The World Cup/Characters

All the teams to have ever qualified for The World Cup are listed here.

Europe (UEFA)
For more info on these teams, see Euro Footy.


 * Austria: 4th in 1934 (back then known as the Wunderteam, spearheaded by Matthias Sindelar and coached by Hugo Meisl) and 3rd in 1954, but not successful since (their best results since being Round 2 in 1978 with Hans Krankl). Pulled out of 1938 World Cup with Critical Existence Failure (blame Those Wacky Nazis; to elaborate, them being annexed to Germany meant they had to lend their athletes to the German team, which was no use anyway since they got out in the first round).
 * Belgium: Appeared 11 times, last in 2002. Most successful by a margin with a semi-final appearance in 1986 with names like Jan Ceulemans and Enzo Scifo, finishing fourth behind France.
 * Bulgaria: Seven appearances (1962, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1986, 1994, 1998), best in 1994 when led by Hristo Stoichkov came 4th.
 * Czechoslovakia: Twice runners-up in two talented generations: 1934 (with Frantisek Planicka and Golden Shoe Oldrich Nejedly) and 1962 (counting with Josef Masopust), to Italy and Brazil, respectively. No other semi-final appearances. Last appeared in 1990, eliminated by West Germany in the quarter finals.
 * Czech Republic: Direct heirs of results by Czechoslovakia, only appeared once, only to go out in group stage in 2006 after shock defeat to Ghana.
 * Slovakia: Beat Italy to the Round of 16 in 2010 before going out against Netherlands.
 * Denmark: Dynamite in 1986, beating Uruguay 6-1 then losing 5-1 to Spain, featuring rising stars like Michael Laudrup and Jesper Olsen. Most successful in 1998, getting to quarter-finals, still with Laudrup, this time sided by his younger brother Brian. Other appearances in 2002 (made it to Round of 16) and 2010 (eliminated by Japan in group stage).
 * England: 1966 champions at home with Bobby Moore, Jack Charlton, Geoff Hurst and Munich Air Disaster survivor Bobby Charlton, and 1990 semi-finalists with Paul Gascoigne and Gary Lineker in the team. Raft of quarter-finals appearances elsewhere. Refused to appear in the 1930s tournaments along with the other Home Nations due to a falling-out with FIFA in the decade prior, on the grounds that they would not recognize any other international tournament than the now-defunct British Championship.
 * France: 1998 Champions and 2006 runners-up (respectively, at the rise and end of the Zinedine Zidane generation). Tends to get to the semi-finals (with two 3rd places achieved with their other star-studded squads, with the 1958 team led by Raymond Kopa and Just Fontaine, and the 1986 team led by Michel Platini - which also finished 4th in 82) or be knocked out in first round, including awful performances in 2002 and 2010. Hosted the 1938 and 1998 tournaments.
 * Germany: Runners-up in 2002, and three third places in 1934, 2006 (at home) and 2010. Counting their results as West Germany, they have only been flushed out on Round 1 once, in 1938, as Nazi Germany.
 * East Germany: Quarter-finalists in 1974, beating their illustrious neighbours in West Germany on the way.
 * West Germany: Champions in 1954, 1974 (at home) and 1990. Reached the quarter-finals at every attempt and the final on 6 out of 10 attempts (three consecutive: 1982-90). Were the underdogs in two of these occasions: the Walter brothers' team in 1954 beating Hungary, and the 1974 team led by Franz Beckenbauer toppling the Netherlands. Only sat out of the 1950 tournament because the post-war effects still wore heavy on them and, without an organized football federation, they could not play the qualifiers. Speaking of this, it is commonly said that the 1954 win over Hungary (back then possibly the best national team in the world) was the boost the Germans needed to raise their heads and move on with their lives, eventually leading them to become the leading economic power in Europe. Call it the magic of football working on the people or whatever you will.
 * Greece: Embarassing in 1994, but able to win first game at World Cup vs Nigeria on way to first-round elimination in 2010, this time narrowly edged out by South Korea.
 * Hungary: Runners-up in 1938 and 1954, the latter with the Magical Magyar team. At this time they were one of the most powerful squads in the world (having won the 1952 Olympic gold and curbstomped England in Wembley prior to the 1954 tournament), but the failure of the 1956 uprising, followed by the Soviet invasion of the country, caused many of their star players (such as Ferenc Puskas, who would get Spanish citizenship and play the 1962 World Cup for La Fúria, and Sandor Kocsis) to flee the country, undermining the team, which has not qualified since 1986 and today is but a shadow of what they once were.
 * Israel: Eliminated in Round 1 in 1970, after qualifying through the Asia/Oceania section (they were a member of AFC back then but, due to the constant upheaval in the Middle East, they were expelled from it in 1974). Were the pivot of a controversy in the 1958 qualifiers, where many of their opponents (most of them, markedly, Muslim countries) refused to play them and withdrew. Since they could not enter the finals without playing at least one match, Wales was seeded for a playoff match where they were beaten out of the tournament. After AFC kicked them out, Israel resorted to play on the OFC zone until UEFA granted them membership in 1991.
