European nations at the FIFA World Cup

This article is about the men's teams at the FIFA World Cup. For the women's teams at the FIFA Women's World Cup, see European nations at the FIFA Women's World Cup.

Association football is the most popular sport in nearly every European country, and UEFA is one of the six confederations of world football's governing body FIFA. UEFA contains 55 national association members, some of which are partially or entirely located in Asia. A total of 33 of the current members of UEFA have competed at the men's FIFA World Cup, while the defunct East Germany qualified once.

European nations have won the FIFA World Cup a record 12 times.

Overview

A red outline indicates a UEFA member nation(s) hosted that year's Cup. Numbers in parentheses indicate the total number of teams playing in that year's tournament.

	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)	2022 (32)	2026 (48)	2030 (48)	2034 (48)	Total
Teams																										260
Top 16	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	10[lower-alpha 1]	10	10	10	10	9	10	6	6	10	8				99
Top 8	—	8	6	—	6	7	6	5	4	6	5		5	6	7	6	4	6	3	4	6	5				105
Top 4	1	4	3	2	3	3	2	4	2	3	2	4	3	3	3	3	2	4	3	2	4	2				62
Top 2	0	2	2	0	2	1	1	2	1	2	1	2	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	1	2	1				29
1st																										12
2nd																										17
3rd																										17
4th																										15

Team	No.	Years	Best result
Germany[1]	20	1934, 1938, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022	1st
Italy	18	1934, 1938, 1950, 1954, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014	1st
France	16	1930, 1934, 1938, 1954, 1958, 1966, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022	1st
Spain	16	1934, 1950, 1962, 1966, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022	1st
England	16	1950, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022	1st
Belgium	14	1930, 1934, 1938, 1954, 1970, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2014, 2018, 2022	3rd
Serbia[2]	13	1930, 1950, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1974, 1982, 1990, 1998, 2006, 2010, 2018, 2022	4th
Switzerland	12	1934, 1938, 1950, 1954, 1962, 1966, 1994, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022	QF
Sweden	12	1934, 1938, 1950, 1958, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1990, 1994, 2002, 2006, 2018	2nd
Netherlands	11	1934, 1938, 1974, 1978, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2022	2nd
Russia[3]	11	1958, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 2002, 2014, 2018	4th
Czech Republic[4]	9	1934, 1938, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1970, 1982, 1990, 2006	2nd
Hungary	9	1934, 1938, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1978, 1982, 1986	2nd
Poland	9	1938, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 2002, 2006, 2018, 2022	3rd
Portugal	8	1966, 1986, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022	3rd
Scotland	8	1954, 1958, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1998	R1
Austria	7	1934, 1954, 1958, 1978, 1982, 1990, 1998	3rd
Bulgaria	7	1962, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1986, 1994, 1998	4th
Romania	7	1930, 1934, 1938, 1970, 1990, 1994, 1998	QF
Croatia	6	1998, 2002, 2006, 2014, 2018, 2022	2nd
Denmark	6	1986, 1998, 2002, 2010, 2018, 2022	QF
Northern Ireland	3	1958, 1982, 1986	QF
Republic of Ireland	3	1990, 1994, 2002	QF
Norway	3	1938, 1994, 1998	R2
Greece	3	1994, 2010, 2014	R2
Turkey	2	1954, 2002	3rd
Wales	2	1958, 2022	QF
Slovenia	2	2002, 2010	R1
Ukraine	1	2006	QF
East Germany	1	1974	R2
Slovakia	1	2010	R2
Bosnia and Herzegovina	1	2014	R1
Iceland	1	2018	R1
Israel[5]	1	(1970)	R1

