List of men's national association football teams

This is a list of the men's national association football teams in the world. There are more nations with football teams than for any other sport. Teams represent 191 of the 193 UN member states, as well as several dependent territories, sub-national entities, and states who are not members of the United Nations. This list divides teams into two main groups:
This list excludes other teams that generally play Non-FIFA football. Excluded teams include those who represent ethnic groups, sub-national entities, separatist movements, and micro-nations.
Members of FIFA affiliated confederations.
This section lists the current 211 men's national football teams affiliated to FIFA, through their national football associations, and the 12 men's national football teams who have membership in one of FIFA's affiliated continental confederations, but are not members of FIFA. These are displayed in the main list in "italics".
FIFA members are eligible to enter the FIFA World Cup and matches between them are recognized as official international matches. Based on their match results over the previous four-year period, the FIFA World Rankings, published monthly by FIFA, compare how good the national teams are on a point-based system.
Some national teams who are members of a confederation but not FIFA members compete in confederation-level and subregional tournaments. However, These teams are not allowed to participate in the World Cup.
The six confederations are:
FIFA runs the World Cup as a tournament for national teams to find the world champion. Each confederation also runs its own championship to find the best team from among its members:
Although it is not a confederation, the Union of Arab Football Associations (UAFA) coordinates football activities between Arabic-speaking countries. All 22 national governing bodies that form UAFA are also members of both FIFA and either the AFC or CAF. National teams from UAFA member countries are noted in the list below.
The Confederation of Independent Football Associations (ConIFA) is an organization for teams representing unrecognised states, subnational regions, and stateless minorities, as well as teams from recognised states that have not managed to gain entry into FIFA. While none of its current members are also members of FIFA, a few hold associate membership in one of the confederations affiliated with it. These teams are also noted in the list below.
AFC (Asia).
The AFC is subdivided into five sub-federations:
CAF (Africa).
CAF is divided into five regional federations:
CONCACAF (North America, Central America, and the Caribbean).
The CONCACAF federation is divided into three regional federations that have responsibility for part of the region's geographical area:
National teams not affiliated to FIFA confederations.
The national football teams included in this section are not members of FIFA, or of any of its affiliated continental confederations. These teams are not eligible to enter the FIFA World Cup or any continental confederation championships. FIFA's statutes do not allow member teams to compete against these sides without FIFA's prior permission. Several national associations for teams included in this section are members of ConIFA; these are indicated in the lists below.
This section lists:
Unaffiliated United Nations states.
There are seven United Nations member and observer states which are not members of FIFA or any of its affiliated continental confederations. Five of them, however, have fielded national association-organised teams in unofficial friendly matches, regional tournaments (such as the Pacific Games or Micronesian Games), or in global tournaments that are not regulated by FIFA. These teams are listed below.
Two other UN member states (the Marshall Islands and Nauru) have never fielded a national association-organised football team, though there are reports that amateur football teams claiming to represent the Nauru national soccer team have participated in local friendly matches on at least two occasions.
Others.
Membership criteria of FIFA and affiliated confederations.
Historically, the majority of FIFA and confederation members have been sovereign states with wide diplomatic recognition. Exceptions to this rule include the British Home Nations (due to their small role in the development of football), the Republic of China (which does not enjoy wide recognition but is still accepted as a representative of the Taiwan area), and certain dependent territories, autonomous areas, and protectorates, which have been allowed to hold membership in FIFA and/or one of its affiliated confederations based on their political autonomy, separate status, and/or distance from their parent state. At present, FIFA members include 23 subnational and dependent territories, as well as two states with limited international recognition.
The FIFA-affiliated football teams that belong to non-UN members are:
Ten other overseas, dependent, and autonomous territories with close ties to a sovereign state do not have membership in FIFA, but are members of one of its affiliated confederations.
Former national football teams.
These national teams no longer exist due to the dissolution of the nation or territory that they represented. Only national teams that were once members of FIFA are listed below.
New names.
In addition to the above, other nations have been renamed: