by Michael Barbosa

Created on: September 09, 2008

For an entire month within every 4 years, 32 of the top soccer nations around the world gather together to put on a soccer spectacle. This is a time when emotions run wild for players and supporters alike. This is when you will see the best of the best do what they do best. Players get the opportunity to be viewed by millions around the world, earn some money, and restore some pride to their country.

The World Cup is organized and governed by the Federation of International Football Associations, simply known as FIFA. Every nation in the world is immediately entered at the start of the competition. The nation which hosts the final tournament is automatically entered in the round of 32, and thus do not have to qualify for a spot in the World Cup. All other nations do, however. First, they divide up the nations into groups, sorted by continents. In other words, each continent has its own qualifying competition. If the continent consists of a large number of nations, the group is further subdivided, such as Europe.
Each team is awarded 3 points for each victory, 1 point for a tie, and losses count for nothing. In this qualifying stage each team will play 2 games, 1 home and 1 away, against each opponent in their particular group. Upon completion of the qualifying phase, points are tallied up based on wins, draws, and losses, whereupon the 31 teams with the highest points gain entry into the final tournament, where all 32 teams will be randomly placed into 8 groups of 4.
At the start of the final tournament, each team will play 1 game against each of the 3 opponents in their group. Again, a win scores 3 points, a tie scores 1 and a loss scores nothing. After all teams have played each other in their own group, the 2 teams with the most accumulated points in each group will advance to the round of 16, on a single elimination basis. Next, 8 winners will proceed to the quarter-finals. Out of those 8, the 4 teams who win their match will proceed to the semi-finals. The winners of the semi-finals will play each other in the final match for the World Cup. The losers of the semi-finals will play each other for third place.
The first world cup took place in the 1930s in Uruguay. Uruguay did not have to qualify for the tournament. As it turns out, Uruguay also won the World Cup. Brazil currently holds 5 championships, which is more than any other nation in the world. Italy holds 4, and Germany holds 3. Ronaldo Lima from Brazil, also known as "Fenomeno", meaning phenomenon in Portuguese, is the top scorer in the World Cup, having accumulated 14 goals in his World Cup career.
In 1994, Italy played Brazil in the final in Atlanta, Georgia. The game went all 90 minutes of regulation without any goals scored. They went into extra time, consisting of two 15 minute periods. Again, no goals. The game had to be settled by a penalty shootout. Still, the two sides were tied, until Roberto Baggio of Italy shot the ball over net, which is still frequently talked about to this very day. That one mistake cost Italy the game, giving Brazil their fourth World Cup championship.
In 2006, Portugal played Holland in the round of 16. Maniche of Portugal scored the only goal of the game within the opening minutes, sending Portugal into the quarter-finals against England. But Portugal's encounter with the Dutch was not a pleasant one by any means. There was a total lack of sportsmanship on both sides. The referee issued 12 yellow cards and 4 red cards, making this the most controversial game in World Cup history.
It doesn't matter who wins or loses. What matters is that the World Cup is full of moments that immortalize the experience.

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