• Bold indicates year(s) of best finish

Results

Tournament standings

Performance of each nation

Team	Champions	Final	Semi-finals	Quarter-finals	Second round
Germany[1]	4	8	13	17	9
Italy	4	6	8	8	7
France	2	4	7	9	7
England	1	1	3	10	9
Spain	1	1	2	5	9
Netherlands	0	3	5	7	7
Hungary	0	2	2	5	0
Czech Republic[4]	0	2	2	4	1
Sweden	0	1	4	6	4
Croatia	0	1	3	3	3
Serbia[2]	0	0	2	5	2
Belgium	0	0	2	3	7
Portugal	0	0	2	3	3
Austria	0	0	2	3	1
Poland	0	0	2	2	3
Russia[3]	0	0	1	5	3
Bulgaria	0	0	1	1	2
Turkey	0	0	1	1	1
Switzerland	0	0	0	3	5
Denmark	0	0	0	1	4
Republic of Ireland	0	0	0	1	3
Romania	0	0	0	1	3
Northern Ireland	0	0	0	1	1
Ukraine	0	0	0	1	1
East Germany[1]	0	0	0	1	0
Wales	0	0	0	1	0
Greece	0	0	0	0	1
Norway	0	0	0	0	1
Slovakia	0	0	0	0	1

• Quarter-finals = knockout round of 8: 1934–1938, 1954–1970, and 1986–present; second group stage, top 8: 1974–1978
• Second round = second group stage, top 12: 1982; knockout round of 16: 1986–present

Most finishes in the top four

Team	No.	Top four finishes
Germany[1]	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	7	1958, 1982, 1986, 1998, 2006, 2018, 2022
Netherlands	5	1974, 1978, 1998, 2010, 2014
Sweden	4	1938, 1950, 1958, 1994
England	3	1966, 1990, 2018
Croatia	3	1998, 2018, 2022
Serbia[2]	2	1930, 1962
Austria	2	1934, 1954
Czech Republic[4]	2	1934, 1962
Hungary	2	1938, 1954
Spain	2	1950, 2010
Portugal	2	1966, 2006
Poland	2	1974, 1982
Belgium	2	1986, 2018
Russia[3]	1	1966
Bulgaria	1	1994
Turkey	1	2002

Team results by tournament

The team ranking in each tournament is according to FIFA.^[6][7][8] 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.

