The original trophy, the Jules Rimet Trophy, was stolen in England in 1966 and famously found by a dog named Pickles. It was stolen again in Brazil in 1983 and has never been recovered.
The FIFA World Cup was canceled in 1942 and 1946 because of the war, making them the only editions that never took place.
Brazil has won the World Cup five times (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, and 2002), more than any other country.
Despite more than 90 years of competition, only eight nations have lifted the trophy: Brazil, Germany, Italy, Argentina, France, Uruguay, England, and Spain.
Hakan Şükür scored for Turkey against South Korea in 2002 after only 11 seconds.
During the 1970 tournament, reports suggest that fighting briefly paused in parts of Nigeria as people followed the matches, highlighting football’s powerful influence.
In 1986, José Batista was sent off after just 56 seconds—still the fastest red card in World Cup history.
Although it looks like a block of gold, the current FIFA World Cup Trophy is made of 18-carat gold and is hollow inside.
If it were solid gold, it would be too heavy to lift.
Qatar became the first Middle Eastern nation to host the tournament and the first host country to lose its opening match.
The final attracts a global audience of hundreds of millions, while the tournament as a whole reaches billions of viewers across the world, surpassing most other sporting events.
Lionel Messi is the only player in history to provide an assist in five different World Cups.
He also holds the record for the most World Cup appearances and became the tournament’s all-time leading scorer during the 2026 World Cup.