World Cup 2022: Dates, draw, schedule, kick-off times, final for Qatar tournament Football News
For example, the winner of the Oceanian zone and the fifth-placed team from the Asian zone entered a play-off for a spot in the 2010 World Cup. From the 1938 World Cup onwards, host nations receive automatic qualification to the final tournament. This right was also granted to the defending champions between 1938 and 2002, but was withdrawn from the 2006 FIFA World Cup onward, requiring the champions to qualify. Brazil, winners in 2002, were the first defending champions to play qualifying matches. Among the national teams, Germany and Brazil have played the most World Cup matches , Germany appeared in the most finals , semi-finals , and quarter-finals , while Brazil has appeared in the most World Cups , has the most wins and has scored the most goals . The two teams have played each other twice in the World Cup, in the 2002 final and in the 2014 semi-final. The knockout stage is a single-elimination tournament in which teams play each other in one-off matches, with extra time and ...