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
South American nations at the FIFA World Cup though Kahn won the Golden Ball as the most outstanding player. This match also marked Brazilian captain Cafu's third appearance in a World Cup Final, a feat that has yet to be accomplished by any other player in the history of the tournament. The title marked Brazil's fifth World Cup championship, which is more than any other nation has achieved, also being the first team to win all seven of their games without any extra time or penalty kicks. At the 2006 FIFA World Cup participated fourth nations of South America: Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Paraguay. Ecuador were drawn into Group