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

FIFA World Cup results of UEFA members

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)	2018 (32)	2022 (32)	2026 (48)	2030 (48)	2034 (48)	Total	Qual. Comp.
Austria		4th	••[9]	×	3rd	R1 15th		•	•	•	R2 7th	R2 8th	•	R1 T-18th	•	R1 23rd	•	•	•	•	•	•	TBD	TBD	TBD	7	19
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	3rd	R1 23rd	TBD	TBD	TBD	14	21
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Part of Yugoslavia[2]														—	•	•	•	•	R1 20th	•	•	TBD	TBD	TBD	1	7
Bulgaria		•×	•		•	•	R1 15th	R1 15th	R1 13th	R1 12th	•	•	R2 15th	•	4th	R1 29th	•	•	•	•	•	•	TBD	TBD	TBD	7	20
Croatia	Part of Yugoslavia[2]														—	3rd	R1 23rd	R1 22nd	•	R1 19th	2nd	3rd	TBD	TBD	TBD	6	7
Czech Republic[4]		2nd	QF 5th		R1 14th	R1 9th	2nd	•	R1 15th	•	•	R1 19th	•	QF 6th	•	•	•	R1 20th	•	•	•	•	TBD	TBD	TBD	9	20
Denmark						•		•	•	•	•	•	R2 9th	•	•	QF 8th	R2 10th	•	R1 24th	•	R2 11th	R1 28th	TBD	TBD	TBD	6	16
East Germany[1]	Part of Germany			—		•	•	•	•	R2 6th	•	•	•	•	Part of Germany											1	9
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	4th	QF 6th	TBD	TBD	TBD	16	19
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	1st	2nd	TBD	TBD	TBD	16	22
Germany[1]		3rd	R1 10th		1st	4th	QF 7th	2nd	3rd	1st	R2 6th	2nd	2nd	1st	QF 5th	QF 7th	2nd	3rd	3rd	1st	R1 22nd	R1 17th	TBD	TBD	TBD	20	20
Greece		•×	•		•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	R1 24th	•	•	•	R1 25th	R2 13th	•	•	TBD	TBD	TBD	3	20
Hungary		QF 6th	2nd		2nd	R1 10th	QF 5th	QF 6th	•	•	R1 15th	R1 14th	R1 18th	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	TBD	TBD	TBD	9	20
Iceland	—				×	•				•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	R1 28th	•	TBD	TBD	TBD	1	14
Israel[10]		•	•	•	•	•	•	•	R1 12th	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	TBD	TBD	TBD	1	21
					member of AFC				OFC		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	•	•	TBD	TBD	TBD	18	21
Netherlands		R1 T-9th	R1 14th			•	•	•	•	2nd	2nd	•	•	R2 15th	QF 7th	4th	•	R2 11th	2nd	3rd	•	QF 5th	TBD	TBD	TBD	11	19
Northern Ireland	—			•	•	QF 8th	•	•	•	•	•	R2 9th	R1 21st	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	TBD	TBD	TBD	3	19
Norway			R1 12th		•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	R1 17th	R2 15th	•	•	•	•	•	•	TBD	TBD	TBD	3	19
Poland		•×	R1 11th		×	•	•	•	•	3rd	R2 5th	3rd	R2 14th	•	•	•	R1 25th	R1 21st	•	•	R1 25th	R2 15th	TBD	TBD	TBD	9	19
Portugal		•	•	•	•	•	•	3rd	•	•	•	•	R1 17th	•	•	•	R1 21st	4th	R2 11th	R1 18th	R2 13th	QF 8th	TBD	Q	TBD	8	21
Republic of Ireland[11]		•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	QF 8th	R2 16th	•	R2 12th	•	•	•	•	•	TBD	TBD	TBD	3	21
Romania	R1 8th	R1 12th	R1 9th		•	•	•	•	R1 T-10th	•	•	•	•	R2 12th	QF 6th	R2 11th	•	•	•	•	•	•	TBD	TBD	TBD	7	21
Russia[3]						QF 7th	QF 6th	4th	QF 5th	•×	•	R2 7th	R2 10th	R1 17th	R1 18th	•	R1 22nd	•	•	R1 24th	QF 8th	•×	TBD	TBD	TBD	11	17
Scotland	—			••	R1 15th	R1 14th	•	•	•	R1 9th	R1 11th	R1 15th	R1 19th	R1 T-18th	•	R1 27th	•	•	•	•	•	•	TBD	TBD	TBD	8	19
Serbia[2]	4th[12]	•	•	R1 5th	QF 7th	QF 5th	4th	•	•	R2 7th	•	R1 16th	•	QF 5th	×	R2 10th	•	R1 32nd	R1 23rd	•	R1 23rd	R1 29th	TBD	TBD	TBD	13	21
Slovakia	Part of Czechoslovakia[4]															•	•	•	R2 16th	•	•	•	TBD	TBD	TBD	1	7
Slovenia	Part of Yugoslavia[2]														—	•	R1 30th	•	R1 18th	•	•	•	TBD	TBD	TBD	2	7
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	R2 10th	R2 13th	TBD	Q	TBD	16	20
Sweden		QF 8th	4th	3rd	•	2nd	•	•	R1 9th	R2 5th	R1 13th	•	•	R1 21st	3rd	•	R2 13th	R2 14th	•	•	QF 7th	•	TBD	TBD	TBD	12	21
Switzerland		QF 7th	QF 7th	R1 6th	QF 8th	•	R1 16th	R1 16th	•	•	•	•	•	•	R2 15th	•	•	R2 10th	R1 19th	R2 11th	R2 14th	R2 12th	TBD	TBD	TBD	12	21
Turkey		×		••	R1 9th	×	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	3rd	•	•	•	•	•	TBD	TBD	TBD	2	18
Ukraine	Part of Soviet Union[3]														—	•	•	QF 8th	•	•	•	•	TBD	TBD	TBD	1	7
Wales	—			•	•	QF 6th	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	R1 30th	TBD	TBD	TBD	2	19

Legend

1st Champions 2nd Runners-up 3rd Third place 4th Fourth place QF Quarter-finals (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; 1986–2022: knockout round of 16) R1 Round 1 (1930, 1950–1970 and 1986–present: group stage; 1934–1938: knockout round of 16; 1974–1982: first group stage)

Q Qualified for upcoming tournament TBD To be determined (may still qualify for upcoming tournament) •• Qualified but withdrew • Did not qualify •× Withdrew or disqualified during qualification (after playing matches) × Withdrew before qualification / Banned / Entry not accepted by FIFA Hosts Did not enter — Not a FIFA member

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.

