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
DR Congo at the FIFA World Cup DR Congo at the FIFA World Cup DR Congo national football team (formerly the Zaire national football team) have appeared in the finals of the FIFA World Cup on one occasion in 1974 when they were known as Zaire. They were the first Sub-Saharan African team to participate in a World Cup Finals. Despite respectable performances against Scotland and Brazil they were defeated in all three matches with a total goal difference of 0-14. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Zairian dictator Mobutu Sese Seko invested heavily in the national football team. It led to continental success, with Zaire