If you are a football fan - here's a brush-up of your memory...
read the details after the break..........
World Cup 1930
Winners Uruguay
Teams 13
Teams in qualifiers N/A
Notable absentees Of the major European countries, only France took part.
Surprises USA, who finished third.
Golden Boot Guillermo Stábile (Argentina) - 8
Stats A total of 70 goals were scored (3.89 per match); Argentina (18) scored the most
Format One group of four and three groups of three in the qualifying stage, with the top from each group going into the semi-finals.
Number of matches 18
World Cup 1934
Winners Italy
Teams 16
Teams in qualifiers 32
Notable absentees Holders Uruguay, England.
Surprises Egypt.
Golden Boot Oldrich Nejedlý (Czechoslovakia) - 5
Stats A total of 70 goals were scored (4.12 per match); Italy (12) scored the most
Format Straight knockout, replays for drawn matches.
Number of matches 17
World Cup 1938
Winners Italy
Teams 15
Teams in qualifiers 37
Notable absentees Argentina, England, Spain, Uruguay.
Surprises Dutch East Indies (Indonesia), Cuba.
Golden Boot Leônidas (Brazil) - 7
Stats A total of 84 goals were scored (4.67 per match); Hungary (15) scored the most
Format Straight knockout, replays for drawn matches
Number of matches 18
World Cup 1950
Winners Uruguay
Teams 13
Teams in qualifiers 34
Notable absentees France, Germany, Hungary.
Surprises Bolivia.
Golden Boot Ademir (Brazil) - 9
Stats A total of 88 goals were scored (4.00 per match); Brazil (22) scored the most
Format Four groups, with the winners of each progressing to a four-team round-robin final group. Withdrawals meant there were two groups of four, one of three and one of two.
Number of matches 22
World Cup 1954
Winners West Germany
Teams 16
Teams in qualifiers 45
Notable absentees Spain.
Surprises Korean Republic.
Golden Boot Sándor Kocsis (Hungary) - 11
Stats A total of 140 goals were scored (5.38 per match); Hungary (27) scored the most
Format Four groups of four with two seeded and two unseeded teams in each group. However, the teams played just two matches per group rather than the usual three, with the seeded sides facing unseeded sides. Where teams ended up tied for the second qualifying position by points, they required a play-off. The two teams finishing at the top of their group went through to the quarter-finals
Number of matches 26
World Cup 1958
Winners Brazil
Teams 16
Teams in qualifiers 45
Notable absentees Italy, Uruguay.
Surprises Wales, Northern Ireland.
Golden Boot Just Fontaine (France) - 13
Stats A total of 126 goals were scored (3.60 per match); France (23) scored the most
Format Four groups of four, with the top two progressing to the quarter-finals
Number of matches 35
World Cup 1962
Winners Brazil
Teams 16
Teams in qualifiers 56
Notable absentees Sweden.
Surprises Colombia.
Golden Boot Garrincha, Vavá (Brazil), Leonel Sánchez (Chile), Drazan Jerkovic (Yugoslavia) , Flórián Albert (Hungary), Valentin Ivanov (USSR) - 4
Stats A total of 89 goals were scored (2.78 per match); Brazil (14) scored the most
Format Four groups of four, with the top two progressing to the quarter-finals
Number of matches 32
World Cup 1966
Winners England
Teams 16
Teams in qualifiers 70
Notable absentees None.
Surprises North Korea.
Golden Boot Eusébio (Portugal) - 9
Stats A total of 89 goals were scored (2.78 per match); Portugal (17) scored the most
Format Four groups of four, with the top two progressing to the quarter-finals
Number of matches 32
World Cup 1970
Winners Brazil
Teams16
Teams in qualifiers 75
Notable absentees Argentina, France, Portugal, Spain
Surprises Morocco, the first African qualifiers since World War II
Golden Boot Gerd Muller (Germany) - 10
Number of matches 32
World Cup 1974
Winners West Germany
Teams 16
Teams in qualifiers 99
Notable absentees England, France, Hungary, Spain, USSR.
Surprises Australia, Haiti and Zaire.
Golden Boot Grzegorz Lato (Poland) - 7
Stats A total of 97 goals were scored (2.55 per match); Poland (16) scored the most
Format Four groups of four in the qualifying stage, with the top two from each group going into a second round of two four-team groups and the winners facing each other in the final.
