EN
From Uruguay 1930 to the 2026 World Cup, 83 different national teams (leaving out East Germany, dissolved in 1990) have played at least one World Cup. Some have never missed an edition since their debut; others have gone years, even decades, waiting to come back. Here's the full map of who's been the most times, who's carrying the longest active streak, and who's been away the longest.
World Cup appearances by national team
23 appearances: 
Brazil
21 appearances: 
Germany
19 appearances: 
Argentina
17 appearances: 
England, 
France, 
Spain
15 appearances: 
Belgium, 
Uruguay
13 appearances: 
Serbia, 
Sweden, 
Switzerland
12 appearances: 
Korea Republic, 
Netherlands, 
United States of America
11 appearances: 
Russia
10 appearances: 
Czechia
9 appearances: 
Chile, 
Hungary, 
Paraguay, 
Poland, 
Portugal, 
Scotland
8 appearances: 
Austria, 
Cameroon, 
Japan
7 appearances: 
Australia, 
Bulgaria, 
Colombia, 
Croatia, 
Iran, 
Morocco, 
Romania, 
Saudi Arabia, 
Tunisia
6 appearances: 
Costa Rica, 
Denmark, 
Nigeria
5 appearances: 
Algeria, 
Ecuador, 
Ghana, 
Peru
4 appearances: 
Cote d'Ivoire, 
Egypt, 
Norway, 
Senegal, 
South Africa
3 appearances: 
Bolivia, 
Canada, 
Greece, 
Honduras, 
Ireland, 
New Zealand, 
Northern Ireland, 
Turkiye
2 appearances: 
Bosnia and Herzegovina, 
Congo DR, 
DPR Korea, 
El Salvador, 
Haiti, 
Iraq, 
Panama, 
Qatar, 
Slovenia, 
Wales
One appearance: 
Angola, 
Cabo Verde, 
China PR, 
Cuba, 
Curacao, 
Iceland, 
Indonesia, 
Israel, 
Jamaica, 
Jordan, 
Kuwait, 
Slovakia, 
Togo, 
Trinidad and Tobago, 
Ukraine, 
United Arab Emirates, 
Uzbekistan
Active streak of consecutive appearances
23 appearances in a row: Brazil
19 appearances in a row: Germany
14 appearances in a row: Argentina
13 appearances in a row: Spain
11 appearances in a row: Korea Republic
9 appearances in a row: 
Mexico
8 appearances in a row: England, France, Japan
7 appearances in a row: Portugal
6 appearances in a row: Australia, Switzerland
5 appearances in a row: Uruguay
4 appearances in a row: Belgium, Croatia, Iran
3 appearances in a row: Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Tunisia
2 appearances in a row: Canada, Ecuador, Ghana, Netherlands, Qatar, United States of America
1 appearance in a row: Algeria, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cabo Verde, Colombia, Congo DR, Cote d'Ivoire, Curacao, Czechia, Egypt, Haiti, Iraq, Jordan, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Scotland, South Africa, Sweden, Turkiye, Uzbekistan
Note: Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay already have their spot locked in for the 2030 World Cup as hosts, so their streaks are going to keep growing no matter what happens on the pitch.
The teams that missed 2026, and their absence streak
4 years away: Cameroon, Costa Rica, Denmark, Poland, Serbia, Wales
8 years away: Iceland, Nigeria, Peru, Russia
12 years away: Chile, Greece, Honduras, 
Italy
16 years away: DPR Korea, Slovakia, Slovenia
20 years away: Angola, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Ukraine
24 years away: China PR, Ireland
28 years away: Bulgaria, Jamaica, Romania
32 years away: Bolivia
36 years away: United Arab Emirates
40 years away: Hungary, Northern Ireland
44 years away: El Salvador, Kuwait
56 years away: Israel
Striking fact: Italy, four-time world champions, has now missed 3 straight editions.
The ones who've never made it, but came close
Ethiopia reached the intercontinental playoff on the road to Brazil 2014 and fell 4-1 to Nigeria — the closest it's ever come to a debut. Guatemala came within a step of the playoff for Germany 2006. And on the road to 2026, two stories fell just short: New Caledonia lost the Oceania final 3-0 to New Zealand and then fell 0-1 to Jamaica in the intercontinental playoff semifinal; Suriname also reached that same playoff and was eliminated. None of the four has ever played a World Cup.
With the 2030 World Cup already knocking at the door, the question is inevitable: who gets in this time? Does Italy break its bad streak? Does one of the eternal hopefuls finally debut?
Make your 2030 World Cup qualification prediction! →Want to see any national team's full profile?
See all national teams →Want to compare two World Cups head to head?
Compare World Cups →