FIFA World Cup - wikipedia FIFA World Cup This article is about the men 's association football tournament. For the women 's tournament, see FIFA Women 's World Cup. FIFA World Cup Founded 1930 ; 87 years ago ( 1930 ) Region International ( FIFA ) Number of teams 32 ( finals ) 211 ( eligible to enter qualification ) Related competitions FIFA Confederations Cup Current champions Germany ( 4th title ) Most successful team ( s ) Brazil ( 5 titles ) Television broadcasters List of broadcasters Website www.fifa.com/worldcup/ 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2014 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony Tournaments 1930 1934 1938 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2014 2018 2022 2026 The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men 's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association ( FIFA ), the sport 's global governing body. The championship has been awarded every four years since the inaugural tournament in 1930, except in 1942 and 1946 when it was not held because of the Second World War. The current champion is Germany, which won its fourth title at the 2014 tournament in Brazil. The current format of the competition involves a qualification phase, which currently takes place over the preceding three years, to determine which teams qualify for the tournament phase, which is often called the World Cup Finals. 32 teams, including the automatically qualifying host nation ( s ), compete in the tournament phase for the title at venues within the host nation ( s ) over a period of about a month. The 20 World Cup tournaments have been won by eight different national teams. Brazil have won five times, and they are the only team to have played in every tournament. The other World Cup winners are Germany and Italy, with four titles each ; Argentina and inaugural winner Uruguay, with two titles each ; and England, France and Spain, with one title each. The World Cup is the most prestigious association football tournament in the world as well as the most widely viewed and followed sporting event in the world, exceeding even the Olympic Games ; the cumulative audience of all matches of the 2006 FIFA World Cup was estimated to be 26.29 billion with an estimated 715.1 million people watching the final match, a ninth of the entire population of the planet. Contents 1 History 1.1 Previous international competitions 1.2 World Cups before World War II 1.3 World Cups after World War II 1.4 Expansion to 32 teams 1.5 Expansion to 48 teams 1.6 2015 FIFA corruption case 1.7 Other FIFA tournaments 2 Trophy 3 Format 3.1 Qualification 3.2 Final tournament 4 Hosts 4.1 Selection process 4.2 Performances 5 Attendance 6 Broadcasting and promotion 7 Results 7.1 Teams reaching the top four 7.2 Best performances by continental zones 8 Awards 9 Records and statistics 9.1 Top goalscorers 9.2 All - time table for champions 10 See also 11 Notes and references 12 Bibliography 13 External links History Main article : History of the FIFA World Cup Map of FIFA World Cup final hosts, 1930 -- 2022. Green : once ; dark green : twice ; light green : planned Previous international competitions The world 's first international football match was a challenge match played in Glasgow in 1872 between Scotland and England, which ended in a 0 -- 0 draw. The first international tournament, the inaugural edition of the British Home Championship, took place in 1884. As football grew in popularity in other parts of the world at the turn of the 20th century, it was held as a demonstration sport with no medals awarded at the 1900 and 1904 Summer Olympics ( however, the IOC has retroactively upgraded their status to official events ), and at the 1906 Intercalated Games. After FIFA was founded in 1904, it tried to arrange an international football tournament between nations outside the Olympic framework in Switzerland in 1906. These were very early days for international football, and the official history of FIFA describes the competition as having been a failure. At the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, football became an official competition. Planned by The Football Association ( FA ), England 's football governing body, the event was for amateur players only and was regarded suspiciously as a show rather than a competition. Great Britain ( represented by the England national amateur football team ) won the gold medals. They repeated the feat in 1912 in Stockholm. With the Olympic event continuing to be contested only between amateur teams, Sir Thomas Lipton organised the Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy tournament in Turin in 1909. The Lipton tournament was a championship between individual clubs ( not national teams ) from different nations, each one of which represented an entire nation. The competition is sometimes described as The First World Cup, and featured the most prestigious professional club sides from Italy, Germany and Switzerland, but the FA of England refused to be associated with the competition and declined the offer to send a professional team. Lipton invited West Auckland, an amateur side from County Durham, to represent England instead. West Auckland won the tournament and returned in 1911 to successfully defend their title. In 1914, FIFA agreed to recognise the Olympic tournament as a `` world football championship for amateurs '', and took responsibility for managing the event. This paved the way for the world 's first intercontinental football competition, at the 1920 Summer Olympics, contested by Egypt and 13 European teams, and won by Belgium. Uruguay won the next two Olympic football tournaments in 1924 and 1928. Those were also the first two open world championships, as 1924 was the start of FIFA 's professional era. World Cups before World war II Estadio Centenario, the location of the first World Cup final in 1930 in Montevideo, Uruguay Due to the success of the Olympic football tournaments, FIFA, with President Jules Rimet as the driving force, again started looking at staging its own international tournament outside of the Olympics. On 28 May 1928, the FIFA Congress in Amsterdam decided to stage a world championship itself. With Uruguay now two - time official football world champions and to celebrate their centenary of independence in 1930, FIFA named Uruguay as the host country of the inaugural World Cup tournament. 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. Indeed, 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, 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 first two World Cup matches took place simultaneously on 13 July 1930, and were won by France and the USA, who defeated Mexico 4 -- 1 and Belgium 3 -- 0 respectively. The first goal in World Cup history was scored by Lucien Laurent of France. In the final, Uruguay defeated Argentina 4 -- 2 in front of a crowd of 93,000 people in Montevideo, and in doing so became the first nation to win the World Cup. After the creation of the World Cup, FIFA and the IOC disagreed over the status of amateur players, and so football was dropped from the 1932 Summer Olympics. Olympic football returned at the 1936 Summer Olympics, but was now overshadowed by the more prestigious World Cup. The issues facing the early World Cup tournaments were the difficulties of intercontinental travel, and war. Few South American teams were willing to travel to Europe for the 1934 and 1938 tournaments, with Brazil the only South American team to compete in both. The 1942 and 1946 competitions, which Nazi Germany and Brazil sought to host, were cancelled due to World War II and its aftermath. World Cups after World war II The 1950 World Cup, held in Brazil, was the first to include British participants. British teams withdrew from FIFA in 1920, partly out of unwillingness to play against the countries they had been at war with, and partly as a protest against foreign influence on football, but rejoined in 1946 following FIFA 's invitation. The tournament also saw the return of 1930 champions Uruguay, who had boycotted the previous two World Cups. Uruguay won the tournament again after defeating the host nation Brazil, in the match called `` Maracanazo '' ( Portuguese : Maracanaço ). In the tournaments between 1934 and 1978, 16 teams competed in each tournament, except in 1938, when Austria was absorbed into Germany after qualifying, leaving the tournament with 15 teams, and in 1950, when India, Scotland, and Turkey withdrew, leaving the tournament with 13 teams. Most of the participating nations were from Europe and South America, with a small minority from North America, Africa, Asia, and Oceania. These teams were usually defeated easily by the European and South American teams. Until 1982, the only teams from outside Europe and South America to advance out of the first round were : USA, semi-finalists in 1930 ; Cuba, quarter - finalists in 1938 ; North Korea, quarter - finalists in 1966 ; and Mexico, quarter - finalists in 1970. Expansion to 32 teams The tournament was expanded to 24 teams in 1982, and then to 32 in 1998, also allowing more teams from Africa, Asia and North America to take part. Since then, teams from these regions have enjoyed more success, with several having reached the quarter - finals : Mexico, quarter - finalists in 1986 ; Cameroon, quarter - finalists in 1990 ; South Korea, finishing in fourth place in 2002 ; Senegal, along with USA, both quarter - finalists in 2002 ; Ghana, quarter - finalists in 2010 ; and Costa Rica, quarter - finalists in 2014. Nevertheless, European and South American teams continue to dominate, e.g., the quarter - finalists in 1994, 1998, and 2006 were all from Europe or South America and so were the finalists of all tournaments so far. Two hundred teams entered the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds ; 198 nations attempted to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, while a record 204 countries entered qualification for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Expansion to 48 teams In October 2013, Sepp Blatter spoke of guaranteeing the Caribbean Football Union 's region a position in the World Cup. In the 25 October 2013 edition of the FIFA Weekly Blatter wrote that : `` From a purely sporting perspective, I would like to see globalisation finally taken seriously, and the African and Asian national associations accorded the status they deserve at the FIFA World Cup. It can not be that the European and South American confederations lay claim to the majority of the berths at the World Cup. '' Those two remarks suggested to commentators that Blatter could be putting himself forward for re-election to the FIFA Presidency. Following the magazine 's publication, Blatter 's would - be opponent for the FIFA Presidency, UEFA President Michel Platini responded that he intended to extend the World Cup to 40 national associations, increasing the number of participants by eight. Platini said that he would allocate an additional berth to UEFA, two to Asia Football Confederation and Confederation of African Football, two shared between CONCACAF and CONMEBOL, and a guaranteed place for the Oceania Football Confederation. Platini was clear about why he wanted to expand the World Cup. He said : `` ( The World Cup is ) not based on the quality of the teams because you do n't have the best 32 at the World Cup... but it 's a good compromise... It 's a political matter so why not have more Africans ? The competition is to bring all the people of all the world. If you do n't give the possibility to participate, they do n't improve. '' In October 2016 FIFA president Gianni Infantino stated his support for a 48 - team World Cup in 2026. On 10 January 2017, FIFA confirmed the 2026 World Cup will have 48 finalist teams. 2015 FIFA corruption case Main article : 2015 FIFA corruption case By May 2015, the games were under a particularly dark cloud because of the 2015 FIFA corruption case, allegations and criminal charges of bribery, fraud and money laundering to corrupt the issuing of media and marketing rights ( rigged bids ) for FIFA games, with FIFA officials accused of taking bribes totaling more than $150 million over 24 years. In late May, the U.S. Justice Department announced a 47 - count indictment with charges of racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy against 14 people. Arrests of over a dozen FIFA officials were made since that time, particularly on May 29 and December 3. By the end of May 2015, a total of nine FIFA officials and five executives of sports and broadcasting markets had already been charged on corruption. At the time, FIFA president Sepp Blatter announced he would relinquish his position in February 2016. On 4 June 2015 Chuck Blazer while co-operating with the FBI and the Swiss authorities admitted that he and the other members of FIFA 's then - executive committee were bribed in order to promote the 1998 and 2010 World Cups. On 10 June 2015 Swiss authorities seized computer data from the offices of Sepp Blatter. The same day, FIFA postponed the bidding process for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in light of the allegations surrounding bribery in the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 tournaments. Then - secretary general Jérôme Valcke stated, `` Due to the situation, I think it 's nonsense to start any bidding process for the time being. '' On 28 October 2015, Blatter and FIFA VP Michel Platini, a potential candidate for presidency, were suspended for 90 days ; both maintained their innocence in statements made to the news media. On 3 December 2015 two FIFA vice-presidents were arrested on suspicion of bribery in the same Zurich hotel where seven FIFA officials had been arrested in May. An additional 16 indictments by the U.S. Department of Justice were announced on the same day. Other FIFA tournaments An equivalent tournament for women 's football, the FIFA Women 's World Cup, was first held in 1991 in China. The women 's tournament is smaller in scale and profile than the men 's, but is growing ; the number of entrants for the 2007 tournament was 120, more than double that of 1991. Men 's football has been included in every Summer Olympic Games except 1896 and 1932. Unlike many other sports, the men 's football tournament at the Olympics is not a top - level tournament, and since 1992, an under - 23 tournament with each team allowed three over-age players. Women 's football made its Olympic debut in 1996. The FIFA Confederations Cup is a tournament held one year before the World Cup at the World Cup host nation ( s ) as a dress rehearsal for the upcoming World Cup. It is contested by the winners of each of the six FIFA confederation championships, along with the FIFA World Cup champion and the host country. FIFA also organises international tournaments for youth football ( FIFA U-20 World Cup, FIFA U-17 World Cup, FIFA U-20 Women 's World Cup, FIFA U-17 Women 's World Cup ), club football ( FIFA Club World Cup ), and football variants such as futsal ( FIFA Futsal World Cup ) and beach soccer ( FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup ). The latter three do not have a women 's version, although a FIFA Women 's Club World Cup has been proposed. The FIFA U-20 Women 's World Cup is held the year before each Women 's World Cup and both tournaments are awarded in a single bidding process. The U-20 tournament serves as a dress rehearsal for the larger competition. Trophy Main article : FIFA World Cup Trophy From 1930 to 1970, the Jules Rimet Trophy was awarded to the World Cup winning team. It was originally simply known as the World Cup or Coupe du Monde, but in 1946 it was renamed after the FIFA president Jules Rimet who set up the first tournament. In 1970, Brazil 's third victory in the tournament entitled them to keep the trophy permanently. However, the trophy was stolen in 1983 and has never been recovered, apparently melted down by the thieves. After 1970, a new trophy, known as the FIFA World Cup Trophy, was designed. The experts of FIFA, coming from seven countries, evaluated the 53 presented models, finally opting for the work of the Italian designer Silvio Gazzaniga. The new trophy is 36 cm ( 14.2 in ) high, made of solid 18 carat ( 75 % ) gold and weighs 6.175 kg ( 13.6 lb ). The base contains two layers of semi-precious malachite while the bottom side of the trophy bears the engraved year and name of each