text: have the number of teams who participate in the world cup finals changed in the last 20 years?   these are the breakdown of the number of teams in the history of the world cup & the past winners  1930 - 13 1934 - 16  1938 - 16 1950 - 13 1954 - 16 1958 - 16 1962 - 16 1966 - 16 1970 - 16 1974 - 16 1978 - 16 1982 - 24 1986 - 24 1990 - 24 1994 - 24 1998 - 32 2002 - 32 2006 - 32