The FIFA World Cup: 23 Facts You Might Not Know

The FIFA World Cup tournament is happening again in 2022. This time the Middle Eastern nation of Qatar will be hosting the tournament. It will be the first FIFA World Cup tournament to be hosted in the Arab world.

Here are some 23 Interesting facts about the FIFA World Cup

1. The first tournament was held in 1930 in Uruguay.

2. Only 13 countries participated in the first tournament.

3. The tournament has been held every 4 years since 1930, except 1942 and 1946.

4. Brazil have won the FIFA World Cup 5 times, in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002 (the most times by any other nation in the tournament’s history).

5. Brazil have won FIFA World Cup 5 tournaments and Germany and Italy have each won 4 tournaments. Argentina have won 3 tournaments. France and Uruguay have won 2 tournaments and England and Spain have each won the cup once.

6. 79 countries have competed in the tournament Cup since it started in 1930.

7. Seven of the eight champion nations have won 1 of their titles whilst playing in their own countries (Brazil is the only country which could not achieve this in 1950).

8. Germany has reached 8 finals in the tournament’s history.

9. Brazil is the only country that has competed in every tournament since 1930.

10. Mexico has lost 27 matches in the history of the tournament (the most any nation competing has ever lost).

11. Brazil has scored 229 goals in FIFA World Cup tournaments (the most in the tournament’s history).

12. In 1954 Hungary scored 27 goals in the tournament, setting the record for most goals scored in a tournament.

13. Pelé (from Brazil) is the player with the most FIFA World championships under his belt. He was part of Brazil’s squad in 1958, 1962 and 1970. He also holds the record for youngest goalscorer, youngest hat-trick scorer and youngest goalscorer in a final.

14. Oleg Salenko (from Russia) is the player who has scored the most goals in a match. He scored 5 goals in a match against Cameroon in 1994.

15. Geoff Hurst (from England) is the player who has scored the most goals in a final match. He scored 3 goals against West Germany in the final at Wembley Stadium in 1966.

16. Roger Milla (from Cameroon) is the oldest goal scorer in FIFA World Cup history. He got this title when he was 42 years old and scored a goal against Russia in 1994.

17. Nils Liedholm (from Sweden) is the oldest goalscorer in tournament history. He was 35 years old when he scored a goal in the final match against Brazil in 1958.

18. Hakan Şükür (from Turkey) holds the record for fastest goal from kickoff in a FIFA World Cup Match. He scored a goal 11 seconds into a match against South Korea in 2002.

19. The most goals in a FIFA World Cup tournament were scored in 1998 in France. 171 goals were scored in the tournament.

20. The South African National Football team has only played in 3 FIFA World Cup tournaments (in 1998, 2002 and 2010). They were knocked out in the first round on all three occasions.

21. 32 teams competed in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. This was the last time that the tournament had 32 teams.

22. Teams from 48 countries will be competing in the 2026 FIFA World Cup (which will be hosted in Canada, Mexico and the USA).

23. 16 cities will be hosting games in the 2026 FIFA World Cup: 11 cities in the USA (Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York/New Jersey (MetLife Stadium), Philadelphia, San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle), 2 cities in Canada (Toronto, Vancouver) and 3 cities in Mexico (Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey).

There you have it, 23 facts about the FIFA World Cup (mostly statistical and historical). If I left out something important, feel free to comment below.

Watch this space for updates in the Facts category on Running Wolf’s Rant.

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