National team appearances in the FIFA World Cup a group stage, with the final 16 progressing to knockout stages to decide the winner. As of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, 79 national teams have competed at the final tournaments. Brazil are the only team to have appeared in all 21 tournaments to date, with Germany having participated in 19, Italy in 18, Argentina in 17 and Mexico in 16. To date, eight nations have won the tournament. The inaugural winners in 1930 were Uruguay; the current champions are France. The most successful nation in the competition are currently Brazil, who have won the cup on five occasions. Five
Uruguay at the FIFA World Cup beginning of true international football competition, organized by FIFA, FIFA recognizes Uruguay as four-time world champions and allows the team to wear four stars on their uniforms during official international football competitions. (Before 1974, the FIFA World Cup was referred to as the Football World Championship, and the nine champions from 1930 to 1970 received replicas of the Jules Rimet Trophy. Uruguay hosted and won the first FIFA World Cup in 1930, beating Argentina 4–2 in the final. They won their fourth and last title in 1950, upsetting host Brazil 2–1 in the final match. The team have qualified for