Teams from the Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Monaco, Nauru, Palau, Tuvalu, Marshall Islands, and the Vatican City have competed in international football but are not affiliated with FIFA. These countries only participate in the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) region's qualifying competitions.
The first official international match was played between Canada and United States on 30 August 1859. The game was held at Hamilton's Park in Toronto and ended in a 0-0 tie. Both teams went on to win their respective leagues that year.
Soccer has become popular around the world, with the most popular nations being Germany, Italy, and France. However, only five countries have been successful in winning the World Cup: Germany (3 times), Italy, Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay (4 times each).
The most recent World Cup was hosted by Russia and took place from June 14 to July 15, 2018. The tournament concluded with Croatia defeating France 2-1 in a final match played at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium. This is the second time that Croatia has won the World Cup after its initial victory in 1996.
France had been favored to win the 2018 World Cup since before the start of the tournament when it was announced that UEFA would be awarding the competition to the host nation.
On the other hand, recognized UN nations such as Nauru, the Vatican City State, Monaco, and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta do not have international football teams capable of qualifying for the World Cup.
An unofficial country, FIFA defines that Kosovo is eligible to join any of its members if it so chooses. However, since there is no government or institution in place that can organize events within the country, they are excluded from international football.
Many countries have tried their hand at football over the years but have never been successful enough to maintain a program. Some examples include Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, England, France, Germany, Greece, India, Iran, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, and United States.
The most recent attempt was by the Dominican Republic who had a team called Los Dominicanos that played in the CONCACAF Champions League between 2008-10. However, they were eliminated in the group stage each time.
Even though they have a national team, the Democratic Republic of Congo cannot play international matches due to lack of funding.
There are quite a few countries whose national teams are not connected with FIFA. Historically, a handful of competitions have taken place outside of FIFA's jurisdiction. Member associations are national organizations that are generally linked with continental confederations that report to FIFA. The only exception is North Korea, which forms its own regional federation.
Some nations compete as independent entities without affiliation to a continental body. These games are known as "unofficial matches" and they are considered to be non-countable in the record books. They are usually played during periods when the country who wins the match earns the right to play for world titles at different levels. Some examples include Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico.
Here is a list of all current FIFA-affiliated countries:
Afghanistan (ASA) Algeria American Samoa Bangladesh Bhutan Brunei Darussalam Cambodia China Democratic People's Republic of Korea Laos Myanmar Nepal Northern Mariana Islands Pakistan Palestine Philippines Singapore Sri Lanka Syria Thailand Tonga Trinidad & Tobago Turkey Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom Vanuatu Vatican City State (VAT) Yemen
There are 10 non-FIFA teams from unrecognized but self-governing countries: Transnistria is an Eastern European self-proclaimed republic that is not recognized by any UN member country. It established its own national football squad in 2015, hence it has been added to this list since the last World Cup.
Italy, the Netherlands, the United States, Algeria, Cameroon, Ireland, Ghana, and Chile were among the teams who did not qualify. See the complete list of 2018 qualifiers. By clicking on the nation names below, you may learn more about the following countries' participation in the World Cup of Football.
These national football teams are not members of FIFA or any of its related continental confederations. The squads are ineligible to compete in the FIFA World Cup or any continental confederation competitions. FIFA's laws prohibit member teams from competing against these sides without prior authorization from FIFA. The only exception is if they are invited by another association as guest players.
Africa has only one country that does not belong to FIFA, Angola. It is an island country in West Africa that shares a border with France and Spain.
Asia has two countries that are not members of FIFA: Afghanistan and Iraq. Both countries invaded other countries in their region (Iran and Britain respectively) but were forced out by those nations. Neither country has been able to regain their place on the world stage since then. Afghanistan was given a temporary membership after the invasion but it was never made permanent. Iraq was expelled from the Asian Football Confederation in 1986 but regained their place in 1992.
Oceania has one country that is not a member of FIFA: Australia. This country occupies the largest area in Oceania but is excluded from most international organizations due to government corruption.
North America has three countries that are not members of FIFA: Canada, Mexico and United States. All three countries have active professional leagues that play internationally recognized matches.
Its members are professional football leagues from 29 different countries, including Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Scotland, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Romania, Latvia, Ukraine, and...
France has one of the most famous soccer leagues in the world-the Ligue 1. It is contested by 16 teams and starts on 15 March and ends on 31 October with the last game of the season.
England has two major soccer leagues: The English Premier League (EPL) and The Football League (FL). The EPL is based in London and it is known as the world's richest soccer league. Its top division consists of 20 clubs and begins on 15 August and ends on 30 June with the last game of the season. The bottom club will be relegated to the English Football League which has three divisions. The third-to-last club will play a play-off match against the second-to-last team for a place in the next season's EPL. The winner of this game will also qualify for the next season's EPL.
Italy has one of the most popular soccer leagues in Europe - the Serie A. It is the highest level of Italian football and is divided into two phases: the regular season and the playoff series.
Brazil is the only national team to have competed in every FIFA World Cup, with no absences or the necessity for playoffs. They are the most successful national team in terms of total wins: they have won the title five times out of nine opportunities.
They are also the most expensive team to play as their average salary is $75,000 compared to $20,000 for the next highest paid nation. Brazil's all-time top earner is Kia Joorabchian who made $1 million while playing for the team. He is now working with the Brazilian Football Association as a marketing director.
The Brazilian squad has featured many legendary players such as Dunga, Zico, Romario, Bebeto, Ronaldinho, Rivaldo, Eto'o, and Falcão. With names like this, it's no wonder that Brazil has been called "the country of football".
Their 5 titles is also more than any other country. England, Italy, France, and Germany have each won the cup once. Only Brazil has achieved this feat every time they've taken part in the tournament.
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