FIFA World Cup winner since 1974. The description of the trophy by Gazzaniga was : `` The lines spring out from the base, rising in spirals, stretching out to receive the world. From the remarkable dynamic tensions of the compact body of the sculpture rise the figures of two athletes at the stirring moment of victory. '' This new trophy is not awarded to the winning nation permanently. World Cup winners retain the trophy only until the post-match celebration is finished. They are awarded a gold - plated replica rather than the solid gold original immediately afterwards. Currently, all members ( players, coaches, and managers ) of the top three teams receive medals with an insignia of the World Cup Trophy ; winners ' ( gold ), runners - up ' ( silver ), and third - place ( bronze ). In the 2002 edition, fourth - place medals were awarded to hosts South Korea. Before the 1978 tournament, medals were only awarded to the eleven players on the pitch at the end of the final and the third - place match. In November 2007, FIFA announced that all members of World Cup - winning squads between 1930 and 1974 were to be retroactively awarded winners ' medals. Format Qualification Main article : FIFA World Cup qualification Since the second World Cup in 1934, qualifying tournaments have been held to thin the field for the final tournament. They are held within the six FIFA continental zones ( Africa, Asia, North and Central America and Caribbean, South America, Oceania, and Europe ), overseen by their respective confederations. For each tournament, FIFA decides the number of places awarded to each of the continental zones beforehand, generally based on the relative strength of the confederations ' teams. The qualification process can start as early as almost three years before the final tournament and last over a two - year period. The formats of the qualification tournaments differ between confederations. Usually, one or two places are awarded to winners of intercontinental play - offs. For example, the winner of the Oceanian zone and the fifth - placed team from the Asian zone entered a play - off for a spot in the 2010 World Cup. From the 1938 World Cup onwards, host nations receive automatic qualification to the final tournament. This right was also granted to the defending champions between 1938 and 2002, but was withdrawn from the 2006 FIFA World Cup onward, requiring the champions to qualify. Brazil, winners in 2002, were the first defending champions to play qualifying matches. Final tournament For the various formats used in previous tournaments, see History of the FIFA World Cup § Format of each final tournament. The current final tournament has been used since 1998 and features 32 national teams competing over the course of a month in the host nation ( s ). There are two stages : the group stage followed by the knockout stage. In the group stage, teams compete within eight groups of four teams each. Eight teams are seeded, including the hosts, with the other seeded teams selected using a formula based on the FIFA World Rankings and / or performances in recent World Cups, and drawn to separate groups. The other teams are assigned to different `` pots '', usually based on geographical criteria, and teams in each pot are drawn at random to the eight groups. Since 1998, constraints have been applied to the draw to ensure that no group contains more than two European teams or more than one team from any other confederation. Each group plays a round - robin tournament, in which each team is scheduled for three matches against other teams in the same group. This means that a total of six matches are played within a group. The last round of matches of each group is scheduled at the same time to preserve fairness among all four teams. The top two teams from each group advance to the knockout stage. Points are used to rank the teams within a group. Since 1994, three points have been awarded for a win, one for a draw and none for a loss ( before, winners received two points ). If one considers all possible outcomes ( win, draw, loss ) for all six matches in a group, there are 729 ( = 3 ) different outcome combinations possible. However, a certain number ( 207 ) of these combinations lead to ties between the second and third places. In such case, the ranking among these teams is determined as follows : Greatest combined goal difference in all group matches Greatest combined number of goals scored in all group matches If more than one team remain level after applying the above criteria, their ranking will be determined as follows : Greatest number of points in head - to - head matches among those teams Greatest goal difference in head - to - head matches among those teams Greatest number of goals scored in head - to - head matches among those teams If any of the teams above remain level after applying the above criteria, their ranking will be determined by the drawing of lots The knockout stage is a single - elimination tournament in which teams play each other in one - off matches, with extra time and penalty shootouts used to decide the winner if necessary. It begins with the round of 16 ( or the second round ) in which the winner of each group plays against the runner - up of another group. This is followed by the quarter - finals, the semi-finals, the third - place match ( contested by the losing semi-finalists ), and the final. On 10 January 2017, FIFA approved a new format, the 48 - team World Cup ( to accommodate more teams ), which consists of 16 groups of three teams each, with two teams qualifying from each group, to form a round of 32 knockout stage, to be implemented by 2026. Hosts Main article : FIFA World Cup hosts Selection process Wikinews has related news : FIFA receives eleven bids for 2018 and 2022 World Cups Early World Cups were given to countries at meetings of FIFA 's congress. The locations were controversial because South America and Europe were by far the two centres of strength in football and travel between them required three weeks by boat. The decision to hold the first World Cup in Uruguay, for example, led to only four European nations competing. The next two World Cups were both held in Europe. The decision to hold the second of these in France was disputed, as the South American countries understood that the location would alternate between the two continents. Both Argentina and Uruguay thus boycotted the 1938 FIFA World Cup. Russian delegates celebrate being chosen as the host of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Since the 1958 FIFA World Cup, to avoid future boycotts or controversy, FIFA began a pattern of alternating the hosts between the Americas and Europe, which continued until the 1998 FIFA World Cup. The 2002 FIFA World Cup, hosted jointly by South Korea and Japan, was the first one held in Asia, and the only tournament with multiple hosts. South Africa became the first African nation to host the World Cup in 2010. The 2014 FIFA World Cup was hosted by Brazil, the first held in South America since Argentina 1978, and was the first occasion where consecutive World Cups were held outside Europe. The host country is now chosen in a vote by FIFA 's Council. This is done under an exhaustive ballot system. The national football association of a country desiring to host the event receives a `` Hosting Agreement '' from FIFA, which explains the steps and requirements that are expected from a strong bid. The bidding association also receives a form, the submission of which represents the official confirmation of the candidacy. After this, a FIFA designated group of inspectors visit the country to identify that the country meets the requirements needed to host the event and a report on the country is produced. The decision on who will host the World Cup is usually made six or seven years in advance of the tournament. However, there have been occasions where the hosts of multiple future tournaments were announced at the same time, as was the case for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, which were awarded to Russia and Qatar, with Qatar becoming the first Middle Eastern country to host the tournament. For the 2010 and 2014 World Cups, the final tournament is