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FIFA World Cup

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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 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

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.

Years Hosts Winners Score Runner's-up Third place Score Fourth place
1930
Details
Uruguay Uruguay
Uruguay
4 - 2
Argentina

United States
[note 1]
Yugoslavia
1934
Details
Italy Italy
Italy
2 - 1

Czechoslovakia

Germany
3 - 2
Austria
1938
Details
France France
Italy
4 - 2
Hungary

Brazil
4 - 2
Sweden
1950
Details
Brazil Brazil
Uruguay
2 - 1
Brazil

Sweden
[note 2]
Spain
1954
Details
SwitzerlandSwitzerland
West Germany
3 - 2
Hungary

Austria
3 - 1
Uruguay
1958
Details
SwedenSweden
Brazil
5 - 2
Sweden

France
6 - 3
West Germany
1962
Details
Chile Chile
Brazil
3 - 1
Czechoslovakia

Chile
1 - 0
Yugoslavia
1966
Details
England England
England
4 - 2

West Germany

Portugal
2 - 1
Soviet Union
1970
Details
Mexico Mexico
Brazil
4 - 1
Italy

West Germany
1 - 0
Uruguay
1974
Details
West Germany West Germany
West Germany
2 - 1
Netherlands

Poland
1 - 0
Brazil
1978
Details
Argentina Argentina
Argentina
3 - 1

Netherlands

Brazil
2 - 1
Italy
1982
Details
Spain Spain
Italy
3 - 1
West Germany

Poland
3 - 2
France
1986
Details
Mexico Mexico
Argentina
3 - 2
West Germany

France
4 - 2
Belgium
1990
Details
Italy Italy
West Germany
1 - 0
Argentina

Italy
2 - 1
England
1994
Details
United States United States
Brazil
0 - 0
a.e.t.
(3 - 2)

Italy

Sweden
4 - 0
Bulgaria
1998
Details
France France
France
3 - 0
Brazil

Croatia
2 - 1
Netherlands
2002
Details
South Korea South Korea
Japan Japan

Brazil
2 - 0
Germany

Turkey
3 - 2
South Korea
2006
Details
Germany Germany
Italy
1 - 1
a.e.t.
(5 - 3)

France

Germany
3 - 1
Portugal
2010
Details
South Africa South Africa
Spain
1 - 0
a.e.t

Netherlands

Germany
3 - 2
Uruguay
2014
Details
Brazil 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 | change source]
Map of winning countries
Team Titles Runners-up 3rd Place 4th Place Top of

Players

Brazil Brazil 5

(1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002)

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

1982,

1986,

2002)

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

2014)

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

(1990, 2018)

3
Netherlands Netherlands 0 3

(1974, 1978,

2010)

(1)

2014

(1)

1998

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

References

[change | change source]
  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