European nations at the FIFA World Cup

Association football is the most popular sport in nearly every European country and 32 of the current members of UEFA have competed at the men's FIFA World Cup.

Overview

	1930 (13)	1934 (16)	1938 (15)	1950 (13)	1954 (16)	1958 (16)	1962 (16)	1966 (16)	1970 (16)	1974 (16)	1978 (16)	1982 (24)	1986 (24)	1990 (24)	1994 (24)	1998 (32)	2002 (32)	2006 (32)	2010 (32)	2014 (32)	2018 (32)	Total
Teams	4	12	12	6	12	12	10	10	9	9	10	14	14	14	13	15	15	14	13	13	TBC	231
Top 16	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	10	10	10	10	9	10	6	6	TBC	71
Top 12	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	10	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	TBC	10
Top 8	—	8	6	—	6	7	6	5	4	6	5	—	5	6	7	6	4	6	3	4	TBC	94
Top 4	1	4	3	2	3	3	2	4	2	3	2	4	3	3	3	3	2	4	3	2	TBC	56
Top 2	0	2	2	0	2	1	1	2	1	2	1	2	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	1	TBC	26
1st																						11
2nd																						15
3rd																						16
4th																						14

Results

Most finishes in the top four

Team	#	Top-four finishes
Germany	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  Netherlands	5	1958, 1982, 1986, 1998, 2006 1974, 1978, 1998, 2010, 2014
Sweden	4	1938, 1950, 1958, 1994

Team results by tournament

Legend

• 1st — Champions
• 2nd — Runners-up
• 3rd — Third place
• 4th — Fourth place
• QF — Quarterfinals (1934–1938, 1954–1970, and 1986–present: knockout round of 8)
• R2 — Round 2 (1974–1978, second group stage, top 8; 1982: second group stage, top 12; 1986–present: knockout round of 16)
• R1 — Round 1
• q — Qualified for upcoming tournament
•  ••  — Qualified but withdrew
•  •  — Did not qualify
•  ×  — Did not enter / Withdrew / Banned
•    — Hosts
•     — Not affiliated in FIFA

The team ranking in each tournament is according to FIFA.^[1] 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.^[2]

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

Team	1930 (13)	1934 (16)	1938 (15)	1950 (13)	1954 (16)	1958 (16)	1962 (16)	1966 (16)	1970 (16)	1974 (16)	1978 (16)	1982 (24)	1986 (24)	1990 (24)	1994 (24)	1998 (32)	2002 (32)	2006 (32)	2010 (32)	2014 (32)	Total
Austria	×	4th	••[3]	×	3rd	R1 15th	×	•	•	•	R2 7th	R2 8th	•	R1 T-18th	•	R1 23rd	•	•	•	•	7
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	12
Bosnia and Herzegovina[4]	Part of Yugoslavia														×	•	•	•	•	R1 20th	1
Bulgaria	×	•	•	×	•	•	R1 15th	R1 15th	R1 13th	R1 12th	•	•	R2 15th	•	4th	R1 29th	•	•	•	•	7
Croatia[4]	Part of Yugoslavia														×	3rd	R1 23rd	R1 22nd	•	R1 19th	4
Czechoslovakia[5]	see Czech Republic (1930–1994)
Czech Republic[5]	×	2nd	QF 5th	×	R1 14th	R1 9th	2nd	•	R1 15th	•	•	R1 19th	•	QF 6th	•	•	•	R1 20th	•	•	9
Denmark	×	×	×	×	×	•	×	•	•	•	•	•	R2 9th	•	•	QF 8th	R2 10th	•	R1 24th	•	4
East Germany[6]	Part of Germany			×	×	•	•	•	•	R2 6th	•	•	•	•	Part of Germany						1
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	14
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	14
Germany[6]	×	3rd	R1 10th	×	1st	4th	QF 7th	2nd	3rd	1st	R2 6th	2nd	2nd	1st	QF 5th	QF 7th	2nd	3rd	3rd	1st	18
Greece	×	•	•	×	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	R1 24th	•	•	•	R1 25th	R2 13th	3
Hungary	×	QF 6th	2nd	×	2nd	R1 10th	QF 5th	QF 6th	•	•	R1 15th	R1 14th	R1 18th	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	9
Israel[7]	×	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	R1 12th	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	1
					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
Netherlands	×	R1 T-9th	R1 14th	×	×	•	•	•	•	2nd	2nd	•	•	R2 15th	QF 7th	4th	•	R2 11th	2nd	3rd	10
Northern Ireland	×	×	×	•	•	QF 8th	•	•	•	•	•	R2 9th	R1 21st	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	3
Norway	×	×	R1 12th	×	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	R1 17th	R2 15th	•	•	•	•	3
Poland	×	•	R1 11th	×	×	•	•	•	•	3rd	R2 5th	3rd	R2 14th	•	•	•	R1 25th	R1 21st	•	•	7
Portugal	×	•	•	•	•	•	•	3rd	•	•	•	•	R1 17th	•	•	•	R1 21st	4th	R2 11th	R1 18th	6
Republic of Ireland[8]	×	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	QF 8th	R2 16th	•	R2 12th	•	•	•	3
Romania	R1 8th	R1 12th	R1 9th	×	•	•	•	•	R1 T-10th	•	•	•	•	R2 12th	QF 6th	R2 11th	•	•	•	•	7
Russia[9]	×	×	×	×	×	QF 7th	QF 6th	4th	QF 5th	•	•	R2 7th	R2 10th	R1 17th	R1 18th	•	R1 22nd	•	•	R1 24th	10
Scotland	×	×	×	••	R1 15th	R1 14th	•	•	•	R1 9th	R1 11th	R1 15th	R1 19th	R1 T-18th	•	R1 27th	•	•	•	•	8
Serbia[4]	4th[10]	•	•	R1 5th	QF 7th	QF 5th	4th	•	•	R2 7th	•	R1 16th	•	QF 5th	×	R2 10th	•	R1 32nd	R1 23rd	•	11
Serbia and Montenegro[4]	see Serbia (2006)
Slovakia[5]	Part of Czechoslovakia															•	•	•	R2 16th	•	1
Slovenia[4]	Part of Yugoslavia														×	•	R1 30th	•	R1 18th	•	2
Soviet Union[9]	see Russia (1930–1990)
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	14
Sweden	×	QF 8th	4th	3rd	•	2nd	•	•	R1 9th	R2 5th	R1 13th	•	•	R1 21st	3rd	•	R2 13th	R2 14th	•	•	11
Switzerland	×	QF 7th	QF 7th	R1 6th	QF 8th	•	R1 16th	R1 16th	•	•	•	•	•	•	R2 15th	•	•	R2 10th	R1 19th	R2 11th	10
Turkey	×	×	×	••	R1 9th	×	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	3rd	•	•	•	2
Ukraine[9]	Part of Soviet Union														×	•	•	QF 8th	•	•	1
Wales	×	×	×	•	•	QF 6th	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	1
West Germany[6]	see Germany (1950–1990)
Yugoslavia[4]	see Serbia (1930 for Kingdom of Yugoslavia; 1950-1990 for SFR Yugoslavia; 1994–2002 for FR Yugoslavia)

