query: when did world cup expand to 32 teams

pos: History of the FIFA World Cup as earning the Bronze Ball award. He led Bulgaria to a shock 2-1 win over defending champions Germany in the quarter-finals, before losing 2–1 to Italy and losing the third place play-off to Sweden, 4–0. The 1998 World Cup was held in France, and had an expanded format featuring 32 teams. Iran beat the Maldives in qualification by the widest margin in World Cup history – 17–0. In the finals, the second round match between France and Paraguay witnessed the first golden goal in World Cup history, as Laurent Blanc scored to give the hosts a 1–0 victory. Hosts France

pos: 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification The 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification competition was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. Each confederation — the AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean), CONMEBOL (South America), OFC (Oceania), and UEFA (Europe) — was allocated a certain number of the 32 places at the tournament. A total of 174 teams entered the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds, competing for a total of 32 spots in the final tournament. The 1998 FIFA World Cup featured 32 teams, with two places reserved for France and Brazil as host

pos: National team appearances in the FIFA World Cup National team appearances in the FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA, Fédération Internationale de Football Association). The championship has been awarded every four years since the inaugural tournament in 1930, with the exception of 1942 and 1946 when it was not held due to the Second World War. The competition originally featured 16 teams, and later 24, before settling on its current format of 32 teams starting with the 1998 tournament. Teams initially compete in

pos: 2002 FIFA World Cup Group A draw with Uruguay. Uruguay, as dark horses of the group, never really got going, their high point being a goalless draw with a sub-par France side. However, they did manage to put three goals past Senegal in a high-scoring draw, but their loss to Denmark in their opening game had dashed any hopes they may have had of qualifying for the Round of 16. "All times local (UTC+9)" 2002 FIFA World Cup Group A The 2002 FIFA World Cup featured 32 teams divided into eight lettered groups. Group A comprised 1998 winners, France, two-time winners Uruguay, Denmark and FIFA World

pos: African nations at the FIFA World Cup World Cup in a qualification process that doubled as one for the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations. In the final qualification round, teams were organized into five groups of six teams, with winners qualifying for the World Cup and the top three for the continental tournament. More matches were needed to qualify – while at both the 1998 and 2002 32-team World Cups, 3 of the 5 African teams played only 6 matches to get to the finals, here 3 of the 5 teams that qualified played 12 matches. Four of Africa's five representatives to the 2006 FIFA World Cup

pos: 1998 FIFA World Cup seeding 1998 FIFA World Cup seeding To calculate the seeding for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, FIFA used the FIFA World Rankings in combination with performances of national teams in the three previous World Cups. For the ranking part, points were allocated on the basis of 32 for the best achieving of the 32 qualifiers for 1998 FIFA World Cup in each of the three fields considered, down to one for the lowest ranking. For the World Cup performance part, points were allocated as follows: The seedings table uses these points obtained from the 1986 FIFA World Cup, 1990 FIFA World

pos: 2006 FIFA World Cup seeding farther than the seedings predicted, Portugal going on to reach the semi-finals. 2006 FIFA World Cup seeding To calculate the seeding for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, FIFA used the FIFA World Rankings in combination with performances of national teams in the two previous World Cups. Points were allocated on the basis of 32 for the best achieving of the 32 qualifiers for 2006 FIFA World Cup in each of the five fields considered, down to one for the lowest ranking. The seedings table uses these points obtained from the 1998 FIFA World Cup and the 2002 FIFA World Cup

pos: 2006 FIFA World Cup seeding 2006 FIFA World Cup seeding To calculate the seeding for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, FIFA used the FIFA World Rankings in combination with performances of national teams in the two previous World Cups. Points were allocated on the basis of 32 for the best achieving of the 32 qualifiers for 2006 FIFA World Cup in each of the five fields considered, down to one for the lowest ranking. The seedings table uses these points obtained from the 1998 FIFA World Cup and the 2002 FIFA World Cup averaged in a 1:2 ratio respectively, added to the average amount of

pos: 2002 FIFA World Cup seeding 2002 FIFA World Cup seeding To calculate the seeding for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, FIFA used the FIFA World Rankings in combination with performances of national teams in the three previous World Cups. The formula is virtually identical with the one used for the 1998 FIFA World Cup seeding. For the ranking part, points were allocated on the basis of 32 for the best achieving of the 32 qualifiers for 2002 FIFA World Cup in each of the three fields considered, down to one for the lowest ranking. For the World Cup performance part, points were allocated as follows:

pos: 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification nation and defending champions, respectively. The remaining 30 places were determined by a qualification process, in which the other 174 teams, from the six FIFA confederations, competed. "12 of the 32 teams subsequently failed to qualify for the 2002 finals: Austria, Bulgaria, Chile, Colombia, Iran, Jamaica, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Scotland and Yugoslavia." The distribution by confederation for the 1998 FIFA World Cup was: A total of 36 teams entered the competition. The Asian zone was allocated 3.5 places (out of 32) in the final tournament. There were three rounds of play: A total of 38 CAF teams entered the

pos: 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL) 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL) Listed below are the dates and results for the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for the South American zone (CONMEBOL). For an overview of the qualification rounds, see the article "1998 FIFA World Cup qualification". A total of 10 CONMEBOL teams entered the competition. The South American zone was allocated 5 places (out of 32) in the final tournament. Brazil, the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 4 spots open for competition between 9 teams. This was the first World Cup qualifying competition to involve all of the yet-unqualified teams in the confederation playing

pos: 1998 FIFA World Cup squads 1998 FIFA World Cup squads The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the senior men's teams of the national associations affiliated to FIFA (the International Federation of Association Football). The tournament was played in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998 and featured 32 teams divided into eight groups of four. Each team was required to submit a squad of 22 players – numbered sequentially from 1 to 22 – from whom they would select their teams for each match at the tournament, with the final squads to be

pos: 1994 FIFA World Cup the smaller venues of Europe and Latin America. To this day, the total attendance for the final tournament of nearly 3.6 million remains the highest in World Cup history, despite the expansion of the competition from 24 to 32 teams at the 1998 World Cup in France. Germany, Brazil, Argentina, Belgium, Italy and the United States were seeded for the final draw, which took place in Las Vegas on 19 December 1993. The format of the competition stayed the same as in the 1990 World Cup: 24 teams qualified, divided into six groups of four. Sixteen teams would qualify for

