The FIFA World Cup is one of the most exciting soccer events that you will ever come across. It is the only competition that unites players from all over the world and it takes place every four years.
The next tournament will be happening in Russia this coming June, so what are you waiting for? Join us as we explore why this tournament is so exciting, who is participating and what you need to know before it starts!
What is the World Cup
Every four years, the best football players from all over the world compete for this prestigious trophy.
It is an international association football competition between the senior men’s national teams of the members of FIFA.
The World Cup is organized by FIFA and includes 32 national teams who are divided into eight groups of four.
Each group plays a round-robin tournament with two or three of the teams qualifying for the next round (the two best runners-up also qualify). The final tournament lasts for over one month.
Which countries participate in the World Cup?
The following is a list of the participants of the FIFA World Cup
Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Denmark, Egypt, England, France, Germany, Iceland, Iran, Ireland, Italy Japan, Mexico, Morocco, Panama, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, and Uruguay.
The history of the world cup
The FIFA World Cup was first played in Uruguay on July 13, 1930.
The championships of the first World Cup consisted of a group stage and a knockout phase.
All matches were played in Montevideo with nearly all the games being played at the Estadio Centenario, which was built for this event. The referees used whistles instead of linesmen and there were no substitutions allowed.
The second World Cup was held four years later, but it never caught on as big as the first one did and it was not until 1970 that the cup would be held again. Over time, many rules have been implemented to make sure that it is a fair game for all participants.
The 2018 FIFA World Cup will take place in Russia and it remains the only international football competition that is sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA).
Who has won in past years
The FIFA World Cup has been won by various countries in the past.
Brazil is the only country to have won it five times, but Germany are back-to-back champions after they were able to overcome Brazil in the 2014 final.
Italy has four titles, while Argentina can boast two championships.
France has one title and former champion the Netherlands have three titles.
England has never won this prestigious competition.
How long is a soccer game World Cup
So, the game only lasts for ninety minutes but it’s still considered a long game. That is because in addition to penalties, there are three other major forms of time wasting that can take place in the game.
- The first one is when you kick the ball out of bounds and wait for it to come back in, which can take a couple of minutes.
- The second is when you need to wait “injured” on the sidelines while someone from your team gets a bandage put on or an injury checked out by a trainer. You also have to wait for that person to be “fit to play” again.
- The third one is when the ball goes out of bounds and you wait for it to come back in, which can also take a few minutes. So all in all, there are several ways that time can be wasted!
Conclusion
The FIFA World Cup is one of the most exciting soccer competitions. Whether you’re an avid fan or not, there are plenty of things to do in preparation for this upcoming tournament – which won’t be happening again until 2022.
We hope we’ve been able to get your excitement levels up by telling you these fun facts about how special this competition really is!
