"Nations Cup (snooker) The Nations Cup was a non-ranking team snooker tournament created in 1999, and the second team tournament after the World Cup. The annual contests featured team of four players representing their country against other such teams. The event began in the 1998/1999 season. It was held at the Telewest Arena, Newcastle upon Tyne. The five home countries participated, who were represented by four player teams and were identified by coloured waistcoats. It was played on a round robin basis with the top two meeting in the final. For the final two years the event moved to the"
"two years, but has since then been played annually. For a long time, only four countries competed in the world championships: the Soviet Union, Sweden, Finland and Norway, with the Soviet Union as the dominating country. Since then, more countries have joined the tournaments, starting with the United States in 1985. The interest for the sport has spread to other parts of Europe, North America and Asia, and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 also opened the way for separate national teams from the former Soviet republics. Somalia became the first team from Africa to compete, in the"
"were six teams in 1999 and 2007, four in 2003, and seven in 2015). The opening round featured a round-robin tournament within the groups, with each team playing each other once. However, as opposed to a tournament bracket after the games were completed, the teams with the best record from each group met in the gold medal game, with the second-place teams in each group playing for the bronze medal, the third-place teams playing in the 5th-place game, and the fourth-place teams playing in the 7th-place game, thus guaranteeing each team four games. Automatic berths included the host nation and"
"National team appearances in the FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA, Fédération Internationale de Football Association). The championship has been awarded every four years since the inaugural tournament in 1930, with the exception of 1942 and 1946 when it was not held due to the Second World War. The competition originally featured 16 teams, and later 24, before settling on its current format of 32 teams starting with the 1998 tournament. Teams initially compete in"
"the knockout phase: the six group winners, the six group runners-up, and the four third-placed teams with the best records. This was the last time this format was used, due to the expansion of the finals tournament in 1998 to 32 teams. This World Cup was the first in which three points were awarded for a win instead of two. FIFA instituted this feature to encourage attacking football after the defensive display of many teams at Italia '90. The tournament saw the end of Diego Maradona's World Cup career, having played in the 1982, 1986, and 1990 World Cups, and"
"World Cup finals based on progress in the competition, overall results and quality of the opposition. 1990 FIFA World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football tournament. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event twice (the first being Mexico in 1986). Teams representing 116 national football associations entered and qualification began in April 1988. 22 teams qualified from this process, along with host nation Italy and defending champions Argentina. The tournament was won by West Germany, their third World"
"with 4 teams). The teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winners would qualify. The 10 teams were divided into 3 groups; two groups with 3 teams and one group with 4 teams. The teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winners would qualify. Peru qualified. The Bolivia v Peru match on 10 August 1969 is infamous for being fixed by Argentina in favour of Bolivia. Match referee Sergio Chechelev annulled a valid goal from Peru without any justification, allowing Bolivia to win 2-1. Years later, Chechelev admitted that Argentina had paid"
"play in groups of (now) six nations, with as many as five tiers. Initially the tournament was an eight team tournament divided into two groups. The top two from each group played off for the gold, and beginning in 1999 the bottom two played off to determine placement and relegation. On four occasions the tournament was played with nine nations, using three groups of three. In this format first place from each group continued on to play for gold, second place from each group played for placement and an opportunity to still play for bronze, and the third place teams"
"three teams from the previous World Cup in 1995: champions South Africa, runners-up New Zealand and third-placed France. Qualification for the final 16 places took place between 63 other nations. The tournament was expanded to 20 teams (from 16), divided into five pools of four teams, a scenario that necessitated a quarter-final play-off round involving the five runners-up and best third-placed team to decide who would join the pool winners in the last eight. The 1999 tournament saw the introduction of a repechage, effectively a second chance for teams that had finished runners-up in each qualifying zone. Uruguay and Tonga"
