European nations at the FIFA World Cup

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Association football is the most popular sport in nearly every European country, and UEFA is one of the six confederations of world football's governing body FIFA. UEFA contains 55 national association members, some of which partially or entirely located in Asia. A total of 33 of the current members of UEFA have competed at the men's FIFA World Cup, while the defunct East Germany qualified once.

Overview[]

1930
Uruguay
(13)
1934
Italy
(16)
1938
France
(15)
1950
Brazil
(13)
1954
Switzerland
(16)
1958
Sweden
(16)
1962
Chile
(16)
1966
England
(16)
1970
Mexico
(16)
1974
West Germany
(16)
1978
Argentina
(16)
1982
Spain
(24)
1986
Mexico
(24)
1990
Italy
(24)
1994
United States
(24)
1998
France
(32)
2002
South Korea
Japan
(32)
2006
Germany
(32)
2010
South Africa
(32)
2014
Brazil
(32)
2018
Russia
(32)
2022
Qatar
(32)
2026
Canada
United States
Mexico
(48)
Total
Teams 4 12 12 6 12 12 10 10 9 9 10 14 14 14 13 15 15 14 13 13 14 (13) 245
Top 16 10[a] 10 10 10 10 9 10 6 6 10 91
Top 8 8 6 6 7 6 5 4 6 5 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 Italy Italy West Germany England West Germany Italy West Germany France Italy Spain Germany France 12
2nd Czechoslovakia Hungary Hungary Sweden Czechoslovakia West Germany Italy Netherlands Netherlands West Germany West Germany Italy Germany France Netherlands Croatia 16
3rd Germany Sweden Austria France Portugal West Germany Poland Poland France Italy Sweden Croatia Turkey Germany Germany Netherlands Belgium 17
4th Kingdom of Yugoslavia Austria Sweden Spain West Germany Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Soviet Union Italy France Belgium England Bulgaria Netherlands Portugal England 15
Team No. Years Best result
 Germany[1]   20 1934, 1938, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022 1st
 Italy   18 1934, 1938, 1950, 1954, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014 1st
 England   16 1950, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022 1st
 France   16 1930, 1934, 1938, 1954, 1958, 1966, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022 1st
 Spain   16 1934, 1950, 1962, 1966, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022 1st
 Belgium   14 1930, 1934, 1938, 1954, 1970, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2014, 2018, 2022 3rd
 Serbia[2]   13 1930, 1950, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1974, 1982, 1990, 1998, 2006, 2010, 2018, 2022 4th
 Sweden   12 1934, 1938, 1950, 1958, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1990, 1994, 2002, 2006, 2018 2nd
  Switzerland   12 1934, 1938, 1950, 1954, 1962, 1966, 1994, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022 QF
 Netherlands   11 1934, 1938, 1974, 1978, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2022 2nd
 Russia[3]   11 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 2002, 2014, 2018 4th
 Hungary   9 1934, 1938, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1978, 1982, 1986 2nd
 Czech Republic[4]   9 1934, 1938, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1970, 1982, 1990, 2006 2nd
 Poland   8 1938, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 2002, 2006, 2018 3rd
 Scotland   8 1954, 1958, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1998 R1
 Romania   7 1930, 1934, 1938, 1970, 1990, 1994, 1998 QF
 Austria   7 1934, 1954, 1958, 1978, 1982, 1990, 1998 3rd
 Bulgaria   7 1962, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1986, 1994, 1998 4th
 Portugal   7 1966, 1986, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018 3rd
 Croatia   6 1998, 2002, 2006, 2014, 2018, 2022 2nd
 Denmark   6 1986, 1998, 2002, 2010, 2018, 2022 QF
 Norway   3 1938, 1994, 1998 R2
 Northern Ireland   3 1958, 1982, 1986 QF
 Republic of Ireland   3 1990, 1994, 2002 QF
 Greece   3 1994, 2010, 2014 R2
 Turkey   2 1954, 2002 3rd
 Slovenia   2 2002, 2010 R1
 Wales   1 1958 QF
 Israel   1 1970 R1
 East Germany   1 1974 R2
 Ukraine   1 2006 QF
 Slovakia   1 2010 R2
 Bosnia and Herzegovina   1 2014 R1
 Iceland   1 2018 R1

