FIFA World Cup facts for kids
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| Founded | 1930 |
|---|---|
| Region | International (FIFA) |
| Number of teams | 32 (finals) 211 (eligible to enter qualification) |
| Related competitions | FIFA Confederations Cup |
| Current champions |  France (2nd title) |
| Most successful team(s) |  Brazil (5 titles) |
 2018 FIFA World Cup |
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The FIFA World Cup is the most watched tournament in football (soccer). The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) organises the World Cup every four years. More people watch the World Cup finals than any other sporting event in the world—even more people than the Olympic Games. The most successful team has been Brazil because they have won the competition 5 times.
The finals tournament is held every four years. In the other years there are only qualifiers (qualifying tournaments) in the six FIFA world regions. These games help to decide which teams will move on. Over 160 national teams play in the qualifying games. The best teams from the qualifying games win a place in the finals. The finals now include 32 teams. Before 1998, only 24 teams were in the finals; starting in 2026, there will be 48 teams in the finals. Many years before each World Cup, FIFA picks the host nation, the country where the finals will be held. Being the host nation means that their team has qualified for the finals tournament automatically and does not need to play any qualifying games. The 32 teams in the finals then play for four weeks, usually between June and July, to decide who the champion (tournament winner) will be.
Past World Cup results
Wins by team
| Team | Titles | Runners-up | 3rd Place | 4th Place | Top 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil |
5 (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002) | 2 (1950, 1998) | 2 (1938, 1978) | 2 (1974, 2014) | 11 |
 Germany |
4 (1954, 1974, 1990, 2014) | 4 (1966, 1982, 1986, 2002) | 4 (1934, 1970, 2006, 2010) | 1 (1958) | 13 |
 Italy |
4 (1934, 1938, 1982, 2006) | 2 (1970, 1994) | 1 (1990) | 1 (1978) | 8 |
 Argentina |
2 (1978, 1986) | 3 (1930, 1990, 2014) | — | — | 5 |
| France |
2 (1998, 2018) | 1 (2006) | 2 (1958, 1986) | 1 (1982) | 6 |
 Uruguay |
2 (1930, 1950) | — | — | 3 (1954, 1970, 2010) | 5 |
 England |
1 (1966) | — | — | 2 (1990, 2018) | 3 |
 Spain |
1 (2010) | — | — | 1 (1950) | 2 |
 Netherlands |
0 | 3 (1974, 1978, 2010) | 1 (2014) | 1 (1998) | 5 |
 Czechoslovakia |
0 | 2 (1934, 1962) | — | — | 2 |
 Hungary |
0 | 2 (1938, 1954) | — | — | 2 |
 Croatia |
— | 1 (2018) | 1 (1998) | — | 2 |
 Sweden |
— | 1 (1958) | 2 (1950, 1994) | 1 (1938) | 4 |
Images for kids
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Map of FIFA World Cup final hosts, 1930–2022. Green: once; dark green: twice; light green: planned
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Estadio Centenario, the location of the first World Cup final in 1930 in Montevideo, Uruguay
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Map of countries' best results
