Frequently Asked Questions about Football

Frequently Asked Questions

How Many Players Are On A Football Team?

Each team in a soccer match has 11 players (10 outfield players and one goalkeeper). If a player is dismissed from the match due to receiving a red card, the team will play short-handed.

What Country Has The Most World Cup Soccer Titles?

Brazil has won the most World Cups with five (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, and 2002). Germany and Italy have both won four World Cups while Argentina has won three.

Who Has More Goals, Messi Or Ronaldo?

As of July 3, 2023, in competitions covered by FBref, Cristiano Ronaldo had 779 goals and Lionel Messi had 735. Messi had scored 0.89 goals per 90 minutes while Ronaldo had 0.82. You can see up-to-date goal totals for Messi and Ronaldo with FBref's Player Comparison.

What Is the Premier League?

The Premier League is the top division of football in England.

What Is the Championship League?

The Championship is the second division of football in England. Clubs that are promoted from the Championship move on to the Premier League, the top division in English football.

What Is the UEFA Champions League?

The UEFA Champions League is the most prestigious club tournament in men's and women's European football. In the men's tournament, 32 clubs from all over Europe take part in the group stage. The winner and runner-up of each of the eight groups (16 clubs total) move on to the knockout phase. In the women's tournament, 16 clubs take part in the group stage.

What Is the UEFA Europa League?

The UEFA Europa League is the second-tier men's European club football competition. 32 clubs from all over Europe (who failed to qualify for the UEFA Champions League) take part in the group stage. The runner-up of each of the eight groups move on to the preliminary knockout round and are joined by each of the UEFA Champions League group stage third-place finishers (16 clubs total). The eight winners of that round join each of the group winners from the group stage for the knockout phase (16 clubs total).

What is the UEFA Europa Conference League?

The UEFA Europa Conference League is the third-tier men's European club football competition. 32 clubs from all over Europe (who failed to qualify for the UEFA Champions League or UEFA Europa League) take part in the group stage. The runner-up of each of the eight groups move on to the preliminary knockout round and are joined by each of the UEFA Europa League group stage third-place finishers (16 clubs total). The eight winners of that round join each of the group winners from the group stage for the knockout phase (16 clubs total).

What Is The CONCACAF Gold Cup?

The CONCACAF Gold Cup is a biennial men's international football competition that includes countries from North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. 16 countries take part in the group stage with the top two teams in each group advancing to the knockout phase (16 teams total).

How Many Games are in the Premier League Season?

Each club in the English Premier League plays 38 league matches. There are 20 clubs in the league and each club plays the other clubs twice (home and away).

How Many Games are in the La Liga Season?

Each club in the Spanish La Liga plays 38 league matches. There are 20 clubs in the league and each club plays the other clubs twice (home and away).

How Many Games are in the Bundesliga Season?

Each club in the German Bundesliga plays 34 league matches. There are 18 clubs in the league and each club plays the other clubs twice (home and away).

How Many Games are in the Serie A Season?

Each club in the Italian Serie A plays 38 league matches. There are 20 clubs in the league and each club plays the other clubs twice (home and away).

How Many Games are in the Ligue 1 Season?

Each club in the French Ligue 1 plays 38 league matches. There are 20 clubs in the league and each club plays the other clubs twice (home and away).

How Many Games are in the Ligue 1 Season?

Each club in the French Ligue 1 plays 38 league matches. There are 20 clubs in the league and each club plays the other clubs twice (home and away).

About FBref.com

FBref.com launched (June 13, 2018) with domestic league coverage for England, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and United States. Since then we have been steadily expanding our coverage to include domestic leagues from over 40 countries as well as domestic cup, super cup and youth leagues from top European countries. We have also added coverage for major international cups such as the UEFA Champions League and Copa Libertadores.

FBref is the most complete sources for women's football data on the internet. This includes the entire history of the FIFA Women's World Cup as well as recent domestic league seasons from nine countries, including advanced stats like xG for most of those nine.

In collaboration with Opta, we are including advanced analytical data such as xG, xA, progressive passing, duels and more for over twenty competitions. For more information on the expected goals model and which competitions have advanced data, see our xG explainer.

Note that player records are likely not complete for their careers. Players may come from or move to leagues we don't currently cover. This issue will go down over time, as we add new leagues and seasons. We will never in the future have less data than we do today.

You can sign up to receive an e-mail when new countries and features launch.

For more information, see our Launch Blog Post, the overall leagues/competition page with details on leagues and seasons we include, or our About Page. Let us know if you find an issue or have a suggestion.

FBref is one of seven Sports-Reference.com sites.