RUSSIA 2018 COUNTDOWN: 7 Countries that competed in the world cup but no longer exist

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It is just 9 days to the start of the greatest football tournament the FIFA World Cup 2018 to be hosted by Russia. In view of this, let's reflect on some historic moments in the tournament's history since 1930. There are 7 countries that competed in the World Cup tournament before, but will probably never qualify again because some of these countries are not known by that name again, while some now have completely different political systems or different borders. Take a look at these 7 countries

Czechoslovakia

Qualified: 1934, 1938, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1970, 1982, 1990
Team existed from - 1920-1993
New Name: Czech Republic, Slovakia
Highest FIFA Rank - 1
Best World Cup performance - 1938, 1962 (runner-up)

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Czechoslovakia used to be one of the most successful countries ever in the world cup but no longer exist. In 1934, they got to the final of the FIFA world cup but narrowly lost to Italy 2-1. Also in 1962, they got to the final before loosing to Brazil 3-1. In their final world cup appearance in 1990, Czechoslovakia lost to West Germany in the quarter finals. In 1924, Czechoslovakia were ranked as the best team in the world. The country has since been separated into Czech republic and Slovakia.

East Germany

Qualified: 1974
Team existed from - 1952-1990
New Name: Germany
Highest FIFA rank - 6
Best World Cup performance - 1974 (2nd Round)

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Modern day Germany used to be called East Germany and West Germany before the fall of the Berlin wall. Both teams played in the world cup but East Germany qualified just once in 1974. However notably, East Germany won the only professional match between East and West Germany played in Hamburg, West Germany. East Germany and West Germany were drawn against each other in the 1992 European championship qualifier but the matches never saw the light of day because the countries decided to reunite in 1990. Since 1991, both teams has played together as one country, Germany.

Soviet Union

Qualified: 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1982, 1986, 1990
Team existed from - 1917-1991
New Name: Russia (Lithuania, Latvia Estonia, Georgia, Uzbekistan, Moldova, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Tajikistan, Armenia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan)
Highest FIFA rank - 1
Best World cup performance - 1966 (semi final)

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The Soviet Union did win European Championships in 1960, Olympics in 1956&1958 but never won the world cup or played in the final. They were consistent at qualifying and only failed twice in qualifying for the world cup in 1974 and 1978. Since 1991, 16 countries have represented the area once covered by the Soviet Union. FIFA transferred all records of the Soviet Union to the current Russian team.

Dutch East Indies

Qualified: 1938
Team Existed from - 1934-1945
New Name: Indonesia
Highest FIFA rank - 15
Best World Cup performance - 1938 (First Round)

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Dutch East Indies qualified just once for the world cup. However, the country with that name no longer exists but it's now known as Indonesia. The country competed in global sports under the name Dutch East Indies until her independence in 1945. It was also the first Asian team to qualify for the world cup and it was in 1938. Interestingly, they hold the record for the team that played only a match in the world cup as that tournament was in knock out format. They lost 6-0 to Hungary in the first round and have never qualified for the world cup since.

The history about the remaining teams will be updated in my subsequent posts.