FIFA World Cup Finals Performance Records

By Paul Yarden · 4 min read

FIFA World Cup Finals 1930-2026 Nations Performance Records

Eighty-four nations have now played at the FIFA World Cup finals, from the 13 teams who gathered in Uruguay in 1930 to the expanded 48-team field competing at the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. This page ranks every one of them by their complete finals record: tournaments played, matches, wins, draws, losses, goals and points per game.

The table below is a live document. It is updated after every round of the 2026 tournament, so the numbers for the 48 competing nations, shown in bold, will continue to move until the final on 19 July. Brazil remain clear at the top, but the 2026 World Cup has already reshaped the middle and lower reaches of the table, with four nations adding their names to the list for the first time.

World Cup Performance Records at a Glance

How the Rankings Are Calculated

Points are calculated at 3 for a win and 1 for a draw across all World Cup finals matches from 1930 to 2026, regardless of the points system in use at the time. Matches decided on penalties count as draws after 120 minutes. Records for Germany include West Germany, Russia includes the USSR, Serbia includes Yugoslavia and Serbia & Montenegro, and the Czech Republic includes Czechoslovakia. Nations in bold in the main table are competing at the 2026 finals. Statistics correct to 19 July 2026.

The performance records of all 84 Nations who have participated in the FIFA World Cup Finals from 1930 to 2026.

Points calculated at 3 for a win, 1 for a draw for all matches played. Teams in BOLD participated in 2026 World Cup Finals. Statistics correct to 7th July 2026.