 * Italy: 4-times champions (1934, 1938 - these two under Mussolini's influence, though talents like Giuseppe Meazza's are not to be factored out -, 1982 and 2006) and twice runners-up. A few first-round embarassments thrown-in, including defeats to North Korea in 1966 and Slovakia in 2010 (as well as Northern Ireland keeping them out of the 1958 World Cup). Their hosting of the 1934 tournament was used as a political maneuver by Mussolini to strenghten Fascism, like his buddy Hitler would do in the 1936 Olympics. Their second turn at hosting was long after this chapter of their history was left behind, in 1990, where they finished third (with keeper Walter Zenga clinching the longest clean sheet period by a single goalkeeper - 517 minutes, from the opening game to the semifinal against Argentina). Before FIFA prohibited turncoating (see main article), it was common for foreign players of Italian descent to have a stint in the Azzurra; the 1934 winning team, for instance, had four Argentines (three of whom had played in the runner-up Argentine team four years prior) and one Brazilian.
 * Netherlands: Thrice-finalists (1974 led by Johan Cruyff, 1978 and 2010), although surprisingly few attempts (only appeared 9 times in the finals, including a 36-year drought between 1938 and 1974; other appearances were 1934, 1990, 1994, 1998 and 2006). Aside from the 70s Total Football, they are best remembered by a spectacular goal scored by forward Dennis Bergkamp in their 1998 quarter-final game against Argentina in the nick of time.
 * Northern Ireland: Made three appearances; quarter-finalists in 1958 and through first group in 1982 beating hosts Spain. Last appearance was in 1986, marking Pat Jennings' retirement from the team, where they left in Round 1. Have fielded the youngest player in the history of the competition, Norman Whiteside who, in 1982, was 17 years and one month (seven months younger than Pelé in 1958).
 * Norway: Best result in three appearances is Round 2 in 1998 after beating Brazil (which had already qualified anyway). Other appearances were 1938 and 1994 (where they finished their group with the exact same results as their contestants, but were edged out by Mexico and Italy due to scoring fewer goals).
 * Poland: Third in 1974 and 1982 and last 8 in 1978. Recent appearances have been less successful.
 * Portugal: Surprisingly only 5 appearances (1966, 1986, 2002, 2006, 2010), and two semi-finals in 1966 (where Eusebio and co. finished 3rd) and 2006 (where Cristiano Ronaldo and co. finished 4th).
 * Republic of Ireland: Quarter-finalists on debut in 1990; always got through groups with good results against top teams such as England, the Netherlands (both in 1990), Italy (in 1994) and Germany (in 2002).
 * Romania: Qualified for Round 2 at least in each of their 1990s appearances (all of them spearheaded by Gheorghe Hagi), but only one other appearance since World War II (they have appeared in every tournament before, and reportedly only showed up in 1930 by insistence of King Karol II, a football fanatic).
 * Soviet Union: Three quarter-finals (1958, 1962 and 1970) and a semi in 1966, with consistent appearances in the 1980s. Last tournament played was 1990, where they were knocked out in Round 1 for the only time as they saw Argentina squeak by.
 * Russia: Round 1 losses in 1994 and 2002. Results under USSR are often counted for them.
 * Ukraine: Quarter-finalists in only appearance in 2006, helped by Andriy Shevchenko.
 * Scotland: Eight appearances, eight first round exits, even with Kenny Dalglish in their 1978 and 1982 teams. Withdrew from 1950 as not champions of Britain.
 * Spain: Underachieving apart from 4th place in 1950... Until 2010 where they got their first star. Hosted the tournament in 1982.
 * Sweden: Most successful in early days with 3rd place in 1950 and runners-up at home in 1958 with the GreNoLi trio (Gunnar Gren + Gunnar Nordahl + Nils Liedholm), although 3rd in 1994.
 * Switzerland: Best results quarter-finals in 1934, 1938 and 1954 (at home), but going on a clean sheet in 2006 (being knocked out on penalty shootouts in the round of 16 by Ukraine) and upsetting future champions Spain in the first round of 2010 worthy of mention.
 * Turkey: Two appearances; first round exit in 1954 (not without giving Korea a 7-0 plastering though), followed by surprise bronze medal in 2002 (bumping the same Korea off the podium). Their first appearance was supposed to be in 1950, but they withdrew.
 * Wales: Asia/Africa qualifiers in 1958 (It's a Long Story) got to quarter-finals only to lose 1-0 to Brazil with a goal from Pelé. Never qualified since, despite having given the world quality players like Ian Rush and Ryan Giggs (though John Charles was in the '58 team).
 * Yugoslavia: Semi-finalists in 1930 and 1962. A few other quarter-finals to celebrate including penalty loss to Argentina in 1990. Last appeared in 1998, during its own schism process.
 * Croatia: Third place in first appearance in 1998, when it counted with many Yugoslav team veterans like Robert Prosinecki and Zvonimir Boban, as well as producing that tournament's Golden Boot, Davor Suker. Appeared unsuccessfully in 2002 and 2006.
 * Slovenia: Two round one exits in 2002 and 2010; only win was vs Algeria in Polokwane 2010.
 * Serbia & Montenegro: Lost all three in 2006 including 6-0 to Argentina. Essentially the same as 1998 Yugoslavia, except with new players and a new name.
 * Serbia: Lost all but surprise win over Germany in 2010. They are the direct successors to the Yugoslav legacy.