Results[]

Most finishes in the top four[]

Team No. Top four finishes
 Germany[1] 13 1934, 1954, 1958, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1982, 1986, 1990, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014
 Italy 8 1934, 1938, 1970, 1978, 1982, 1990, 1994, 2006
 France 6 1958, 1982, 1986, 1998, 2006, 2018
 Netherlands 5 1974, 1978, 1998, 2010, 2014
 Sweden 4 1938, 1950, 1958, 1994
 England 3 1966, 1990, 2018
 Serbia[2] 2 1930, 1962
 Austria 2 1934, 1954
 Czech Republic[4] 2 1934, 1962
 Hungary 2 1938, 1954
 Spain 2 1950, 2010
 Portugal 2 1966, 2006
 Poland 2 1974, 1982
 Belgium 2 1986, 2018
 Croatia 2 1998, 2018
 Russia[3] 1 1966
 Bulgaria 1 1994
 Turkey 1 2002

Team results by tournament[]

Legend

The team ranking in each tournament is according to FIFA.[5] The rankings, apart from the top four positions (top two in 1930), are not a result of direct competition between the teams; instead, teams eliminated in the same round are ranked by their full results in the tournament. In recent tournaments, FIFA has used the rankings for seedings for the final tournament draw.[6]

For each tournament, the number of teams in each finals tournament (in brackets) are shown.

World Cup results of UEFA members
Team Uruguay
1930
(13)
Italy
1934
(16)
France
1938
(15)
Brazil
1950
(13)
Switzerland
1954
(16)
Sweden
1958
(16)
Chile
1962
(16)
England
1966
(16)
Mexico
1970
(16)
West Germany
1974
(16)
Argentina
1978
(16)
Spain
1982
(24)
Mexico
1986
(24)
Italy
1990
(24)
United States
1994
(24)
France
1998
(32)
South Korea
Japan
2002
(32)
Germany
2006
(32)
South Africa
2010
(32)
Brazil
2014
(32)
Russia
2018
(32)
Qatar
2022
(32)
Total
(21)
Qual.
Comp.
(20)
 Austria × 4th ••[7] × 3rd R1
15th
× R2
7th
R2
8th
R1
T-18th
R1
23rd
7 18
 Belgium R1
11th
R1
15th
R1
13th
× R1
12th
R1
T-10th
R2
10th
4th R2
11th
R2
11th
R1
19th
R2
14th
QF
6th
3rd Q 14 21
 Bosnia and Herzegovina[2] Part of Yugoslavia R1
20th
1 7
 Bulgaria × × R1
15th
R1
15th
R1
13th
R1
12th
R2
15th
4th R1
29th
7 20
 Croatia[2] Part of Yugoslavia × 3rd R1
23rd
R1
22nd
R1
19th
2nd Q 6 7
 Czech Republic[4] × 2nd QF
5th
× R1
14th
R1
9th
2nd R1
15th
R1
19th
QF
6th
R1
20th
9 19
 Denmark × × × × × × R2
9th
QF
8th
R2
10th
R1
24th
R2
11th
Q 6 16
 East Germany[1] Part of Germany × × R2
6th
Part of Germany 1 9
 England × × × R1
8th
QF
6th
R1
11th
QF
8th
1st QF
8th
R2
6th
QF
8th
4th R2
9th
QF
6th
QF
7th
R2
13th
R1
26th
4th Q 16 19
 France R1
7th
R1
T-9th
QF
6th
•• R1
11th
3rd R1
T-13th
R1
12th
4th 3rd 1st R1
28th
2nd R1
29th
QF
7th
1st Q 16 22
 Germany[1] × 3rd R1
10th
× 1st 4th QF
7th
2nd 3rd 1st R2
6th
2nd 2nd 1st QF
5th
QF
7th
2nd 3rd 3rd 1st R1
22nd
Q 20 20
 Greece × × R1
24th
R1
25th
R2
13th
3 20
 Hungary × QF
6th
2nd × 2nd R1
10th
QF
5th
QF
6th
R1
15th
R1
14th
R1
18th
9 20
 Iceland × × × × R1
28th
1 15
 Israel[8] × R1
12th
1 21
member of AFC member of OFC
 Italy × 1st 1st R1
7th
R1
10th
R1
9th
R1
9th
2nd R1
10th
4th 1st R2
12th
3rd 2nd QF
5th
R2
15th
1st R1
26th
R1
22nd
18 20
 Netherlands × R1
T-9th
R1
14th
× × 2nd 2nd R2
15th
QF
7th
4th R2
11th
2nd 3rd Q 11 19
 Northern Ireland × × × QF
8th
R2
9th
R1
21st
3 19
 Norway × × R1
12th
× R1
17th
R2
15th
3 19
 Poland × R1
11th
× × 3rd R2
5th
3rd R2
14th
R1
25th
R1
21st
R1
25th
8 18
 Portugal × 3rd R1
17th
R1
21st
4th R2
11th
R1
18th
R2
13th
7 20
 Republic of Ireland[9] × QF
8th
R2
16th
R2
12th
3 21
 Romania R1
8th
R1
12th
R1
9th
× R1
T-10th
R2
12th
QF
6th
R2
11th
7 21
 Russia[3] × × × × × QF
7th
QF
6th
4th QF
5th
R2
7th
R2
10th
R1
17th
R1
18th
R1
22nd
R1
24th
QF
8th
× 11 16
 Scotland × × × •• R1
15th
R1
14th
R1
9th
R1
11th
R1
15th
R1
19th
R1
T-18th
R1
27th
8 18
 Serbia[2] 4th[10] R1
5th
QF
7th
QF
5th
4th R2
7th
R1
16th
QF
5th
× R2
10th
R1
32nd
R1
23rd
R1
23rd
Q 13 21
 Slovakia[4] Part of Czechoslovakia R2
16th
1 7
 Slovenia[2] Part of Yugoslavia × R1
30th
R1
18th
2 7
 Spain × QF
5th
× 4th R1
12th
R1
10th
R1
10th
R2
12th
QF
7th
R2
10th
QF
8th
R1
17th
QF
5th
R2
9th
1st R1
23rd
R2
10th
Q 16 20
 Sweden × QF
8th
4th 3rd 2nd R1
9th
R2
5th
R1
13th
R1
21st
3rd R2
13th
R2
14th
QF
7th
12 20
  Switzerland × QF
7th
QF
7th
R1
6th
QF
8th
R1
16th
R1
16th
R2
15th
R2
10th
R1
19th
R2
11th
R2
14th
Q 12 21
 Turkey × × × •• R1
9th
× 3rd 2 17
 Ukraine[3] Part of Soviet Union × QF
8th
1 6
 Wales × × × QF
6th
1 18