Tournament standings

Team	Champions	Finals	Semi-finals	Quarter-finals
Germany	4	8	13	17
Italy	4	6	8	9
France	1	2	5	7
England	1	1	2	8
Spain	1	1	2	6
Netherlands	0	3	5	6
Hungary	0	2	2	5
Czechoslovakia	0	2	2	4
Sweden	0	1	4	6
Yugoslavia	0	0	2	6
Austria	0	0	2	3
Poland	0	0	2	3
Portugal	0	0	2	2
Belgium	0	0	1	2
Soviet Union	0	0	1	4
Bulgaria	0	0	1	1
Croatia	0	0	1	1
Turkey	0	0	1	1
Switzerland	0	0	0	3
Denmark	0	0	0	1
East Germany	0	0	0	1
Republic of Ireland	0	0	0	1
Northern Ireland	0	0	0	1
Romania	0	0	0	1
Ukraine	0	0	0	1
Wales	0	0	0	1

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.

After World Cup 2014

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Points	Topscorers
Germany (since 1994)  West Germany (1950–1990)  Germany (1934–1938)	106	66	20	20	224	121	+103	218	M. Klose 16 G. Müller 14 J. Klinsmann 11 T. Müller 10 H. Rahn 10
Italy	83	45	21	17	128	77	+51	156	C. Vieri 9 R. Baggio 9 P. Rossi 9
Spain	59	29	12	18	92	66	+26	99	D. Villa 9
England	62	26	20	16	79	56	+23	98	G. Lineker 10
France	59	28	12	19	106	71	+35	96	J. Fontaine 13 T. Henry 6
Netherlands	50	27	12	11	86	48	+38	93	J. Rep 7
Sweden	46	16	13	17	74	69	+5	61	H. Larsson 5 K. Andersson 5
Russia (since 1994)  Soviet Union (1930–1990)	40	17	8	15	66	47	+19	59	O. Salenko 6 V. Ivanov 5
Serbia (since 2010)  Serbia and Montenegro (2006)  Yugoslavia (1994–2002)  Yugoslavia (1930–1990)	43	17	8	18	64	59	+5	59	D. Jerković 4
Belgium	41	14	9	18	52	66	-14	51	M. Wilmots 5
Poland	31	15	5	11	44	40	+4	50	G. Lato 10
Hungary	32	15	3	14	87	57	+30	48	S. Kocsis 11
Portugal	26	13	4	9	43	29	+14	43	Eusébio 9
Czech Republic (since 1998)  Czechoslovakia (1930–1994)	33	12	5	16	47	49	-2	41	O. Nejedlý 7
Austria	29	12	4	13	43	47	-4	40	E. Probst 6
Switzerland	33	11	6	16	45	59	-14	39	S. Huegi 6
Romania	21	8	5	8	30	32	-2	29	F. Răducioiu 4
Denmark	16	8	2	6	27	24	+3	26	J. Tomasson 5
Croatia	16	7	2	7	21	17	+4	23	D. Šuker 6
Scotland	23	4	7	12	25	41	-16	19	J. Jordan 4
Bulgaria	26	3	8	15	22	53	-31	17	H. Stoichkov 6
Turkey	10	5	1	4	20	17	+3	16	S. Mamat 3 B. Sargun 3 İ. Mansız 3
Republic of Ireland	13	2	8	3	10	10	0	14	R. Keane 3
Northern Ireland	13	3	5	5	13	23	-10	14	P. McParland 5
Norway	8	2	3	3	7	8	-1	9	K. Rekdal 2
East Germany	6	2	2	2	5	5	0	8	J. Streich 2
Greece	10	2	2	6	5	20	-15	8	S. Papastathopoulos 1 D. Salpingidis 1 G. Samaras 1 A. Samaris 1 V. Torosidis 1
Ukraine	5	2	1	2	5	7	-2	7	A. Shevchenko 2
Wales	5	1	3	1	4	4	0	6	I. Allchurch 2
Slovakia	4	1	1	2	5	7	-2	4	R. Vittek 4