South America (CONMEBOL)

 * Argentina: Twice Champions (1978, 1986) and twice Runners-up (1930, 1990) including appearance in first final. Won at home in 1978 with a military junta present and in 1986 with the Hand of God (or Diego Maradona's if you're not Argentine) apparently aiding them (though admittedly, that incident aside, Maradona played a spectacular tournament, even scoring what is arguably the most beautiful goal in the tournament, against England, by dribbling past every single opposite player past the midfield, keeper included). Haven't progressed beyond the quarter-finals (1998, 2006, 2010) since finalists in 1990 though. Sat out of the 1938 tournament due to FIFA choosing France over them to host, did not enter in the 1950 and 1954 qualifiers, and was kept out of the 1970 tournament by Peru.
 * Bolivia: Three-time qualifiers (1930, 1950, 1994), eliminated in Round 1 each time, including an 8-0 stuffing by Uruguay in 1950. The least successful of the South American teams in the World Cup, though the fact they appeared at all is still an one-up to Venezuela, the only South American team never to qualify.
 * Brazil: 5-time champions (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002) and only team to appear at every tournament. 2 silver-medals including one particularly traumatic one at home in 1950 (the other being 1998, where the team performed badly after a never-explained convulsion by Ronaldo). 1970 team often considered the best team ever (with such talented players like Pelé, Tostão, Rivelino, Gérson and Jairzinho sharing the pitch, it's no wonder really), rivaling closely with the 1958 team (whose single common point was Pelé, here a 17-year-old young gun, though here he was joined with greats such as Garrincha, Zito, Djalma Santos and Nílton Santos - no relation between the latter two). Three consecutive World Cup finals between 1994-2002.
 * Chile: Third at home in 1962, then didn't win a World Cup finals match until their 1-0 over Honduras in 2010 (they managed to progress to Round 2 in 1998 with three draws, only because Italy had beaten Austria and Cameroon). Banned in 1994 for a Wounded Gazelle Gambit in 1990 qualifying.
 * Colombia: Qualified 4 times (1962, 1990, 1994, 1998). Best result was Round of 16 in 1990 (knocked out by Cameroon). Expected to do well at USA 1994 (having 5-0'd Argentina on their way there), but their lack of success ensured the murder of defender Andrés Escobar, who scored an own goal against the USA sealing his team's fate.
 * Ecuador: Two appearances (debuted in 2002) including second-round defeat to England in 2006.
 * Paraguay: Never won more than one game at a World Cup, but made it to the quarter-finals in 2010 (having knocked Japan out on penalty shoot-outs).
 * Peru: Twice in the last 8 in 1970 and 1978 as part of Teófilo Cubillas' talented generation. Accused of softening Argentina's passage in the latter. Hasn't qualified since 1982.
 * Uruguay: Champions in their first two attempts in 1930 (at home, fresh off their overwhelming success in the 1924 and 1928 Olympics) and 1950 (upsetting a talented Brazilian side), but only beaten semi-finalists in 1954, 1970 and 2010 since (all of them in fourth place). To this day, they are the only defending champions not to return in the following tournament, having boycotted the 1934 tournament in response to the mass absence of European teams four years prior.