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Rank		Nation	Confederation	World	Matches				Goals			Pts*	PPG
				Cups	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	F	A	GD
1		Brazil	CONMEBOL	23	119	79	20	20	247	112	135	257	2.16
2		(West) Germany	UEFA	21	116	70	22	24	243	135	108	232	2.00
3		Argentina	CONMEBOL	19	96	54	17	25	171	109	62	179	1.86
4		Italy	UEFA	18	83	45	21	17	128	77	51	156	1.88
5		France	UEFA	17	81	45	14	22	156	95	61	149	1.84
6		England	UEFA	17	82	38	23	21	124	80	44	137	1.67
7		Spain	UEFA	17	75	38	18	19	122	76	46	132	1.76
8		Netherlands	UEFA	12	59	32	16	11	107	57	50	112	1.90
9		Uruguay	CONMEBOL	15	62	25	15	22	92	80	12	90	1.45
10		Belgium	UEFA	15	57	24	12	21	83	81	2	84	1.47
11		Mexico	CONCACAF	18	65	21	15	29	72	104	−32	78	1.20
12		Sweden	UEFA	13	55	20	14	21	87	83	4	74	1.35
13		Russia (USSR)	UEFA	11	45	19	10	16	77	54	23	67	1.49
14		Portugal	UEFA	9	40	19	8	13	69	44	25	65	1.63
15		Serbia (Yugoslavia, Serbia & Montenegro)	UEFA	13	49	18	9	22	71	71	0	63	1.29
16		Switzerland	UEFA	13	47	17	10	20	65	79	−14	61	1.30
17		Poland	UEFA	9	38	17	6	15	49	50	−1	57	1.50
18		Croatia	UEFA	7	34	15	8	11	49	40	9	53	1.56
19		Hungary	UEFA	9	32	15	3	14	87	57	30	48	1.50
20		Austria	UEFA	8	33	13	5	15	49	56	−7	44	1.45
21		United States	CONCACAF	12	42	12	8	22	51	74	−23	44	1.05
22		Slovakia	UEFA	9	34	12	6	16	49	52	−3	42	1.24
23		Czech Republic (Czechoslovakia)	UEFA	10	36	12	6	18	49	55	−6	42	1.17
24		Colombia	CONMEBOL	7	27	12	5	10	37	31	6	41	1.52
25		Chile	CONMEBOL	9	33	11	7	15	40	49	−9	40	1.21
26		Paraguay	CONMEBOL	9	32	8	12	12	33	44	−11	36	1.13
27		South Korea	AFC	12	41	8	10	23	41	81	−40	34	0.83
28		Denmark	UEFA	6	23	9	6	8	31	29	2	33	1.43
29		Morocco	CAF	7	29	8	9	12	30	33	−3	33	1.14
30		Japan	AFC	8	29	8	8	13	33	38	−5	32	1.10
31		Romania	UEFA	7	21	8	5	8	30	32	−2	29	1.38
32		Costa Rica	CONCACAF	6	21	6	5	10	22	39	−17	23	1.10
33		Cameroon	CAF	8	26	5	8	13	22	47	−25	23	0.88
34		Ghana	CAF	5	19	6	4	9	20	26	−6	22	1.16
35		Scotland	UEFA	9	26	5	7	14	26	45	−19	22	0.85
36		Norway	UEFA	4	14	6	3	5	20	19	1	21	1.50
37		Senegal	CAF	4	16	6	3	7	26	26	0	21	1.31
38		Ecuador	CONMEBOL	5	17	6	3	8	16	18	−2	21	1.24
39		Nigeria	CAF	6	21	6	3	12	23	30	−7	21	1.00
40		Australia	AFC	7	24	5	6	13	20	40	−20	21	0.88
41		Turkey	UEFA	3	13	6	1	6	23	22	1	19	1.46
42		Peru	CONMEBOL	5	18	5	3	10	21	33	−12	18	1.00
43		Bulgaria	UEFA	7	26	3	8	15	22	53	−31	17	0.65
44		Ivory Coast	CAF	4	13	5	1	7	18	18	0	16	1.23
45		Algeria	CAF	5	17	4	4	9	18	28	−10	16	0.94
46		Iran	AFC	7	21	3	7	11	16	34	−18	16	0.76
47		Saudi Arabia	AFC	7	22	4	4	14	15	49	−34	16	0.73
48		Republic of Ireland	UEFA	3	13	2	8	3	10	10	0	14	1.08
49		South Africa	CAF	4	13	3	5	5	13	20	−7	14	1.08
50		Northern Ireland	UEFA	3	13	3	5	5	13	23	−10	14	1.08
51		Tunisia	CAF	7	21	3	5	13	16	38	−22	14	0.67
52		East Germany	UEFA	1	6	2	2	2	5	5	0	8	1.33
53		Egypt	CAF	4	12	1	5	6	13	19	−6	8	0.67
54		Greece	UEFA	3	10	2	2	6	5	20	−15	8	0.80
55		Ukraine	UEFA	1	5	2	1	2	5	7	−2	7	1.40
56		Bosnia and Herzegovina	UEFA	2	7	2	1	4	9	12	−3	7	1.00
57		Wales	UEFA	2	8	1	4	3	5	10	−5	7	0.88
58		Canada	CONCACAF	3	11	2	1	8	11	18	−7	7	0.64
59		Slovenia	UEFA	2	6	1	1	4	5	10	−5	4	0.67
60		Cuba	CONCACAF	1	3	1	1	1	5	12	−7	4	1.33
61		Zaire / DR Congo	CAF	2	7	1	1	5	5	19	−14	4	0.57
62		North Korea	AFC	2	7	1	1	5	6	21	−15	4	0.57
63		New Zealand	OFC	3	9	0	4	5	8	24	−16	4	0.44
64		Cape Verde	CAF	1	4	0	3	1	4	5	−1	3	0.75
65		Jamaica	CONCACAF	1	3	1	0	2	3	9	−6	3	1.00
66		Honduras	CONCACAF	3	9	0	3	6	3	14	−11	3	0.33
67		Angola	CAF	1	3	0	2	1	1	2	−1	2	0.67
68		Israel	UEFA	1	3	0	2	1	1	3	−2	2	0.67
69		Iceland	UEFA	1	3	0	1	2	2	5	−3	1	0.33
70		Kuwait	AFC	1	3	0	1	2	2	6	−4	1	0.33
71		Trinidad and Tobago	CONCACAF	1	3	0	1	2	0	4	−4	1	0.33
72		Curaçao	CONCACAF	1	3	0	1	2	1	9	−8	1	0.33
73		Qatar	AFC	2	6	0	1	5	3	17	−14	1	0.17
74		Bolivia	CONMEBOL	3	6	0	1	5	1	20	−19	1	0.17
75		Jordan	AFC	1	3	0	0	3	3	8	−5	0	0.00
76		Togo	CAF	1	3	0	0	3	1	6	−5	0	0.00
77		Indonesia (Dutch Wast Indies)	AFC	1	1	0	0	1	0	6	−6	0	0.00
78		United Arab Emirates	AFC	1	3	0	0	3	2	11	−9	0	0.00
79		Uzbekistan	AFC	1	3	0	0	3	2	11	−9	0	0.00
80		China PR	AFC	1	3	0	0	3	0	9	−9	0	0.00
81		Panama	CONCACAF	2	6	0	0	6	2	15	−13	0	0.00
82		Iraq	AFC	2	6	0	0	6	2	16	−14	0	0.00
83		Haiti	CONCACAF	2	6	0	0	6	4	22	−18	0	0.00
84		El Salvador	CONCACAF	2	6	0	0	6	1	22	−21	0	0.00

