FIFA World Cup

international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams

The FIFA World Cup is the most watched tournament in football (soccer). The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) organises the World Cup every four years. More people watch the World Cup finals than any other sporting event in the world—even more people than the Olympic Games.[source?] Brazil is the most successful country in World Cup history, having won the tournament five times

FIFA World Cup
Founded1930; 94 years ago (1930)
RegionInternational (FIFA)
Number of teams32 (finals)
211 (eligible to enter qualification)
Related competitionsFIFA Confederations Cup
Current champions Argentina (3rd title)
Most successful team(s) Brazil (5 titles)
Websitefifa.com/worldcup/
2022 FIFA World Cup
Argentina, the current champions
Tournaments

The finals tournament is held every four years. In the other years there are only qualifiers (qualifying tournaments) in the six FIFA world regions. These amazing games help to decide which teams will move on. Over 160 national teams play in the qualifying games. The best teams from the qualifying games win a place in the finals. The finals now include 32 teams. Before 1998, only 24 teams were in the finals; starting in 2026, there will be 48 teams in the finals.[1] Many years before each World Cup, FIFA picks the host nation, the country where the finals will be held. Being the host nation means that their team has qualified for the finals tournament automatically and does not need to play any qualifying games. The 32 teams in the finals then play for four weeks, usually between June and July, to decide who the champion (tournament winner) will be.

Results

change
Years Hosts Winners Score Runner's-up Third place Score Fourth place
1930
Details
  Uruguay  
Uruguay
4 - 2  
Argentina
 
United States
[note 1]  
Yugoslavia
1934
Details
  Italy  
Italy
2 - 1
 
Czechoslovakia
 
Germany
3 - 2  
Austria
1938
Details
  France  
Italy
4 - 2  
Hungary
 
Brazil
4 - 2  
Sweden
1950
Details
  Brazil  
Uruguay
2 - 1  
Brazil
 
Sweden
[note 2]  
Spain
1954
Details
 Switzerland  
West Germany
3 - 2  
Hungary
 
Austria
3 - 1  
Uruguay
1958
Details
 Sweden  
Brazil
5 - 2  
Sweden
 
France
6 - 3  
West Germany
1962
Details
  Chile  
Brazil
3 - 1  
Czechoslovakia
 
Chile
1 - 0  
Yugoslavia
1966
Details
  England  
England
4 - 2
 
West Germany
 
Portugal
2 - 1  
Soviet Union
1970
Details
  Mexico  
Brazil
4 - 1  
Italy
 
West Germany
1 - 0  
Uruguay
1974
Details
  West Germany  
West Germany
2 - 1  
Netherlands
 
Poland
1 - 0  
Brazil
1978
Details
  Argentina  
Argentina
3 - 1
 
Netherlands
 
Brazil
2 - 1  
Italy
1982
Details
  Spain  
Italy
3 - 1  
West Germany
 
Poland
3 - 2  
France
1986
Details
  Mexico  
Argentina
3 - 2  
West Germany
 
France
4 - 2  
Belgium
1990
Details
  Italy  
West Germany
1 - 0  
Argentina
 
Italy
2 - 1  
England
1994
Details
  United States  
Brazil
0 - 0
a.e.t.
(3 - 2)
 
Italy
 
Sweden
4 - 0  
Bulgaria
1998
Details
  France  
France
3 - 0  
Brazil
 
Croatia
2 - 1  
Netherlands
2002
Details
  South Korea
  Japan
 
Brazil
2 - 0  
Germany
 
Turkey
3 - 2  
South Korea
2006
Details
  Germany  
Italy
1 - 1
a.e.t.
(5 - 3)
 
France
 
Germany
3 - 1  
Portugal
2010
Details
  South Africa  
Spain
1 - 0
a.e.t
 
Netherlands
 
Germany
3 - 2  
Uruguay
2014
Details
  Brazil  
Germany
1 - 0
a.e.t
 
Argentina
 
Netherlands
3 - 0  
Brazil
2018
Details
  Russia  
France
4 - 2  
Croatia
 
Belgium
2 - 0  
England
2022
Details
  Qatar  
Argentina
3 - 3
a.e.t.
(4 - 2)
 
France
 
Croatia
2 - 1  
Morocco
2026
Details
  Canada
  Mexico
  United States
  1. There was no Third Place match in 1930, so FIFA decided that the United States finished third because they played better overall in the tournament than Yugoslavia.[2]
  2. "1950 FIFA World Cup". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Archived from the original on 20 December 2013. Retrieved 5 March 2009.

Wins by team

change
 
Map of winning countries
Team Titles Runners-up 3rd Place 4th Place Top of

Players

  Brazil 5

(1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002)

2 (1950, 1998) 2 (1938, 1978) 2 (1974, 2014) 11
  Germany 4 (1954, 1974, 1990, 2014) 4 (1966,

1982,

1986,

2002)

4 (1934, 1970, 2006, 2010) (1) 1958 13
  Italy 4 (1934, 1938, 1982, 2006) 2 (1970, 1994) (1) 1990 (1) 1978 8
  Argentina 3 (1978, 1986, 2022) 3 (1930, 1990,

2014)

0 0 5
  Uruguay 2 (1930, 1950) 0 0 3 (1954, 1970, 2010) 5
  France 2 (1998, 2018) 2 (2006, 2022) 2 (1958, 1986) (1) 1982 6
  Spain (1) 2010 0 0 (1) 1950 2
  England (1) 1966 0 0 2

(1990, 2018)

3
  Netherlands 0 3

(1974, 1978,

2010)

(1)

2014

(1)

1998

5
  Hungary 0 2 (1938, 1954) 0 0 2
  Croatia 0 1 (2018) 2 (1998, 2022) 0 2
  Sweden 0 1 (1958) 2 (1950, 1994) (1) 1938 4
change

References

change
  1. "World Cup to expand to 48 teams in 2026". NBC Sports Chicago. January 10, 2017. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  2. 1930 FIFA World Cup, FIFA.com. Retrieved on 5 March 2009. Archived 2017-11-19 at the Wayback Machine