pos: 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA) 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA) Listed below are the dates and results for the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for the European zone (UEFA). A total of 50 UEFA teams entered the competition; Andorra, which joined FIFA and UEFA in November 1996 while the qualifiers were underway, could not enter. The European zone was allocated 15 places (out of 32) in the final tournament. France, the hosts, qualified automatically, leaving 14 spots open for competition between 49 teams. The 49 teams were divided into nine groups, four groups of six teams and five groups of five teams. The

pos: 1994 FIFA World Cup the knockout phase: the six group winners, the six group runners-up, and the four third-placed teams with the best records. This was the last time this format was used, due to the expansion of the finals tournament in 1998 to 32 teams. This World Cup was the first in which three points were awarded for a win instead of two. FIFA instituted this feature to encourage attacking football after the defensive display of many teams at Italia '90. The tournament saw the end of Diego Maradona's World Cup career, having played in the 1982, 1986, and 1990 World Cups, and

pos: 1998 FIFA World Cup Group C to France. Mohammed Al-Khilaiwi was sent off in the 19th minute after tripping Bixente Lizarazu from behind. Zinedine Zidane was ejected at the 71st minute when he appeared to plant his cleats into the side of Saudi captain Fuad Anwar after they collided going for a ball. 1998 FIFA World Cup Group C At the 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 32 teams were divided into eight groups of four, labelled A–H. Group C was composed of Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Denmark and host nation France. Denmark and France started well, defeating Saudi Arabia and South Africa respectively. Next, France scored

pos: South Africa at the FIFA World Cup the final phase (officially called the "World Cup Finals"). The qualification phase, which currently take place over the three years preceding the Finals, is used to determine which teams qualify for the Finals. The current format of the Finals involves 32 teams competing for the title, at venues within the host nation (or nations) over a period of about a month. The World Cup Finals is the most widely viewed sporting event in the world, with an estimated 715.1 million people watching the 2006 tournament final. South Africa have appeared in the FIFA World Cup on three occasions in 1998,

neg: 2022 FIFA World Cup area is Switzerland, host of the 1954 FIFA World Cup, which is more than three times as large as Qatar and only needed to host 16 teams instead of the current 32. On 12 April 2018, CONMEBOL requested that FIFA expand the 2022 FIFA World Cup from 32 to 48 teams, four years before the 2026 FIFA World Cup as initially planned. FIFA President Gianni Infantino expressed willingness to consider the request. However, the FIFA congress rejected the request shortly before the beginning of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Infantino said the global football governing body would not discuss the

neg: 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup The 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup will be the 18th tournament of the FIBA Basketball World Cup for men's national basketball teams. The tournament will be hosted in China and it will mark a new era for the competition as described. Rescheduled from 2018 to 2019, this edition will be the first FIBA Basketball World Cup since 1967 that will not occur in the same year as the FIFA World Cup, but a year following the latter. Also, the group stage will expand from 24 to 32 teams. The top 8 teams, including Japan as

neg: 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification However, FIFA general secretary Jérôme Valcke said that expansion in 2018 would be "unlikely", while Russian sports minister Vitaly Mutko said that the country was "preparing on the basis that 32 teams will be taking part." Expansion was ultimately delayed until 10 January 2017, when the FIFA Council voted unanimously to expand to 48 teams starting in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. While all FIFA members entered the tournament, not all competed. Zimbabwe were expelled from the competition on 12 March 2015 for their failure to pay former coach José Claudinei a severance fee and Indonesia were excluded from the

neg: FIBA Basketball World Cup two group stages followed by a four-team knockout tournament to determine the medalists. The 2002 tournament expanded the knockout round to eight teams. In 2006, FIBA made the decision to expand back to 24 teams and introduced the format that was in place through 2014. Under that format, the teams were divided into four preliminary round groups of six teams each. In 2019, the final tournament will expand to 32 teams. If the teams should be tied at the end of the preliminary round, the ties are broken by the following criteria in order: The top four teams in each

neg: FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification championship will be moved to 2019, the field will expand to 32 teams, and that a new qualification format will be used. Qualification for the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup and all succeeding world cups will see one path of qualification for teams from Asia and Oceania, that the home-and-away system will be used, and that the continental championships will be held quadrennially instead of biennially, and those would no longer be used as qualification tournaments. The berth for the Olympic champion and hosts will still be retained. These are the number of teams that participated in all levels of

neg: FIFA World Cup Cup to 40 national associations, increasing the number of participants by eight. Platini said that he would allocate an additional berth to UEFA, two to the Asian Football Confederation and the Confederation of African Football, two shared between CONCACAF and CONMEBOL, and a guaranteed place for the Oceania Football Confederation. Platini was clear about why he wanted to expand the World Cup. He said: "[The World Cup is] not based on the quality of the teams because you don't have the best 32 at the World Cup ... but it's a good compromise. ... It's a political matter so why

neg: 2002 FIFA World Cup (video game) a steeper learning curve and customisation of the chances of being penalised by the match referee. Some kits are licensed, along with player likeness and the stadia of the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Unlike the previous games in the FIFA series, the game had an original soundtrack performed by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. It was released for Windows, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube, and Xbox. The game features each of the 32 teams that qualified for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, and 9 teams that did not qualify. Qualified teams: Teams that did not qualify: "2002 FIFA World Cup" was

neg: 2014 FIFA World Cup failed to qualify for the first time since 1994. This was also the first World Cup for 32 years that did not feature a representative from the Nordic countries. The highest ranked team not to qualify was Ukraine (ranked 16th), while the lowest ranked team that did qualify was Australia (ranked 62nd). The 32 participating teams were drawn into eight groups. In preparation for this, the teams were organised into four pots with the seven highest-ranked teams joining host nation Brazil in the seeded pot. As with the previous tournaments, FIFA aimed to create groups which maximised geographic separation and

neg: 2026 FIFA World Cup A desire to increase the number of participants in the tournament from the previous 32 team format was announced on October 4, 2016. Four expansion options were considered: On January 10, 2017, the FIFA Council voted unanimously to expand to a 48-team tournament. The tournament will open with a group stage consisting of 16 groups of three teams, with the top two teams progressing from each group to a knockout tournament starting with a round of 32 teams. The number of games played overall will increase from 64 to 80, but the number of games played by finalists remains at

