How many teams participated in the FIFA World Cup organised in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018?

1. A

   32

   (a) 32. The 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia ran from 14 June to 15 July with thirty-two finalists in eight groups of four. That stored letter is the official key. Knockout rounds then cut the field, but the starting quota stayed thirty-two.

2. B

   34

   (b) 34. Thirty-four has never been a World Cup finals quota. It sits as a distractor between the 32-team grid and later expansion talk, so it is not the key.

3. C

   36

   (c) 36. Thirty-six is not a FIFA finals size. Later expansion settled on forty-eight from 2026, not thirty-six in Russia.

4. D

   30

   (d) 30. Thirty sides would not fill eight even groups. Russia 2018 kept the 32-team format used since 1998.

Summary. Official key is (a) 32. Russia hosted the 2018 FIFA World Cup from 14 June to 15 July with thirty-two national teams. France beat Croatia in the Moscow final. Thirty, thirty-four and thirty-six were not that summer’s quota. Neighbouring counts such as 24 (before 1998) and 48 (from 2026) belong to other editions.