📊 Most World Cup quarter-finals played! List shows missing nations | OneFootball

The quarter-finals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup begin this Thursday (9) with France versus Morocco. 

And FIFA released a compilation of the national teams that have reached this stage of the tournament since the 1994 World Cup. 

The best record belongs to Brazil, which played in eight of the nine possible editions. The only one it missed was the current one. 

Argentina, Germany, and France come next with six each.

But only France did not take part in every edition within this span, as it missed out in 1994.

Italy is one of the negative standouts. It has only three appearances — runner-up in 1994, semifinalist in 1998, and champion in 2006.

That run was followed by early eliminations in 2010 and 2014 and absences from World Cups since 2018.

Portugal also stands out negatively: only two appearances (it reached the semis in 2006) in six World Cups with Cristiano Ronaldo.

Germany is also worth mentioning. It was champion in 2014, went out in the group stage in 2018 and 2022, and in the round of 16 in 2026. 

And they never shone again...

Some national teams “disappeared.” Such as Hagi’s Romania and Stoichkov’s Bulgaria, which were two of the sensations in 1994. 

📸 GABRIEL BOUYS - AFP or licensors

Both played in the following World Cup, in France, and never returned. 

See below all the national teams present in the quarter-finals since the World Cup that ended with the Brazilian national team winning its fourth title.

Number of quarter-final appearances since 1994:

Brazil: 8

Argentina: 6

Germany: 6

France: 6

England: 5

Spain: 4

Netherlands: 4

Italy: 3

Croatia: 3

Belgium: 3

Uruguay: 2

Sweden: 2

Portugal: 2

Morocco: 2

Bulgaria: 1

Romania: 1

Denmark: 1

Türkiye: 1

Senegal: 1

United States: 1

South Korea: 1

Costa Rica: 1

Paraguay: 1

Ghana: 1

Colombia: 1

Ukraine: 1

Russia: 1

Norway: 1

Switzerland: 1

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.

📸 Justin Setterfield - 2026 Getty Images