neg: History of the FIBA Basketball World Cup three tournaments. The USA would go on to stop Turkey's Cinderella run in the final, becoming the first team to win four World Championships in the process. The 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup was awarded to Spain, the first time that Europe had hosted consecutive championships. Although currently the tournament is projected to have the same format, FIBA Secretary-General Patrick Baumann held out the prospect that the tournament will expand to 32 teams in a statement during the 2010 tournament. The 2014 newly named FIBA World Cup witnessed USA dominating the tournament and fielding a perfect 9-0 record en route

neg: 1934 FIFA World Cup qualification World Cup qualifiers". 11-2 on aggregate; Egypt qualified. Only six of the teams qualifying for the final competition – Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, France, Romania, and the USA – had already attended the World Cup in 1930. 5 of the 16 teams subsequently failed to qualify for the 1938 finals: Argentina, Austria, Egypt, Spain and United States. 1934 FIFA World Cup qualification The 1934 FIFA World Cup was the first World Cup for which teams had to qualify. In the inaugural World Cup of 1930, the participating teams were invited to play by FIFA.) When 32 teams entered the 1934 competition,

neg: 1934 FIFA World Cup qualification 1934 FIFA World Cup qualification The 1934 FIFA World Cup was the first World Cup for which teams had to qualify. In the inaugural World Cup of 1930, the participating teams were invited to play by FIFA.) When 32 teams entered the 1934 competition, FIFA organized qualification (or preliminary) rounds to select 16 teams for the final tournament. Even Italy, the host of the World Cup, had to qualify (the only time the hosts had to qualify, and one of only two occasions on which the hosts have ever taken part in the qualification process), The previous champions, Uruguay, refused

neg: 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. The 2014 FIFA World Cup featured 32 teams, with one place reserved for the host nation, Brazil. The remaining 31 places were determined by a qualification process, in which the other 207 teams, from the six FIFA confederations, competed. Most of the successful teams were determined within these confederations, with a limited number of inter-confederation play-offs occurring at the end of the process. Bhutan, Brunei, Guam and Mauritania did not enter, and South Sudan joined FIFA after the

neg: 1974 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA) 1974 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA) Listed below are the dates and results for the 1974 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for the European zone (UEFA). For an overview of the qualification rounds, see the article "1974 FIFA World Cup qualification". A total of 32 UEFA teams entered the competition. The European zone was allocated 9.5 places (out of 16) in the final tournament. West Germany, the hosts, qualified automatically, leaving 8.5 spots open for competition between 32 teams. The 32 teams were divided into 9 groups of 3 or 4 teams each (four groups with 3 teams and five

neg: History of association football post-war World Cup in 1950, held in Brazil. FIFA, meanwhile, continued to expand so that by the time of its fiftieth anniversary it had 84 members. The first Football World Cup was played in Uruguay in 1930. In the first championship match between Argentina and Uruguay, the teams could not decide on a ball so they used Argentina's ball the first half and Uruguay's in the second. Many countries did not enter, but most of those that did came from the Americas. By 1950 however, European teams took interest, and the competition blossomed into the world's biggest footballing and sporting

neg: Dane Spencer for the 2007 World Cup season, but did not race again until the following season. Following the injury, Spencer did not regain his previous form and struggled for results. He started only a handful of World Cup events and retired from racing following the 2010 season at age 32. Spencer became a coach with the U.S. Ski Team that summer and assisted with the Europa Cup and World Cup teams during the 2011 season. He was named an assistant coach for the U.S. men's World Cup team for the 2012 season, under men's head coach Forest Carey. Dane Spencer Dane

neg: FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup was not granted a consistent quadrennial cycle until 1967. After the 1983 event, FIBA changed the scheduling so that the women's tournament would be held in even-numbered non-Olympic years, a change that had come to the men's tournament in 1970. The number of participating women's FIBA teams has remained at 16, unlike the men's event, which has been expanded to 24 and will expand further to 32 in 2019. Only four nations have won titles in the history of the Women's World Cup. The United States has won the title ten times, including seven of the last nine. The Soviet

neg: 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification The 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification process will determine 31 out of the 32 teams that will participate at the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup. The continental championships will no longer belong to the qualification system for the World Cup. Instead, two rounds of continental qualifying tournaments will be held over two years in a home-and-away format. The first round of the qualifiers were held in late 2017 and early 2018. The Americas, Asia / Oceania and Africa qualifiers featured 16 teams each, whereas Europe had 32 teams. Division A teams was split

neg: Wild card (sports) select wild cards, as the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup would no longer have wild cards when it expands to 32 teams. The perennial top two FIBA Oceania team namely Australia and New Zealand as wild card teams of FIBA Asia Cup 2017 in Lebanon. These two teams are also part of FIBA Asia in Basketball tournaments including FIBA World Qualifying Tournament for FIBA World Cup 2019 in China. Rugby union's analogue to the Euroleague is the European Rugby Champions Cup, which replaced the previous top-level club competition, the Heineken Cup, starting with the 2014–15 season. The Champions Cup maintains

neg: Economics of the FIFA World Cup $15bn spent by Brazil on the 2014 World Cup., FIFA has budgeted spending $791m on teams and players - includng prize money, compensation, insurance for players injured on national-team duty, and the preparation costs for the 32 teams featured Gains probable despite sponsorship struggles for what is overwhelmingly the main source of income for the world governing body of football. The 2010 FIFA World Cup was held in South Africa, for the first time in the tournament's history. Even though it may not attract as many foreign visitors as the USA and Germany World Cups, it did have an economic

neg: Women's Hockey World Cup World Cups have featured 12 nations. The World Cup will expand to 16 teams again in 2018, and the FIH will evaluate the possibility of increasing it to 24 in 2022. The 2018 tournament was held in London, England from 21 of July to 5 August, with Netherlands winning a second consecutive title and a record eighth title after beating Ireland 6–0 in the final. Argentina, Germany and the Netherlands are the only teams to have competed at each World Cup; 28 teams have competed in at least one World Cup. Women's Hockey World Cup The Women's Hockey World Cup

