In 1986 Angola signed up for the FIFA World Cup™ qualifying rounds for the first time. To date the former Portuguese colony has yet to reach the finals.
On their debut Angola failed narrowly against Algeria, while four years later they were beaten by Cameroon. A single victory in the next round of qualifiers against Togo was insufficient to keep their finals dream alive, while in the 1998 qualifiers even four victories was not enough to take them through.
Despite permanent underdog status against stronger African teams, Angola's performance improved in subsequent years. In 2000 they celebrated a record 7-1 triumph over Swaziland before finishing second in their qualifying group behind Cameroon. In the preliminary qualifiers for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Angola battled their way past Chad. [ More ]Total views= 425 ,Last viewed=12/3/2010
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Argentina (26 news)
Argentina reached the Final in their first FIFA World Cup™ in 1930, losing 2-4 to Uruguay. Between 1929 and 1959, the team won the Copa America 12 times, but FIFA World Cup success still eluded them until.
The breakthrough for the Albiceleste came in 1978 when they lifted the FIFA World Cup for the first time on home soil. Mario Kempes scored twice in a memorable Final against Holland.
Argentina repeated the feat in 1986 thanks to the genius of Diego Maradona. They reached the Final again in 1990, only to see an Andi Brehme penalty seal victory for Germany. [ More ]Total views= 576 ,Last viewed=11/3/2010
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Australia (189 news)
Australia have appeared in the FIFA World Cup™ qualifiers a total of ten times since 1966, making it to the finals only once, in 1974. Following defeats by the former DDR and subsequent world champions Germany, they held Chile to a creditable 0-0 draw in their last group game but were still eliminated.
More recently, their hopes of qualifying for the 2002 FIFA World Cup were once again dashed at the final hurdle. The team from Oz lost out in the play-offs between Oceania's top side and South America's fifth-placed team.
Following a 1-0 home win, they were beaten 3-0 by Uruguay in a return game which decided their fate. Despite this, Australian football is on the up and up. In 2003, their 3-1 win in England was a result to savour. [ More ]Total views= 1452 ,Last viewed=12/3/2010
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Brazil (59 news)
Brazil can rightly lay claim to being called the kings of football. They have lifted the FIFA World Cup on five occasions. They also hold the attendance record for their defeat to Uruguay in front of 200,000 spectators on home soil in 1950.
Brazil won their first FIFA World Cup title eight years later in Sweden with a team which included a 17-year-old legend-in-the-making by the name of Pelé. Their hardest-earned FIFA World Cup triumph came in 1994, when the Auriverde won on penalties to end a 24-year drought during which their teams struggled to come to terms with the physical style of opposition teams.
Despite lifting the FIFA World Cup in 2002, Brazil will still have to qualify for the 2006 tournament [ More ]Total views= 713 ,Last viewed=11/3/2010
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Costa Rica (1 news)
Costa Rica have taken part in every FIFA World Cup™ qualifying competition since 1958, winning through to the finals in 1990 and 2002. They proved one of the surprises of Italy '90, racking up two memorable wins against European sides when they defeated Scotland 1-0 and Sweden 2-1.
Their campaign ended in the round of sixteen, where they were crushed 4-1 by Czechoslovakia. Costa Rica put in another strong performance in 2002, only going out in the group round on goal difference to eventual semi-finalists Turkey.
Their best result came in 1946, when they beat Panama 12-0. Their most ignominious defeat was at the hands of Mexico, who beat them 7-0 in 1975. [ More ]Total views= 483 ,Last viewed=8/3/2010
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Côte d'Ivoire (24 news)
In seven attempts, Côte d'Ivoire have yet to reach the FIFA World Cup™ finals. In the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifiers they were hot on the heels of Tunisia for much of the time, but in the end failed to snatch the first place they needed to progress. Côte d'Ivoire nonetheless remained unbeaten against eventual qualifiers Tunisia, holding them to a draw in both home and away legs (1-1 and 2-2).
Côte d'Ivoire have achieved 6-0 victories no less than three times in their history, a record in world football statistics. The matches in question were against Mali (1985), Botswana (1992) and Niger (2000).
The team's worst defeat dates from 1971 when they went down 6-2 to Ghana. [ More ]Total views= 566 ,Last viewed=12/3/2010
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Croatia (10 news)
Croatia's FIFA World Cup experience so far has been short but very sweet. On their first attempt, they qualified for the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France, where they left an indelible impression.
In the quarter-finals Croatia defeated Germany, and an early goal by Davor Suker put them ahead against the hosts and eventual champions France in their semi-final tie. But Lilian Thuram's two goals for France ended the dream of reaching a World Cup final, and in the dying moments, Croatia failed to capitalise when France went a man down for the last 15 minutes of the game.
Four years later Croatia qualified again but were unable to repeat their 1998 success. They followed an opening defeat by Mexico with a win against Italy but lost to Ecuador and failed to reach the last sixteen. [ More ]Total views= 421 ,Last viewed=10/3/2010
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Czech Republic (20 news)
The Czechs played in their first qualifying competition as the Czech Republic in 1998. But they have yet to qualify for a FIFA World Cup finals under that name.
Prior to that, Czechoslovakia had qualified no less than eight times and had reached the Final in 1934, where they lost to Italy 2-1 in extra time after leading 1-0.
The Czechs reached the final again in 1962 and this time faced Brazil. Once again, Czechoslovakia took the lead but once again they succumbed as Brazil claimed a 3-1 victory. Czechoslovakia had to settle for another runners-up trophy. [ More ]Total views= 474 ,Last viewed=11/3/2010
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Ecuador (13 news)
Ecuador's international football history was a blank page until 2002. They participated in the FIFA World Cup finals for the first time in Korea and Japan, qualifying for the tournament before Brazil.
They opened with two defeats to Italy and Mexico, before recording their first ever victory in a FIFA World Cup against Croatia thanks to an Edison Mendez goal, thus proving that they were capable of success away from the high altitudes of their capital Quito. The newcomers, who did not play any international outside South America until 1970, could return home with their heads held high. [ More ]Total views= 499 ,Last viewed=8/3/2010
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England (99 news)
England, the cradle of the modern game, took part in the FIFA World Cup finals for the first time in 1950. Despite winning their opening game against Chile, they lost to the USA and Spain and packed their bags after the first round. In 1954, England lost to Uruguay in the quarter-finals, and in 1962 they fell at the same stage to the eventual world champions Brazil.
England's glory came in the 1966 FIFA World Cup, on home turf. Football's inventors were crowned world champions for the first and only time after a 4-2 win against Germany in the final. Geoff Hurst scored a hat-trick in the match.
Since then, England have not progressed beyond the semi-finals. In 1990 they reached the last four but were eliminated by the eventual champions Germany in a penalty shoot-out. [ More ]Total views= 904 ,Last viewed=7/3/2010
Angola (11 news) 
Argentina (26 news) 
Australia (189 news) 
Brazil (59 news) 
Costa Rica (1 news) 
Côte d'Ivoire (24 news) 
Croatia (10 news) 
Czech Republic (20 news) 
Ecuador (13 news) 
England (99 news)