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
Italy v West Germany (1970 FIFA World Cup) engraved: "El Estadio Azteca rinde homenaje a las selecciones de: Italia (4) y Alemania (3) protagonistas en el Mundial de 1970, del "Partido del Siglo" 17 de junio de 1970." English: "The Azteca Stadium pays homage to the National Teams of Italy (4) and Germany (3), who starred in the 1970 FIFA World Cup, the "Game of the Century". 17 June 1970." Motson, John (2006) Motson's World Cup Extravaganza GREAT GAMES: ITALY 4-3 WEST GERMANY, 1970 Italy v West Germany (1970 FIFA World Cup) The semi-final of the 1970 FIFA World Cup between Italy and West Germany is known as