
Paraguay	2010	3
Slovakia	2010	3
Slovenia	2010	3
South Africa	2010	3
Algeria	2014	2
Bosnia and Herzegovina	2014	2
Chile	2014	2
Greece	2014	2
Honduras	2014	2
Italy	2014	2
Ivory Coast	2014	2
Colombia	2018	1
Egypt	2018	1
Iceland	2018	1
Nigeria	2018	1
Panama	2018	1
Peru	2018	1
Russia	2018	1
Sweden	2018	1

Longest World Cup appearance droughts overall

Only includes droughts begun after a team's first appearance and until the team ceased to exist. Updated to 14 June 2022, including qualification for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Team	Prev. appearance	Next appearance	WC Missed
Cuba	1938	active	19
Indonesia^[d]	1938	active	19
Wales	1958	2022	15
Israel	1970	active	13
DR Congo^[f]	1974	active	12
Haiti	1974	active	12
Egypt	1934	1990	11
Norway	1938	1994	11
Turkey	1954	2002	11
Bolivia	1950	1994	10
North Korea	1966	2010	10
El Salvador	1982	active	10
Kuwait	1982	active	10
United States	1950	1990	9
Hungary	1986	active	9
Iraq	1986	active	9
Northern Ireland	1986	active	9
Peru	1982	2018	8
Canada	1986	2022	8
United Arab Emirates	1990	active	8
South Korea	1954	1986	7
Australia	1974	2006	7
Netherlands	1938	1974	6
Poland	1938	1974	6
Paraguay	1958	1986	6
Colombia	1962	1990	6
Switzerland	1966	1994	6
Honduras	1982	2010	6
New Zealand	1982	2010	6
Austria	1998	active	6
Bulgaria	1998	active	6
Jamaica	1998	active	6
Romania	1998	active	6
Scotland	1998	active	6
Algeria	1986	2010	5
China	2002	active	5
Republic of Ireland	2002	active	5
Portugal	1966	1986	4
East Germany^[c]	1974	dissolved	4
Iran	1978	1998	4
Tunisia	1978	1998	4
Morocco	1998	2018	4
Angola	2006	active	4
Czech Republic	2006	active	4
Togo	2006	active	4
Trinidad and Tobago	2006	active	4
Ukraine	2006	active	4
Argentina	1934	1958	3
Belgium	1954	1970	3
Chile	1982	1998	3
Greece	1994	2010	3
Senegal	2002	2018	3
Slovakia	2010	active	3
Slovenia	2010	active	3
South Africa	2010	active	3
Mexico	1930	1950	2
Serbia^[a]	1930	1950	2
Serbia^[a]	1962	1974	2
Uruguay	1930	1950	2
	1974	1986
	1990	2002
Sweden	1958	1970	2
	1978	1990
	2006	2018
France	1966	1978	2
France	1986	1998	2
Spain	1966	1978	2
England	1970	1982	2
Russia^[e]	1970	1982	2
Russia^[e]	2002	2014	2
Denmark	1986	1998	2
Costa Rica	1990	2002	2
Saudi Arabia	2006	2018	2
Bosnia and Herzegovina	2014	active	2
Italy	2014	active	2
Ivory Coast	2014	active	2
Germany^[c]	1938	1954	1
Cameroon	1982	1990	1
	2002	2010
	2014	2022
Nigeria	2002	2010	1
Nigeria	2018	active	1
Croatia	2006	2014	1
Ecuador	2006	2014	1
Ecuador	2014	2022	1
Ghana	2014	2022	1
Iceland	2018	active	1
Panama	2018	active	1