Slovenia	6	1	1	4	5	10	-5	4	M. Ačimovič 1 V. Birsa 1 S. Cimirotič 1 R. Koren 1 Z. Ljubijankić 1
Bosnia and Herzegovina	3	1	0	2	4	4	0	3	E. Džeko 1 V. Ibišević 1 M. Pjanić 1 A. Vršajević 1
Israel	3	0	2	1	1	3	-2	2	M. Spiegler 1

Breakdown of successor teams

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Points
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	Points
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)	38	27	5	6	79	31	+48	86

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Points
Soviet Union (1930–1990)	31	15	6	10	53	34	+19	51
Russia (since 1994)	9	2	2	5	13	13	0	8

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Points
Yugoslavia (1930–1938)	3	2	0	1	7	7	0	6
Yugoslavia (1950–1990)	30	12	7	11	48	35	+13	43
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)	3	1	0	2	2	3	-1	3

Appearances

Ranking of teams by number of appearances

Team	Appearances	Record streak	Active streak	Debut	Most recent	Best result (* = hosts)
Germany[6]	18	16	16	1934	2014	Champions (1954, 1974*, 1990, 2014)
Italy	18	14	14	1934	2014	Champions (1934*, 1938, 1982, 2006)
England	14	6	5	1950	2014	Champions (1966*)
France	14	5	5	1930	2014	Champions (1998*)
Spain	14	10	10	1934	2014	Champions (2010)
Belgium	12	6	1	1930	2014	Fourth place (1986)
Serbia[4]	11	4	0	1930	2010	Fourth place (1930,[10] 1962)
Sweden	11	3	0	1934	2006	Runners-up (1958*)
Netherlands	10	3	3	1934	2014	Runners-up (1974, 1978, 2010)
Russia[9]	10	4	1	1958	2014	Fourth place (1966)
Switzerland	10	4	3	1934	2014	Quarterfinals (1934, 1938, 1954*)
Czech Republic[5]	9	3	0	1934	2006	Runners-up (1934, 1962)
Hungary	9	4	0	1934	1986	Runners-up (1938, 1954)
Scotland	8	5	0	1954	1998	Round 1
Austria	7	2	0	1934	1998	Third place (1954)
Bulgaria	7	4	0	1962	1998	Fourth place (1994)
Poland	7	4	0	1938	2006	Third place (1974, 1982)
Romania	7	3	0	1930	1998	Quarterfinals (1994)
Portugal	6	4	4	1966	2014	Third place (1966)
Croatia[4]	4	3	1	1998	2014	Third place (1998)
Denmark	4	2	0	1986	2010	Quarterfinals (1998)
Greece	3	2	2	1994	2014	Round 1
Northern Ireland	3	2	0	1958	1986	Quarterfinals (1958)
Norway	3	2	0	1938	1998	Round 2 (1998)
Republic of Ireland	3	2	0	1990	2002	Quarterfinals (1990)
Slovenia[4]	2	1	0	2002	2010	Round 1
Turkey	2	1	0	1954	2002	Third place (2002)
Bosnia and Herzegovina	1	1	1	2014	2014	Round 1
East Germany[6]	1	1	0	1974	1974	Round 2 (top 8) (1974)
Israel	1	1	0	1970	1970	Round 1
Slovakia[5]	1	1	0	2010	2010	Round 2 (2010)
Ukraine[9]	1	1	0	2006	2006	Quarterfinals (2006)
Wales	1	1	0	1958	1958	Quarterfinals (1958)

