2026 World Cup by the numbers: 26 facts, figures and records

1: Player from Arizona who has competed in a World Cup (Robbie Findley, 2010).

2: Teams (Brazil and Italy) that have two or more consecutive World Cup wins.

3: World Cup wins for Argentina, including the last World Cup in 2022 (plus wins in 1978 and 1986).

4: New countries making their debut in the 2026 World Cup (Cape Verde, Curaçao, Jordan and Uzbekistan).

5: World Cup wins for Brazil (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002).

6: Consecutive World Cup tournaments for Lionel Messi (Argentina), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) and Guillermo “Memo” Ochoa (Mexico).

7: Times Egypt has competed in the World Cup without recording a win.

8: Countries have won the World Cup title (Brazil, Germany, Italy, Argentina, France, Uruguay, England and Spain).

9: Total World Cup medals for Brazil (five gold, two silver and two bronze).

10: 10-1 is the largest single-match margin of victory, set by Hungary in 1982.

11: Seconds is the fastest goal time at the World Cup (Hakan Şükür for Turkey in 2002).

12: Goals is the highest number of goals scored in a single match (Austria vs. Switzerland in 1954).

13: Goals are the most goals scored in a single tournament, set by France’s Just Fontaine in 1958.

14: Yellow cards given to the Netherlands (nine) and Spain (five) in 2010, the most yellow cards given to both teams during a final match.

15: Dribbles by Nigeria’s Jay-Jay Okocha set the record for most successful dribbles in a World Cup match in 1994.

16: The all-time World Cup career goals record (Germany’s Miroslav Klose completed the record in 2014).

17: Years old was Pelé’s age when he won the World Cup for Brazil in 1958, becoming the youngest player to do so.

18: Matches were played in the inaugural World Cup in Uruguay in 1930.

19: Players from Manchester United were called up to play in this year’s World Cup, the most players from a single club in the tournament, per ESPN.

20: Nations that have medaled in the World Cup for a total of 66 medals.

21: Times Germany has appeared in the World Cup, just behind Brazil at 23 (including 2026).

22: Failed attempts to qualify for the World Cup by Luxembourg between 1934 and 2026.

23: World Cup tournaments Brazil has competed in, which is every tournament to date (including 2026).

24: The No. 24 jersey was introduced as a standard team number in the 2022 World Cup after FIFA expanded the number of squad members from 23 to up to 26.

25: Years that separate the oldest player (Scotland’s Craig Gordon, 43) and the youngest player (Mexico’s Gilbert Mora, 17) in this year’s World Cup.

26: World Cup matches played by Lionel Messi, the most overall by any player.