
Nothing in FIFA World Cup history can compare to the Club World Cup or any other soccer league. Even if the UEFA Champions League produces games of comparable quality, it cannot surpass the status earned by the long tradition and the fact that one team represents an entire country. No other sporting event can compete in terms of importance: the most recent FIFA World Cup had over three billion television viewers worldwide, with one billion watching the final. Here’s a complete history about FIFA world cup.
FIFA Football World Cup Background
Before the World Cup, the football tournament held as part of the Summer Olympics was the most prestigious. However, in the 1920s, the game was undergoing a professionalization that was incompatible with the Olympic spirit. As a result, FIFA, the government body, made plans to hold a World Cup. On May 26, 1928, the decision to organize the first edition was officially announced.
The first official World Cup was held in Uruguay in 1930, and the tournament has been held every fourth year since then (with exceptions for interruption due to the Second World War). However, there were unofficial pre-FIFA World Cups in the late 1800s, when there were few national teams. The Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy, held in 1909 and 1911, was another unofficial “world cup” organized earlier to 1930. Aside from that, the Summer Olympic football competitions would serve as a reminder of who the best national teams were before 1930. The Olympic tournaments, on the other hand, only included amateur teams; the World Cup became the “real deal.”
List of FIFA world cups

The World Cup has been held in 17 different countries. Brazil, France, Italy, Germany, and Mexico have hosted twice each, while Uruguay, Switzerland, Sweden, Chile, England, Argentina, Spain, the United States, Japan, and South Korea (jointly), South Africa, and Russia have hosted once each.
1930: Uruguay – FIFA world cup first winner
The FIFA World Cup 1930 was held in Uruguay from July 3 to July 30, with 13 nations competing.
1934: Italy
The 1934 FIFA World Cup was held in Italy from May 27 to June 10, with 16 nations competing.
1938: France
The FIFA World Cup 1938 was held in France from June 4 to June 19, with 16 countries competing.
1950: Brazil
The FIFA World Cup 1950 was held in Brazil from June 24 to July 16, 1950, and featured 15 nations.
1954: Switzerland
The FIFA World Cup 1954 was held in Switzerland from June 16 to July 4, 1954, and featured 16 nations.
1958: Sweden
The 1958 FIFA World Cup was held in Sweden from June 8 to June 29, with 16 countries.
1962: Chile
The FIFA World Cup 1962 was held in Chile from May 30 to June 17, with 16 nations competing.
1966: England
The 1966 FIFA World Cup was held in England from July 11 to July 30, with 16 nations competing.
1970: Mexico
The FIFA World Cup 1970 was held in Mexico from May 31 to June 21, 1970, and featured 16 nations.
1974: West Germany
The FIFA World Cup 1974 was held in West Germany from June 13 to July 7, 1974, and featured 16 nations.
1978: Argentina
The 1978 FIFA World Cup was held in Argentina from June 1 to June 25, with 16 nations competing.
1982: Spain
The 1982 FIFA World Cup was held in Spain from June 13 to July 11, with 24 nations competing.
1986: Mexico
The 1986 FIFA World Cup was held in Mexico from May 31 to June 29, with 24 nations competing.
1990: Italy
The FIFA World Cup 1990 was held in Italy from June 8 to July 8, with 24 nations competing.
1994: United States
The FIFA World Cup 1994 was held in the United States from June 17 to July 17, 1994, and featured 24 nations.
1998: France
The FIFA World Cup 1998 was held in France from June 10 to July 12, with 32 nations competing.
2002: Korea/Japan
The FIFA World Cup 2002 was held in Korea/Japan from May 31 to June 30, 2002, and featured 32 nations.
2006: Germany
The FIFA World Cup 2006 was held in Germany from June 9 to July 9, with 32 nations competing.
2010: South Africa
The FIFA World Cup 2010 was held in South Africa from June 11 to July 11, with 32 nations competing.
2014: Brazil
The FIFA World Cup 2014 was held in Brazil from June 12 to July 13, with 32 countries competing.
2018: Russia
The FIFA World Cup 2018 was held in Russia from June 14 to July 15, with 32 countries competing.