"Cup had been held two years before the first men's tournament, and a tournament involving multiple international teams had been held as early as 1912, when a triangular tournament of Test matches was played between Australia, England and South Africa. The first three World Cups were held in England. From the 1987 tournament onwards, hosting has been shared between countries under an unofficial rotation system, with fourteen ICC members having hosted at least one match in the tournament. The World Cup is open to all members of the International Cricket Council (ICC), although the highest-ranking teams receive automatic qualification. The"
"(1983), Mexico (1984), Australia (1985), China (1987), The United Kingdom (1988), Kenya (1989), France (1990), New Zealand (1991), Italy (1992), Russia (1993), Cote d’Ivoire (1994), Thailand (1995), Brazil (1997), Portugal (1998), Morocco (1999), India (2000), Argentina (2002), South Korea (2003), South Africa (2004), Ireland (2005), Costa Rica (2006), Spain (2007), Turkey (2008), Chile (2009), Tunisia (2010), Belgium (2011), The Philippines (2012), Sweden (2013), Panama (2014), Poland (2015), Colombia (2017) and Czech Republic (2018). The WCBCC started in 1978 with 26 teams. The contest drew 50 teams in 1979, 80 in 1980, and 180 teams from nine states in 1981. It"
"has been used since 1975. Between 1975 and 1983 it had no host nation, and was held in a home and away fashion. The current final tournament features 12 national teams competing over a month in the host nation. There are two phases: the group stage followed by the knockout stage. In the group stage, teams compete within three groups of four teams each. Three teams are seeded, including the hosts, with the other seeded teams selected using a formula based on the FIFA World Rankings. The other teams are assigned to different ""pots"", usually based also on the FIFA"
"United Arab Emirates at the FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, sometimes called the Football World Cup or the Soccer World Cup, but usually referred to simply as the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the men's national teams of the members of ""Fédération Internationale de Football Association"" (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The championship has been awarded every four years since the first tournament in 1930, except in 1942 and 1946, due to World War II. The tournament consists of two parts, the qualification phase and the final phase (officially called the ""World"
"and tactics. As a partial result of the good performance of Egypt, and the exceptional performance of Cameroon in 1990, FIFA decided to increase the number of African teams qualifying to the World Cup to three teams instead of two (one more than Asia). With the increase of the number of teams participating in the World Cup from 24 to 32, the actual number of African teams increased to 5 teams per tournament. For Ahly (Egypt) For Zamalek (Egypt) For Al-Wehda (UAE): Jordan national team Individual Mahmoud El-Gohary Mahmoud-el-Gohary () (February 20, 1938 – August 31, 2012) was an Egyptian"
"World Cup was feasible. Twelve national teams took part in the competition – four from UEFA, three from AFC, two from CONCACAF and one each from CONMEBOL, CAF and OFC. The tournament saw European champion Norway defeat Sweden 1–0 in the final to win the tournament, while Brazil clinched third place by beating the hosts in a penalty shootout. The competition was deemed a success and on 30 June FIFA approved the establishment of an official World Cup, which was to take place in 1991 again in China. Again, twelve teams competed, this time culminating in the United States beating"
"World Cup. After the first twenty-one World Cups, all top 2 finishes, and all but two top 4 finishes, have been achieved by European (UEFA) and South American (CONMEBOL) countries. The other four football regions together have got just one third place, won by the United States in the inaugural 1930 tournament, and one fourth place, won by South Korea on home soil in 2002. National team appearances in the FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the International Federation of Association Football"
"to be a very enthusiastic audience for that kind of show, the organizers' aspect was to compete with the biggest sports event in the United States. The tournament featured the six nations that had won World Cup championships. The year each nation won the title is in parentheses. Argentina (1978, 1986) Forward Mario Kempes, 36, scored two goals in a 3–1 win over The Netherlands in 1978 Cup final. Fullback Alberto Tarantini, 35, was the heart of the defense in 1978 and 1982 World Cups. Brazil (1958, 1962, 1970) Forward Roberto Dinamite started in the 1978 FIFA World Cup and"