neg: History of the FIFA World Cup History of the FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup was first held in 1930, when FIFA, the world's football governing body, decided to stage an international men’s football tournament under the era of FIFA president Jules Rimet who put this idea into place. The inaugural edition, held in 1930, was contested as a final tournament of only thirteen teams invited by the organization. Since then, the World Cup has experienced successive expansions and format remodeling, with its current 32-team final tournament preceded by a two-year qualifying process, involving over 200 teams from around the world. The first official international

neg: FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification the 1994 FIBA World Championship in Canada. This setup continued until the 2002 FIBA World Championship in the USA which were also the Olympic champions; the supposed berth for the Olympic champions were instead given to Americas, the USA's home zone. In the 2006 FIBA World Championship in Japan that saw the field expand to 24 teams, with four invited teams popularly called as "wild cards" were invited by FIBA. This setup will last until 2014, when FIBA announced that they were renaming the competition as the "FIBA Basketball World Cup". In 2012, FIBA announced that the supposed 2018 world

neg: 2023 Rugby World Cup host cities were selected. This list was later reduced to 9 cities (excluding Paris, Montpellier and Lens) : The Rugby World Cup may expand from its current 20 teams for the 2023 tournament. A total of 12 teams will have gained automatic qualification to the tournament after finishing in the top three of their pool at the 2019 Rugby World Cup. while France automatically qualifies as host. The below table shows the qualified teams with their World Rankings as of first tournament date (8 September 2023): 2023 Rugby World Cup The 2023 Rugby World Cup, to be hosted by France,

neg: Trinidad and Tobago at the FIFA World Cup Cup Finals"). The qualification phase, which currently take place over the three years preceding the Finals, is used to determine which teams qualify for the Finals. The current format of the Finals involves 32 teams competing for the title, at venues within the host nation (or nations) over a period of about a month. The World Cup Finals is the most widely viewed sporting event in the world, with an estimated 715.1 million people watching the 2006 tournament final. Trinidad and Tobago have qualified for the final stages of the FIFA World Cup on one occasion, in 2006, when they

neg: 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification competition was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. Each confederation — the AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean), CONMEBOL (South America), OFC (Oceania), and UEFA (Europe) — was allocated a certain number of the 32 places at the tournament. A total of 197 teams entered the qualification process for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, for the first time ever, the defending champion (Brazil) did not qualify automatically. The hosts (Germany) retained their automatic spot. In 1934, the defending champions (Uruguay) declined

neg: Paraguay at the FIFA World Cup qualify for the Finals. The current format of the Finals involves 32 teams competing for the title, at venues within the host nation (or nations) over a period of about a month. The World Cup Finals is the most widely viewed sporting event in the world, with an estimated 715.1 million people watching the 2006 tournament final. Paraguay have appeared in the finals of the World Cup on eight occasions, the first being at the very first finals in 1930, where they finished in 11th position. Their last participation in the FIFA World Cup was in 2010. They did not

neg: Oceanian nations at the FIFA World Cup of the most memorable matches by many of the retired Australian and Iranian football players. At the time the crowd that packed the MCG was the highest ever for an association football match in Australia. A total of 10 teams entered the 2002 World Cup competition. The Oceanian zone was allocated 0.5 places (out of 32) in the final tournament. American Samoa first time participated at the FIFA World Cup qualification. New Caladonia, Papua New Guinea did not enter. Australia again won the qualifying tournament for 2002 FIFA World Cup. Second and third-string line-ups thrashed a number of tiny island

neg: 2010 FIFA World Cup Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane and the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit hosted four matches each, but did not host any knockout-stage matches. The following stadiums were all upgraded to meet FIFA specifications: The base camps are used by 32 national squads to stay and train before and during the World Cup tournament. In February 2010, FIFA announced the base camps for each participating team. Fifteen teams were in Gauteng Province, while six teams were based in KwaZulu-Natal, four in the Western Cape, three in North West Province and one each in Mpumalanga, the Eastern Cape and the Northern Cape. The FIFA

neg: 1954 FIFA World Cup Final 1938. The 1954 tournament is the only FIFA World Cup thus far in which two teams from Central Europe contested the final, with another Central European team, that of Austria, finishing third in the competition. It was the first final that the host nation did not reach. Hungary's legendary "Golden Team" – also known as the "Mighty Magyars" – was the favorite to win the 1954 World Cup. In the five years prior to the final, it had remained unbeaten in 31 games (32 if counting a match against East Germany in 1952 that is not considered an official international).

neg: 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification competition was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. Each confederation — the AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean), CONMEBOL (South America), OFC (Oceania), and UEFA (Europe) — was allocated a certain number of the 32 places at the tournament. 199 teams entered the tournament qualification rounds, competing for 32 spots in the final tournament. South Korea and Japan, as the co-hosts, and France, as the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 29 spots open for competition. "12 of the 32 teams subsequently

neg: Yokohama Municipal Subway the project's fate. Numerical designations for the stations on the Blue Line were introduced in 2002, coinciding with the city hosting the finals of the 2002 FIFA World Cup and the subway's 30th anniversary, starting from Shonandai station (1) to Azamino station (32). With 32 stations on the line and 32 teams in the World Cup, each station was themed after a country. Alphabetical designations were added when the Green Line opened. The Blue Line stations are B01 through B32, while G01 on the Green Line is Nakayama Station. At two stations—Center South Station and Center North Station—where both lines

neg: FIFA World Cup qualification for more places, as they are allocated only five in comparison to Europe's 13. In early October 2016, it was announced that the World Cup would have featured 40 teams starting with the 2026 tournament, then FIFA President Gianni Infantino stated his support for a 48-team World Cup, mainly to address African concerns. On 10 January 2017, the FIFA Council voted unanimously to expand the World Cup to a 48 team tournament that will open with a group stage consisting of 16 groups of three teams, with two teams progressing from each group to a knockout tournament starting with a

