76 nations have played in at least one World Cup

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIFA_World_Cup#Records_and_statistics



In all, 76 nations have played in at least one World Cup.[42] Of these, seven national teams have won the World Cup, and they have added stars to their crests, with each star representing a World Cup victory. (However, Uruguay are an exception to this unwritten rule; They choose to display four stars on their crest, representing their two gold medals at the 1924 and 1928 Summer Olympics and their two World Cup titles in 1930 and 1950).

With five titles, Brazil are the most successful World Cup team and also the only nation to have played in every World Cup to date.[43] Italy (1934 and 1938) and Brazil (1958 and 1962) are the only nations to have won consecutive titles. Brazil (1994–2002) and Germany (1982–1990) are the only nations to appear in three consecutive World Cup finals. Brazil and Germany have both made the most appearances in the final, with seven, while Germany have made the most appearances in the top four, with 11.



Team Titles Runners-up Third place Fourth place


Brazil 5 (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002) 2 (1950*, 1998) 2 (1938, 1978) 1 (1974)

Italy 4 (1934*, 1938, 1982, 2006) 2 (1970, 1994) 1 (1990*) 1 (1978)
Germany^C 3 (1954, 1974*, 1990) 4 (1966, 1982, 1986, 2002) 3 (1934, 1970, 2006*) 1 (1958)

Argentina 2 (1978*, 1986) 2 (1930, 1990) — —
UruguayIII 2 (1930*, 1950) — — 2 (1954, 1970)
France 1 (1998*) 1 (2006) 2 (1958, 1986) 1 (1982)
England 1 (1966*) — 1 (1990)
NetherlandsC — 2 (1974, 1978) — 1 (1998)
Czechoslovakia# — 2 (1934, 1962) — —
Hungary — 2 (1938, 1954) — —
Sweden — 1 (1958*) 2 (1950, 1994) 1 (1938)
Poland — — 2 (1974, 1982) —
Austria — — 1 (1954) 1 (1934)
Portugal — — 1 (1966) 1 (2006)
Chile — — 1 (1962*) —
Croatia — — 1 (1998) —
Turkey — — 1 (2002) —
United States — — 1 (1930) —
Yugoslavia# — — — 2 (1930, 1962)
Belgium — — — 1 (1986)
Bulgaria — — — 1 (1994)
Korea Republic — — — 1 (2002*)
Soviet Union# — — — 1 (1966)
SpainC — — — 1 (1950)

* = hosts
^ = includes results representing West Germany between 1954 and 1990
# = states that have since split into two or more independent nations[42]
C = still in contention for the 2010 World Cup
III = plays 3rd/4th place play-off in the 2010 World Cup