You may know the sport as football, soccer, or simply "the beautiful game." It's played worldwide, by rich people and poor people, in the freezing cold and tropical heat. And one tournament brings fans from around the world together: the FIFA World Cup.

FIFA, the International Federation of Association Football, organized the first World Cup tournament back in 1930. Since then, it has been held every four years, except for 1942 and 1946. Just try asking anyone who lives in Africa, Asia, or Europe. They will surely tell you that the World Cup is a big deal. FIFA estimates6 that one billion viewers worldwide watched the final match in 2014. That's enough to make it the most watched sporting event in the world.

Most viewers only pay attention to the final part of the World Cup tournament. But just getting that far is a long and difficult road for national teams. In the lead-up to the World Cup finals, smaller tournaments are held on six continents. These tournaments see up to 200 countries competing for a spot in the finals. Since there are so many teams, the tournaments end up taking a long time. Most of them kick off a full three years before the final game is even scheduled!

The final part of the World Cup involves 32 teams, and it lasts for about a month. It kicks off with the group stage. That’s when groups of four teams all play each other, with the top two moving on. Then comes the knockout stage, when any loss will send a team home. Eventually, there will be two teams left standing. These two will clash in a thrilling final match for the title of World Champion.

The title has gone to Brazil five times, which is more than to any other nation. Brazil is also the only nation to have played in every World Cup. Italy and Germany are tied for second, with four victories each. Then comes Uruguay and Argentina, which have both won twice. England, France, and Spain have won once.

你或許知道這個運動叫做「足球」、「英式足球」 或乾脆稱之為「美麗的比賽」。世界各地不論貧富、不分嚴寒與酷熱地帶，人人都瘋足球。而凝聚全球粉絲的重要賽事，就是「FIFA世界盃足球賽」。

FIFA全名為「國際足球總會」，1930年籌備了第一場世界盃球賽。從那時起，除了1942年與1946年以外，每隔四年就會舉辦一次世界盃。問問任何居住在非洲、亞洲或歐洲地區的人，他們絕對會告訴你世界盃有多重要。國際足總估計2014年總決賽當日的全球觀賽人數達十億人，可說是收視率最高的國際運動賽事。

多數觀眾僅會留意世界盃的決賽圈賽程，但是對各國國家隊而言，可是要費一番功夫在會外賽披荊斬棘，才能晉級世界盃決賽圈名單。首先，六大洲會分別進行會外賽，篩選能夠進入世界盃決賽圈的國家。參賽國將近200個國家，為的就是爭得決賽圈席次。由於參賽隊伍眾多，因此會外賽過程十分耗時，甚至需要花上整整三年的時間，才能排定決賽圈賽程！

只有32支球隊能入選世界盃決賽圈，並進行一個月左右的對決。剛開始先進行分組賽，每四隊一組，兩兩對打，每組積分排行前兩名的國家可晉級。接下來進行淘汰賽，輸球的國家隊就要準備回家。最終留下兩支球隊，在刺激的冠軍戰進行世界盃冠亞軍爭霸。

巴西曾技壓群雄，踢出奪冠五次的紀錄，也只有巴西是不曾缺席每屆世界盃的國家。曾奪冠四次的義大利和德國則並列第二。其次是奪冠兩次的烏拉圭和阿根廷。而英格蘭、法國與西班牙均曾奪冠一次。