neg: 1998 FIFA World Cup 1978 after losing to Italy in the play-off round); and the Republic of Ireland, who had qualified for the previous two tournaments. As of 2018, this is the most recent time Austria, Scotland, Norway, Bulgaria, Romania, and Jamaica have qualified for a FIFA World Cup finals, as well as the last time Portugal missed out. The highest ranked team not to qualify was Czech Republic (ranked 3rd), while the lowest ranked team that did qualify was Nigeria (ranked 74th). The following 32 teams, shown with final pre-tournament rankings, qualified for the final tournament. France's bid to host the World Cup

neg: 2006 FIFA World Cup the lowest ranked team that did qualify was Togo (ranked 61st). The following 32 teams, shown with final pre-tournament rankings, qualified for the final tournament: In 2006, Germany had a plethora of football stadia that satisfied FIFA's minimum capacity of 40,000 seats for World Cup matches. The still-standing Olympiastadion in Munich (69,250), the venue for the 1974 final match was not used for the tournament, even though FIFA's regulations allow one city to use two stadia. Düsseldorf's LTU Arena (51,500), Bremen's Weserstadion (43,000) and Mönchengladbach's Borussia-Park (46,249) were also not used. Twelve stadia were selected to host the World Cup

neg: 2004 Sultan Qaboos Cup 2004 Sultan Qaboos Cup The 2004 Sultan Qaboos Cup was the 32nd edition of the Sultan Qaboos Cup (), the premier knockout tournament for football teams in Oman. The competition began on 15 September 2004 with the Round of 32 and concluded on 23 November 2004. Ruwi Club were the defending champions, having won their first title in 2003. On Tuesday 23 November 2004, Dhofar S.C.S.C. were crowned the champions of the 2004 Sultan Qaboos Cup when they defeated Muscat Club 1-0, hence winning the title for the sixth time. This year the tournament had 32 teams. 32 teams played

neg: EuroBasket 2021 qualification in the first round and the eight teams that played the second round and did not advance to the EuroBasket qualifiers. Only four teams will join the EuroBasket qualifiers. This round will be played in the August 2019. The four group winners from the second round; plus the four group winners from the third round and also the 24 teams who participated in the second round of the FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification will all participate in this stage. The 32 teams will be divided into eight groups of four teams, where the three first qualified of each group will

neg: Timeline of association football jerseys the FIFA badge of World champions. CONCACAF Champions Cup is replaced by the CONCACAF Champions League, modelled after the UEFA Champions League expand his participant teams from 8 to 24. The FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup is played for the first time in New Zealand, won by Korea DPR. The Women's Viva World Cup, the first World Cup for women's national teams not affiliated to FIFA, is played for the first time, hosted and won by Sapmi. The FIFA Confederations Cup is won by Brazil and is held in South Africa (for the first time a FIFA tournament for

neg: Soccer For Peace Jewish and Arab youth, took place in August 2005 in north central Israel, and it has held an overnight camp in every summer since though its size, length and location has varied. In 2007 it introduced an after school program, wherein camp participants would join others for additional training, educational sessions and league play. Its long-term vision is to expand its activities around the world. In 2008 The Soccer for Peace Cup brought together about 300 players from 32 teams in New York City. It was an all day soccer tournament which recruited 10- and 11-year-old Arab and Jewish children.

neg: 2018 FIFA World Cup The finals involved 32 teams, of which 31 came through qualifying competitions, while the host nation qualified automatically. Of the 32 teams, 20 had also appeared in the previous tournament in 2014, while both Iceland and Panama made their first appearances at a FIFA World Cup. A total of 64 matches were played in 12 venues across 11 cities. The final took place on 15 July at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, between France and Croatia. France won the match 4–2 to claim their second World Cup title, marking the fourth consecutive title won by a European team. The bidding

neg: 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL) 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL) Listed below are the dates and results for the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for the South American zone (CONMEBOL). For an overview of the qualification rounds, see the article "2002 FIFA World Cup qualification". A total of 10 CONMEBOL teams entered the competition. The South American zone was allocated 4.5 places (out of 32) in the final tournament. The 10 teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The top 4 teams qualified. The 5th-placed team advanced to the CONMEBOL / OFC Intercontinental Play-off. The following five teams from CONMEBOL qualified

neg: 2008 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup all 32 matches. The 16 teams present at the finals in Brazil were split into 4 groups of 4 teams. Each team played the other 3 teams in its group in a round-robin format, with the top two teams advancing to the quarter finals. The quarter finals, semi finals and the final itself was played in the form of a knockout tournament. All matches are listed as local time in Marsielle, (UTC+1) 2008 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup The 2008 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup was the fourth edition of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, governed by FIFA. Previous

neg: 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA) 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA) Listed below are the dates and results for the 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for the European zone (UEFA) in association football. For an overview of the qualification rounds, see the article "1978 FIFA World Cup qualification". A total of 32 UEFA teams entered the competition. The European zone was allocated 9.5 places (out of 16) in the final tournament. West Germany, the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 8.5 spots open for competition between 31 teams. The 31 teams were divided into 9 groups of 3 or 4 teams each (five groups with

neg: 2018 FIFA World Cup seeding 2018 FIFA World Cup seeding The draw for the 2018 FIFA World Cup took place on 1 December 2017 at the State Kremlin Palace in Moscow, Russia. It determined the group in which each of the 32 qualified national teams will play in at the start of the tournament. The teams were divided into four pots of eight, with one team selected from each pot to form a group. Unlike previous editions of the World Cup, all pots were determined by each national team's October 2017 FIFA World Ranking, with Pot 1 containing the highest-ranked teams, Pot 2 containing the

neg: 1962 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL) 1962 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL) The South American section of the 1962 FIFA World Cup qualification saw 7 teams competing 3 berths in the finals. Among the 7 teams, Paraguay were drawn to play in the CONMEBOL / CCCF / NAFC Intercontinental Play-off. The remaining 6 teams were divided into 3 groups of 2 teams each. The teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winners would qualify. Brazil did not participate, as they were granted a spot in the finals after winning the 1958 World Cup and Chile did not participate, as hosts. Venezuela did

neg: 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup The 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup will be the 19th tournament of the FIBA Basketball World Cup for national men's basketball teams. This will be the second tournament under the new cycle which will start in 2019. It is also expected that there will be 32 teams in the tournament. As announced on 9 December 2017, this will be the first World Cup to be hosted by multiple nations: the Philippines, Japan, and Indonesia. It is the first World Cup to be hosted in Indonesia, and the second to be hosted in both the Philippines

