The FIFA World Cup was first held in 1930, when FIFA, the world’s football governing body, decided to stage this world cup. Check out the history of the FIFA World Cup.

History of the FIFA World Cup : Winners | Best teams

In 1930, FIFA made the decision to stage their own international tournament. The 1932 Summer Olympics, held in Los Angeles, did not plan to include football as part of the programme because the sport was not popular in the United States.

History of the FIFA World Cup : Winners | Best teams

FIFA and the IOC also disagreed over the status of amateur players, and so football was dropped from the Games.

FIFA president Jules Rimet thus set about organizing the inaugural World Cup tournament. With Uruguay now two-time official world champions and due to celebrate their centenary of independence in 1930, FIFA named Uruguay as the host country.

The national associations of selected nations were invited to send a team, but the choice of Uruguay as a venue for the competition meant a long and costly trip across the Atlantic Ocean for European sides. No European country pledged to send a team until two months before the start of the competition.

Rimet eventually persuaded teams from Belgium, France, Romania, Hungary and Yugoslavia to make the trip.

In total, 13 nations took part – seven from South America, four from Europe and two from North America.

History of the FIFA World Cup : Winners | Best teams

The number of teams and the format of each final tournament have varied considerably over the years. In most tournaments, the tournament consists of a round-robin group stage followed by a single-elimination knockout stage.

Each group of four teams plays a round-robin schedule. As of the 1986 World Cup, all final group games must be held simultaneously, a rule instituted by FIFA to minimize collusion amongst teams requiring a certain result to advance. FIFA instituted a policy to award three points for a win in the 1994 World Cup. Although goals for was already a tiebreaker, FIFA hoped to create an additional incentive for teams to pursue victory.

Winners 

The 2002 World Cup was the first to be held in Asia, and was hosted jointly by South Korea and Japan. Togolese Souleymane Mamam became the youngest player ever to take to a World Cup preliminary game field at 13 years, 310 days in Lomé in May 2001.

History of the FIFA World Cup : Winners | Best teams

Year Host Winning Team Captain Head coach
1930  Uruguay  Uruguay José Nasazzi Alberto Suppici
1934  Italy  Italy Giampiero Combi Vittorio Pozzo
1938  France  Italy Giuseppe Meazza Vittorio Pozzo
1950  Brazil  Uruguay Obdulio Varela Juan López Fontana
1954   Switzerland  West Germany Fritz Walter Sepp Herberger
1958  Sweden  Brazil Hilderaldo Bellini Vicente Feola
1962  Chile  Brazil Mauro Ramos Aymoré Moreira
1966  England  England Bobby Moore Alf Ramsey
1970  Mexico  Brazil Carlos Alberto Torres Mário Zagallo
1974  West Germany  West Germany Franz Beckenbauer Helmut Schön
1978  Argentina  Argentina Daniel Passarella César Luis Menotti
1982  Spain  Italy Dino Zoff Enzo Bearzot
1986  Mexico  Argentina Diego Maradona Carlos Bilardo
1990  Italy  West Germany Lothar Matthäus Franz Beckenbauer
1994  United States  Brazil Dunga Carlos Alberto Parreira
1998  France  France Didier Deschamps Aimé Jacquet
2002  South Korea &
 Japan
 Brazil Cafu Luiz Felipe Scolari
2006  Germany  Italy Fabio Cannavaro Marcello Lippi
2010  South Africa  Spain Iker Casillas Vicente del Bosque
2014  Brazil  Germany Philipp Lahm Joachim Löw
2018  Russia  France Hugo Lloris Didier Deschamps

The 2022 World Cup hosted by Qatar will be the first tournament to not be held in summer time in which it is usually held. It will take place from 21 November to 18 December 2022.

Best Teams 

Many great teams have competed in the FIFA World Cup. Some legendary footballers like Pele, Franz Beckenbauer, Zinedine Zidane, and Xavi Hernandez have also graced the event and played for the best World Cup teams of all time in football.

History of the FIFA World Cup : Winners | Best teams

Team Titles     Finals    Participation  
Brazil 5 7 21
Germany 4 8 19
Italy 4 6 18
Argentina 2 5 17
France 2 3 15
Uruguay 2 2 13
England 1 1 15
Spain 1 1 15
Netherlands 0 3 10
Hungary 0 2 9
Czechoslovakia 0 2 8
Sweden 0 1 12
Croatia 0 1 5

Brazil has the best World Cup record after winning five teams. Germany and Italy have four titles, while Argentina, France, and Uruguay have won twice. Spain and England have one each.

By Rishabh

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