Tournament standings[]

Performance of each nation
Team Champions Final Semi-finals Quarter-finals 2nd Round
 Germany[1] 4 8 13 17 9
 Italy 4 6 8 8 7
 France 2 3 6 8 6
 England 1 1 3 9 8
 Spain 1 1 2 5 8
 Netherlands 0 3 5 6 6
 Hungary 0 2 2 5 0
 Czech Republic[4] 0 2 2 4 1
 Sweden 0 1 4 6 4
 Croatia[2] 0 1 2 2 2
 Serbia[2] 0 0 2 5 2
 Belgium 0 0 2 3 7
 Austria 0 0 2 3 1
 Portugal 0 0 2 2 3
 Poland 0 0 2 2 2
 Russia[3] 0 0 1 5 3
 Bulgaria 0 0 1 1 2
 Turkey 0 0 1 1 1
  Switzerland 0 0 0 3 4
 Denmark 0 0 0 1 4
 Republic of Ireland 0 0 0 1 3
 Romania 0 0 0 1 3
 Northern Ireland 0 0 0 1 1
 Ukraine[3] 0 0 0 1 1
 East Germany[1] 0 0 0 1 0
 Wales 0 0 0 1 0
 Greece 0 0 0 0 1
 Norway 0 0 0 0 1
 Slovakia[4] 0 0 0 0 1
  • Quarterfinals = knockout round of 8: 1934–1938, 1954–1970, and 1986–present; second group stage, top 8: 1974–1978
  • 2nd Round = second group stage, top 12: 1982; knockout round of 16: 1986–present

Overall team records[]

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. 3 points per win, 1 point per draw and 0 points per loss.