neg: 2010 FIFA World Cup Jérôme Boateng and Kevin-Prince Boateng playing respectively. The 32 national teams involved in the tournament together played a total of 64 matches starting from the group stage matches and progressing to the knockout stage matches, with teams eliminated through the various progressive stages. Rest days were allocated during the various stages to allow players recovery during the tournament. Preliminary events were also held in celebration of the World Cup event. All times listed in the table below are in South African Standard Time (UTC+02). In the first round, or group stage, the 32 teams were divided into eight groups of

neg: 2006 FIFA World Cup over 50 players, and was selected based on performances from the second round onwards. A total of CHF332 million was awarded to the 32 teams participating in the tournament. Each team who entered the competition received CHF2 million, with the biggest prize being CHF24.5 million, awarded to the winner of the tournament. Below is a complete list of the prize money allocated: All 32 teams are ranked based on criteria which have been used by FIFA. A penalty shoot-out counts as a draw for both teams. The sponsors of the 2006 World Cup consisted of 15 FIFA Partners. 2006 FIFA

neg: 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Round 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Round The AFC Second Round of 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification began on 18 February 2004 and finished on 17 November 2004. The highest-ranked country in each group at the end of the stage progressed to the third round, where the eight remaining teams will be divided into two groups of four. The 32 teams (25 teams given a bye directly to the second round and 7 winners from the play-off round) were split into five groups of four teams each – with all teams playing home and away against each of

neg: 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification process was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations to decide 31 of the 32 teams which would play in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, with Russia qualifying automatically as hosts. All 210 remaining FIFA member associations were eligible to enter the qualifying process, and for the first time in World Cup history, all eligible national teams registered for the preliminary competition, but Zimbabwe and Indonesia were disqualified before playing their first matches. Bhutan, South Sudan, Gibraltar and Kosovo made their FIFA World Cup qualification debuts.

neg: FIFA World Cup preceding three years, to determine which teams qualify for the tournament phase, which is often called the "World Cup Finals". After this, 32 teams, including the automatically qualifying host nation(s), compete in the tournament phase for the title at venues within the host nation(s) over a period of about a month. The 21 World Cup tournaments have been won by eight national teams. Brazil have won five times, and they are the only team to have played in every tournament. The other World Cup winners are Germany and Italy, with four titles each; Argentina, France and inaugural winner Uruguay, with

neg: 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA) 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA) The European (UEFA) zone of qualification for the 1990 FIFA World Cup saw 32 teams competing for 13 places at the finals. UEFA members Italy qualified automatically as hosts of the finals. The qualification process started on 21 May 1988 and ended on 18 November 1989. Teams were drawn into seven groups, four groups of five teams and three of four teams. All seven group-winners qualified automatically, with the runners-up in the four groups containing five teams (Groups 3, 5, 6 and 7) also qualifying. The two best second-placed teams in the three groups

neg: 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL) for the final tournament. 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL) Listed below are the dates and results for the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for the South American zone (CONMEBOL). For an overview of the qualification rounds, see the article "2002 FIFA World Cup qualification". A total of 10 CONMEBOL teams entered the competition. The South American zone was allocated 4.5 places (out of 32) in the final tournament. The 10 teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The top 4 teams qualified. The 5th-placed team advanced to the CONMEBOL / OFC Intercontinental Play-off. The following five

neg: 2002 FIFA World Cup 2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organized by FIFA. It was held from 31 May to 30 June 2002 at sites in South Korea and Japan, with its final match hosted by Japan at International Stadium in Yokohama. A field of 32 teams qualified for this World Cup, which was the first to be held in Asia, the first to be held outside of the Americas or Europe, as well as the first to be jointly-hosted by more than one nation. China,

neg: 2006 FIFA World Cup of the 2006 World Cup began on 9 June. The 32 teams were divided into eight groups of four teams each, within which the teams competed in a round-robin tournament to determine which two of those four teams would advance to the sixteen-team knock-out stage, which started on 24 June. In total, 64 games were played. Although Germany failed to win the Cup, the tournament was considered a great success for Germany in general. Germany also experienced a sudden increase in patriotic spirit with flag waving, traditionally frowned upon by German society since World War II, whenever the German team

neg: 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup first stage, the 32 qualified teams will be sorted into eight groups of four (A–H), each team in a group will play each other once. The top two teams from each group will then advance to the second group stage. In the second group stage there will be four groups (I–L) of four made up of the teams that advanced from the first round, again playing each other once. The top two teams from groups I to L will qualify for the final knockout phase. 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup The 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup will be the 19th

neg: 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup was announced that China won the bid against the Philippines and will host the upcoming World Cup. China as hosts automatically qualified for the tournament. The continental championships will no longer belong to the qualification system for the World Cup. Instead, two rounds of continental qualifying tournaments will be held over two years. The first round of the Americas, Asia/Oceania and Africa qualifiers will feature 16 teams each, whereas Europe will have 32 teams. Division A teams will be split in groups of four, to be held in a home-and-away round-robin. The top three teams in each groups will advance

neg: Germany at the FIFA World Cup which teams qualify for the Finals. The current format of the Finals involves 32 teams competing for the title, at venues within the host nation (or nations) over a period of about a month. The World Cup Finals is the most widely viewed sporting event in the world, with an estimated 715.1 million people watching the 2006 tournament final. For Germany's World Cup history, FIFA considers only the teams managed by the Deutscher Fußball-Bund, comprising three periods: Germany (during Nazi era), West Germany and reunified Germany. The Germany national football team is one of the most successful national teams at

neg: 2016 PDC World Cup of Darts 2016 PDC World Cup of Darts The 2016 PDC World Cup of Darts was the sixth edition of the PDC World Cup of Darts. It took place between 2–5 June 2016 at the Eissporthalle in Frankfurt, Germany. England retained their title after beating the Netherlands 3–2 in the final. The tournament remained at 32 teams this year, but unlike recent years, only the top 8 teams are seeded, with the remaining 24 teams being unseeded in the first round. Like last year, there are no groups in 2016 with the tournament being a straight knockout. First round: Best of nine

