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. 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. 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. Five teams have appeared in FIFA World Cup finals without winning, while eleven more have appeared in semi-finals.

Ranking of teams by number of appearances
Former countries

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

Predecessor countries

Former countries

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. 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.

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

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.

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.''