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.
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.
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.
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.
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.