World Cup Football Firsts 1966 England The FIRST time drug testing was introduced was in World Cup finals in 1966. Players banned after failing in drug testing include Haiti's Ernest Jean-Joseph (1974), Scotland's Willie Johnston (1978) and Argentina's Diego Maradona (1994). The FIRST World Cup mascot was a lion-like boy called Willie used for the England 1966 World Cup. The FIRST player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup Final was Geoff Hurst of England in 1966, with a goal in each of the first-half, second-half and extra-time.. The FIRST first team to score two own goals in the one tournament was Bulgaria. They did so in favour of Portugal and Hungary, losing both matches. The FIRST Asian team to progress beyond the first round of the World Cup finals was North Korea in 1966. 1970 Mexico The FIRST substitution of a goalkeeper was Romania's Necula Raducanu who replaced Steve Adamache in a match against Brazil on 10 June 1970.

The FIRST player to receive a yellow card was Lovchev of the USSR in the 1970 opening match against Mexico on 31 May 1970. The FIRST substitute to score a goal was Mexico's Juan Basaguren in the match against El Salvador on 7 June 1970. The FIRST time substitutes were used in World Cup finals matches was 1970. Before 1970, only injured players were allowed to be replaced. The FIRST substitute in World Cup finals was Soviet player Anatoly Puzach who replaced Serebrannikov in the 1970 opening match against Mexico on 31 May 1970. 1974 Germany The FIRST red-carded player was Chile's Carlos Caszely in a match against West Germany on 14 June 1974. The FIRST time that the newly designed FIFA World Cup Trophy was awarded was in 1974, replacing the Jules Rimet Trophy. The FIRST black African nation to play in a World Cup finals was Zaire (now called the Democratic Republic of Congo) in 1974.

The FIRST Oceanian nation to qualify the World Cup was Australia in 1974 1978 Argentina The FIRST qualifying match played on artificial turf was between Canada and USA on 24 Sept 1976 in Vancouver, Canada. The FIRST qualifying match played indoor was between USA and Canada on 20 Oct 1976 in Seattle, USA. The FIRST team to win a qualifying match on penalty shootout was Tunisia, which won 4:2 on penalties over Morocco after a 1:1 tie at home on 9 Jan 1977. The FIRST country to withdraw from the World Cup due to the inability to pay the entrance fee was Sri Lanka which withdrew from the 1978 World Cup. The FIRST time penalty shootouts for tied games were introduced to the World Cup was in 1978 (though the first to occur was in 1982) The FIRST player to score for both teams in a match was Ernie Brandts of the Netherlands. In a game in 1978, he first scored an own goal Italy, and then the equaliser for his own team.

1982 Spain The FIRST match decided with a penalty shoot-out was the semi-final between West Germany and France on 8 July, 1982, in which the Germans won the shootout 5:4. The FIRST player to take penalty in a shootout in World Cup finals was Alain Giresse of France, who scored the FIRST ever penalty in a shootout where France lost 4:5 to West Germany. The FIRST substitute to score a hat-trick was Laszlo Kiss of Hungary in a match against El Salvador on 15 June 1982. 1994 Usa The FIRST Final decided on penalty shoot-out was the 1994 Final in which Brazil beat Italy 3:2 on penalty shoot-out after the match finished in a 0:0 tie. The FIRST player to take a penalty shootout in a final was Franco Baresi of Italy, taking the shootout in the 1994 final but blasted it over the bar. The FIRST match played indoors was at the Pontiac Silverdome in Detroit, USA on 18 June 1994, in a match between USA and Switzerland.

The FIRST goalkeeper to be sent-off was Gianluca Pagliuca of Italy in a match against Norway on 23 June 1994. The FIRST player to have scored five goals in a single match was Oleg Salenko during the 1994 FIFA World Cup match between Russia and Cameroon. 1998 France The FIRST player to score a golden goal was France's Laurent Blanc in the 113th minute in the Second Round match against Paraquay on 28 June 1998. The FIRST player to have scored for 2 different teams in World Cup finals was Robert Prosinecki, having scored for Yugoslavia in 1990 and for Croatia in 1998. The FIRST French player to be sent off in World Cup finals was Zindine Zidane , in the first Round match against Saudi Arabia on 18 June 1998. France had kept a clean sheet for 68 years until France 98! England in the World Cup - History England's World Cup History This competition, begun in 1930, has become the world's largest sporting event.