Results through 2018 FIFA World Cup

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Germany[1] 109 67 20 22 226 125 +101 222
 Italy 83 45 21 17 128 77 +51 156
 France 66 34 13 19 120 77 +43 115
 England 69 29 21 19 91 64 +27 108
 Spain 63 30 15 18 99 72 +27 105
 Netherlands 50 27 12 11 86 48 +38 93
 Sweden 50 19 13 18 80 71 +9 70
 Belgium 48 20 9 19 68 72 −4 69
 Russia[3] 45 19 10 16 77 54 +23 67
 Serbia[2] 46 18 8 20 66 63 +3 62
 Poland 34 16 5 13 46 45 +1 53
 Hungary 32 15 3 14 87 57 +30 48
 Portugal 30 14 6 10 49 35 +14 48
  Switzerland 37 12 8 17 50 64 −14 44
 Czech Republic[4] 33 12 5 16 47 49 −2 41
 Austria 29 12 4 13 43 47 −4 40
 Croatia[2] 22 11 4 8 35 26 +9 34
 Denmark 19 9 4 6 29 25 +4 31
 Romania 21 8 5 8 30 32 −2 29
 Scotland 23 4 7 12 25 41 −16 19
 Bulgaria 26 3 8 15 22 53 −31 17
 Turkey 10 5 1 4 20 17 +3 16
 Republic of Ireland 13 2 8 3 10 10 0 14
 Northern Ireland 13 3 5 5 13 23 −10 14
 Norway 8 2 3 3 7 8 −1 9
 East Germany[1] 6 2 2 2 5 5 0 8
 Greece 10 2 2 6 5 20 −15 8
 Ukraine[3] 5 2 1 2 5 7 −2 7
 Wales 5 1 3 1 4 4 0 6
 Slovakia[4] 4 1 1 2 5 7 −2 4
 Slovenia[2] 6 1 1 4 5 10 −5 4
 Bosnia and Herzegovina[2] 3 1 0 2 4 4 0 3
 Israel 3 0 2 1 1 3 −2 2
 Iceland 3 0 1 2 2 5 −3 1
Breakdown of successor teams
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Czechoslovakia (1930–1994) 30 11 5 14 44 45 −1 38
 Czech Republic (since 1998) 3 1 0 2 3 4 −1 3
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
Germany Germany (1930–1938) 6 3 1 2 14 13 +1 10
 West Germany (1950–1990) 62 36 14 12 131 77 +54 122
 Germany (since 1994) 41 28 5 8 81 35 +46 89
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Soviet Union (1930–1990) 31 15 6 10 53 34 +19 51
 Russia (since 1994) 14 4 4 6 24 20 +4 16
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
Kingdom of Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (1930–1938) 3 2 0 1 7 7 0 6
 Yugoslavia (1950–1990) 30 12 7 11 48 35 +13 43
 FR Yugoslavia (1994–2002) 4 2 1 1 5 4 +1 7
 Serbia and Montenegro (2006) 3 0 0 3 2 10 −8 0
 Serbia (since 2010) 6 2 0 4 4 7 −3 6

Appearances[]

Ranking of teams by number of appearances[]