rotated between confederations, allowing only countries from the chosen confederation ( Africa in 2010, South America in 2014 ) to bid to host the tournament. The rotation policy was introduced after the controversy surrounding Germany 's victory over South Africa in the vote to host the 2006 tournament. However, the policy of continental rotation will not continue beyond 2014, so any country, except those belonging to confederations that hosted the two preceding tournaments, can apply as hosts for World Cups starting from 2018. This is partly to avoid a similar scenario to the bidding process for the 2014 tournament, where Brazil was the only official bidder. Performances See also : Results of host nations in the FIFA World Cup Six of the eight champions have won one of their titles while playing in their own homeland, the exceptions being Brazil, who finished as runners - up after losing the deciding match on home soil in 1950 and lost their semifinal against Germany in 2014, and Spain, which reached the second round on home soil in 1982. England ( 1966 ) and France ( 1998 ) won their only titles while playing as host nations. Uruguay ( 1930 ), Italy ( 1934 ) and Argentina ( 1978 ) won their first titles as host nations but have gone on to win again, while Germany ( 1974 ) won their second title on home soil. Other nations have also been successful when hosting the tournament. Switzerland ( quarter - finals 1954 ), Sweden ( runners - up in 1958 ), Chile ( third place in 1962 ), South Korea ( fourth place in 2002 ), and Mexico ( quarter - finals in 1970 and 1986 ) all have their best results when serving as hosts. So far, South Africa ( 2010 ) has been the only host nation to fail to advance beyond the first round. Attendance See also : List of sports attendance figures Year Host country Venues / cities Total attendance Matches Average attendance Highest attendances Highest attendance † Venue of best - attended game ( s ) venue † Best attended game ( s ) 1930 Uruguay 3 / 1 590,549 18 32,808 93,000 Estadio Centenario, Montevideo Uruguay 6 -- 1 Yugoslavia, Semi-final 1934 Italy 8 / 8 363,000 17 21,353 55,000 Stadio Nazionale PNF, Rome Italy 2 -- 1 Czechoslovakia, Final match 1938 France 10 / 9 375,700 18 20,872 58,455 Olympique de Colombes, Paris France 1 -- 3 Italy, Quarter - final 1950 Brazil 6 / 6 1,045,246 22 47,511 171,772 Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro Brazil 1 -- 2 Uruguay, Deciding match 1954 Switzerland 6 / 6 768,607 26 29,562 63,000 Wankdorf Stadium, Bern West Germany 3 -- 2 Hungary, Final match 1958 Sweden 12 / 12 819,810 35 23,423 50,928 Ullevi Stadium, Gothenburg Brazil 2 -- 0 Soviet Union, Group stage 1962 Chile 4 / 4 893,172 32 27,912 68,679 Estadio Nacional, Santiago Brazil 4 -- 2 Chile, Semi-final 1966 England 8 / 7 1,563,135 32 48,848 98,270 Wembley Stadium, London England 4 -- 2 West Germany, Final match 1970 Mexico 5 / 5 1,603,975 32 50,124 108,192 Estadio Azteca, Mexico City Mexico 1 -- 0 Belgium, Group stage West Germany 9 / 9 1,865,753 38 49,099 83,168 Olympiastadion, West Berlin West Germany 1 -- 0 Chile, Group stage 1978 Argentina 6 / 5 1,545,791 38 40,679 71,712 River Plate Stadium, Buenos Aires Italy 1 -- 0 Argentina, Group stage 1982 Spain 17 / 14 2,109,723 52 40,572 95,500 Camp Nou, Barcelona Argentina 0 -- 1 Belgium, Opening match 1986 Mexico 12 / 11 2,394,031 52 46,039 114,600 Estadio Azteca, Mexico City Mexico 1 -- 1 Paraguay, Group stage Argentina 3 -- 2 West Germany, Final match 1990 Italy 12 / 12 2,516,215 52 48,389 74,765 San Siro, Milan West Germany 4 -- 1 Yugoslavia, Group stage 1994 United States 9 / 9 3,587,538 52 68,991 94,194 Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA Brazil 0 ( 3 ) -- ( 2 ) 0 Italy, Final match 1998 France 10 / 10 2,785,100 64 43,517 80,000 Stade de France, Saint - Denis Brazil 0 -- 3 France, Final match 2002 South Korea & Japan 10 / 10 10 / 10 2,705,197 64 42,269 69,029 International Stadium Yokohama, Japan Brazil 2 -- 0 Germany, Final match 2006 Germany 12 / 12 3,359,439 64 52,491 80,000 Olympiastadion, Berlin Germany 1 ( 4 ) -- ( 2 ) 1 Argentina, Quarter - final South Africa 10 / 9 3,178,856 64 49,670 84,490 Soccer City, Johannesburg Spain 1 -- 0 Netherlands, Final match 2014 Brazil 12 / 12 3,429,873 64 53,592 74,738 Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro Germany 1 -- 0 Argentina, Final match Overall 37,500,710 836 44,857 171,772 Maracanã Stadium, Rio ( 1950 ) The best - attended single match, shown in the last two columns, has been the final in only about half of the 20 World Cups to date. Another match or matches drew more attendance than the final in 1930, 1938, 1958, 1962, 1970 -- 1982, 1990 and 2006. Source : FIFA Broadcasting and promotion See also : List of FIFA World Cup broadcasters The World Cup was first televised in 1954 and is now the most widely viewed and followed sporting event in the world. The cumulative audience of all matches of the 2006 World Cup is estimated to be 26.29 billion. 715.1 million individuals watched the final match of this tournament ( a ninth of the entire population of the planet ). The 2006 World Cup draw, which decided the distribution of teams into groups, was watched by 300 million viewers. The World Cup attracts many sponsors such as Coca - Cola, McDonald 's and Adidas. For these companies and many more, being a sponsor strongly impacts their global brands. Host countries typically experience a multimillion - dollar revenue increase from the month - long event. It was predicted that Brazil will bring in more than $11 billion in revenue for the 2014 World Cup. Each FIFA World Cup since 1966 has its own mascot or logo. World Cup Willie, the mascot for the 1966 competition, was the first World Cup mascot. Recent World Cups have also featured official match balls specially designed for each World Cup. The World Cup even has a statistically significant effect on birth rates, the male / female sex ratio of newborns, and heart attacks in nations whose national teams are competing. Hosting the World Cup or a home team 's win tends to increase male births and total birth rate, and heart attacks are more common when home teams are on the field. Results See also : List of FIFA World Cup finals Year Hosts Winners Score Runners - up Third Place Score Fourth Place Number of Teams 1930 Details Uruguay Uruguay 4 -- 2 Argentina United States Yugoslavia 13 1934 Details Italy Italy 2 -- 1 ( a.e.t. ) Czechoslovakia Germany 3 -- 2 Austria 16 1938 Details France Italy 4 -- 2 Hungary Brazil 4 -- 2 Sweden 16 / 15 1950 Details Brazil Uruguay 2 - 1 Brazil Sweden Spain 16 / 13 1954 Details Switzerland West Germany 3 -- 2 Hungary Austria 3 -- 1 Uruguay 16 1958 Details Sweden Brazil 5 -- 2 Sweden France 6 -- 3 West Germany 16 1962 Details Chile Brazil 3 -- 1 Czechoslovakia Chile 1 -- 0 Yugoslavia 16 1966 Details England England 4 -- 2 ( a.e.t. ) West Germany Portugal 2 -- 1 Soviet Union 16 1970 Details Mexico Brazil 4 -- 1 Italy West Germany 1 -- 0 Uruguay 16 Details West Germany West Germany 2 -- 1 Netherlands Poland 1 -- 0 Brazil 16 1978 Details Argentina Argentina 3 -- 1 ( a.e.t. ) Netherlands Brazil 2 -- 1 Italy 16 1982 Details Spain Italy 3 -- 1 West Germany Poland 3 -- 2 France 24 1986 Details Mexico Argentina 3 -- 2 West Germany France 4 -- 2 ( a.e.t. ) Belgium 24 1990 Details Italy West Germany 1 -- 0 Argentina Italy 2 -- 1 England 24 1994 Details United States Brazil 0 -- 0 ( a.e.t. ) ( 3 -- 2 PSO ) Italy Sweden 4 -- 0 Bulgaria 24 1998 Details France France 3 -- 0 Brazil Croatia 2 -- 1 Netherlands 32 2002 Details South Korea & Japan Brazil 2 -- 0 Germany Turkey 3 -- 2 South Korea 32 2006 Details Germany Italy 1 -- 1 ( a.e.t. ) ( 5 -- 3 PSO ) France Germany 3 -- 1 Portugal 32 Details South Africa Spain 1 -- 0 ( a.e.t. ) Netherlands Germany 3 -- 2 Uruguay 32 2014 Details Brazil Germany 1 -- 0 ( a.e.t. ) Argentina Netherlands 3 -- 0 Brazil 32 2018 Details Russia 32 2022 Details Qatar 32 a.e.t. : after extra time p : after penalty shoot - out Notes Jump up ^ There was no official World Cup Third Place match in 1930 ; The United States and Yugoslavia lost in the semi-finals. FIFA now recognises the United States as the third - placed team and Yugoslavia as the fourth - placed