Africa (CAF)

 * Algeria: Three-time qualifiers (1982, 1986, 2010), out in Round 1 in each. Cheated out of the 1982 Round 2 by a contrived result by the Germans and Austrians.
 * Angola: Appeared in 2006 and eliminated after a loss to Portugal and draws with Mexico and Iran.
 * Cameroon: First African quarter-finalists in 1990 but out in Round 1 in all other appearances (1982, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2010). Oddly, they were flushed out in 1982 with three draws on group stage, and it only happened because Italy, with the same results, had narrowly edged them out in goal difference. Fielded the oldest player in the competition's history, 42-year-old Roger Milla, in 1994.
 * Côte d'Ivoire: Knocked out of last two World Cups playing in nearly impossible groups to qualify from (Argentina and Netherlands were their main worried in 2006, while Brazil and Portugal were in their way in 2010).
 * Egypt: Both appearances in Italy (1934 and 1990), both ended in first round, although their tiebreaker loss to Algeria to qualify for 2010 was a nail-biter that caused a diplomatic incident. Despite dominating the African Conference, Every Year They Fizzle Out; Egyptians accuse the better players of deliberately sabotaging the team to get better contracts abroad.
 * Ghana: Reached Round 2 in Germany in 2006, and unfortunate to lose in quarter-finals to Uruguay in 2010.
 * Morocco: Second Round in 1986 (having won a group with England and Portugal, by holding the former to a standstill and defeating the latter 3-1), in 3 other appearances (1970, 1994, 1998) not beyond the First.
 * Nigeria: Twice in last 16 in the 1990s, two exits with one point in the new millenium.
 * Senegal: Opened up 2002 by beating France; got to a quarter-final with Turkey.
 * South Africa: Three round one exits after long apartheid ban (having debuted in 1998), beat France at home in 2010, but the closest they got to going through group stage was in 2002, being edged out by Paraguay just six minutes away from qualification. Hold the dubious distinction of being the only hosts to be eliminated in Round 1 by virtue of conceding too many goals.
 * Togo: Lost all three at only appearance in 2006 after sacking manager before tournament.
 * Tunisia: 4 Round 1 exits (1978, 1998, 2002, 2006); first Africans to win a game in 1978, beating Mexico by 3-1.
 * Zaire : Out of depth in 1974, which included 9-0 loss to Yugoslavia. Famous for hilarious free kick defence.

North and Central Americas (CONCACAF)

