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The biggest sporting extravaganza begins in only a few hours.
It can't be denied that the Football World Cup is, without a shadow of doubt, the biggest, most followed and loved sporting event on the planet. Even the Olympic games can't come close to the might of Association Football's biggest contest.
The tournament which began in 1930, will see its 21st edition in Russia. Thirty-two countries from around the globe will take on each other in exciting and action-packed games. The event will last for a month, where Germany will be defending the title which they won back in 2014.
In the subsequent slides, we will be talking about the past performances of the thirty-two nations participating in the latest edition of the World Cup. This will give the readers a better idea about the achievements of their favorite teams on the global stage in previous attempts.
Group A
Russia
The host nation will be appearing in the World Cup finals for the eleventh time and the first as hosts.
Russia's last appearance at the World Cup was in 2014, where they finished at 24th position after being eliminated in the group stages. The team failed to win any game in the previous edition. The fans would be hoping for a better performance from the side this time around. The nation's best performance came back in the 1966 World Cup in England where they finished at the fourth position, while playing as the Soviet Union.
Saudi Arabia
The Arab country from Western Asia will be making their fifth appearance at the World Cup finals. They first qualified for the mega-event back in 1994 when the event was held in the USA while their latest participation was back at the 2006 World Cup in Germany where they were eliminated in the Group Stage without a win. The team's best finish was at the 1994 World Cup when they managed to reach the Round of 16.
Egypt
The 45th ranked side would be appearing the finals for the third time with their best result being the 13th position finish back at the 1934 World Cup. The team, however, would be hoping for a great performance this time around as the expectations are sky-high because of the presence of Liverpool star, Mohamed Salah.
Uruguay
The South American side have previously won the World Cup on two occasions. They were the winners of the very first edition of the Cup back in 1930 while they repeated this feat in 1950 as well. At the 2014 World Cup, the team was eliminated in the Round of 16. This would be their thirteenth appearance at the World Cup finals.
GROUP B
Portugal
The European champions, led by Cristiano Ronaldo will be appearing in the World Cup finals for only the seventh time. Their best finish was at the 1966 World Cup in England, when they managed to earn the third position. In the previous edition in Brazil, they failed to make it into the knockout stage.
Spain
The 2010 FIFA World Cup Champions failed to qualify for the knockout stage back in 2014. They would be making their fifteenth appearance at the global tournament and would be expected to repeat the magic of 2010.
Morocco
The African side would be appearing at the World Cup after almost two decades. The team's best finish was at the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico when they managed to reach the round of 16. This would be the side's fifth appearance at the finals.
Iran
The Western Asian country would be appearing at the finals for the fifth time with their latest appearance being at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. The team is yet to advance from the group stage as all their previous attempts have ended in a group stage exit.
GROUP C
France
The 1998 Cup winners and the 2016 European Cup finalists would be appearing at the World Championship for the fifteenth time. They lost to eventual champions, Germany at the 2014 World Cup quarter-finals by a narrow margin of 1-0.
Australia
The Socceroos will be appearing at the World Cup for the fifth time, with their best result being a round of 16 finish back at the 2006 World Cup in Germany. The team lost all of their games at the 2014 World Cup to suffer a group stage exit.
Peru
The South Americans would be appearing in their fourth World Cup after a gap of thirty-six years. The team's best finishes were a quarter-final exit at the 1970 World Cup in Mexico and a round 2 exit at the 1978 World Cup in Argentina.
Denmark
The European side will be playing at the World Cup finals for the fifth time, with their best finish being a quarter-final exit at the 1998 World Cup in France. The side's last appearance in the cup was back in 2010 when they were eliminated in the first round.
GROUP D
Argentina
One of the favorites to clinch the title, the Lionel Messi-led side will be gracing the field at the World Cup finals for the seventeenth time. The winners of 1978 and 1986 football World Cups were the finalists in the 2014 World Cup, where they lost to Germany in extra time.
Iceland
The European side will be playing at the World Cup finals for the first time in their football history. This event would be pretty exciting for the fans of Iceland football team this time around.
Croatia
Third place finish at the 1998 FIFA World Cup was the best performance from the European side appearing in their fifth World Cup. In the previous edition, they were eliminated in the group stage and will be hoping for a better result this time.
Nigeria
The African side will be appearing at the World Cup finals for the sixth time having qualified for round of 16 on three occasions with the most recent one being at the 2014 World Cup.
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GROUP E
Brazil
The only country to appear in all editions of the World Cup, the South American side would be looking for their sixth trophy this time. The team suffered a humiliating defeat on their home-ground back in the 2014 edition of the cup, when they lost by a margin of 7-1 to eventual winners, Germany.
Switzerland
The Swiss team will be playing in the World Cup finals for the tenth time, with their best finishes being a quarter final exit on three occasions. Back in 2014, they were eliminated in the second round.
Costa Rica
The Central American side would be appearing at the global event for the fifth time. The quarter-final exit at the 2014 World Cup was their best performance at the tournament.
Serbia
This would be the team's twelfth appearance at the World Cup finals overall, while being their second as the Republic of Serbia. Their best finish was the achievement of third place back in the inaugural edition of the World Cup, while the most recent appearance was at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
GROUP F
Germany
The defending Champions will be looking for their fifth title in the eighteenth appearance at the global event. The team, as always, will be one of the favorites to clinch the title.
Mexico
The Mexican side would be entering the World Cup finals for the sixteenth time, with their best finishes being quarter-final exits on two occasions. They were eliminated in the round of 16 at the 2014 World Cup.
Sweden
The European side will be appearing at the event for the twelfth time. They were the runners-up back in 1958 in a World Cup, which was held in their own backyard. They failed to qualify for the finals on the previous two occasions, with their last appearance before 2018 being at the 2006 World Cup.
South Korea
The only Asian team ever to qualify for the semi-finals of the football World Cup, the team from South Korea will be contesting for the World Cup title for the tenth time. They finished at number four back in 2002 in a World Cup, co-hosted by them and Japan.
GROUP G
Belgium
The 2018 World Cup will be the thirteenth appearance for the European side. They finished at fourth position back in the 1986 World Cup. They reached the quarter finals in the previous edition held in Brazil and overall finished the tournament at the sixth position.
Panama
The Central American nation will be competing in their first ever World Cup finals. The 2013 runners-up of the CONCACAF Championship & Gold Cup will be hoping to make the most of this golden opportunity.
Tunisia
The Northwest African country will be appearing in their fifth World Cup finals and the first since the 2006 event. They will be hoping to create history by reaching the second round for the first time in their country's football history.
England
The champions of the 1966 event will be hoping to achieve the same in their fifteenth World Cup appearance. Last time they were eliminated in the first round from a tough group which had former World Champions Italy and Uruguay.
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GROUP H
Poland
The Polish side will be returning to the event after twelve years. This would mark their eighth appearance in the biggest event in the football world. The nation finished at the third position on two occasions.
Senegal
The West African nation will be appearing at the contest after 16 years to mark their second appearance. Back in 2002, they were eliminated in the quarter-finals and they will be hoping for a better finish than that this time around.
Colombia
The sixteenth-ranked side, led by Radamel Falcao, will be appearing at the World Cup finals for the sixth time. Their best finish came in the previous edition, when they reached the quarters on the back of some incredible performances, powered mainly by the current vice-captain, James Rodriguez. One interesting fact about the side that they are the only team to score a direct corner kick goal in World Cup history.
Japan
They reached the round of 16 back in 2002 and 2010, which remain their best finishes in the cup's history. The 2018 event will be their sixth entry into the World Championship finals.
