[Photo from FIFA 2014 World Cup website: Rio de Janeiro's legendary Maracana Stadium]
The FIFA World Cup tournament is the
most watched sporting event, well, in the world. About 2.2 billion
people watched at least 20 consecutive minutes of one or more matches
in the 2010 World Cup tournament in South Africa. And an estimated
3.2 billion people watched at least one minute. For the
Spain-Netherlands final alone, 620 million people watched at least 20
consecutive minutes. [FIFA]
Unlike the World Series, the Super
Bowl, and the NCAA College Basketball Tournament, the World Cup
tournament is played just every four years. Suspended during the war
years of the 1940's, there have been 19 World Cups played since its
initiation in 1930. And in the 83 years of the Cup's existence, only 8 countries have managed to win the
title game - Brazil (5), Italy (4), (West) Germany (3), Uruguay (2),
Argentina (2), England, France and Spain.
The buildup and preparations for the
tournament start almost as soon as the last cup is over. If a team
had a bad tournament, the search for a new national team coach may
begin. Over the next couple of years, the national team itself is
gradually re-formed with aging stars replaced and weaknesses
corrected. Then come the preliminary qualifying matches which are currently underway.
[Photo from FIFA 2014 World Cup website: Brasilia]
The 2014 World Cup is now just one year
away. Brazil will be the host country for World Cup XX and the 64
matches will be played from June 13 until the championship game on
July 13. Qualifying matches are about 60% complete in most regions
and the field of 32 will be finalized later this year. It's a long
way to go but if the current point leaders hold through the remainder of the
qualifying rounds, the teams competing for the 2014 World Cup would
be: 
Europe (13)
Belgium
Netherlands
Germany
Bosnia-Herzegovina
Italy
Switzerland
Montenegro
Portugal
Spain
Croatia
Russia
Greece
England
South America (5 plus
intercontinental playoff)
Brazil*
Argentina
Colombia
Ecuador
Chile
Africa (5)
Egypt
Ivory Coast
Ghana
Algeria
Tunisia
Asia (4 plus intercontinental
playoff)
Korea*
Japan*
Australia*
North, Central America and Caribbean
(3 plus intercontinental playoff)
USA
Costa Rica
Mexico
Intercontinental Playoffs
Honduras (North, Central Am, Carib) vs.
New Zealand (Oceania)
Winner of Uzbekistan-Jordan (Asia) vs.
Venezuela or Uruguay (South America)
* signifies qualification is complete.
Greatest Games
Topping several lists of the greatest
world cup matches is the 1982 quarter final match between Italy and
Brazil. Here is a link to a highlight film of this classic game.
As for the greatest final of all-time,
the vote seems to go to the 1950 Uruguay-Brazil championship game. Here's a link to a highlight video.
Other Links
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