Footnotes

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g The Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1930) and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1950–1990) qualified eight times from 1930–1990 under the name Yugoslavia prior to its breakup in 1992 by the secession of many of its constituent republics. The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia qualified once in 1998 under the name Yugoslavia, then changed its name to Serbia and Montenegro in 2003, first qualifying under that name in 2006. All of these teams are considered the predecessors of the current Serbia team by FIFA, which first qualified under that name in 2010. The other national teams which resulted from the breakup of the SFR Yugoslavia in 1992 — Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and North Macedonia — are considered distinct entities from the Yugoslavia team of 1930–1990. Montenegro now also competes separately after independence in 2006 and Kosovo was recognized by FIFA in 2016.
^ ^a ^b ^c Czechoslovakia qualified eight times prior to being divided into Slovakia and the Czech Republic in 1993. FIFA considers the Czech Republic as the successor team of Czechoslovakia. The other national team which resulted from the breakup of the Czechoslovakia, Slovakia, is considered a distinct entity from the Czechoslovakia team. The Czech Republic national team qualified for the World Cup for the first time as a separate nation in 2006, with Slovakia doing the same in 2010.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany since 1949, has been represented by the same governing body, Deutscher Fußball-Bund (DFB), since 1904. After World War II and the division of Germany, the DFB was re-admitted to FIFA after the 1950 World Cup as West Germany. Saar competed in the 1954 World Cup qualifying before joining West Germany in 1956. East Germany fielded teams from 1958 to 1990 of their own before joining with West Germany and the DFB in the German reunification. FIFA officially attributes all international results of the DFB team since 1908 to Germany, including the results of West Germany from 1954–1990.
^ ^a ^b Indonesia competed as the Dutch East Indies in 1938.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d The Soviet Union qualified seven times prior to being dissolved in 1991. The 15 nations that were former Soviet Republics now compete separately. FIFA considers Russia as the successor team of the Soviet Union.
^ ^a ^b The Democratic Republic of the Congo competed as Zaire in 1974.
^ Includes participations as West Germany from 1954–1990; see below.
^ Includes participations as Soviet Union until 1990; see below.
^ Includes participations as Yugoslavia until 1990 and as Serbia and Montenegro (FR Yugoslavia) from 1998 to 2006; see below.
^ Includes participations as Czechoslovakia until 1990; see below.
^ Participated as Dutch East Indies in 1938.
^ Participated as Zaire in 1974.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f In 1982, the second round has 12 teams of which 4 progressed to the semi-finals.
^ Germany between 1950 and 1990 competed as West Germany, as a separate East German team existed then.
^ This is the third appearance of Serbia at the FIFA World Cup. However, FIFA considers Serbia as the successor team of the Yugoslavia and Serbia and Montenegro, who between them qualified on 10 occasions.

References

^ "Quiz! Can you name all 79 countries to have appeared at a World Cup finals?". FourFourTwo. June 18, 2018. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
^ "FIFA World Cup Teams Statistics: Teams with the most tournament participations". FIFA. Archived from the original on October 7, 2015. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
^ Dawson, Alan (May 28, 2018). "The 2018 World Cup is only 2 weeks away — here's who has won every tournament since 1930". Business Insider. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
^ "World Cup 2018: Can you name the losing finalists from previous tournaments?". BBC Sport. June 9, 2018. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
^ "World Cup All-Time Tables (including Qualifying)". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
^ "World Cup » All-time league table". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
^ Bond, David (November 30, 2001). "World Cup winners will have to qualify". EveningStandard. Retrieved October 14, 2015.

[[Category:Countries at the FIFA World Cup|*]] [[Category:FIFA World Cup records and statistics]] [[Category:National association football team records and statistics|*]] [[Category:All-time football league tables]]

[Yugoslavia-6] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g The Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1930) and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1950–1990) qualified eight times from 1930–1990 under the name Yugoslavia prior to its breakup in 1992 by the secession of many of its constituent republics. The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia qualified once in 1998 under the name Yugoslavia, then changed its name to Serbia and Montenegro in 2003, first qualifying under that name in 2006. All of these teams are considered the predecessors of the current Serbia team by FIFA, which first qualified under that name in 2010. The other national teams which resulted from the breakup of the SFR Yugoslavia in 1992 — Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and North Macedonia — are considered distinct entities from the Yugoslavia team of 1930–1990. Montenegro now also competes separately after independence in 2006 and Kosovo was recognized by FIFA in 2016.

[Czechoslovakia-7] Czechoslovakia qualified eight times prior to being divided into Slovakia and the Czech Republic in 1993. FIFA considers the Czech Republic as the successor team of Czechoslovakia. The other national team which resulted from the breakup of the Czechoslovakia, Slovakia, is considered a distinct entity from the Czechoslovakia team. The Czech Republic national team qualified for the World Cup for the first time as a separate nation in 2006, with Slovakia doing the same in 2010.

[Germany-8] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany since 1949, has been represented by the same governing body, Deutscher Fußball-Bund (DFB), since 1904. After World War II and the division of Germany, the DFB was re-admitted to FIFA after the 1950 World Cup as West Germany. Saar competed in the 1954 World Cup qualifying before joining West Germany in 1956. East Germany fielded teams from 1958 to 1990 of their own before joining with West Germany and the DFB in the German reunification. FIFA officially attributes all international results of the DFB team since 1908 to Germany, including the results of West Germany from 1954–1990.

[Indonesia-9] Indonesia competed as the Dutch East Indies in 1938.

[USSR-10] The Soviet Union qualified seven times prior to being dissolved in 1991. The 15 nations that were former Soviet Republics now compete separately. FIFA considers Russia as the successor team of the Soviet Union.

