This is the only team to reach all 23 men’s World Cups: The one country with perfect attendance since 1930
Of the 48 teams at this summer’s expanded FIFA men’s World Cup in North America, only one has an unblemished attendance record.
The 23rd edition of the FIFA men’s World Cup is almost upon us, with an expanded field of 48 teams set to compete for the global crown at this summer’s tournament in Canada, Mexico and the U.S.
Of the four dozen nations gearing up for June’s World Cup kickoff, only one is preparing for its 23rd appearance at the event, having been ever-present since the inaugural tournament in Uruguay in 1930.
Which is the World Cup’s only 23-time qualifier?
Brazil, a team chasing its sixth title, is the sole 2026 qualifier to have also featured at all 22 previous World Cup finals. The Brazilians’ haul of five world championships is also a record; the Seleção leads the way just ahead of Germany and Italy, who have each lifted four World Cups.
Most World Cup appearances (incl. 2026) - top five:
- 1. Brazil: 23 (five wins)
- 2. Germany: 21* (four wins)
- 3. Argentina: 19 (three wins)
- 4. Italy: 18 (four wins)
- 5. France: 17 (two wins)
- =. England: 17 (one win)
- =. Spain: 17 (one win)
*10 as West Germany
Can Brazil make it six in 23 at the 2026 World Cup?
Although Brazil’s record haul of appearances and trophies makes it, undoubtedly, the greatest nation in the tournament’s 96-year history, the South Americans head to the 2026 finals in a relatively fallow World Cup period.
Brazil won the most recent of its five World Cups back in 2002 - meaning the Canarinha is now on a title-free run surpassed only by its wait for its very first crown, secured at the sixth attempt in 1958.
Brazil have reached the semifinals only once since ’02 - and that was on home soil. Having reached the the last four in 2014, moreover, they suffered a historic humiliation, losing 7-1 to eventual winners Germany.
The manner in which Brazil qualified for this summer’s World Cup does not invite optimism over their chances in North America, either. In a campaign that saw the Brazilians use three different head coaches, the team finished fifth in South America’s qualifying tournament, 10 points behind Argentina in first. It was, statistically, Brazil’s worst ever World Cup qualification bid.
Now led by former Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti, who replaced Dorival Júnior as boss in May 2025, Brazil lost to Japan and drew with Tunisia in World Cup warmups last autumn, and were beaten by France in a high-profile friendly in March.
Ranked sixth in the world, Brazil face final tournament tuneups against Panama (May 31) and Egypt (June 6), before playing their first game of the 2026 World Cup on June 13, against Morocco in New Jersey. Drawn into Group C, Ancelotti’s men also take on Haiti and Scotland in the round-robin phase.
At a glance - Brazil’s World Cup Group C schedule:
- June 13, 6:00 p.m. ET: Brazil vs Morocco, MetLife Stadium (East Rutherford, NJ)
- June 19, 8:30 p.m. ET: Brazil vs Haiti, Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia, PA)
- June 24, 6:00 p.m. ET: Scotland vs Brazil, Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Gardens, FL)
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