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1. South Africa is the only nation to ever host the world cup and not pass the first round
2. During World War II, then-FIFA vice president Ottorino Barassi hid the Jules Rimet trophy under his bed because he was afraid Hitler would try to steal it.
3. Speaking of the 1950 World Cup, there's an interesting story behind India's withdrawal from the World Cup after they qualified, making them the only team in history to qualify yet never play a game.
4. There are only two nations to ever win the World Cup back-to-back.
One's Italy (1934 and 1938) and the other's Brazil (1958 and 1962).
5. The first ever goal in World Cup history was scored by France's Lucien Laurent.
6. USA and Switzerland, who were part of Group A during the 1994 World Cup, played in the competition's first-ever indoor match.
It took place in the Pontiac Silverdome in Michigan and ended as a tied game between the two teams.
7. Otto Rehhagel is the oldest person to coach in the World Cup.
8. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Argentina's Juan Jose Tramutola is the youngest coach in World Cup history.
He was 27 years old when he coached the team in 1930.
9. Yellow and red cards were introduced during the 1970 World Cup held in Mexico.
10. Remember this infamous incident during the 2006 World Cup courtesy of one Zinedine Zidane?
Did you know that it inspired a song called Coup de Boulle that went viral online?
View this video on YouTube
It even topped the French and Belgian music charts.
11. The first World Cup in 1930, which was held in Uruguay, consisted of 18 matches.
View this video on YouTube
The hosts won after beating Argentina 4-2.
12. Germany scored the most goals during the last three World Cups.
Germany scored 14 goals in 2006, 16 in 2010, and 18 in 2014.
13. The record for the most goals scored by a single player in a group stage match is held by Russia's Oleg Salenko.
14. France is the last country (so far) to win a World Cup it hosted.
15. Italy is one of the eight nations to ever win a World Cup. It is also the only one among the eight that didn't qualify for this year's tournament.
16. France's Just Fontaine holds the record for the most goals in a single edition of the World Cup.
17. South Korea holds the record for the most consecutive 17th to 32nd place finishes in the World Cup.
The record's currently at 4 (1986, 1990, 1994, and 1998).
18. France's Alexandre Villaplane, who was the captain of the team that played in the 1930 World Cup, was eventually arrested and executed for crimes committed (murder included) as part of the French Gestapo during World War II.
19. Argentina and Germany hold the record for most played final.
20. During a qualifying match on April 11, 2001, Australia defeated American Samoa. Defeated might be putting it lightly because the score was 31-0.
It's the largest victory in a World Cup qualifier and in an international football match in general.
21. The first red card in World Cup history went to Chile's Carlos Caszely.
22. This year, South Korea has qualified for its 10th World Cup -- the most among the Asian countries.
23. The Jules Rimet trophy was stolen in 1966 in London. Despite the flurry of ransom notes and police investigations, it was eventually found by a man named David Corbett and his dog Pickles.
24. Brazilian legend Pelé has a couple of World Cup records to his name. He is the only player who is a three-time World Cup champion and he is the youngest player (17 years and 239 days) in history to score a goal.
25. If there's one player who's arguably had the most memorable World Cup moment, it's Italy's Giuseppe "Peppino" Meazza.
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