 * Canada: Worst team at 1986 tournament in only appearance.
 * Costa Rica: Got to second round in 1990 (eliminated by Czechoslovakia), but out in groups of other two attempts (2002 and 2006).
 * Cuba: Beat Romania to reach 1938 quarter-finals, then trampled 8-0 by Sweden.
 * El Salvador: Started a war with Honduras on the road to qualifying in 1970. Only team to concede 10 in a match with a decadent Hungary in 1982 (though they managed to score a solitary goal in that match). Considered worst team in the WC ever due to losing all 6 games they played.
 * Haiti: Opened scoring against Italy in 1974, but lost all 3 games.
 * Honduras: Picked up 3 draws and 3 defeats in 6 World Cup games in 1982 and 2010.
 * Jamaica: Beat Japan in only appearance in 1998, but lost both other games against Argentina and Croatia.
 * Mexico: Quarter-finalists at home in 1970 and 1986. 12 attemps abroad left them between 11th and 16th (seven of them when the World Cup had only 16 entrants). Banned in 1990 after violating the age limits at the 1988 Olympics. Their other notable achievement is reaching the round of 16 5 times in a row between 1994 and 2010. Their 1950s and 1960s keeper, Antonio Carbajal, holds a joint record of final tournament appearances from 1950 to 1966 (the other record holder being German defender/midfielder Lothar Matthäus, between 1982 and 1998).
 * Trinidad and Tobago: Out in Group Stage in 2006 with 2 losses and no goals but creditable 0-0 draw with Sweden.
 * United States: Original semi-finalists in 1930 (having finished third over Yugoslavia), and shock winners over England in 1950. Disappeared for 40 years but ever present since 1990, best result in modern era was quarter-finals in Japan in 2002. Known for getting though the 2010 Group Stage on last-minute heroics by Landon Donovan. Despite the country's general lack of interest in men's soccer, they hosted the 1994 tournament to great success (this edition boasted the largest public average of all tournaments - curiously, the Round of 16 game where they were knocked out in this tournament, by Brazil, was played in 4th of July).

Asia (AFC)

 * Australia: Appeared as amateurs at West Germany 1974, but best performance was a narrow defeat to Italy in Round 2 of the 2006 edition, also in Germany. Returned in 2010 and almost qualified. Were part of the OFC in their first two appearances (their 1974 appearance was the first time an Oceanic team qualified for the tournament) but, due to sheer lack of competition (the record victory in international matches was made in one of their qualifying matches - 31-0 over American Samoa!) and the fact tat the OFC champion always has to endure a final, intercontinental playoff before even hoping to go to the World Cup (this cost them a spot in 1994 to Argentina, 1998 to Iran and 2002 to Uruguay), the Aussies moved to the Asian zone.
 * China PR: Stuffed in 2002 by Turkey, Brazil and Costa Rica in only appearance. No goals, no points.
 * Dutch East Indies : Beaten by Hungary 6-0 in only appearance in 1938. Only showed up because Japan withdrew following diplomatic brou-ha-ha of Second Sino-Japanese War.
 * India: Withdrew after qualifying in 1950 (legend has it that it was because FIFA would not let them play barefoot, but this was never fully confirmed), never appeared subsequently.
 * Iran: In 3 appearances (1978, 1998, 2006), highlight was 2-1 victory over their ideological enemies of the USA in 1998, in a game conducted almost as a diplomatic exercise. Theirs is the all-time top scorer in the qualifiers, Ali Daei.
 * Iraq: Qualified in 1986, but had to suffer the wrath of Uday Hussein after not progressing from the group.
 * Japan: Round 2 at home in 2002 and in South Africa in 2010. Ever present since their debut in 1998, in their second attempt since the advent of pro soccer in the country (the first one, which would have been in 1994, saw them edged out by South Korea after drawing with Iraq, in a match that became known as the Agony of Doha).
 * Korea DPR (North Korea): Quarter-finalists in 1966, beating Italy and Chile but losing to Portugal from 3-0 up. Return in 2010 not gone to plan (3 defeats, 1 goal scored, 12 conceded - 7 of them to the same Portugal).
 * Korea Republic (South Korea): Semi-finalists at home in 2002, but only two wins abroad in 7 other World Cups. Got to second round in 2010, their best result out of home ground. Have been appearing consistently since 1986.
 * Kuwait: Only notable impression was their Sheikh stopping their game and reversing a referee's decision against France in their only appearance, in 1982. Other than that, they managed a draw against Czechoslovakia.
 * Saudi Arabia: Round 2 in 1994 (headed by Saeed al-Owairan and Sami al-Jaber) but followed by 3 first round exits (1998, 2002 and 2006) including an 8-0 mullering by Germany in 2002.
 * United Arab Emirates: Disappointing 3 losses in 1990 sole appearance.

Oceania (OFC)

 * New Zealand: Went out with 3 defeats in 1982, and with three draws in 2010.