The FIFA World Cup ( English : FIFA World Cup ) or often simply called the World Cup , is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of members of the International Football Federation ( Fédération Internationale de Football Association , FIFA ), the world soccer governing body. . The championships have been held every four years since the 1930 tournament , except in 1942 and 1946, which were not held due to World War II . The current World Cup champions are France , who won the 2018 tournamentin Russia .

The current format of the tournament follows 32 teams competing for the title at venues in the host nation over a period of about a month; This round is often called the World Cup Finals . The qualifying stage , currently held in the three years leading up to the World Cup, is held to determine which team will qualify for the tournament, along with the host nation.

Twenty World Cup tournaments have been won by eight different national teams. Brazil has won the World Cup five times, and is the only team to regularly participate in every tournament. Other World Cup champions are Italy and Germany with four titles; [a] Argentina , Uruguay and France with two titles; and England and Spain each with one title.

The World Cup is one of the most watched sporting competitions in the world, surpassing even the Olympics ; an estimated 715.1 million people worldwide watched the final match of the 2006 FIFA World Cup which was held in Germany . [1] The next two World Cups will be held in Qatar in 2022 and in the United States, Canada and Mexico in 2026 .

History