neg: 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA) containing only four teams also qualified (Groups 1, 2 and 4). One second-placed team was therefore eliminated. The draw for the qualifying groups took place in Zürich, Switzerland on 12 December 1987. During the draw teams were drawn from the 5 pots into the 7 groups. The seedings below were announced ten days before the draw. Teams qualified to the final tournament are in bold. 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA) The European (UEFA) zone of qualification for the 1990 FIFA World Cup saw 32 teams competing for 13 places at the finals. UEFA members Italy qualified automatically as hosts

neg: 1950 FIFA World Cup qualification 1950 FIFA World Cup qualification A total of 34 teams entered the qualification rounds of the 1950 FIFA World Cup, competing for a total of 16 spots in the final tournament. Brazil, as the hosts, and Italy, as the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 14 spots open for competition. The remaining 32 teams were divided into 10 groups, based on geographical considerations, as follows: However, due to the withdrawals of India, Scotland and Turkey after qualifying, only 13 teams actually competed in the final tournament. A total of 19 teams played at least one qualifying match. A total of 26

neg: Brazil at the FIFA World Cup Brazil at the FIFA World Cup This articles summarizes the results and overall performance of Brazil at the FIFA World Cup. The tournament consists of two parts, the qualification phase and the final phase, officially called the World Cup Finals. The qualification phase, which currently takes place over the three years preceding the Finals, is used to determine which teams qualify for the Finals. The current format of the Finals involves 32 teams competing for the title, at venues within the host nation (or nations) over a period of about a month. The World Cup Finals is the most widely

neg: 2021 FIBA Asia Cup qualification Basketball World Cup. Teams that did not manage to advance to the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification First round and teams that did not participate in it, play in the first round of the pre-qualifiers. Teams from the Gulf Region will play in two different rounds, during the same second and third windows of FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Asian Qualifiers. The top two (2) teams will qualify to the Main Qualifiers. The First Round was held from 23–26 February in Bahrain, held during the second window of the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification First round. The Second

neg: Gianni Infantino his candidacy and submitted the required declarations of support. He promised to expand the FIFA World Cup to forty teams. On 26 February 2016, he was elected FIFA President for a period of three years. Swiss man Infantino holds dual citizenship through his parents. With his election, he became the first Italian to hold the Presidency of FIFA. In 2017, Infantino criticized the United States travel ban on several Muslim-majority nations. He said "When it comes to FIFA competitions, any team, including the supporters and officials of that team, who qualify for a World Cup need to have access to

neg: 2010 FIFA World Cup Tunisia and Croatia, both of whom had qualified for the previous three finals; Costa Rica, Ecuador, Poland and Sweden, who had qualified for the previous two editions; 2006 quarter-finalists Ukraine and Euro 2008 semi-finalists Russia and Turkey. The highest ranked team not to qualify was Croatia (ranked 10th), while the lowest ranked team that did qualify was North Korea (ranked 105th). , this was the last time South Africa, New Zealand, North Korea, Paraguay, Slovakia and Slovenia qualified for a FIFA World Cup finals. The following 32 teams, shown with final pre-tournament rankings, qualified for the final tournament. Five new

neg: 2018 FIFA World Cup at 18:00 MSK at the State Kremlin Palace in Moscow. The 32 teams were drawn into 8 groups of 4, by selecting one team from each of the 4 ranked pots. For the draw, the teams were allocated to four pots based on the FIFA World Rankings of October 2017. Pot 1 contained the hosts Russia (who were automatically assigned to position A1) and the best seven teams, pot 2 contained the next best eight teams, and so on for pots 3 and 4. This was different from previous draws, when only pot 1 was based on FIFA rankings while

neg: 2014 FIFA World Cup of the latter from the process, Brazil was officially elected as host nation unopposed on 30 October 2007. Following qualification matches played between June 2011 and November 2013, the following 32 teams – shown with their last pre-tournament FIFA world ranking – qualified for the final tournament. Twenty-four of these teams were returning participants from the 2010 World Cup. Bosnia and Herzegovina were the only team with no previous appearance at the World Cup finals. Colombia qualified for the World Cup after 16 years of absence, while the 2018 World Cup hosts Russia and Belgium returned after 12 years. Paraguay

neg: Sweden at the FIFA World Cup qualification phase and the final phase (officially called the "World Cup Finals"). The qualification phase, which currently take place over the three years preceding the Finals, is used to determine which teams qualify for the Finals. The current format of the Finals involves 32 teams competing for the title, at venues within the host nation (or nations) over a period of about a month. The World Cup Finals is the most widely viewed sporting event in the world, with an estimated 715.1 million people watching the 2006 tournament final. Sweden have been one of the more successful national teams in

neg: Italy at the FIFA World Cup three years preceding the Finals, is used to determine which teams qualify for the Finals. The current format of the Finals involves 32 teams competing for the title, at venues within the host nation (or nations) over a period of about a month. The World Cup Finals is the most widely viewed sporting event in the world, with an estimated 715.1 million people watching the 2006 tournament final. Italy is one of the most successful national teams in the history of the World Cup, having won four titles (1934, 1938, 1982, 2006), just one fewer than Brazil. The team was

neg: 2000 Rugby League World Cup to expand the format further, with the number of teams rising from 10 to 16. As before, an Emerging Nations Tournament was held alongside the main event. The millennium World Cup attracted a record sponsorship of over £1 million from Lincoln Financial Group, who had also sponsored Great Britain's Tests against New Zealand the previous autumn. The 2000 World Cup was not considered a great success. There were too many mismatches in the early stages, and some of the teams lacked credibility. Notably the inclusion of a side representing New Zealand's Māori population, Aotearoa Māori, alongside the full New Zealand

neg: 2002 FIFA World Cup and promote a festive atmosphere. During the flag art festival, hand-painted flags from global artists were displayed as a greeting to international guests in a manner that was designed to promote harmony (2002 Flag Art Festival Executive Committee). 2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organized by FIFA. It was held from 31 May to 30 June 2002 at sites in South Korea and Japan, with its final match hosted by Japan at International Stadium in Yokohama. A field of 32 teams qualified

