Being the world’s most prestigious association football tournament, there is a lot to be said about the World Cup winners throughout the years. We will review which teams have won the World Cup, providing details about the World Cup winners throughout the decades, and let you know all about which country has won the most World Cups.
Not even the Olympic Games can compete with the popularity of the FIFA World Cup, with a cumulative audience estimated to be 3.7572 billion during the tournament in 2018 and an estimated 1.1 billion pairs of eyeballs closely following each move in the final match. That is 14% of the entire human race currently alive on Earth.
| Year | Hosts | Winners | Runners-Up | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1930 | Uruguay | Uruguay | Argentina | 4-2 |
| 1934 | Italy | Italy | Czechoslovakia | 2-1 |
| 1938 | France | Italy | Hungary | 4-2 |
| 1950 | Brazil | Uruguay | Brazil | 2-1 |
| 1954 | Switzerland | West Germany | Hungary | 3-2 |
| 1958 | Sweden | Brazil | Sweden | 5-2 |
| 1962 | Chile | Brazil | Czechoslovakia | 3-1 |
| 1966 | England | England | West Germany | 4-2 (et) |
| 1970 | Mexico | Brazil | Italy | 4-1 |
| 1974 | Germany | Germany | Holland | 2-1 |
| 1978 | Argentina | Argentina | Holland | 3-1 |
| 1982 | Spain | Italy | Germany | 3-1 |
| 1986 | Mexico | Argentina | Germany | 3-2 |
| 1990 | Italy | Germany | Argentina | 1-0 |
| 1994 | USA | Brazil | Italy | 0-0 (3-2pen) |
| 1998 | France | France | Brazil | 3-0 |
| 2002 | Japan/Korea | Brazil | Germany | 2-0 |
| 2006 | Germany | Italy | France | 1-1 (5-3pen) |
| 2010 | South Africa | Spain | Holland | 1-0 |
| 2014 | Brazil | Germany | Argentina | 1-0 |
| 2018 | Russia | France | Croatia | 4-2 |
| 2022 | Qatar | Argentina | France | 3-3 (4-2 pen) |
Which Countries Have Won The World Cup?
Winning the FIFA World Cup is a rare accomplishment, with only eight winners over the total of 21 World Cup tournaments since the beginning in 1930.
With five titles, Brazil has won the most World Cups. They are also the only team to have played at every World Cup. Following Brazil, we have Germany and Italy with four titles (and four final losses). After winning the 2022 World Cup, Argentina now have won three titles. France, and Uruguay have two titles each. The other World Cup winners are England and Spain.
It is always fun to reminisce about which countries have won the World Cup. Let’s start when World Cup winner Uruguay smashed Argentina 4–2 in the finals in 1930. This is also the year when Uruguay was hosting, creating epic history by being the first country to win the World Cup trophy. The first trophy was called the Jules Rimet trophy.
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The History Of World Cup Winners
During the first World Cup tournament, all countries affiliated with FIFA were invited to compete without any qualification processes. As a result, Uruguay has eventually crowned the winner of the first World Cup.
However, when it was time for the next tournament, which took place in Italy in 1934, qualifications were arranged, weeding out half of the 32 teams, which left 16 teams to participate in the second World Cup.
Italy won the World Cup in 1934, and continued in the same fashion, winning the World Cup once again in 1938. They were the first national team to win two World Cups when hosted in France in 1938. Brazil, the premier South American national teams won World Cup titles in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, and 2002, so at this point, it feels as if another title is due.
Modern Era Of The World Cup
In the 2018 FIFA World Cup, France was dominant in the recent international football tournament and defeated Croatia 4-2. Brazil was knocked out of the quarter-finals again against Belgium. In the previous tournament in 2014, Brazil finished fourth.
That is all we have seen from them in the finals since their last win in 2002. World Cup winner Italy has also been absent from the biggest sporting event in the world.
Germany’s good run in the World Cup came to an end as the team did not get through the group stage in 2018 after winning the tournament in 2014, third-place position in both 2010 (South Africa) and 2006 (Germany), and second place when they lost against Brazil in the finals 2002.
Over the last five tournaments, we have also seen Turkey, South Korea, Croatia, Argentina, Netherlands, Uruguay, and Portugal breaking more than a sweat during the finals.
However, it was not until the 2010 FIFA World Cup that Spain got their first and only title and became one of the countries to have won the World Cup, after an intense battle against the Netherlands that ended 1-0.