2022: Qatar
It will be held in Qatar from November 21 to December 18, 2022. Before the 2026 FIFA World Cup expands to 48 nations, the 2022 FIFA World Cup will be represented by Qatar in the final tournament with 32 competing teams and the grueling qualifying cycle that comes with it.
World cup wins history
Statistics for all national teams that have won or played in a World Cup final, as well as the number of participants, from 1930 to 2022.

Country | Titles |
---|---|
Brazil | 5 |
Germany | 4 |
Italy | 4 |
Argentina | 3 |
France | 2 |
Uruguay | 2 |
England | 1 |
Spain | 1 |
Netherlands | 0 |
Hungary | 0 |
Czechoslovakia | 0 |
Sweden | 0 |
Croatia | 0 |
Football world cup winners list from 1930 to 2022
All finals, including FIFA World Cup tournament winners from 1930 to 2022.
Year | Winners | Runners | Final Result |
---|---|---|---|
1930 | Uruguay | Argentina | 4-2 |
1934 | Italy | Czechoslovakia | 2-1 (a.e.t) |
1938 | Hungary | Italy | 2-4 |
1950† | Uruguay | Brazil | 2-1 |
1954 | West Germany | Hungary | 3-2 |
1958 | Brazil | Sweden | 5-2 |
1962 | Brazil | Czechoslovakia | 3-1 |
1966 | England | West Germany | 4-2 (a.e.t.) |
1970 | Brazil | Italy | 4-1 |
1974 | Netherlands | West Germany | 1-2 |
1978 | Netherlands | Argentina | 1-3 (a.e.t.) |
1982 | Italy | West Germany | 3-1 |
1986 | Argentina | West Germany | 3-2 |
1990 | West Germany | Argentina | 1-0 |
1994 | Brazil | Italy | 3-2 (pen.) |
1998 | Brazil | France | 0-3 |
2002 | Germany | Brazil | 0-2 |
2006 | Italy | France | 6-4 (pen.) |
2010 | Netherlands | Spain | 0-1 (a.e.t.) |
2014 | Germany | Argentina | 1-0 (a.e.t.) |
2018 | France | Croatia | 4-2 |
2022 | Argentina | France | 3-3 (4-2 pen) |
The home advantage in FIFA World Cup
One notable feature of World Cup history is that the home team has consistently outperformed. The home team has won the competition six times. Furthermore, many teams that do not normally compete with the best have advanced far in the tournament by playing on home soil. Sweden, for example, reached the final in 1958, and South Korea reached the semi-finals in 2006.
FIFA world cup top scorers by tournament from 1930-2022
If you don’t know who is the all time leading goal scorer in FIFA world cup history? These players have scored the most goals in a FIFA World Cup.
World Cup | Player(s) | Goals | Matches |
---|---|---|---|
1930 | Guillermo Stabile | 8 | 4 |
1934 | Oldrich Nejedly | 5 | 4 |
1938 | Leônidas | 7 | 4 |
1950 | Ademir | 9 | 6 |
1954 | Sándor Kocsis | 11 | 5 |
1958 | Just Fontaine | 13 | 6 |
1962 | Florian Albert | 4 | 3 |
=1962 | Valentin Ivanov | 4 | 4 |
=1962 | Garrincha | 4 | 6 |
=1962 | Drazan Jerkovic | 4 | 6 |
=1962 | Leonel Sanchez | 4 | 6 |
=1962 | Vava | 4 | 6 |
1966 | Eusebio | 9 | 6 |
1970 | Gerd Müller | 10 | 6 |
1974 | Grzegorz Lato | 7 | 7 |
1978 | Mario Kempes | 6 | 7 |
1982 | Paolo Rossi | 6 | 7 |
1986 | Gary Lineker | 6 | 5 |
1990 | Salvatore Schillaci | 6 | 7 |
1994 | Oleg Salenko | 6 | 3 |
=1994 | Hristo Stoichkov | 6 | 7 |
1998 | Davor Suker | 6 | 7 |
2002 | Ronaldo | 8 | 7 |
2006 | Miroslav Klose | 5 | 7 |
2010 | Thomas Muller | 5 | 6 |
=2010 | Diego Forlan | 5 | 7 |
=2010 | Wesley Sneijder | 5 | 7 |
=2010 | David Villa | 5 | 7 |
2014 | James Rodríguez | 6 | 5 |
2018 | Harry Kane | 6 | 6 |
2022 | Kylian Mbappé | 8 | 7 |
Many players have scored six goals in a World Cup, including Erich Probst (1954), Josef Hugi (1954), Max Morlock (1954), Pele (1958), Helmut Rahn (1958), Helmut Haller (1966), Mario Kempes (1978), Paolo Rossi (1982), Gary Lineker (1986), Salvatore Schillaci (1990), Hristo Stoichkov (1994), Oleg Salenko (1994), Davor Suker (1998), James Rodrguez (2014), (2018). Ronaldo (18 goals in four tournaments), Miroslav Klose (16 goals in four tournaments), Gerd Müller (14 goals in two tournaments), Just Fontaine (13 goals in one tournament), and Péle (13 goals in one tournament) are the five players who have scored the most goals overall (12 goals in 4 tournaments).
