The World Cup: Year-by-Year Comparisons

Learn how World Cup tournaments have compared in nations qualifying, matches played, players participating, goals scored, average goals per game, overall attendance and attendance per game.
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Learn how World Cup tournaments have compared in nations qualifying, matches played, players participating, goals scored, average goals per game, overall attendance, and attendance per game. Use the information in this table when discussing the World Cup in your classroom; it's a great resource for math lessons on graphing and statistics, or use the table in a social studies activity about participating countries.

              Goals Attendance
Year Host Continent Winning Team Nations Matches Players Scored Per Game Overall Per Game
1930 Uruguay So. America Uruguay 13 18 189 70 3.8 589,300 32,739
1934 Italy Europe Italy 16 17 208 70 4.1 361,000 21,235
1938 France Europe Italy 15 18 210 84 4.7 376,000 20,889
1942-46 Not held                  
1950 Brazil So. America Uruguay 13 22 192 88 4.0 1,044,763 47,489
1954 Switzerland Europe West Germany 16 26 233 140 5.3 872,000 33,538
1958 Sweden Europe Brazil 16 35 241 126 3.6 819,402 23,411
1962 Chile So. America Brazil 16 32 252 89 2.8 892,812 27,900
1966 England Europe England 16 32 254 89 2.8 1,464,944 45,780
1970 Mexico No. America Brazil 16 32 270 95 3.0 1,690,890 52,840
1974 West Germany Europe West Germany 16 38 264 97 2.6 1,809,953 47,630
1978 Argentina So. America Argentina 16 38 277 102 2.7 1,685,602 44,358
1982 Spain Europe Italy 24 52 396 146 2.8 2,108,723 40,552
1986 Mexico No. America Argentina 24 52 414 132 2.5 2,393,031 46,020
1990 Italy Europe West Germany 24 52 413 115 2.2 2,516,354 48,391
1994 United States No. America Brazil 24 52 437 140 2.7 3,587,088 68,982
1998 France Europe France 32 64 704 171 2.7 2,775,400 43,366
2002 Japan/So. Korea Asia Brazil 32 64 736 161 2.5 2,705,197 42,269
2006 Germany Europe Italy 32 64 736 147 2.3 3,353,655 52,491
2010 South Africa Africa Spain 32 64 736 145 2.3 3,170,856 49,670
2014 Brazil South America Germany 32 64 736 171 2.67 3,429,873 53,592
2018 Russia Asia and Europe TBD 32 expected TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD

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