It has been staged every four years since then with the exception of 1942 and 1946, when the Second World War forced its suspension. England did not enter the first three competitions of 1930, 1934 and 1938. Although FIFA assiduously sought England's participation, the Football Association declined all invitations. Not until the fourth tournament in 1950 did England take part. England have entered all 16 post-war competitions. They reached the final tournament 13 times. They qualified through play in the preliminary competition on 11 occasions (1950, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1998, 2002, 2006 and 2010), as host country once (1966) and as reigning champions once (1970). They failed to qualify for the final tournaments on three occasions (1974, 1978 and 1994).

England have had only moderate success in the World Cup, and that is perhaps a fair indication of their standing in the world game. They won the tournament once, in 1966, when it was held on their own soil and they played all their matches at their home ground, Wembley Stadium, an advantage extended to no other team in World Cup history. Their 4-2 extra-time victory against West Germany in the only final match they have reached has remained clouded by the controversy over whether their third goal, the first of extra-time, actually crossed the goal line, and, at least in the view prevailing in Latin nations, by the furore surrounding the expulsion of Argentina captain Antonio Rattin in the quarterfinal. England reached the semi-finals on only one other occasion, at the 1990 tournament in Italy, where, following extra-time victories over Belgium and Cameroon, they went down to West Germany on penalty kicks after a 1-1 extra-time draw. They then lost the third-place match to the host nation, 2-1.

England have reached the quarterfinals on six other occasions, at the 1954, 1962, 1970, 1986, 2002 and 2006 tournaments. At the 1982 competition in Spain, where the final tournament was conducted through two group stages with the teams topping the four second-round groups proceeding directly to the semi-finals, England finished the second group stage unbeaten but were eliminated anyway. Their second-place finish in the second-round group was tantamount to a quarter-final appearance. England have been eliminated in the round of 16 teams stage on two occasions since the final tournament was expanded to more than 16 teams in 1982--at the 1998 final tournament in France and the 2010 final tournament in South Africa. England have been eliminated at the first round group stage on two occasions 1950 and 1958, when they finished level in group play with the USSR but lost a playoff match. The World Cup has been a frustrating odyssey for England, particularly since 1966.

At several tournaments, their performances have filled their fans with justified hope, but in the end, they have just not had enough to overcome the world's most powerful teams in crucial knockout matches. Consolation-seekers like to point out that it has been England's misfortune to meet the eventual World Cup winners in the knockout stages of four tournaments. They went out to Brazil, 3-1, in the quarterfinals of the 1962 tournament, to Argentina, 2-1 by way of Maradona's "Hand of God" goal, in the quarterfinals of the 1986 tournament, to West Germany, on penalty kicks after a 1-1 extra-time draw, in the semi-finals of the 1990 tournament and to Brazil again, 2-1, in the quarterfinals of the 2002 tournament after holding the lead.

Three times they have been eliminated in penalty-kick shootouts, in the 1990 semi-final against West Germany, the 1998 round-of-16-teams match against Argentina following a 2-2 extra-time draw in which they played a man short following the expulsion early in the second-half of midfielder David Beckham. On a third occasion, in the 2006 quarter-finals, England were eliminated by Portugal following a 0-0 draw. Perhaps most disappointing was their elimination at the 1982 tournament in Spain. Having won all three of their group matches quite handily, all they could muster in their second-round group was a pair of goalless draws against eventual finalist West Germany and hosts Spain. They went home unbeaten, having yielded only one goal in five matches. World Cup Final Tournament Format History Every tournament but the first in 1930 began with a preliminary competition which determined the teams that took part in the final tournament. Host nations have qualified automatically for all final tournaments but that of 1934, when Italy had to qualify through preliminary competition. At the 2002 tournament, the first staged in two countries, both hosts, South Korea and Japan, qualified automatically.

The reigning champions have qualified for all tournaments since the second in 1934; the 1930 winners, Uruguay, chose not to take part in the 1934 tournament. FIFA decided in 2002 that following that year's tournament, the winning team would no longer qualify automatically. However, there is a move afoot to reverse this decision or at least to leave the question of automatic qualification to the choice of the reigning champions. At the first tournament, held in Uruguay in 1930, 13 teams, including the host nation, took part by invitation. The teams were divided into four first round groups, with each team playing the others in the group and the group winners advancing to the semi-finals. A preliminary competition was held for the first time before the 1934 final tournament in Italy, and 16 teams qualified. There was no group play at the final tournament; all matches were played on a knockout basis with the winners advancing to the next round. Extra-time was played if the teams were drawn at the end of regulation time, and the match was replayed if still drawn at the end of extra-time.