neg: 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF) 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF) The Confederation of African Football (CAF) section of the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification saw 52 teams competing for 5 spots of the 32 spots in the final tournament in Brazil. Fifty-two out of the 53 national associations affiliated to CAF entered the qualifying to determine the continent’s five slots for the next World Cup. The proposed format, announced on 16 May 2011, began in November 2011 with the first round of 12 two-legged knock-out ties. The ties, involving the 24 lowest-ranked teams according to FIFA World Rankings, were drawn in Brazil on 30

neg: National team appearances in the FIBA Basketball World Cup time of the competition. This is a summary of the best performances of each confederation in each tournament. Note that most confederations did not exist until up to the 1960s, and that FIBA assigned teams to a specific continent when there were no confederations yet. This is a summary of the total number of participating teams by confederation in each tournament. The number of teams in the confederation of a host federation is boldfaced. National team appearances in the FIBA Basketball World Cup National team appearances in the FIBA Basketball World Cup are the number of appearances that individual country's

neg: Bulgaria at the FIFA World Cup The qualification phase, which currently take place over the three years preceding the Finals, is used to determine which teams qualify for the Finals. The current format of the Finals involves 32 teams competing for the title, at venues within the host nation (or nations) over a period of about a month. The World Cup Finals is the most widely viewed sporting event in the world, with an estimated 715.1 million people watching the 2006 tournament final. Bulgaria have appeared in the finals of the FIFA World Cup on seven occasions, the first being at the 1962 FIFA World Cup.

neg: Tunisia at the FIFA World Cup The qualification phase, which currently take place over the three years preceding the Finals, is used to determine which teams qualify for the Finals. The current format of the Finals involves 32 teams competing for the title, at venues within the host nation (or nations) over a period of about a month. The World Cup Finals is the most widely viewed sporting event in the world, with an estimated 715.1 million people watching the 2006 tournament final. Tunisia have appeared in the finals of the FIFA World Cup on five occasions, the first being at the 1978 FIFA World Cup

neg: Saudi Arabia at the FIFA World Cup parts, the qualification phase and the final phase (officially called the "World Cup Finals"). The qualification phase, which currently take place over the three years preceding the Finals, is used to determine which teams qualify for the Finals. The current format of the Finals involves 32 teams competing for the title, at venues within the host nation (or nations) over a period of about a month. The World Cup Finals is the most widely viewed sporting event in the world, with an estimated 715.1 million people watching the 2006 tournament final. Saudi Arabia have played in five FIFA World Cup

neg: Cuba at the FIFA World Cup qualification phase and the final phase (officially called the "World Cup Finals"). The qualification phase, which currently take place over the three years preceding the Finals, is used to determine which teams qualify for the Finals. The current format of the Finals involves 32 teams competing for the title, at venues within the host nation (or nations) over a period of about a month. The World Cup Finals is the most widely viewed sporting event in the world, with an estimated 715.1 million people watching the 2006 tournament final. Cuba has appeared in the Quarter-Finals of the FIFA World Cup

neg: Slovakia at the FIFA World Cup qualification phase and the final phase (officially called the "World Cup Finals"). The qualification phase, which currently take place over the three years preceding the Finals, is used to determine which teams qualify for the Finals. The current format of the Finals involves 32 teams competing for the title, at venues within the host nation (or nations) over a period of about a month. The World Cup Finals is the most widely viewed sporting event in the world, with an estimated 715.1 million people watching the 2006 tournament final. Slovakia have appeared in the finals of the FIFA World Cup

neg: Ukraine at the FIFA World Cup qualification phase and the final phase (officially called the "World Cup Finals"). The qualification phase, which currently take place over the three years preceding the Finals, is used to determine which teams qualify for the Finals. The current format of the Finals involves 32 teams competing for the title, at venues within the host nation (or nations) over a period of about a month. The World Cup Finals is the most widely viewed sporting event in the world, with an estimated 715.1 million people watching the 2006 tournament final. Ukraine have appeared in the finals of the FIFA World Cup

neg: Turkey at the FIFA World Cup qualification phase and the final phase (officially called the "World Cup Finals"). The qualification phase, which currently take place over the three years preceding the Finals, is used to determine which teams qualify for the Finals. The current format of the Finals involves 32 teams competing for the title, at venues within the host nation (or nations) over a period of about a month. The World Cup Finals is the most widely viewed sporting event in the world, with an estimated 715.1 million people watching the 2006 tournament final. Turkey have appeared in the finals of the FIFA World Cup

neg: Colombia at the FIFA World Cup qualification phase and the final phase (officially called the "World Cup Finals"). The qualification phase, which currently takes place over the three years preceding the Finals, is used to determine which teams qualify for the Finals. The current format of the Finals involves 32 teams competing for the title, at venues within the host nation (or nations) over a period of about a month. The World Cup Finals is the most widely viewed sporting event in the world, with an estimated 715.1 million people watching the 2006 tournament final. Colombia has appeared in the finals of the FIFA World Cup

neg: Costa Rica at the FIFA World Cup parts, the qualification phase and the final phase (officially called the "World Cup Finals"). The qualification phase, which currently take place over the three years preceding the Finals, is used to determine which teams qualify for the Finals. The current format of the Finals involves 32 teams competing for the title, at venues within the host nation (or nations) over a period of about a month. The World Cup Finals is the most widely viewed sporting event in the world, with an estimated 715.1 million people watching the 2006 tournament final. Costa Rica have qualified for five FIFA World Cup

neg: Haiti at the FIFA World Cup qualification phase and the final phase (officially called the "World Cup Finals"). The qualification phase, which currently take place over the three years preceding the Finals, is used to determine which teams qualify for the Finals. The current format of the Finals involves 32 teams competing for the title, at venues within the host nation (or nations) over a period of about a month. The World Cup Finals is the most widely viewed sporting event in the world, with an estimated 715.1 million people watching the 2006 tournament final. Haiti have appeared in the finals of the FIFA World Cup

neg: Senegal at the FIFA World Cup qualification phase and the final phase (officially called the "World Cup Finals"). The qualification phase, which currently take place over the three years preceding the Finals, is used to determine which teams qualify for the Finals. The current format of the Finals involves 32 teams competing for the title, at venues within the host nation (or nations) over a period of about a month. The World Cup Finals is the most widely viewed sporting event in the world, with an estimated 715.1 million people watching the 2006 tournament final. Senegal have appeared in the finals of the FIFA World Cup