"players to play for two national teams in the World Cup. In light of this, FIFA created stipulations describing that once a player represents a nation during a World Cup or its qualifying rounds the player cannot switch to another national team. Robert Prosinečki and Robert Jarni would later become the sixth and seventh such players, playing for Yugoslavia in 1990, then for Croatia in 1998; Davor Šuker was also selected in both squads, but did not play in 1990. This was accepted by FIFA because Croatia was a newly independent former republic of Yugoslavia. Eighteen match officials from 17"
"spot in the World Cup in West Germany. With the Campeonato de Naciones doubling as the final World Cup qualifying tournament, the next two editions were held in Mexico City and Tegucigalpa, Honduras in 1977 and 1981, respectively. In each case the host country was crowned champion and earned a spot in the World Cup. In 1985 and 1989, the winner of the World Cup qualifying tournament was again crowned Confederation champion. Canada and Costa Rica were named champions in 1985 and 1989, receiving a trophy. In 1990, CONCACAF brought the CONCACAF Championship to an end and created the CONCACAF"
"lost to Belgium, 3-2. Japan at the FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, sometimes called the Football World Cup or the Soccer World Cup, but usually referred to simply as the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the men's national teams of the members of ""Fédération Internationale de Football Association"" (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The championship has been awarded every four years since the first tournament in 1930, except in 1942 and 1946, due to World War II. The tournament consists of two parts, the qualification phase and the final phase (officially called"
"This was the first World Cup with 24 teams, and Africa's representation was doubled. So 29 African countries competed for 2 spots in World Cup qualification. In comparison, 21 Asian nations also competed for 2 spots, but 33 European nations competed for 13 spots. 1978 finalists Tunisia were eliminated in the first round by Nigeria on penalties. Four series of knockout rounds were played, with the final two spots going down to Nigeria vs Algeria, and Morocco vs Cameroon. Both ""Les Fennecs"" ""(The Desert Foxes)"" of Algeria and ""Les Lions Indomptables (The Indomitable Lions)"" of Cameroon won 2–0 away and"
"was contested between the United States and Mexico only three days before the start of the tournament in a one-off match in Rome, which the United States won. The following 16 teams qualified for the final tournament. 10 of these teams made their first World Cup appearance. This included 9 of the 12 European teams (Italy, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Sweden, Austria, and Switzerland) as well as Egypt. Egypt was the first team from Africa in the finals and would not qualify again until the next time the competition was held in Italy, in 1990. The number of"
"(Spain). In addition, it withdrew from the finals in 1938 (France), and was banned by FIFA from entering the 1990 World Cup (Italy) after fielding over-aged players during the 1988 Olympic Games qualifiers, which was a youth tournament. The tournament consists of two parts, the qualification phase and the final phase (officially called the ""World Cup Finals""). The qualification phase, which currently take place over the three years preceding the Finals, is used to determine which teams qualify for the Finals. The current format of the Finals involves 32 teams competing for the title, at venues within the host nation"
"1990 FIFA World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football tournament. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event twice (the first being Mexico in 1986). Teams representing 116 national football associations entered and qualification began in April 1988. 22 teams qualified from this process, along with host nation Italy and defending champions Argentina. The tournament was won by West Germany, their third World Cup title. They beat Argentina 1–0 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, a rematch of the"
"(1960 and 1979), while the Koreans won it seven times. Indonesia, Taiwan and Myanmar also had their fair share of the accolades. The other champions were Morocco (1980), New Zealand (2000), Uzbekistan (2001), Czechoslovakia Olympic football team (1987) and also Austria’s with their represented SK Admira Wacker (1991), German club-Hamburger SV (1988), Argentina states-Buenos Aires XI (1983) and Brazil states-Santa Catarina XI (1982). While Brazilian states – Sao Paulo XI, Minas Gerais XI, and America FC Rio de Janeiro finished runners-up together with Japan and India in the 60 years history of the tournament. Below are the list of champions"