The 16-team tournament remained the standard until the 1982 final tournament in Spain. The same format was followed at the 1938 final tournament in France, except that one team, Sweden, was given a first-round bye due to the late withdrawal of Austria following its annexation by Germany. Group play was reinstated for the 1950 final tournament in Brazil--with a vengeance. Following the preliminary competition, the 16 qualifying teams were divided into four first round groups. Although three of the 16 teams withdrew and were not replaced, the groups were not realigned and the first round was held with groups of four, four, three and two teams. The winners of the four first round groups advanced to a final pool, as it was called, and the team finishing top of this final group won the tournament. There were no quarterfinals or semi-finals. Since none of the matches were held on a knockout basis, draws were allowed to stand without extra-time or replays. More fiddling with the format came at the 1954 final tournament in Switzerland.

The 16 qualifying teams were divided into four groups for the first round, but two teams in each group were seeded and did not play each other. Each team thus played only two of the other three teams in the group. In an effort to forestall the consequent increased likelihood of points deadlocks in the group tables, extra-time was played if the first round group matches were drawn at the end of regulation time, although the draw was allowed to stand without a replay if extra-time did not produce a winner. This is the only occasion in the tournament's history when extra-time was employed during group play. Playoff matches were held if two teams were level on points at the end of group play; resort to goal difference and goals scored were not yet in use to break such deadlocks. The top two teams in each group advanced to the quarterfinals, which, once again, were conducted on a knockout basis, the winners advancing to the semi-finals and the winners of those to the final match. Sanity returned at the 1958 final tournament in Sweden. The 16 qualifying teams were divided into four groups, with each team playing the three others in the group and draws allowed to stand without extra-time.

Deadlocks in points in the group table were broken by playoff matches. The two top teams in each group advanced to the quarterfinals, which were held on a knockout basis. Extra-time and replays were available to settle draws at the knockout stages, but there was no need for them at this tournament. The format used at the 1958 tournament became the standard and was employed at the next three tournaments, in Chile in 1962, England in 1966 and Mexico in 1970. However, beginning in 1962, deadlocks in group standings were resolved by resort to goals scored. More tinkering followed at the 1974 final tournament in West Germany. As usual, the 16 qualifying teams were divided into four first round groups of four teams with each team playing all the others in the group. The two top teams advanced to two second round groups of four teams each with each team again playing all the others in the group and draws allowed to stand at the end of regulation time. The two top teams in these two second-round groups advanced to the final match. Deadlocks in group standings were broken for the first time by resort to goal difference rather than goals scored.

The two second-place teams advanced to the third-place match. There were no quarterfinals or semi-finals; only the final and the third-place match were held on a knockout basis. The 1974 format was followed at the 1978 final tournament in Argentina. There were more changes at the 1982 final tournament in Spain. The number of qualifying teams was expanded from 16 to 24. They were divided in six first round groups of four teams. Following round-robin play, the two top teams in each group advanced to four second-round groups of three teams each. After round-robin play in these second-round groups, the four first-place teams advanced to the semi-finals. There were no quarterfinals. For the first time, the penalty kicks shootout was used in the knockout stages to determine which team advanced if the teams remained drawn at the end of extra-time. There were to be no more replayed matches. Knockout elimination again got the emphasis at the 1986 tournament in Mexico. Once again the 24 qualifying teams were divided into six groups of four teams each.

But this time the top two teams in each group plus the four third-place teams with the best record in group play--determined on the basis of points earned and then goal difference and goals scored--advanced to a round of 16 teams conducted on a knockout basis, followed by quarterfinals, semi-finals and the final and third-place matches. The same format was used at the 1990 final tournament in Italy and the 1994 final tournament in the U.S.A. From the 1998 final tournament in France, the number of qualifying teams was increased from 24 to 32. These 32 teams were divided into eight first-round groups of four teams each. Following group play, the top two teams in each group advanced to the round of 16 teams conducted on a knockout basis, followed by quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final and third-place match. The same format was used at the 2002 final tournament in Japan and South Korea. Both host nations as well as the reigning champions qualified automatically, and so the number of teams qualifying through preliminary competition was reduced to 29.

