Football is one of the most popular sports in the world. The final edition of the 2018 Football World Cup was reportedly watched by 3.5 billion people. The 2026 World Cup will feature 48 teams. No team outside of Europe and South America has ever won the FIFA World Cup.
Out of the 21 football World Cups that have been held so far, a country outside the host continent has won the cup only four times. In 1958, Brazil won the cup in the World Cup finals held in Sweden. Germany won the title in 2014 in Brazil. The other two matches were held outside Europe and South America. In 2002, Brazil won the tournament hosted jointly by Japan and South Korea, while in 2010, Spain won the tournament in South Africa.
World record for the number of spectators
The 1950 World Cup in Brazil did not have a regular final. Spain, Sweden, Uruguay and Brazil were the teams that changed in the last league. The final was played between Brazil and Uruguay at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro. Uruguay won this match.
173,850 spectators came to watch this match. The match also holds a Guinness World Record for the largest attendance at a World Cup match. According to unofficial estimates, around 200,000 people attended the match.
The World Cup match with the least attendance was the Romania-Peru match in Montevideo in 1930. Only 300 people were there to watch this match.
India’s retreat
The Philippines, Indonesia and Burma (now Myanmar) withdrew from the 1950 World Cup. After that, India got an invitation to compete in the World Cup football. However, there was a difference of opinion in the All India Football Federation regarding team selection and training. India rejected the invitation. India was the only Asian team to be invited to play in the 1950 World Cup in Brazil. Rumors were rife that the main reason for India’s withdrawal was not being allowed to play barefoot. But there is no clarity or technical confirmation in this regard yet.
Attendance percentage
Brazil is the only team to have participated in every FIFA World Cup (including the upcoming World Cup). Next up is Germany (20 World Cup matches). Italy (18), Argentina (18) and Mexico (17) are right behind.
Brazil has won the World Cup a record five times. Germany has played the most number of finals. The German team has played eight Lola Cup football finals. Brazil, on the other hand, seven.
The struggle between East Germany and West Germany
West Germany hosted the 1974 World Cup. Coincidentally, this was also the only edition in which East Germany qualified for World Cup football. Both teams are placed in Group 2. East Germany defeated West Germany 1-0 in the match between the two teams.
Lost crown, finally found
Jules Rimet holds the record for the longest serving FIFA president. He was the head of FIFA from 1921 to 1954. He is also one of the people who spearheaded the efforts to hold the World Cup matches. The 1946 World Cup trophy was renamed the Jules Rimet Trophy.
The 1966 World Cup was held in England. On 20 March 1966 the trophy was stolen from the Methodist Central Hall in Westminster. A phone call and note demanding a £15,000 ransom followed. The police tracked him down and arrested Edward Bechley. But the trophy might not be found.
David Corbett of Norwood discovered the crown by chance when he was out with his pet dog. The dog was staring at an object wrapped in newspaper in the neighbor’s car. Corbett looked and saw a woman holding a bowl over her head. It was written as Germany, Uruguay and Brazil. Corbett recognized it as the World Cup trophy. Police questioned Corbett. He was eventually awarded £3,000. He quickly became a celebrity. Corbett also starred in ‘The Spy with a Cold Nose’.
Brazil won the World Cup in 1970. Brazil repeated the victory in 1958 and 1962 to become the permanent holders of the Jules Rimet Trophy. A new trophy was commissioned for subsequent editions.
‘We have nothing’
An important incident took place before the 1962 tournament. Two years before the tournament, Chile was hit by massive earthquakes. They had missed out on hosting the World Cup several times.
“We have nothing, so we should at least be allowed to hold the World Cup,” said Carlos Ditborn, president of the Chilean Football Federation. Thus beating Argentina, Chile got the chance to host the World Cup.
Dog of the World Cup
There were also interesting incidents during the World Cup match in Chile. A dog ran onto the ground during the quarter-final between Brazil and England. England star Jimmy Greaves took it to a standing ovation from the crowd.
Brazil won the title that time. Brazilian Garincha scored two goals. The Brazilian team took the dog with them. Its ownership was given to Garincha. He named it bicampionato (bye).
The World Cup returns home
Although football is related to the Chinese sport of Kuju, which has been popular since the Christian year, football was first played in the British Isles in the 8th century. Therefore, it is not wrong to call Britain the home of football. But the first seven World Cups were held in Uruguay, Italy, France, Brazil, Switzerland, Sweden and Chile. Britain hosted the eighth edition.
The least represented team
The 1934 and 1938 World Cups were played in a knockout format. In the latter match, Hungary defeated the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) 6–0 in the first round. Indonesia has never qualified for another FIFA World Cup, becoming the least represented team at the World Cup.
Goal record
In Coffs Harbor in 2001, Australia beat the American team 31–0 in the same match to qualify for the following year’s World Cup. Australia’s Archie Thompson’s 13 goals remains the world record in international football.
Bhutan’s victory
Brazil won the 2002 World Cup by beating Germany 2-0. And Bhutan, the two lowest ranked teams according to FIFA rankings
Montserrat and Thimphu also clashed. Bhutan won 4-0 in this match conducted by FIFA. It was Bhutan’s first victory in football. The Bhutan-Montserrat match was also the basis for the award-winning documentary The Other Final.
Expensive gifts
The UAE qualified for the World Cup for the first time in 1990. Prime Minister Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan offered a Rolls Royce to the players who score goals. The UAE finished 24th in that year’s World Cup, which featured 24 teams. He lost in all three matches played. But Khalil Ismail Mubarak and Ali Thani Juma, the UAE players who scored the goal, got a Rolls Royce as a gift.
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