As of 2022 FIFA World Cup

Team	Part	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Germany[1]	20	112	68	21	23	231	130	+101	225
Italy	18	83	45	21	17	128	77	+51	156
France	16	73	39	14	20	136	85	+51	131
England	16	74	32	22	20	104	68	+36	118
Spain	16	67	31	17	19	108	75	+33	110
Netherlands	11	55	30	14	11	96	52	+44	104
Belgium	14	51	21	10	20	69	74	−5	73
Sweden	12	51	19	13	19	80	73	+7	70
Russia[3]	11	45	19	10	16	77	54	+23	67
Serbia[2]	13	49	18	9	22	71	71	0	63
Portugal	8	35	17	6	12	61	41	+20	57
Poland	9	38	17	6	15	49	50	−1	57
Switzerland	12	41	14	8	19	55	73	−18	50
Hungary	9	32	15	3	14	87	57	+30	48
Croatia	6	30	13	8	9	43	33	+10	47
Czech Republic[4]	9	33	12	5	16	47	49	−2	41
Austria	7	29	12	4	13	43	47	−4	40
Denmark	6	23	9	6	8	31	29	+2	33
Romania	7	21	8	5	8	30	32	−2	29
Scotland	8	23	4	7	12	25	41	−16	19
Bulgaria	7	26	3	8	15	22	53	−31	17
Turkey	2	10	5	1	4	20	17	+3	16
Republic of Ireland	3	13	2	8	3	10	10	0	14
Northern Ireland	3	13	3	5	5	13	23	−10	14
Norway	3	8	2	3	3	7	8	−1	9
East Germany[1]	1	6	2	2	2	5	5	0	8
Greece	3	10	2	2	6	5	20	−15	8
Ukraine	1	5	2	1	2	5	7	−2	7
Wales	2	8	1	4	3	5	10	−5	7
Slovakia	1	4	1	1	2	5	7	−2	4
Slovenia	2	6	1	1	4	5	10	−5	4
Bosnia and Herzegovina	1	3	1	0	2	4	4	0	3
Israel	1	3	0	2	1	1	3	−2	2
Iceland	1	3	0	1	2	2	5	−3	1

Breakdown of successor team records

 Czech Republic Breakdown

Team	Part	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Czechoslovakia (1934–1990)	8	30	11	5	14	44	45	−1	38
Czech Republic (2006–present)	1	3	1	0	2	3	4	−1	3

 Germany Breakdown

Team	Part	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Germany (1934–1938)	2	6	3	1	2	14	13	+1	10
West Germany (1950–1990)	10	62	36	14	12	131	77	+54	122
Germany (1994–present)	8	44	29	6	9	87	40	+46	93

 Russia Breakdown

Team	Part	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Soviet Union (1958–1990)	7	31	15	6	10	53	34	+19	51
Russia (1994–present)	4	14	4	4	6	24	20	+4	16

 Serbia Breakdown

Team	Part	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Yugoslavia (1930–1990)	8	33	14	7	12	55	42	+13	49
FR Yugoslavia (1998)	1	4	2	1	1	5	4	+1	7
Serbia and Montenegro (2006)	1	3	0	0	3	2	10	−8	0
Serbia (2010–present)	3	9	2	1	6	9	15	−6	7