European team appearances at the World Cup
Team Appearances Record streak Active streak Debut Most recent Best result (* = hosts)
 Germany[1] 20 18 18 1934 2022 Champions (1954, 1974*, 1990, 2014)
 Italy 18 14 0 1934 2014 Champions (1934*, 1938, 1982, 2006)
 Spain 16 12 12 1934 2022 Champions (2010)
 England 16 7 7 1950 2022 Champions (1966*)
 France 16 7 7 1930 2022 Champions (1998*, 2018)
 Belgium 14 6 3 1930 2022 Third place (2018)
 Serbia[2] 13 4 2 1930 2022 Fourth place (1930,[10] 1962)
  Switzerland 12 5 5 1934 2022 Quarter-finals (1934, 1938, 1954*)
 Sweden 12 3 1 1934 2018 Runners-up (1958*)
 Russia[3] 11 4 0 1958 2018 Fourth place (1966)
 Netherlands 11 3 1 1934 2022 Runners-up (1974, 1978, 2010)
 Hungary 9 4 0 1934 1986 Runners-up (1938, 1954)
 Czech Republic[4] 9 3 0 1934 2006 Runners-up (1934, 1962)
 Scotland 8 5 0 1954 1998 Round 1
 Poland 8 4 1 1938 2018 Third place (1974, 1982)
 Portugal 7 5 5 1966 2018 Third place (1966)
 Bulgaria 7 4 0 1962 1998 Fourth place (1994)
 Romania 7 3 0 1930 1998 Quarter-finals (1994)
 Austria 7 2 0 1934 1998 Third place (1954)
 Croatia[2] 6 3 3 1998 2022 Runners-up (2018)
 Denmark 6 2 2 1986 2022 Quarter-finals (1998)
 Norway 3 2 0 1938 1998 Round 2 (1998)
 Northern Ireland 3 2 0 1958 1986 Quarter-finals (1958)
 Republic of Ireland 3 2 0 1990 2002 Quarter-finals (1990)
 Greece 3 2 0 1994 2014 Round 2 (2014)
 Turkey 2 1 0 1954 2002 Third place (2002)
 Slovenia[2] 2 1 0 2002 2010 Round 1
 Wales 1 1 0 1958 1958 Quarter-finals (1958)
 Israel 1 1 0 1970 1970 Round 1
 East Germany[1] 1 1 0 1974 1974 Round 2 (top 8) (1974)
 Ukraine[3] 1 1 0 2006 2006 Quarter-finals (2006)
 Slovakia[4] 1 1 0 2010 2010 Round 2 (2010)
 Bosnia and Herzegovina[2] 1 1 0 2014 2014 Round 1
 Iceland 1 1 0 2018 2018 Round 1
Breakdown of successor teams
Team No. of appearances Record streak Active streak Debut Most recent Best result
 Czechoslovakia (1930–1994) 8 3 0 1934 1990 Runners-up (1934, 1962)
 Czech Republic (since 1998) 1 1 0 2006 2006 Round 1
Team No. of appearances Record streak Active streak Debut Most recent Best result
 Soviet Union (1930–1990) 7 4 0 1958 1990 Fourth place (1966)
 Russia (since 1994) 4 2 0 1994 2018 Quarter-finals (2018*)
Team No. of appearances Record streak Active streak Debut Most recent Best result (* = hosts)
Germany Germany (1930–1938) 2 2 0 1934 1938 Third place (1934)
 West Germany (1950–1990) 10 10 0 1954 1990 Champions (1954, 1974*, 1990)
 Germany (since 1994) 8 8 8 1994 2022 Champions (2014)
Team No. of appearances Record streak Active streak Debut Most recent Best result
 Yugoslavia (1930–1990) 8 4 0 1930 1990 Fourth place (1930,[10] 1962)
 FR Yugoslavia (1994–2002) 1 1 0 1998 1998 Round 2
 Serbia and Montenegro (2006) 1 1 0 2006 2006 Round 1
 Serbia (since 2010) 3 2 2 2010 2022 Round 1

Team debuts[]

Year Debutants Total
1930  Belgium,  France,  Romania,  Yugoslavia[2] 4
1934  Austria,  Czechoslovakia,[4]  Germany,[1]  Hungary,  Italy,
 Netherlands,  Spain,  Sweden,   Switzerland
9
1938  Norway,  Poland 2
1950  England 1
1954  Scotland,  Turkey 2
1958  Northern Ireland,  Soviet Union,[3]  Wales 3
1962  Bulgaria 1
1966  Portugal 1
1970  Israel 1
1974  East Germany[1] 1
1986  Denmark 1
1990  Republic of Ireland 1
1994  Greece 1
1998  Croatia[2] 1
2002  Slovenia[2] 1
2006  Ukraine[3] 1
2010  Slovakia[4] 1
2014  Bosnia and Herzegovina[2] 1
2018  Iceland 1
Total 34
*This total number of UEFA teams which have participated in the World Cups through 2018 is 34, using FIFA's view on successor teams (e.g., Russia is a successor of USSR and not a separate team, whereas Ukraine is a newer separate entity).
#Israel represented AFC in the 1970 tournament.