team, using the overall records of the teams in the tournament. Jump up ^ Austria withdrew after the draw as a result of the Anschluss with Germany : some Austrian players subsequently joined the German squad, leaving the tournament with 15 teams. ^ Jump up to : There was no official World Cup final match in 1950. The tournament winner was decided by a final round - robin group contested by four teams ( Uruguay, Brazil, Sweden, and Spain ). Coincidentally, one of the last two matches of the tournament pitted the two top ranked teams against each other, with Uruguay 's 2 -- 1 victory over Brazil thus often being considered as the de facto final of the 1950 World Cup. Likewise, the game between the lowest ranked teams, played at the same time as Uruguay vs Brazil, can be considered equal to a Third Place match, with Sweden 's 3 -- 1 victory over Spain ensuring that they finished third. Jump up ^ Only 13 teams played the 1950 FIFA World Cup. 16 teams entered the seeding groups draw. However, Turkey and Scotland both withdrew before the draw ; France ( eliminated in qualifying ) was invited as a replacement, leaving the tournament to be held with 15 teams. After the draw, India and France both withdrew, so only 13 teams participated in the tournament. In all, 77 nations have played in at least one World Cup. Of these, eight national teams have won the World Cup, and they have added stars to their badges, with each star representing a World Cup victory. ( Uruguay, however, choose to display four stars on their badge, representing their two gold medals at the 1924 and 1928 Summer Olympics and their two World Cup titles in 1930 and 1950 ). With five titles, Brazil are the most successful World Cup team and also the only nation to have played in every World Cup ( 20 ) to date. Brazil were also the first team to win the World Cup for the third ( 1970 ), fourth ( 1994 ) and fifth ( 2002 ) time. Italy ( 1934 and 1938 ) and Brazil ( 1958 and 1962 ) are the only nations to have won consecutive titles. West Germany ( 1982 -- 1990 ) and Brazil ( 1994 -- 2002 ) are the only nations to appear in three consecutive World Cup finals. Germany has made the most top - four finishes ( 13 ), medals ( 12 ), as well as the most finals ( 8 ). Teams reaching the top four See also : National team appearances in the FIFA World Cup § Comprehensive team results by tournament Team Titles Runners - up Third Place Fourth Place Top 4 Finishes Top 3 Finishes Top 2 Finishes Brazil 5 ( 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002 ) 2 ( 1950 *, 1998 ) 2 ( 1938, 1978 ) 2 ( 1974, 2014 * ) 11 9 7 Germany ^ 4 ( 1954, 1974 *, 1990, 2014 ) 4 ( 1966, 1982, 1986, 2002 ) 4 ( 1934, 1970, 2006 *, 2010 ) 1 ( 1958 ) 13 12 8 Italy 4 ( 1934 *, 1938, 1982, 2006 ) 2 ( 1970, 1994 ) 1 ( 1990 * ) 1 ( 1978 ) 8 7 6 Argentina 2 ( 1978 *, 1986 ) 3 ( 1930, 1990, 2014 ) & -- & -- 5 5 5 Uruguay 2 ( 1930 *, 1950 ) & -- & -- 3 ( 1954, 1970, 2010 ) 5 France 1 ( 1998 * ) 1 ( 2006 ) 2 ( 1958, 1986 ) 1 ( 1982 ) 5 England 1 ( 1966 * ) & -- & -- 1 ( 1990 ) Spain 1 ( 2010 ) & -- & -- 1 ( 1950 ) Netherlands & -- 3 ( 1974, 1978, 2010 ) 1 ( 2014 ) 1 ( 1998 ) 5 Hungary & -- 2 ( 1938, 1954 ) & -- & -- Czechoslovakia & -- 2 ( 1934, 1962 ) & -- & -- Sweden & -- 1 ( 1958 * ) 2 ( 1950, 1994 ) 1 ( 1938 ) Poland & -- & -- 2 ( 1974, 1982 ) & -- & -- Austria & -- & -- 1 ( 1954 ) 1 ( 1934 ) & -- Portugal & -- & -- 1 ( 1966 ) 1 ( 2006 ) & -- United States & -- & -- 1 ( 1930 ) & -- & -- Chile & -- & -- 1 ( 1962 * ) & -- & -- Croatia & -- & -- 1 ( 1998 ) & -- & -- Turkey & -- & -- 1 ( 2002 ) & -- & -- Yugoslavia & -- & -- & -- 2 ( 1930, 1962 ) & -- & -- Soviet Union & -- & -- & -- 1 ( 1966 ) & -- & -- Belgium & -- & -- & -- 1 ( 1986 ) & -- & -- Bulgaria & -- & -- & -- 1 ( 1994 ) & -- & -- South Korea & -- & -- & -- 1 ( 2002 * ) & -- & -- * = hosts ^ = includes results representing West Germany between 1954 and 1990 # = states that have since split into two or more independent nations Best performances by continental zones See also : FIFA World Cup results by confederation To date, the final of the World Cup has only been contested by teams from the UEFA ( Europe ) and CONMEBOL ( South America ) confederations. European nations have won eleven titles, while South American have won nine. Only two teams from outside these two continents have ever reached the semi-finals of the competition : USA ( North, Central America and Caribbean ) in 1930 and South Korea ( Asia ) in 2002. The best result of an African team is reaching the quarter - finals : Cameroon in 1990, Senegal in 2002 and Ghana in 2010. Only one Oceanian qualifier, Australia in 2006, has advanced to the second round. Brazil, Argentina, Spain and Germany are the only teams to win a World Cup outside their continental confederation ; Brazil came out victorious in Europe ( 1958 ), North America ( 1970 and 1994 ) and Asia ( 2002 ), Argentina won a World Cup in North America in 1986, while Spain won a World Cup in Africa in 2010. Germany was the first European team to win in South America in 2014. Only on four occasions have consecutive World Cups been won by teams from the same continent, and currently it is the first time with three champions in a row from the same continental confederation. Italy and Brazil successfully defended their titles in 1938 and 1962 respectively, while Italy 's triumph in 2006 has been followed by Spain 's in 2010 and Germany 's in 2014. Currently, it is also the first time that one of the currently winning continents ( Europe ) is ahead of the other ( South America ) by two championships. Total times teams qualified by confederation AFC CAF CONCACAF CONMEBOL OFC UEFA Total Teams 32 39 39 80 231 425 Top 16 5 9 13 31 81 140 Top 8 5 32 0 94 136 Top 4 0 22 0 56 80 Top 2 0 0 0 14 0 26 40 1st 0 0 0 9 0 11 20 2nd 0 0 0 5 0 15 20 3rd 0 0 0 16 20 4th 0 0 5 0 14 20 Awards Main article : FIFA World Cup awards At the end of each World Cup, awards are presented to the players and teams for accomplishments other than their final team positions in the tournament. There are currently six awards : The Golden Ball for the best player, determined by a vote of media members ( first awarded in 1982 ) ; the Silver Ball and the Bronze Ball are awarded to the players finishing second and third in the voting respectively ; The Golden Boot ( sometimes called the Golden Shoe ) for the top goalscorer ( first awarded in 1982, but retrospectively applied to all tournaments from 1930 ) ; most recently, the Silver Boot and the Bronze Boot have been awarded to the second and third top goalscorers respectively ; The Golden Glove Award ( formerly the Yashin Award ) for the best goalkeeper, decided by the FIFA Technical Study Group ( first awarded in 1994 ) ; The Best Young Player Award for the best player aged 21 or younger at the start of the calendar year, decided by the FIFA Technical Study Group ( first awarded in 2006 ) ; The FIFA Fair Play Trophy for the team with the best record of fair play, according to the points system and criteria established by the FIFA Fair Play Committee ( first awarded in 1978 ) ; The Most Entertaining Team for the team that has entertained the public the most during the World Cup, determined by a poll of the general public ( first awarded in 1994 ) ; An All - Star Team consisting of the best players of the tournament has also been announced for each tournament since 1998. Records and Statistics Main article : FIFA World Cup records See also : List of FIFA World Cup winners Lothar Matthäus played a record 25 World Cup matches across a joint record five tournaments Two players share the record for playing in the most World Cups ; Mexico 's Antonio Carbajal ( 1950 -- 1966 ) and Germany 's Lothar Matthäus ( 1982 -- 1998 ) both played in five tournaments. Matthäus has played the most World Cup matches overall, with 25 appearances. Brazil 's Djalma Santos ( 1954 -- 1962 ), West Germany 's Franz Beckenbauer ( 1966 -- 1974 ) and Germany 's Philipp Lahm ( 2006 -- 2014 ) are the only players to be named to three Finals All - Star Teams. Miroslav Klose of Germany ( 2002 -- 2014 ) is the all - time top scorer at the finals, with 16 goals. He broke Ronaldo of Brazil 's record of 15 goals ( 1998 -- 2006 ) during 2014 semi-final