The tournament’s first matches were played 96 years ago in Uruguay; now Japan and Tunisia meet in Monterrey for World Cup game No. 1,000, after a century of finals, controversies, collapses and iconic goalsynet|The World Cup marked a historic milestone Sunday morning when Tunisia faced Japan at Monterrey Stadium in Mexico in the second round of Group F matches. It may not have been the fixture every neutral fan had circled on the calendar, but it carried rare significance: the 1,000th match in World Cup history. The match has also been identified by international coverage as the tournament’s 1,000th game, with FIFA marking the occasion during Japan vs Tunisia in Monterrey.For Japan, this is a seventh World Cup appearance, all of them coming consecutively since 1998. Tunisia has appeared one fewer time, having first reached the tournament in 1978. Japan arrived after an impressive 2-2 draw with the Netherlands, while Tunisia came off a poor showing against Sweden, losing 5-1.6 View gallery Lionel Messi lifts the World Cup trophy (Photo: Getty Images)From the opening day of the 1930 World Cup in Uruguay to the 2026 meeting between the North African and East Asian teams in North America, the tournament has passed through 999 matches involving 80 national teams. Painful eliminations, unresolved controversies, Diego Maradona’s genius and absence, and two finals all feature among the round-number milestones that brought the competition to this point.The first matches | July 13, Uruguay 1930United States 3-0 Belgium | Group 4 | Parque Central, MontevideoFrance 4-1 Mexico | Group 1 | Estadio Pocitos, MontevideoTwo matches share the honor of being the first ever played at the World Cup, after they kicked off simultaneously in 1930: United States vs Belgium and France vs Mexico.After opening in style against Belgium, the United States went on to reach the semifinals before losing to Argentina. Its official third-place finish remains the best World Cup result in U.S. history.France, meanwhile, holds the honor of scoring the first World Cup goal, with Lucien Laurent finding the net 19 minutes into the match. But defeats to Argentina and Chile followed, sending France out in the group stage.6 View gallery How it started, 1930 Match No. 100 | July 3, Switzerland 1954Austria 3-1 Uruguay | Third-place playoff | Hardturm, ZurichThe 100th World Cup match came just before the 1954 final, when Austria and Uruguay, beaten in the semifinals by West Germany and Hungary, respectively, met for third place.The two teams had already advanced from Group 3 as its top two sides, though they did not face each other there because of the tournament format. In the playoff, Austria took bronze.Match No. 200 | July 30, England 1966England 4-2 West Germany, after extra time | Final | Wembley, LondonTwelve years later, the 200th match brought an even greater occasion, as host nation England lifted the World Cup for the first and only time, doing so at Wembley.Geoff Hurst became the first player to score a hat trick in a World Cup final, a record he held alone until Kylian Mbappé’s heroic treble for France in the 2022 final defeat to Argentina.But the match is remembered just as much for its controversy. In the 101st minute, Hurst’s shot struck the crossbar and bounced down near the goal line. Whether the ball fully crossed remains debated, but the goal was awarded, long before VAR existed.Did it cross the line? Geoff Hurst in the 1966 World Cup finalMatch No. 300 | June 18, Argentina 1978Austria 1-0 Italy | Second group stage, Group 1 | El Monumental, Buenos AiresNetherlands 2-2 West Germany | Second group stage, Group 1 | Estadio Olímpico, CórdobaOnce again, two matches share the milestone because they were played simultaneously, this time at the end of the second group stage at the 1978 World Cup in Argentina.A place in the final was at stake. The Netherlands topped the group after drawing with West Germany, while Italy’s win over Austria sent it into the third-place match. Both would lose their final games, however, as Argentina beat the Netherlands to keep the trophy at home and Brazil defeated Italy for third place.6 View gallery Diego Maradona (Photo: Getty Images)Match No. 400 | June 16, Mexico 1986Argentina 1-0 Uruguay | Round of 16 | Estadio Cuauhtémoc, PueblaInspired by Diego Armando Maradona, Argentina went on to win the 1986 World Cup with victories over England, Belgium and West Germany after first beating neighboring Uruguay in the opening knockout round.Pedro Pasculli was the hero of the milestone match, scoring the only goal shortly before halftime.Match No. 500 | June 30, United States 1994Nigeria 2-0 Greece | Group D | Foxboro Stadium, BostonBulgaria 2-0 Argentina | Group D | Cotton Bowl, DallasAt the halfway point to match No. 1,000, four teams met in a tense final round of Group D games. Nigeria beat Greece, which finished last and was eliminated, while Bulgaria defeated Argentina, which was without Maradona after he failed a doping test.Three teams advanced to the round of 16. Argentina and Nigeria were eliminated immediately, but Bulgaria continued past Mexico and Germany before losing to Italy in the semifinals.6 View gallery The resounding failure: France 2002 (Photo: Getty Images)Match No. 600 | June 6, Japan and South Korea 2002France 0-0 Uruguay | Group A | Busan Asiad Main Stadium, BusanThe only milestone match without a goal was also part of one of the most stunning title defenses in World Cup history.France, the 1998 champion, earned its only point of the 2002 tournament in a disappointing and failed attempt to retain the trophy. Les Bleus were eliminated without scoring a single goal, while Uruguay also failed to progress beyond the group stage.Match No. 700 | June 27, Germany 2006France 3-1 Spain | Round of 16 | HDI-Arena, HanoverFour years later, France had rediscovered itself. The win over Spain was its first step through the knockout rounds on the way to the final, where it lost to Italy on penalties.David Villa gave Spain the lead from the spot, before Franck Ribéry, Patrick Vieira and Zinedine Zidane completed the comeback. As for Zidane, everyone remembers how that tournament ended.Match No. 800 | June 21, Brazil 2014Germany 2-2 Ghana | Group G | Castelão, FortalezaGhana and eventual champion Germany produced a four-goal thriller in Fortaleza, with all the goals coming in a 20-minute burst in the second half.Mario Götze, who would later score Germany’s winning goal in the final against Argentina, struck first. André Ayew and Asamoah Gyan then put the Black Stars ahead, before Miroslav Klose equalized with his 15th World Cup goal. Klose would finish with 16, the all-time World Cup record, a mark now shared with Lionel Messi after Argentina’s 2026 win over Algeria, according to reports this week.For Ghana, it was the only point of the tournament, and the team finished last in the group.Match No. 900 | July 15, Russia 2018France 4-2 Croatia | Final | Luzhniki Stadium, MoscowThe previous major milestone was a fitting one: the second final on the list. France won its second World Cup title, 20 years after its first, as Didier Deschamps’ team proved too strong for Croatia, which was making its first appearance in the final.6 View gallery France celebrates with the trophy(Photo: AP)Mario Mandžukić opened the scoring with an own goal, Ivan Perišić equalized and Antoine Griezmann’s penalty sent France into halftime ahead. Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappé then scored after the break, before Mandžukić added another goal, this time at the right end.Now, 96 years after the tournament began with two simultaneous matches in Montevideo, Japan and Tunisia have played their way into the record books, carrying the World Cup into its second thousand matches.