[Zaire-11] The Democratic Republic of the Congo competed as Zaire in 1974.

[13] Includes participations as West Germany from 1954–1990; see below.

[14] Includes participations as Soviet Union until 1990; see below.

[15] Includes participations as Yugoslavia until 1990 and as Serbia and Montenegro (FR Yugoslavia) from 1998 to 2006; see below.

[16] Includes participations as Czechoslovakia until 1990; see below.

[17] Participated as Dutch East Indies in 1938.

[18] Participated as Zaire in 1974.

[SR1982-20] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f In 1982, the second round has 12 teams of which 4 progressed to the semi-finals.

[21] Germany between 1950 and 1990 competed as West Germany, as a separate East German team existed then.

[22] This is the third appearance of Serbia at the FIFA World Cup. However, FIFA considers Serbia as the successor team of the Yugoslavia and Serbia and Montenegro, who between them qualified on 10 occasions.

[allteams-1] "Quiz! Can you name all 79 countries to have appeared at a World Cup finals?". FourFourTwo. June 18, 2018. Retrieved June 26, 2018.

[participations-2] "FIFA World Cup Teams Statistics: Teams with the most tournament participations". FIFA. Archived from the original on October 7, 2015. Retrieved June 26, 2018.

[3] Dawson, Alan (May 28, 2018). "The 2018 World Cup is only 2 weeks away — here's who has won every tournament since 1930". Business Insider. Retrieved June 26, 2018.

[4] "World Cup 2018: Can you name the losing finalists from previous tournaments?". BBC Sport. June 9, 2018. Retrieved June 26, 2018.

[5] "World Cup All-Time Tables (including Qualifying)". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved June 26, 2018.

[12] "World Cup » All-time league table". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 29 June 2021.

[19] Bond, David (November 30, 2001). "World Cup winners will have to qualify". EveningStandard. Retrieved October 14, 2015.

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v t e FIFA World Cup
Fédération internationale de football association (FIFA)
Tournaments	Uruguay 1930 Italy 1934 France 1938 Brazil 1950 Switzerland 1954 Sweden 1958 Chile 1962 England 1966 Mexico 1970 West Germany 1974 Argentina 1978 Spain 1982 Mexico 1986 Italy 1990 United States 1994 France 1998 South Korea / Japan 2002 Germany 2006 South Africa 2010 Brazil 2014 Russia 2018 Qatar 2022 Canada / Mexico / United States 2026 Morocco / Portugal / Spain 2030¹ Saudi Arabia 2034
Qualification	1930² 1934 1938 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 2026
Finals	1930 1934 1938 1950³ 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 2026
Squads	1930 1934 1938 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022
Final draw	1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022
Broadcasters	1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 2026
Bids	2014 2018 2022 2026 2030 2034
Officials	2010 2014 2018 2022
Team appearances	AFC CAF CONCACAF CONMEBOL OFC UEFA
Overall records	Player records winners top appearances red cards Goalscorer records top finals hat-tricks own goals Manager records winners all appearances Match records opening penalty shoot-outs
Miscellaneous	Awards Balls Controversies Economics Fan Festival Films History Mascots Music Notable matches qualifying Referees Stadiums finals Trophy Video games World Champions Cup
¹ Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay will host the inaugural games ² There was no qualification for the 1930 World Cup as places were given by invitation only. ³ No final held; the article is about the decisive match of the final group stage. Category Commons

v t e Countries at the FIFA World Cup
Team appearances All-time table
AFC	Australia² China Indonesia¹ Iran Iraq Japan Kuwait North Korea Qatar Saudi Arabia South Korea United Arab Emirates
CAF	Algeria Angola Cameroon DR Congo¹ Egypt Ghana Ivory Coast Morocco Nigeria Senegal South Africa Togo Tunisia
CONCACAF	Canada Costa Rica Cuba El Salvador Haiti Honduras Jamaica Mexico Panama Trinidad and Tobago United States
CONMEBOL	Argentina Bolivia Brazil Chile Colombia Ecuador Paraguay Peru Uruguay
OFC	New Zealand
UEFA	Austria Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Czech Republic¹ Denmark East Germany³ England France Germany¹ Greece Hungary Iceland Israel² Italy Netherlands Northern Ireland Norway Poland Portugal Republic of Ireland Romania Russia¹ Scotland Serbia¹ Slovakia¹ Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey Ukraine Wales
¹ Considered a successor team by FIFA, or have competed under another name(s). ² Have been member of multiple confederations. ³ Team and national federation no longer exist.