"in the match called ""Maracanazo"" (Portuguese: ""Maracanaço""). In the tournaments between 1934 and 1978, 16 teams competed in each tournament, except in 1938, when Austria was absorbed into Germany after qualifying, leaving the tournament with 15 teams, and in 1950, when India, Scotland, and Turkey withdrew, leaving the tournament with 13 teams. Most of the participating nations were from Europe and South America, with a small minority from North America, Africa, Asia, and Oceania. These teams were usually defeated easily by the European and South American teams. Until 1982, the only teams from outside Europe and South America to advance"
"host Argentina and two teams each from Europe, Asia, and South America. However, no Asian team was willing to travel to the event, so six of the ten teams were from the Americas (all three Olympic medalists were from the Americas, plus the zone received two continental berths and an Asia's berth). The former European powerhouse Soviet Union, later made their first tournament appearance in 1959, after missing the first two events. In the tournament's early years, only Europe and South America had established continental tournaments, so participation in the tournament was largely by invitation. Later, Asia added a continental"
"1990. He is the only individual award winner ever from Africa. With 38 years at the time, he is also the oldest boot award winner to date. Cameroon at the FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, sometimes called the Football World Cup or the Soccer World Cup, but usually referred to simply as the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the men's national teams of the members of ""Fédération Internationale de Football Association"" (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The championship has been awarded every four years since the first tournament in 1930, except in"
"won by the West Indies, who defeated Australia by 17 runs in the final at Lord's. The 1979 World Cup saw the introduction of the ICC Trophy competition to select non-Test playing teams for the World Cup, with Sri Lanka and Canada qualifying. The West Indies won a second consecutive World Cup tournament, defeating the hosts England by 92 runs in the final. At a meeting which followed the World Cup, the International Cricket Conference agreed to make the competition a quadrennial event. The 1983 event was hosted by England for a third consecutive time. By this stage, Sri Lanka"
"between Scotland and England in Glasgow, again at the instigation of C. W. Alcock. The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of ""Fédération Internationale de Football Association"" (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The championship has been awarded every four years since the inaugural tournament in 1930, except in 1942 and 1946 when it was not held because of the Second World War. Variants of association football have been codified for reduced-sized teams (i.e. Five-a-side football), for play in non-field environments (i.e."
"least once. Seven teams have competed in every tournament, five of which have won the title. The West Indies won the first two tournaments, Australia has won five, India has won two, while Pakistan and Sri Lanka have each won once. The West Indies (1975 and 1979) and Australia (1999, 2003 and 2007) are the only teams to have won consecutive titles. Australia has played in seven of the eleven finals (1975, 1987, 1996, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2015). England has yet to win the World Cup, but has been runners-up three times (1979, 1987, 1992). The best result by a"
"would be deemed unofficial, only to be considered valid later on by CONMEBOL. For example, Argentina would be the first (and so far only) team to win three consecutive titles by winning the championships of 1945, 1946 and 1947. After those three annual tournaments, the competition returned to being held every two years, then three and later four. There were even two tournaments held in 1959, one in Argentina and a second in Ecuador. During this period, some of the national teams were indifferent to the tournament. Some did not participate every year, others sent lesser teams; in the 1959"
"Cricket World Cup became the first such tournament to be hosted on all six populated continents- Europe (1975, 1979, 1983, 1999); Asia (1987, 1996); Australasia (1992); Africa (2003); North and South America (2007). Ireland making their World Cup debut tied with Zimbabwe and defeated Pakistan to progress to the second round, where they went on to defeating Bangladesh to get promoted to the main ODI table. Following their defeat to Ireland, the Pakistani coach Bob Woolmer was found dead in his hotel room; contrasting reports from different sources say that he was either murdered or died of natural causes. Australia"