match against Brazil. West Germany 's Gerd Müller ( 1970 -- 1974 ) is third, with 14 goals. The fourth placed goalscorer, France 's Just Fontaine, holds the record for the most goals scored in a single World Cup ; all his 13 goals were scored in the 1958 tournament. In November 2007, FIFA announced that all members of World Cup - winning squads between 1930 and 1974 were to be retroactively awarded winners ' medals. This made Brazil 's Pelé the only player to have won three World Cup winners ' medals ( 1958, 1962, and 1970, although he did not play in the 1962 final due to injury ), with 20 other players who have won two winners ' medals. Seven players have collected all three types of World Cup medals ( winners ', runner - ups ', and third - place ) ; five players were from West Germany 's squad of 1966 -- 1974 including Franz Beckenbauer, Jürgen Grabowski, Horst - Dieter Höttges, Sepp Maier and Wolfgang Overath ( 1966 -- 1974 ), Italy 's Franco Baresi ( 1982, 1990, 1994 ) and the most recent has been Miroslav Klose of Germany ( 2002 -- 2014 ) with four consecutive medals. Brazil 's Mário Zagallo and West Germany 's Franz Beckenbauer are the only people to date to win the World Cup as both player and head coach. Zagallo won in 1958 and 1962 as a player and in 1970 as head coach. Beckenbauer won in 1974 as captain and in 1990 as head coach. Italy 's Vittorio Pozzo is the only head coach to ever win two World Cups ( 1934 and 1938 ). All World Cup winning head coaches were natives of the country they coached to victory. Among the national teams, Germany has played the most World Cup matches ( 106 ) and appeared in the most finals ( 8 ), semi-finals ( 13 ), quarter - finals ( 16 ) as well as scoring the most World Cup goals ( 224 ), while Brazil has appeared in the most World Cups ( 20 ). The two teams have played each other twice in the World Cup, in the 2002 final and in the 2014 semi-final. Top goalscorers Main article : FIFA World Cup top goalscorers Miroslav Klose scored a record 16 goals across four World Cups Players with more than 10 goals at World Cup tournaments Rank Nation Player Goals scored Miroslav Klose 16 Ronaldo 15 Gerd Müller 14 Just Fontaine 13 5 Pelé 12 6 Jürgen Klinsmann 11 Sándor Kocsis 11 All - time table for champions Main article : All - time table of the FIFA World Cup Position Name of Team Participations Pld GF GA GD Pts Avg Pts Trophies Brazil 20 104 70 17 17 221 102 119 227 2.18 5 Germany 18 106 66 20 20 224 121 103 218 2.06 Italy 18 83 45 21 17 128 77 51 156 1.88 Argentina 16 77 42 14 21 131 84 47 140 1.82 5 Spain 14 59 29 12 18 92 66 26 99 1.68 6 England 14 62 26 20 16 79 56 23 98 1.58 7 France 14 59 28 12 19 106 71 35 96 1.63 8 Uruguay 12 51 20 12 19 80 71 9 72 1.41 See also Book : FIFA World Cup Association football portal List of FIFA World Cup finals National team appearances in the FIFA World Cup FIFA U-20 World Cup FIFA U-17 World Cup FIFA Club World Cup FIFA Women 's World Cup FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup FIFA Futsal World Cup FIFA Confederations Cup Notes and references ^ Jump up to : `` 2006 FIFA World Cup broadcast wider, longer and farther than ever before ''. FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 6 February 2007. Retrieved 11 October 2009. Jump up ^ Tom Dunmore, Historical Dictionary of Soccer, page 235, quote `` The World Cup is now the most - watched sporting event in the world on television, above even the Olympic Games. '' Jump up ^ Stephen Dobson and John Goddard, The Economics of Football, page 407, quote `` The World Cup is the most widely viewed sporting event in the world : the estimated cumulative television audience for the 2006 World Cup in Germany was 26.2 billion, an average of 409 million viewers per match. '' Jump up ^ Glenn M. Wong, The Comprehensive Guide to Careers in Sports, page 144, quote `` The World Cup is the most - watched sporting event in the world. In 2006, more than 30 billion viewers in 214 countries watched the World Cup on television, and more than 3.3 million spectators attended the 64 matches of the tournament. '' Jump up ^ `` England National Football Team Match No. 1 ''. England Football Online. Retrieved 19 November 2007. Jump up ^ `` British PM backs return of Home Nations championship ''. Agence France - Presse. Retrieved 16 December 2007. Jump up ^ Elbech, Søren ; Stokkermans, Karel ( 26 June 2008 ). `` Intermediate Games of the IV. Olympiad ''. rec. sport. soccer Statistics Foundation. Jump up ^ `` History of FIFA -- FIFA takes shape ''. FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Retrieved 12 July 2014. Jump up ^ `` ' The First World Cup '. The Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy ''. Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council. 10 October 2003. Archived from the original on 29 November 2003. Retrieved 11 April 2006. Jump up ^ `` History of FIFA -- More associations follow ''. FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Retrieved 12 July 2014. Jump up ^ Reyes, Macario ( 18 October 1999 ). `` VII. Olympiad Antwerp 1920 Football Tournament ''. rec. sport. soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 10 June 2006. Jump up ^ `` History of FIFA -- The first FIFA World Cup ''. FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Retrieved 12 July 2014. Jump up ^ Molinaro, John F. `` The World Cup 's 1st goal scorer ''. CBC. Retrieved 12 July 2014. Jump up ^ `` FIFA World Cup Origin '' ( PDF ). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 14 June 2010. Retrieved 19 November 2007. Jump up ^ `` The Olympic Odyssey so far... ( Part 1 : 1908 -- 1964 ) ''. FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 9 June 2004. Retrieved 12 July 2014. Jump up ^ `` Los datos más curiosos de la Fiesta del Fútbol - Brasil 1950 ''. Archived from the original on 1 July 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2012. Jump up ^ `` Scotland and the 1950 World Cup ''. BBC. Retrieved 13 May 2007. Jump up ^ Glanville Jump up ^ Glanville, p45 Jump up ^ Glanville, p238 Jump up ^ Glanville, p359 Jump up ^ `` Record number of 204 teams enter preliminary competition ''. FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Retrieved 12 July 2014. Jump up ^ Whittaker, James ( 23 October 2013 ). `` Caribbean pro league can work ''. Cayman Islands : CompassCayman.com. Retrieved 28 October 2013. Jump up ^ Blatter, Sepp ( 25 October 2013 ). `` A level playing field for Africa ! '' ( PDF ). FIFA Weekly. p. 29. Retrieved 28 October 2013. Jump up ^ Morley, Gary ( 25 October 2013 ). `` Sepp Blatter calls for more African nations at World Cup finals ''. CNN. Retrieved 28 October 2013. ^ Jump up to : Dickinson, Matt ( 28 October 2013 ). `` Michel Platini sets out his plan for the new world order ''. The Times. Retrieved 28 October 2013. Jump up ^ World Cup could expand to 48 teams, Fifa 's Gianni Infantino suggests - The Guardian, 3 October 2016 Jump up ^ `` Ab 2026 : 48 Teams - Fifa vergrößert die WM ''. SPIEGEL ONLINE. Jump up ^ No byline ( 3 December 2015 ). `` The FIFA Investigation, Explained ''. New York Times. New York, NY, USA. Retrieved 3 December 2015. Jump up ^ McLaughlin, Eliott C. ; Botelho, Greg ( 28 May 2015 ). `` FIFA corruption probe targets ' World Cup of fraud, ' IRS chief says ''. CNN. Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. Retrieved 3 December 2015. Jump up ^ `` Fifa crisis : US charges 16 more officials after earlier Zurich arrests ''. BBC News. 4 December 2015. Jump up ^ `` Blazer : Bribes accepted for 1998 and 2010 World Cups - Telegraph ''. Telegraph.co.uk. 3 June 2015. Jump up ^ `` Swiss police seize IT data from Fifa headquarters '', The BBC, 10 June 2015. Retrieved 10 June 2015 Jump up ^ `` Fifa World Cup 2026 bidding process delayed ''. BBC Sport. 10 June 2015. Retrieved 10 June 2015. Jump up ^ Associated Press ( 8 October 2015 ). `` Sepp Blatter, Michel Platini handed 90 - day FIFA suspensions ''. CBC Sports. CBC / Radio Canada. Retrieved 3 December 2015. Jump up ^ Ruiz, Rebecca ( 3 December 2015 ). `` FIFA Corruption : Top Officials Arrested at Zurich Hotel ''. New York Times. New York, USA. Retrieved 3 December 2015. Jump up ^ no byline ( 3 December 2015 ). `` Fifa crisis : US charges 16 more officials after earlier Zurich arrests ''. BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 3 December 2015. Jump up ^ `` FIFA Women 's World Cup ''. FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Retrieved 22 December 2007. Jump up ^ `` We Are the World... Cup ''. China Post. Retrieved 8 September 2017 Jump up ^ `` Regulations Men 's Olympic Football Tournament 2008 '' ( PDF ). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 27 February 2008. Retrieved 22 December 2007. Jump up ^ `` FIFA Confederations Cup ''. FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Retrieved 22 December 2007. Jump up ^ `` FIFA Task Force for Women 's Football proposes a FIFA Women 's Club World Cup ''. fifa.com. Retrieved 8 September 2017. Jump up ^ `` FIFA Women 's World Cup next up for Canada in 2015 ''. CBC Sports. Retrieved 8 September 2017 Jump up ^ `` Jules Rimet Cup ''. FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Retrieved 12 July 2014. Jump up ^ `` FIFA World Cup Trophy ''. FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Retrieved 12 July 2014. Jump up ^ `` FIFA Assets -- Trophy ''. FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Archived from the original on 4 November 2007. Retrieved 19 November 2007. ^ Jump up to : `` 122 forgotten heroes get World Cup medals ''. ESPNSoccernet.com. ESPN. 25 November 2007. Jump up ^ `` World Cup 1966 winners honoured ''. BBC Sport. 10 June 2009. Jump up ^ `` Jimmy Greaves finally gets his 1966 World Cup medal ''. Mirror.co.uk. MGN. Jump up ^ `` FIFA World Cup qualifying : Treasure - trove of the weird and wonderful ''. FIFA. Retrieved 23 December 2007. Jump up ^ `` 2010 World Cup Qualifying ''. ESPNSoccernet.com. ESPN. 26 November 2009. Archived from the original on 16 December 2008. Retrieved 23 December 2009. Jump up ^ `` History of the FIFA World Cup Preliminary Competition ( by year ) '' ( PDF ). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 14 June 2010. ^ Jump up to : `` Formats of the FIFA World Cup final competitions 1930 -- 2010 '' ( PDF ). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Retrieved 1 January 2008. Jump up ^ `` FIFA World Cup : seeded teams 1930 -- 2010 '' ( PDF ). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Retrieved 12 May 2014. Jump up ^ Previously, due to there being fewer finals places and a bigger ratio of European finalists, there had been several occasions where three European teams were in a single group, for example, 1986 ( West Germany, Scotland, and Denmark ), 1990 ( Italy, Czechoslovakia, and Austria ), and 1994 ( Italy, Republic of Ireland, and Norway ). ( `` History of the World Cup Final Draw '' ( PDF ). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Retrieved 12 May 2014. ) Jump up ^ This practice has been installed since the 1986 FIFA World Cup. In some cases during previous tournaments, for example, Argentina 6 -- 0 Peru in Argentina 1978 and West Germany 1 -- 0 Austria in Spain 1982, teams that played the latter match were perceived to gain an unfair advantage by knowing the score of the earlier match, and subsequently obtaining a result that ensured advancement to the next stage. ( `` 1978 Argentina ''. CBC. ; `` 1982 Spain ''. CBC. ) Jump up ^ `` Regulations of the 2010 FIFA World Cup '' ( PDF ). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. p. 41. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 26 September 2007. Retrieved 21 June 2010. Jump up ^ Stephen Turner `` FIFA approves 48 - team World Cup '', Sky Sports News, 10 January 2017. Retrieved on 10 January 2017. Jump up ^ `` Uruguay 1930 ''. BBC Sport. 11 April 2002. Retrieved 13 May 2006. Jump up ^ `` France 1938 ''. BBC Sport. 17 April 2002. Retrieved 13 May 2006. Jump up ^ `` Asia takes World Cup center stage ''. CNN. 3 June 2002. Retrieved 1 January 2008. Jump up ^ `` Brazil will stage 2014 World Cup ''. BBC Sport. 10 October 2007. Retrieved 1 January 2008. Jump up ^ Gibson, Owen ( 2 December 2010 ). `` England beaten as Russia win 2018 World Cup bid ''. The Guardian. London. Retrieved 8 September 2017. Jump up ^ Jackson, Jamie ( 2 December 2010 ). `` Qatar win 2022 World Cup bid ''. The Guardian. London. Retrieved 8 September 2017. Jump up ^ `` Rotation ends in 2018 ''. FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 29 October 2007. Retrieved 30 March 2013. Jump up ^ `` FIFA World Cup competition records '' ( PDF ). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. p. 2. Retrieved 30 January 2013. Jump up ^ `` Socceroos face major challenge : Hiddink ''. ABC Sport. 10 December 2005. Archived from the original on 30 April 2006. Retrieved 13 May 2006. Jump up ^ `` FIFA Assets -- Mascots ''. FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Archived from the original on 4 November 2007. Retrieved 19 November 2007. Jump up ^ Brachfeld, Aaron ( 2 December 2015 ). `` World Cup affects sex ratio in newborns ''. the Loka Review ( November 2015 ). Loka Hatha Yoga. Retrieved 24 November 2015. Jump up ^ Masukume, Gwinyai. `` Possible Effect of the World Cup on Births ''. Improbable Research. Harvard University. Retrieved 2 December 2015. Jump up ^ Masukume, Gwinyai. `` The sex ratio at birth in South Africa increased 9 months after the 2010 FIFA World Cup ''. Early Human Development. Journal of Early Human Development. Retrieved 2 December 2015. Jump up ^ `` 1930 FIFA World Cup ''. FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Retrieved 5 March 2009. ^ Jump up to : `` 1950 FIFA World Cup ''. FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Retrieved 5 March 2009. Jump up ^ `` FIFA World Cup Finals since 1930 '' ( PDF ). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Retrieved 5 March 2009. ^ Jump up to : FIFA considers that the national team of Russia succeeds the USSR, the national team of Serbia succeeds the Yugoslavia / Serbia and Montenegro, and the national team of Czech Republic succeeds the Czechoslovakia. ( `` Russia ''. FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. ; `` Serbia ''. FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. ; `` Czech Republic ''. FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Retrieved 12 May 2014. ). Jump up ^ `` Brazil ''. FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Retrieved 12 May 2014. Jump up ^ Australia 's qualification in 2006 was through the Oceanian zone as they were a member of the OFC member during qualifying. However, on 1 January 2006, they left the Oceania Football Confederation and joined the Asian Football Confederation. ^ Jump up to : The 1982 edition in Spain had a format with a second round consisting of 12 teams instead of 16, 4 of which qualified to the semi-finals. Jump up ^ `` FIFA World Cup awards '' ( PDF ). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 30 June 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2009. Jump up ^ `` Golden Ball for Zinedine Zidane ''. Soccerway. 10 July 2006. Retrieved 31 December 2007. Jump up ^ `` adidas Golden Shoe -- FIFA World Cup Final ''. FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Retrieved 12 July 2014. Jump up ^ `` Kahn named top keeper ''. BBC Sport. 30 June 2002. Retrieved 31 December 2007. ^ Jump up to : Pierrend, José Luis ( 18 May 2007 ). `` FIFA Awards ''. rec. sport. soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 12 January 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2008. Jump up ^ Yannis, Alex ( 10 November 1999 ). `` Matthaus Is the Latest MetroStars Savior ''. New York Times. Retrieved 23 December 2007. Jump up ^ `` World Cup Hall of Fame : Lothar Matthaeus ''. CNN. Archived from the original on 27 December 2013. Retrieved 23 December 2007. Jump up ^ Downie, Andrew ( 24 July 2013 ). `` Brazil 's twice World Cup winner Djalma Santos dies at 84 ''. Reuters. Retrieved 12 July 2014. Jump up ^ Chowdhury, Saj ( 27 June 2006 ). `` Ronaldo 's riposte ''. BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 December 2007. Jump up ^ `` Goal machine was Just superb ''. BBC Sport. 