Appearances

Ranking of teams by number of appearances

Team	Appearances	Record streak	Active streak	Debut	Most recent	Best result (* = hosts)
Germany[1]	20	18	18	1934	2022	Champions (1954, 1974*, 1990, 2014)
Italy	18	14	0	1934	2014	Champions (1934*, 1938, 1982, 2006)
Spain	16	12	12	1934	2022	Champions (2010)
England	16	7	7	1950	2022	Champions (1966*)
France	16	7	7	1930	2022	Champions (1998*, 2018)
Belgium	14	6	3	1930	2022	Third place (2018)
Serbia[2]	13	4	2	1930	2022	Fourth place (1930,[12] 1962)
Switzerland	12	5	5	1934	2022	Quarter-finals (1934, 1938, 1954*)
Sweden	12	3	0	1934	2018	Runners-up (1958*)
Russia[3]	11	4	0	1958	2018	Fourth place (1966)
Netherlands	11	3	1	1934	2022	Runners-up (1974, 1978, 2010)
Poland	9	4	2	1938	2022	Third place (1974, 1982)
Hungary	9	4	0	1934	1986	Runners-up (1938, 1954)
Czech Republic[4]	9	3	0	1934	2006	Runners-up (1934, 1962)
Portugal	8	6	6	1966	2022	Third place (1966)
Scotland	8	5	0	1954	1998	First round / Group stage
Bulgaria	7	4	0	1962	1998	Fourth place (1994)
Romania	7	3	0	1930	1998	Quarter-finals (1994)
Austria	7	2	0	1934	1998	Third place (1954)
Croatia	6	3	3	1998	2022	Runners-up (2018)
Denmark	6	2	2	1986	2022	Quarter-finals (1998)
Norway	3	2	0	1938	1998	Round of 16 (1998)
Northern Ireland	3	2	0	1958	1986	Quarter-finals (1958)
Republic of Ireland	3	2	0	1990	2002	Quarter-finals (1990)
Greece	3	2	0	1994	2014	Round of 16 (2014)
Wales	2	1	1	1958	2022	Quarter-finals (1958)
Turkey	2	1	0	1954	2002	Third place (2002)
Slovenia	2	1	0	2002	2010	Group stage
Israel	1	1	0	1970	1970	Group stage
East Germany[1]	1	1	—	1974	1974	Second round (1974)
Ukraine	1	1	0	2006	2006	Quarter-finals (2006)
Slovakia	1	1	0	2010	2010	Round of 16 (2010)
Bosnia and Herzegovina	1	1	0	2014	2014	Group stage
Iceland	1	1	0	2018	2018	Group stage

 Czech Republic Breakdown

Team	Appearances	Record streak	Active streak	Debut	Most recent	Best result
Czechoslovakia (1934–1990)	8	3	—	1934	1990	Runners-up (1934, 1962)
Czech Republic (2006–present)	1	1	0	2006	2006	Group stage

 Russia Breakdown

Team	Appearances	Record streak	Active streak	Debut	Most recent	Best result (* = hosts)
Soviet Union (1958–1990)	7	4	—	1958	1990	Fourth place (1966)
Russia (1994–present)	4	2	0	1994	2018	Quarter-finals (2018*)

 Germany Breakdown

Team	Appearances	Record streak	Active streak	Debut	Most recent	Best result (* = hosts)
Germany (1934–1938)	2	2	—	1934	1938	Third place (1934)
West Germany (1950–1990)	10	10	10	1954	1990	Champions (1954, 1974*, 1990)
Germany (1994–present)	8	8	8	1994	2022	Champions (2014)

 Serbia Breakdown

Team	Appearances	Record streak	Active streak	Debut	Most recent	Best result
Yugoslavia (1930–1990)	8	4	—	1930	1990	Fourth place (1930,[12] 1962)
FR Yugoslavia (1998)	1	1	—	1998	1998	Round of 16
Serbia and Montenegro (2006)	1	1	—	2006	2006	Group stage
Serbia (2010–present)	3	2	2	2010	2022	Group stage

Team debuts

Year	Debutants	Total
1930	Belgium,  France,  Romania,  Yugoslavia[2]	4
1934	Austria,  Czechoslovakia,[4]  Germany,[1]  Hungary,  Italy,  Netherlands,  Spain,  Sweden,   Switzerland	9
1938	Norway,  Poland	2
1950	England	1
1954	Scotland,  Turkey	2
1958	Northern Ireland,  Soviet Union,[3]  Wales	3
1962	Bulgaria	1
1966	Portugal	1
1970	none	0
1974	East Germany[1]	1
1978	none	0
1982	none	0
1986	Denmark	1
1990	Republic of Ireland	1
1994	Greece	1
1998	Croatia[2]	1
2002	Slovenia[2]	1
2006	Ukraine[3]	1
2010	Slovakia[4]	1
2014	Bosnia and Herzegovina[2]	1
2018	Iceland	1
2022	none	0
Total		33

*This total number of UEFA teams which have participated in the World Cups through 2018 is 34, using FIFA's view on successor teams (e.g., Russia is a successor of USSR and not a separate team, whereas Ukraine is a newer separate entity).

Not qualified

22 of the 55 active FIFA and UEFA members have never qualified for the final tournament.