Not qualified[]

22 of the 55 active FIFA and UEFA members have never qualified for the final tournament.

Legend
  •  •  — Did not qualify
  •  ×  — Did not enter / Withdrew / Banned
  •     — Not affiliated in FIFA
European teams who have yet to qualify
Team Number of
Qualifying
attempts
1930
Uruguay
1934
Italy
1938
France
1950
Brazil
1954
Switzerland
1958
Sweden
1962
Chile
1966
England
1970
Mexico
1974
West Germany
1978
Argentina
1982
Spain
1986
Mexico
1990
Italy
1994
United States
1998
France
2002
South Korea
Japan
2006
Germany
2010
South Africa
2014
Brazil
2018
Russia
2022
Qatar
 Luxembourg 21 ×
 Finland 19 × × ×
 Cyprus 16 × × ×
 Albania 13 × × × × × × × ×
 Malta 13 × × ×
 Estonia 10 × Part of USSR
 Lithuania 10 × Part of USSR
 Faroe Islands 8 ×
 Latvia 8 × × × Part of USSR
 San Marino 8 ×
 Armenia 7 Part of USSR ×
 Azerbaijan 7 Part of USSR
 Belarus 7 Part of USSR ×
 Georgia 7 Part of USSR ×
 Kazakhstan 7 Part of USSR
Member of AFC
 Liechtenstein 7 × × × × ×
 Moldova 7 Part of USSR
 Andorra 6 ×
 North Macedonia 6 Part of Yugoslavia
 Montenegro 4 Part of Yugoslavia Serbia and Montenegro
 Gibraltar 2 Part of England[11]
 Kosovo 2 Part of Yugoslavia Serbia and Montenegro Serbia[12]
 Saar 1 Part of Germany × Part of West Germany and Germany

Footnotes[]

  1. ^ In 1982, the second round featured 12 teams from which only 4 advanced to the semi-finals (top 4).

Notes[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Germany (since 1949 officially Federal Republic of Germany) is since 1904 represented by the same governing body (Deutscher Fußball-Bund (DFB)). After World War II and the division of Germany, the DFB was only re-admitted to FIFA after the 1950 WC, while Saar (until 1956) and East Germany (until 1990) fielded teams of their own before (re-)joining (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 1954-1990, when the team was often called West Germany.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t 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 by the secession of many of its constituent republics in 1992. The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia qualified once in 1998 under the name Yugoslavia, and Serbia and Montenegro qualified once in 2006 after a name change in 2003. All these teams are considered the predecessor of the current Serbia team by FIFA. The other national teams which resulted from the breakup of the original Yugoslavia — Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and FYR Macedonia — are considered distinct entities from the Yugoslavia team of 1930–1990. Montenegro and Kosovo now also compete separately after independence in 2006 and 2008, respectively. In 2010, Serbia debuted at the FIFA World Cup with their own national team.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 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 USSR.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 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.
  5. ^ "FIFA World Cup Statistical Overview (page 4)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 18, 2016. Retrieved May 17, 2006.
  6. ^ Seeding of national teams (PDF)[dead link]. Accessed 12 September 2016.
  7. ^ Austria qualified in 1938, but withdrew to play as part of Germany after being annexed.
  8. ^ Israel competed as Eretz Yisrael (Land of Israel) in 1934 and in 1938, with a team consisting exclusively of Jewish and British footballers from the Palestine Mandate.
  9. ^ Republic of Ireland competed as the Irish Free State in 1934 and then as Ireland in 1938 and 1950.
  10. ^ a b c There was no official World Cup Third Place match in 1930; The USA and Yugoslavia lost in the semi-finals. Currently, FIFA recognizes USA as the third-placed team and Yugoslavia as the fourth-placed team, using the overall records of the teams in the 1930 FIFA World Cup.
  11. ^ The Gibraltar Football Association was affiliated to the Football Association (of England) between 1909 and 2013, when the GFA became full members of UEFA. The GFA became full members of FIFA in 2016.
  12. ^ The Republic of Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008. It has since gained diplomatic recognition as a sovereign state by 98 UN member states. Prior to the admission of Kosovo into UEFA and FIFA, Kosovo was recognised as part of Serbia by these organisations.

See also[]

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