Number of matches 38
World Cup 1978
Winners Argentina
Teams 16
Teams in qualifiers 107
Notable absentees England, Czechoslovakia, USSR.
Surprises Iran, Tunisia.
Golden Boot Mario Kempes (Argentina) - 6
Stats A total of 102 goals were scored (2.68 per match); Argentina and Netherlands (15) scored the most
Format Four groups of four in the qualifying stage, with the top two from each group into a second round of two groups of four, the top side in each progressing into the final.
Number of matches 38
World Cup 1982
Winners Italy
Teams 24
Teams in qualifiers 109
Notable absentees Netherlands, Mexico.
Surprises Algeria, Cameroon, Honduras, Kuwait, New Zealand.
Golden Boot Paolo Rossi (Italy) - 6
Stats A total of 146 goals were scored (2.81 per match); France (16) scored the most
Format Six groups of four, with the top two teams in each group advancing to the second round, where they split into four groups of three. The winners of each group advanced to the semi-finals
Number of matches 52
World Cup 1986
Winners Argentina
Teams 24
Teams in qualifiers 121
Notable absentees Netherlands.
Surprises Canada, Iraq.
Golden Boot Gary Lineker (England) - 6
Stats A total of 132 goals were scored (2.54 per match); Argentina (14) scored the most
Format Six groups of four, with the top two teams in each group advancing to a knockout round of 16, plus four best third-place finishers.
Number of matches 52
World Cup 1990
Winners West Germany
Teams 24
Teams in qualifiers 116
Notable absentees Denmark, France, Portugal.
Surprises Costa Rica, Republic of Ireland, UAE.
Golden Boot Salvatore Schillaci (Italy) - 6
Stats A total of 115 goals were scored (2.21 per match), which was the lowest goals-per-match ratio in World Cup history; West Germany (15) scored the most
Format Six groups of four, with the top two teams in each group advancing to a knockout round of 16, plus four best third place finishers
Number of matches 52
World Cup 1994
Winners Brazil
Teams 24
Teams in qualifiers 147
Notable absentees England, France.
Surprises Greece, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia.
Golden Boot Hristo Stoichkov (Bulgaria), Oleg Salenko (Russia) - 6
Stats A total of 141 goals were scored (2.71 per match); Sweden (15) scored the most
Format Six groups of four, with the top two teams in each group advancing to a knockout round of 16, plus four best 3rd place finishers.
Number of matches 52
World Cup 1998
Winners France
Teams 32
Teams in qualifiers 174
Notable absentees Russia.
Surprises Jamaica, Japan, South Africa.
Golden Boot Davor Suker (Croatia) - 6
Stats A total of 171 goals were scored (2.67 per match); France (15) scored the most
Format Eight groups of four, with the top two teams in each group advancing to a knockout round of 16
Number of matches 64
World Cup 2002
Winners Brazil
Teams 32
Teams in qualifiers 199
Notable absentees Netherlands.
Surprises Senegal, South Korea, Turkey.
Golden Boot Ronaldo (Brazil) - 8
Stats A total of 161 goals were scored (2.52 per match); Brazil (18) scored the most
Format Eight groups of four, with the top two teams in each group advancing to a knockout round of 16
Number of matches 64
World Cup 2006
Winners Italy
Teams 32
Teams in qualifiers 198
Notable Absentees Cameroon, Nigeria.
Surprises Angola, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Trinidad & Tobago.
Golden Boot Miroslav Klose (Germany) - 5
Stats A total of 147 goals were scored (2.30 per match); Germany (14) scored the most
Format Eight groups of four, with the top two teams in each group advancing to a knockout round of 16
Number of matches 64
World Cup 2010
Winners Spain
Teams 32
Teams in qualifiers 205
Notable Absentees Croatia, Czech Republic, Costa Rica, Sweden, Poland
Surprises Chile, Honduras, Slovakia
Golden Boot Thomas Müller (South Africa) - 5
Stats A total of 145 goals were scored (2.26 per match); Germany (16) scored the most
Format Eight groups of four, with the top two teams in each group advancing to a knockout round of 16
Number of matches 64
World Cup 2014 ????