In 2006, Italy claimed their fourth title in the previous tournament when they beat France 5–3 on penalties at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, Germany.
Which Country Has Won The Most World Cups?
When we know which countries have won the World Cup, we will dive a little deeper into the country that has won the most World Cups. I
t is always exciting to watch the top countries battle their way to the title in the World Cup, and with five World Cup titles, Brazil is the team that has proven itself very dangerous on the soccer field. Yes, Brazil is the country that has won the most World Cups. We remember Pele in 1958 and the emotional win of 1994 as if it happened yesterday.
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Brazil Has Won The Most World Cups
Top World Cup winner Brazil has grabbed the title five times in 1958 (Sweden), 1962 (Chile), 1970 (Mexico), 1994 (USA), and 2002 (Korea / Japan), but they are also the team with the best overall World Cup performance in terms of both proportional and absolute terms. In addition, they have set a World Cup record with 76 victories in a total of 114 matches played.
Brazil hosted the World Cup in 2014, and they came in fourth place, losing 0–3 against the Netherlands. Overall, Brazil conceded as many as 14 goals in this World Cup. It was the highest number of goals conceded by a team in the World Cup since the tournament in Mexico in 1986.
So even though they finished in fourth place, they still got a magnificent result, being their best since the last Brazilian win in 2002.
When Did Brazil Last Win The World Cup?
The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the epic year of Brazilian soccer, with the 17th staging of the FIFA World Cup, hosted as a team effort by South Korea and Japan. Brazil crushed Germany in the finals 2–0, and Ronaldo won the Golden Boot with his total of eight goals, followed by Rivaldo, who shared the Silver Boot with German Miroslav Klose at five goals.
Both World Cup winners continue to battle on the soccer field, crushing records and making history. So, next time someone asks you which country has won the most World Cups, you can give them a pretty detailed answer.
Countries That Have Won The World Cup More Than Once
With Brazil at the top with five World Cup wins in the bag, Germany and Italy are World Cup winners that follow closely with four wins each in the biggest sporting event in the world. Interestingly enough, Germany has reached the World Cup final eight times and lost 4, so statistics suggest a 50 / 50 chance of winning next time.
They recently succeeded in 2014 in Brazil after a heart-stopping one-nil victory against Argentina. So, although Brazil is a country to count on for excellent performance, they only came in fourth in 2014 when the cup took place in Rio de Janeiro. Too much pressure, perhaps. Argentina came in second, with the Netherlands in third place.
Germany won the World Cup for the first time in 1954, followed by 1974 and 1990, with an average of approximately 20 years between each gold medal. The 1954 FIFA World Cup, the fifth tournament, was held in Switzerland from 16 June to 4 July. In the final, Germany (then called West Germany) defeated Hungary 3–2. There was an absence of two early World Cups due to World War II. (1942 and 1946)
Big Teams Miss Out On The World Cup
Sadly, Italy did not qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, being left out with the three-time runner-up Dutch team. This was the first time since 1958 we did not see the Italian team in the World Cup. Italy continued its bad run of form missing out on qualifying for the second successive tournament. This is their first time in World Cup history to miss out on two tournaments in a row.
Like Germany, the Italians have won four times and lost four times in the finals. The four titles range from 1934 to 2006, with two significant years in the 30s when they grabbed the title in 1934 and 1938. With the third title in 1982 and the most recent being 2006, we hope they qualify for Qatar.
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The 18th FIFA World Cup was held in Germany from 9 June to 9 July 2006. During the qualification process, national teams compete from 198 national football associations participated, leading to a total of 31 qualified countries. In a penalty shoot-out in the final, Italy defeated France 5–3 this year after the extra time expired into a nerve-racking 1–1 draw.
The host country defeated Portugal 3–1 and landed in third place. This was an exciting tournament, as we saw the first appearances of Ivory Coast, Trinidad and Tobago, Angola, Ghana, and Togo.
Who Else Has Won The World Cup?
Following Italy, we have 2022 World Cup winners Argentina in fourth place. Uruguay and France come in fifth and sixth place. England and Spain come in seventh and eighth positions. Uruguay’s most recent title dates back to 1950, twenty years after their first. Argentina is a bit more recent, with titles in 1978, 1986, and 2022.
The first time England participated in the FIFA World Cup was in 1950. Their only title so far came in 1966.