European teams who have yet to qualify

Team	Number of Qualifying attempts	1930	1934	1938	1950	1954	1958	1962	1966	1970	1974	1978	1982	1986	1990	1994	1998	2002	2006	2010	2014	2018	2022	2026	2030	2034
Luxembourg	21		•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	TBD	TBD	TBD
Finland	20			•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	TBD	TBD	TBD
Cyprus	16	—					×	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	TBD	TBD	TBD
Albania	13	—							•	×	•		•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	TBD	TBD	TBD
Malta	13	—									•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	TBD	TBD	TBD
Estonia	10		•	•	Part of Soviet Union											•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	TBD	TBD	TBD
Lithuania	10		•	•	Part of Soviet Union											•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	TBD	TBD	TBD
Latvia	9			•	Part of Soviet Union											•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	TBD	TBD	TBD
Faroe Islands	8	—														•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	TBD	TBD	TBD
San Marino	8	—														•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	TBD	TBD	TBD
Armenia	7	Part of Soviet Union														—	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	TBD	TBD	TBD
Azerbaijan	7	Part of Soviet Union														—	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	TBD	TBD	TBD
Belarus	7	Part of Soviet Union														—	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	TBD	TBD	TBD
Georgia	7	Part of Soviet Union														—	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	TBD	TBD	TBD
Kazakhstan	7	Part of Soviet Union														—	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	TBD	TBD	TBD
																	Member of AFC
Liechtenstein	7	—														×	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	TBD	TBD	TBD
Moldova	7	Part of Romania			Part of Soviet Union											—	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	TBD	TBD	TBD
North Macedonia[lower-alpha 2]	7	Part of Yugoslavia														—	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	TBD	TBD	TBD
Andorra	6	—																•	•	•	•	•	•	TBD	TBD	TBD
Montenegro	4	Part of Yugoslavia														Serbia and Montenegro				•	•	•	•	TBD	TBD	TBD
Gibraltar	2	Part of England[13]																				•	•	TBD	TBD	TBD
Kosovo	2	Part of Yugoslavia														Serbia and Montenegro				Serbia[14]		•	•	TBD	TBD	TBD
Saar	1	Part of Germany				•	Part of West Germany												Part of Germany

Legend

TBD	To be determined (may still qualify for upcoming tournament)
•	Did not qualify
×	Withdrew before qualification / Banned / Entry not accepted by FIFA
	Did not enter
—	Not a FIFA member

Footnotes

1. In 1982, the second round featured 12 teams from which only 4 advanced to the semi-finals.
2. Entered WC qualifying as FYR Macedonia from 1998–2018

Notes

1. Germany (since 1949 officially the 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.
2. 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 and Kosovo now also compete separately after independence in 2006 and 2008, respectively. In 2010, Serbia debuted at the FIFA World Cup with their own national team.
3. 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.
4. Czechoslovakia qualified eight times prior to being divided into Slovakia and the Czech Republic in 1993. FIFA considers the Czech Republic only as the successor team of Czechoslovakia. As an independent nation, 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.
5. Israel qualified in 1970 as a member of AFC. They were expelled from AFC in 1974 and joined UEFA in 1994.
6. "FACT Sheet - FIFA World Cup: All-time ranking 1930-2014" (PDF). FIFA.com. FIFA. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
7. "Technical Report - 2018 FIFA World Cup, Russia 2018" (PDF). FIFA.com. FIFA. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
8. "Overview of the Participating Member Associations" (PDF). FIFA.com. FIFA.
9. Austria qualified in 1938, but withdrew to play as part of Germany after being annexed.
10. 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.
11. Republic of Ireland competed as the Irish Free State in 1934 and then as Ireland in 1938 and 1950.
12. 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.
13. The Gibraltar Football Association was affiliated to the Football Association (of England) between 1909 and 2013, when the GFA became full members of UEFA. The GFA became full members of FIFA in 2016.
14. The Republic of Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008. It has since gained diplomatic recognition as a sovereign state by 98 UN member states. Prior to the admission of Kosovo into UEFA and FIFA, Kosovo was recognised as part of Serbia by these organisations.

See also

• 2006 FIFA World Cup full team ranking
• Strongest football nations by Elo Ratings
• FIFA World Cup records and statistics