4 April 2002. Retrieved 23 December 2007. Jump up ^ Kirby, Gentry ( 5 July 2006 ). `` Pele, King of Futbol ''. ESPN. Archived from the original on 16 December 2008. Retrieved 23 December 2007. Jump up ^ Hughes, Rob ( 11 March 1998 ). `` No Alternative to Victory for National Coach : 150 Million Brazilians Keep Heat on Zagalo ''. International Herald Tribune. Archived from the original on 26 February 2008. Retrieved 31 December 2007. Jump up ^ Brewin, John ( 21 December 2001 ). `` World Cup Legends -- Franz Beckenbauer ''. ESPNSoccernet.com. ESPN. Archived from the original on 19 November 2009. Retrieved 31 December 2007. Jump up ^ `` 1938 World Cup : Italy repeats as champions ''. CBC. 21 November 2009. Retrieved 12 July 2014. Jump up ^ `` World Football -- All time table ''. World Football. Retrieved 13 July 2014. Jump up ^ includes results of West Germany from 1954 to 1990 Bibliography Glanville, Brian ( 2005 ). The Story of the World Cup. Faber. ISBN 0 - 571 - 22944 - 1. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to FIFA World Cup. Official website Previous FIFA World Cups FIFA World Cup Tournaments Uruguay 1930 Italy 1934 France 1938 Brazil 1950 Switzerland 1954 Sweden 1958 Chile 1962 England 1966 Mexico 1970 West Germany 1974 Argentina 1978 Spain 1982 Mexico 1986 Italy 1990 United States 1994 France 1998 South Korea / Japan 2002 Germany 2006 South Africa 2010 Brazil 2014 Russia 2018 Qatar 2022 2026 2030 Qualification 1930 1934 1938 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2014 2018 Finals 1930 1934 1938 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2014 2018 Squads 1930 1934 1938 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2014 Seedings 1998 2002 2006 2014 2018 Broadcasters 1998 2002 2006 2014 2018 Bids 2014 2018 and 2022 2026 2030 Records and statistics All - time table Goalscorers top goalscorers finals goalscorers hat - tricks own goals Penalty shoot - outs Player appearances Red cards Referees Team appearances Teams with no appearances Miscellaneous Awards Balls Economics Final draw History Hosts Mascots Official films Official songs Organisers Trophy Video games Notes : There was no qualification for the 1930 World Cup as places were given by invitation only. In 1950, there was no final ; the article is about the decisive match of the final group stage. FIFA World Cup winners 1930 : Uruguay 1934 : Italy 1938 : Italy 1950 : Uruguay 1954 : West Germany 1958 : Brazil 1962 : Brazil 1966 : England 1970 : Brazil 1974 : West Germany 1978 : Argentina 1982 : Italy 1986 : Argentina 1990 : West Germany 1994 : Brazil 1998 : France 2002 : Brazil 2006 : Italy 2010 : Spain 2014 : Germany FIFA World Cup symbols Official songs 1962 : `` El Rock del Mundial '' 1966 : `` World Cup Willie ( Where in this World are We Going ) '' 1970 : `` Fútbol México 70 '' 1974 : `` Futbol '' 1978 : `` Anthem '' 1982 : `` Mundial ' 82 '' 1986 : `` Hot Hot Hot '' 1990 : `` Un'estate italiana '' 1994 : `` Gloryland '' 1998 : `` The Cup of Life '' 2002 : `` Boom '' 2006 : `` Celebrate the Day '' 2010 : `` Waka Waka ( This Time for Africa ) '' 2014 : `` We Are One ( Ole Ola ) '' Mascots 1966 : World Cup Willie 1970 : Juanito 1974 : Tip and Tap 1978 : Gauchito 1982 : Naranjito 1986 : Pique 1990 : Ciao 1994 : Striker, the World Cup Pup 1998 : Footix 2002 : Ato, Kaz, and Nik 2006 : Goleo VI and Pille 2010 : Zakumi 2014 : Fuleco 2018 : Zabivaka Balls 1970 : Telstar 1974 : Telstar Durlast 1978 : Tango Durlast 1982 : Tango España 1986 : Azteca 1990 : Etrusco Unico 1994 : Questra 1998 : Tricolore 2002 : Fevernova 2006 : + Teamgeist 2010 : Jabulani 2014 : Brazuca Video games 1986 : World Cup Carnival 1990 : World Cup Soccer : Italia ' 90 World Cup Italia ' 90 1994 : World Cup USA ' 94 1998 : World Cup 98 Jikkyou World Soccer : World Cup France ' 98 World Soccer Jikkyou Winning Eleven 3 : World Cup France ' 98 2002 : 2002 FIFA World Cup 2006 : 2006 FIFA World Cup 2010 : 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa 2014 : 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Albums 1994 : Gloryland 1998 : Allez ! Ola ! Ole ! 2002 : The Official Album 2006 : Voices 2010 : Listen Up ! 2014 : One Love, One Rhythm Instruments 2010 : Vuvuzela 2014 : Caxirola FIFA World Cup hosts 1930 : Uruguay 1934 : Italy 1938 : France 1950 : Brazil 1954 : Switzerland 1958 : Sweden 1962 : Chile 1966 : England 1970 : Mexico 1974 : West Germany 1978 : Argentina 1982 : Spain 1986 : Mexico 1990 : Italy 1994 : United States 1998 : France 2002 : South Korea & Japan 2006 : Germany 2010 : South Africa 2014 : Brazil 2018 : Russia 2022 : Qatar FIFA History of FIFA FIFA Anthem FIFA Congress FIFA Council FIFA Ethics Committee FIFA headquarters Football at the Summer Olympics List of football federations International Football Association Board Timeline of association football Football codes Association football Beach soccer Futsal Confederations AFC CAF CONCACAF CONMEBOL OFC UEFA Men 's tournaments FIFA World Cup FIFA Confederations Cup FIFA U-20 World Cup FIFA U-17 World Cup FIFA Club World Cup FIFA Futsal World Cup FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Blue Stars / FIFA Youth Cup Women 's tournaments FIFA Women 's World Cup FIFA U-20 Women 's World Cup FIFA U-17 Women 's World Cup FIFA Women 's Club World Cup Other tournaments FIFA Interactive World Cup Presidents Robert Guérin ( 1904 -- 1906 ) Daniel Burley Woolfall ( 1906 -- 1918 ) Jules Rimet ( 1921 -- 1954 ) Rodolphe Seeldrayers ( 1954 -- 1955 ) Arthur Drewry ( 1955 -- 1961 ) Stanley Rous ( 1961 -- 1974 ) João Havelange ( 1974 -- 1998 ) Sepp Blatter ( 1998 -- 2015 ) Issa Hayatou ( 2015 -- 2016, acting ) Gianni Infantino ( 2016 -- present ) General Secretaries Louis Muhlinghaus ( 1904 -- 1906 ) Wilhelm Hirschman ( 1906 -- 1931 ) Ivo Schricker ( 1932 -- 1951 ) Kurt Gassmann ( 1951 -- 1960 ) Helmut Käser ( 1961 -- 1981 ) Sepp Blatter ( 1981 -- 1998 ) Michel Zen - Ruffinen ( 1998 -- 2002 ) Urs Linsi ( 2002 -- 2007 ) Jérôme Valcke ( 2007 -- 2015 ) Markus Kattner ( 2015 -- 2016, acting ) Fatma Samoura ( 2016 -- present ) Awards FIFA 100 FIFA Ballon d'Or FIFA Club of the Century FIFA Development Award FIFA Fair Play Award FIFA Female Player of the Century FIFA FIFPro World XI FIFA Order of Merit FIFA Player of the Century FIFA Presidential Award FIFA Puskás Award FIFA Women 's World Cup awards FIFA World Coach of the Year FIFA World Cup All - Time Team FIFA World Cup Dream Team FIFA World Cup awards FIFA World Player of the Year The Best FIFA Football Awards Rankings FIFA World Rankings FIFA World Ranking system ( 1999 -- 2006 ) FIFA Women 's World Rankings Congresses 51st ( Paris 1998 ) 53rd ( Seoul 2002 ) 61st ( Zürich 2011 ) 65th ( Zürich 2015 ) Extraordinary ( Zürich 2016 ) Corruption `` FIFA 's Dirty Secrets '' Garcia Report 2015 FIFA corruption case List of banned football officials Others FIFA ( video game series ) List of FIFA country codes FIFA Disciplinary Code FIFA Fan Fest FIFA Futbol Mundial FIFA eligibility rules FIFA International Match Calendar FIFA International Referees List FIFA Master FIFA Transfer Matching System FIFA World Cup Trophy Non-FIFA United Passions World football championships Football at the Summer Olympics Football at the Youth Olympics Men National FIFA World Cup FIFA Confederations Cup FIFA U-20 World Cup FIFA U-17 World Cup Club FIFA Club World Cup ( Intercontinental Cup ) Women National FIFA Women 's World Cup FIFA U-20 Women 's World Cup FIFA U-17 Women 's World Cup Club FIFA Women 's Club World Cup ( International Women 's Club Championship ) Variants FIFA Futsal World Cup FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup FIFA Interactive World Cup International association football FIFA Federations Teams Competitions World Cup U-17 U-20 Confederations Cup Olympics Youth Olympics Universiade World Rankings The Best FIFA Football Awards Timeline of association football Comparison of association football and futsal Africa CAF -- Africa Cup of Nations U-23 U-20 U-17 Regional ( CECAFA, CEMAC, COSAFA, WAFU ) Asia AFC -- Asian Cup U-23 U-19 U-16 U-14 Regional ( ASEAN, EAFF, SAFF, WAFF ) Europe UEFA -- European Championship U-21 U-19 U-17 North America, Central America and the Caribbean CONCACAF -- Gold Cup U-20 U-17 U-15 Regional ( CFU, UNCAF ) Oceania OFC -- Nations Cup U-20 U-17 South America CONMEBOL -- Copa América U-20 U-17 U-15 Non-FIFA NF - 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Question: who has won the most world cups in soccer
Answer: Brazil