Since 1930, the World Cup has been held every four years.
The tournament was not held only twice (in 1942 and 1946) due to the tragic events of World War II. Teams that are members of FIFA participate in the competition.
Qualifying for the final round takes place over three years before the start of the next competition.
Since the late 1990s, 32 teams have participated in the final stage of the competition.
The matches are held in several cities in the country/countries hosting the championship.
In 2026, according to FIFA’s decision, the list of participating countries will be significantly expanded, so that 48 teams will take part in the championship.
The World Cup and interesting facts
Throughout the history of the World Cup, only eight national teams have won the title: Brazil, Italy, Germany, Argentina, Uruguay, France, England and Spain.
The only footballer to have won the World Cup three times as a player is Pelé. Mario Zagallo, Franz Beckenbauer and Didier Deschamps won as players and coaches in their time.
Twenty players have become two-time champions (mostly representatives of the Brazilian national team).
The only coach to win the World Cup twice was Vittorio Pozzo.
The player who scores the most goals wins the Golden Boot.
The World Cup is the most significant sporting event. Its audience is significantly larger than that of the Olympic Games. Billions of viewers around the world follow the matches.
At the 1994 World Cup, an important rule change took place: instead of two points, as was previously the case, three points were awarded for a win.
The top scorers in the World Cup are:
• Miroslav Klose (16 goals).
• Ronaldo (15 goals).
• Gerd Müller (14 goals).
• Just Fontaine and Lionel Messi (13 goals each).
• Pelé and Kylian Mbappé (12 goals each).
In the early 1980s, the World Cup got another name — ‘Mundial’. This happened after the 1982 competition in Spain. The fact is that the name of the tournament translates into Spanish as Copa Mundial. Since then, football fans have used this name for any World Cup, regardless of where it is held.
Earlier, fans of the Ukrainian national team learned about the reasons for their defeat by France in the qualifiers.