More- Which Footballer Has Scored Most Goals in Football History | All-time Leading Goalscorer
List Of FIFA World Cup Awards
Several awards are given to players in connection with the World Cup. The most well-known is The Golden Ball, which is given to the best player in a FIFA World Cup. FIFA selects candidates, who are then voted on by media representatives. Aside from the Golden Ball, there are the Silver Ball, Bronze Ball, Golden Boot (top goalscorer), and Golden Glove (best goalkeeper).
Football World Cup wins by continents
A comparison of performance across continents (World Cup tournaments 1930-2022).
Continent | Titles | To reach finals | To reach Semi-finals |
---|---|---|---|
Europe | 12 | 28 | 52 |
South America | 10 | 15 | 23 |
Asia | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Central and North America | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Africa | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Oceania | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Football World Cup Participants and Game Counts
Table 5 shows the number of teams that compete in each World Cup tournament. The numbers in the second column refer to the final stage, while the numbers in the third column refer to all teams that participated in the qualification. In addition, the fourth column displays the number of games played (qualification games excluded).
Year | Teams Participated (finals) | Teams In The Event (qualification) | Games Played (finals) |
---|---|---|---|
1930 | 13 | no qualification | 18 |
1934 | 16 | 32 | 17 |
1938 | 16* | 37 | 18 |
1950 | 15† | 36 | 22 |
1954 | 16 | 37 | 26 |
1958 | 16 | 55 | 35 |
1962 | 16 | 56 | 32 |
1966 | 16 | 74 | 32 |
1970 | 16 | 75 | 32 |
1974 | 16 | 99 | 38 |
1978 | 16 | 107 | 38 |
1982 | 24 | 109 | 52 |
1986 | 24 | 121 | 52 |
1990 | 24 | 116 | 52 |
1994 | 24 | 147 | 52 |
1998 | 32 | 174 | 64 |
2002 | 32 | 199 | 64 |
2006 | 32 | 197 | 64 |
2010 | 32 | 204 | 64 |
2014 | 32 | 203 | 64 |
2018 | 32 | 210 | 64 |
2022 | 32 | 210 | 64 |
Austria was eliminated before the first game for political reasons, and France and India were eliminated after qualification.
FIFA world cup winner prize money
The tournament’s prize money has risen dramatically over the years. To get right to the point, the World Cup champions will receive $ 42 million (approximately Rs 319.18 crores). The runners-up will receive $ 30 million (approximately Rs. 227.98 crores), while the third-place finishers will receive $ 27 million (approximately Rs. 205.18 crore).
How much money did the winning team get at the 2018 World Cup?
The French team that won the 2018 World Cup in Russia was awarded $38 million (£29 million). A total of 32 teams competed for a total of $400 million (£315 million) in prize money. Prize money is awarded based on how far each team advances in the tournament.
FAQs about the history of the FIFA world cup
In football (soccer), the World Cup is a quadrennial tournament that determines the sport’s world champion. Every tournament draws billions of television viewers, making it the most popular sporting event in the world.
The FIFA World Cup, which now includes 32 teams, is known as the world’s largest sporting event, with broadcasts in over 200 countries and billions of viewers worldwide.
Conclusion
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