What the All-Time Table Tells Us

Brazil’s position at the top is built on consistency as much as brilliance. They are the only nation to have appeared at all 23 World Cup finals, and their 2.16 points per game is the best of any country with a meaningful sample of matches. Germany, counting the West Germany era, sit second on 232 points, with Argentina third despite having played 23 fewer finals matches than the Germans.

England’s record places them sixth, with 131 points from 79 matches across 17 tournaments. Their 23 draws are the most of any nation in World Cup finals history, a statistic that says plenty about a habit of taking strong sides to tournaments and falling short in fine margins.

The Netherlands Anomaly

The most striking entry in the top ten belongs to the Netherlands. Their 1.90 points per game is higher than that of four World Cup-winning nations: Argentina, Italy, France and England. Three lost finals, in 1974, 1978 and 2010, mean the Dutch remain the best team never to have won the tournament by almost any statistical measure. Every nation above them in the PPG rankings has lifted the trophy, as the full list of FIFA World Cup winners confirms.

Confederation Strength

UEFA dominates the table by volume, providing the majority of the 84 nations and most of the top 25. CONMEBOL punches far above its weight at the very top, with Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay all in the top nine despite South America sending far fewer teams to each tournament historically. The strongest AFC record belongs to South Korea, 27th overall, while Morocco lead the African contingent in 29th following their semi-final run in 2022.

The Class of 2026

The expanded 48-team format brought four debutants into the table: Jordan, Uzbekistan, Cape Verde and Curaçao. Cape Verde made the strongest first impression, taking three draws from their four matches so far. The tournament has also allowed established nations to climb, and every match in the knockout rounds will keep shifting the standings until the final. You can follow how each result feeds into this table via our 2026 World Cup fixtures and stats page.

FIFA World Cup Performance Records FAQs

Here are answers to the most common questions about the all-time World Cup finals performance table.

Which nation has the best World Cup finals record?

Brazil have the best record in World Cup finals history. They have played at all 23 tournaments from 1930 to 2026, winning 79 of their 119 matches and accumulating 257 points at 2.16 points per game, all comfortably ahead of second-placed Germany.

How many nations have played at the World Cup finals?

84 nations have appeared at the World Cup finals between 1930 and 2026. The expansion to 48 teams in 2026 added four first-time qualifiers: Jordan, Uzbekistan, Cape Verde and Curaçao.

How are the points in the table calculated?

Points are awarded at 3 for a win and 1 for a draw for every World Cup finals match since 1930, applied retrospectively to tournaments played under the old 2-points-for-a-win system. Matches settled on penalties are counted as draws.

Which is the best team never to win the World Cup?

By points per game, the Netherlands. Their 1.90 PPG is better than several nations who have won the trophy, but three defeats in finals, in 1974, 1978 and 2010, leave them as the highest-ranked nation without a title.

Does the table include the 2026 World Cup?

Yes. The table is updated after every round of the 2026 tournament, with competing nations shown in bold. Statistics are currently correct to 7 July 2026 and will be finalised after the final on 19 July.

For more all-time tournament records, including winning managers, winning kits and the clubs that produced World Cup winners, visit our FIFA All-Time World Cup hub.

About the author: Paul Yarden

Paul Yarden founded MyFootballFacts (MFF) in April 2009, after decades of collecting football data and statistics. A devout football fan, Paul follows the beautiful game around the world. As MFF’s main statistician and chief editor, he creates data reviews, daily football quizzes, and writes numerous articles. Renowned for his ability to spot trends, Paul is often described as a walking…

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