Breakdown of successor teams

Team	# 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 (2006)

Team	# 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)	3	1	1	1994	2014	Round 1

Team	# of appearances	Record streak	Active streak	Debut	Most recent	Best result (* = hosts)
Germany (1930–1938)	2	2	0	1934	1938	Third place (1934)
West Germany (1930–1990)	10	10	0	1954	1990	Champions (1954, 1974*, 1990)
Germany (since 1994)	6	6	6	1994	2014	Champions (2014)

Team	# of appearances	Record streak	Active streak	Debut	Most recent	Best result
Yugoslavia (1930–1990)	8	4	0	1930	1990	Fourth place (1930,[10] 1962)
Yugoslavia (1994–2002)	1	1	0	1998	1998	Third place (1998)
Serbia and Montenegro (2006)	1	1	0	2006	2006	Round 1
Serbia (since 2010)	1	1	0	2010	2010	Round 1

Team debuts

Each successive World Cup has had at least one team appearing for the first time, in alphabetical order per year. Teams in parentheses are considered successor teams by FIFA.

Year	Debutants	Total
1930	Belgium,  France,  Romania,  Yugoslavia[4]	4
1934	Austria,  Czechoslovakia,[5]  Germany,[6]  Hungary,  Italy,  Netherlands,  Spain,  Sweden,   Switzerland	9
1938	Norway,  Poland	2
1950	England	1
1954	Scotland,  Turkey, ( West Germany[6])	2 (+1*)
1958	Northern Ireland,  Soviet Union,[9]  Wales	3
1962	Bulgaria	1
1966	Portugal	1
1970	Israel#	1
1974	East Germany,[6]	1
1978		0
1982		0
1986	Denmark	1
1990	Republic of Ireland	1
1994	Greece, ( Russia[9])	1 (+1*)
1998	Croatia,[4] ( Yugoslavia[4])	1 (+1*)
2002	Slovenia[4]	1
2006	( Czech Republic[5]), ( Serbia and Montenegro[4]),  Ukraine[9]	1 (+2*)
2010	( Serbia[4]),  Slovakia[5]	1 (+1*)
2014	Bosnia and Herzegovina[4]	1
Total		33 (+6*)

*This total number of UEFA teams which have participated in the World Cups through 2014 is 33, using FIFA's view on successor teams (e.g., Russia is a successor of USSR and not a separate team, whereas the Ukraine is a newer separate entity).

#Israel represented OFC in the 1970 tournament.

Not qualified

21 of the 53 active FIFA and UEFA members have never qualified for the final tournament.

Country	Number of Qualifying attempts	1930	1934	1938	1950	1954	1958	1962	1966	1970	1974	1978	1982	1986	1990	1994	1998	2002	2006	2010	2014
Luxembourg	19		•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•
Finland	18			•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•
Cyprus	14							•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•
Iceland	12						•				•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•
Albania	11								•		•		•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•
Malta	11										•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•
Estonia	8		•	•	part of USSR											•	•	•	•	•	•
Lithuania	8		•	•	part of USSR											•	•	•	•	•	•
Latvia	7			•	part of USSR											•	•	•	•	•	•
Faroe Islands	6															•	•	•	•	•	•
San Marino	6															•	•	•	•	•	•
Armenia	5	part of USSR															•	•	•	•	•
Azerbaijan	5	part of USSR															•	•	•	•	•
Belarus	5	part of USSR															•	•	•	•	•
Georgia	5	part of USSR															•	•	•	•	•
Kazakhstan	5	part of USSR															•	•	•	•	•
																member of AFC
Liechtenstein	5																•	•	•	•	•
Macedonia	5	part of Yugoslavia															•	•	•	•	•
Moldova	5	part of USSR															•	•	•	•	•
Andorra	4																	•	•	•	•
Montenegro	2	part of Yugoslavia														Serbia and Montenegro				•	•

Notes

1. "FIFA World Cup Statistical Overview (page 4)" (PDF). Retrieved May 17, 2006.
2. Seeding of national teams (PDF). Accessed 8 June 2006.
3. Austria qualified in 1938, but withdrew to play as part of Germany after being annexed.
4. 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 now also compete separately after independence in 2006. In 2010, Serbia debuted at the FIFA World Cup with their own national team.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. Republic of Ireland competed as the Irish Free State in 1934 and then as Ireland in 1938 and 1950.
9. 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.
10. 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.

See also

• 2006 FIFA World Cup full team ranking
• List of national teams with no FIFA World Cup appearances
• Strongest football nations by Elo Ratings
• National team appearances in the FIFA Women's World Cup