The FIFA World Cup is held every years, starting in 1930, with exceptions in 1942 and 1946 due to World War II.

Context: FIFA World Cup tournament frequency

World War II occurred during the period when World Cup editions would have been scheduled, which causes the World Cup to not be held in and .

Context: Cause→effect relationship for schedule exceptions

The reigning champion concept means the team that won the most recent completed edition.

Context: Reigning champion concept

Because the most recent completed World Cup edition is 2022, the is identified as the reigning champion.

Context: Cause→effect relationship for reigning champion status

The 2026 World Cup is currently underway, which means a champion has not yet been crowned, so there is no completed to designate as reigning champion.

Context: Cause→effect relationship for reigning champion timing

In the finals list, each finals record is part of the data structure, including year, host country, winner, runner-up, and final score.

Context: World Cup finals data structure

The finals list uses outcome notations to indicate how a tied match was resolved, so the term is used for matches decided after extra time.

Context: Final score outcome notations (a.e.t.)

The abbreviation indicates that the match was decided by a penalty shootout.

Context: Final score outcome notations (p)

If a finals entry shows 0–0 (3–2 p), then the 0–0 is the tie score in play, and the champion was decided by .

Context: Interpreting p correctly (meaningful concept)

A special finals outcome format where a separate deciding match determined the champion is called a match.

Context: Deciding match

The winners leaderboard by country is a table that summarizes countries by total World Cup and lists the years they won.

Context: Winners leaderboard by country

Brazil is the most successful nation with 5 titles in the years 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, and .

Context: World Cup champions by nation (title years)

Germany has 4 titles in 1954, 1974, 1990, and .

Context: World Cup champions by nation (title years)

In the 2022 finals, Argentina defeated France with a score of 3–3 (4–2 ).

Context: Final match outcome notation (p) in a specific finals result