____________________ The all-time World Cup finals league table - BBC News The all-time World Cup finals league table 11 December 2013 Read more about sharing. Close share panel The World Cup kicks off six months from today, hosted by five-times winners Brazil. As a nation, Brazil's knack of winning the tournament is well renowned and many supporters will have them as firm favourites to win a sixth trophy. But what if the World Cup was a league? This chart imagines what an all-time league ranking might look like. We've allocated three points for a win and a point for a draw for all group and knockout stages since 1930. You can search by team, total points and points per game. You might be surprised by some of the results. Click on a picture or year Brazil 2010 Brazil Brazil are the only team to have appeared in every World Cup finals tournament. They won their first tournament in 1958, with a young Pele scoring two in the final. Using our scoring system, they also finished top in the slightly odd 1950 tournament which suffered from countries withdrawing. The actual winners were Uruguay.

Germany Brazil's main contender for the title of most consistent World Cup performers is Germany. They have finished in the top eight every year since 1950, when the country was still under post-war occupation and not allowed to compete. Germany have won the tournament three times, including in 1974, though on our chart Poland come out on top that year, just edging it on goal difference. UK teams England are the only home nation to win the World Cup and also have the best record, frequently finishing in the top ten. Scotland's slow decline is evident, but all the home teams start to struggle as the game goes truly global and the tournament expands. The only year featuring all four nations was 1958, with both Wales - making their only finals appearance to date - and Northern Ireland finishing in the top eight. Africa Three-time winner Pele once famously predicted than an African team "would win the World Cup before the year 2000". No African team has yet progressed beyond the quarter-finals, but nearly all have shown an improvement in results in the last decade.

Cameroon have the longest unbroken series of finals appearances but haven't quite re-captured the splash they made in 1990, where Roger Milla's goals won over many neutrals. 2010: Hosts South Africa, winners Spain England were humiliated 4-1 by Germany in the last 16 after finishing second behind United States in the group stages, where Fabio Capello's team had drawn 1-1 with the Americans and 0-0 with Algeria, before beating Slovenia 1-0. The biggest shock of the tournament came when Switzerland beat European champions Spain 1-0, but the Swiss failed to win another match - losing to 1-0 to Chile and drawing 0-0 with Honduras. Italy finished bottom of their group, drawing 1-1 with Paraguay and New Zealand before losing 3-2 to Slovakia, while France also lost group matches to Mexico (2-0) and hosts South Africa (2-1) as they suffered an early exit.

The Netherlands beat Brazil 2-1 in the quarters and Uruguay 3-2 in the final four, while Spain won 1-0 against Germany in the semis before winning their first World Cup with a 1-0 extra-time victory over the Dutch. 2006: Hosts Germany, winners Italy England progressed through the group stages unbeaten as they won 1-0 against Paraguay and 2-0 against Trinidad and Tobago before drawing 2-2 with Sweden. A 1-0 victory over Ecuador followed before Sven-Goran Eriksson's side lost on penalties to Portugal in the quarter-finals, England finishing with 10 men following Wayne Rooney's sending-off. It was a competition of few shocks as six former champions reached the quarter-finals, where France beat Brazil 1-0 and hosts Germany eliminated Argentina on penalties. That left four European teams in the semi-finals as Italy beat Germany 2-0 in extra time, before France knocked out Portugal 1-0. Italy won the final on penalties, but not before legendary France midfielder Zinedine Zidane was sent off in extra-time for headbutting Italy's Marco Materazzi in the chest.

2002: Hosts Japan and South Korea, winners Brazil In the first World Cup to be jointly hosted, England progressed after a nervy 1-0 group-stage victory over Argentina and draws with Sweden (1-1) and Nigeria (0-0). England, managed by Sven-Goran Eriksson, then hammered Denmark 3-0 in the next round before being eliminated 2-1 in the quarter-finals by Brazil, the winning goal a freakish free-kick from Ronaldinho which caught out goalkeeper David Seaman. The Republic of Ireland also qualified, going through the group stages unbeaten as they drew 1-1 with Cameroon and Germany, before beating Saudi Arabia 3-0. Robbie Keane's 90th-minute strike helped them take Spain to penalties in the next round, where they lost 3-2 in the shootout. From Senegal's 1-0 victory over defending champions France in the opening match, to South Korea's run to the semi-finals via victories over Italy (2-1) and Spain (5-3 on penalties), it was a tournament of shock results.

Germany finally ended Korea's run with a 1-0 win, but Rudi Voller's side were beaten 2-0 in the final by Brazil, with golden-boot winner Ronaldo scoring both to take his tournament tally to eight. Turkey were surprise third-place finishers. 1998: Hosts France, winners France Scotland's last qualification to date ended in another group stage exit, with a 2-1 defeat to Brazil and 3-0 loss to Morocco sandwiching a 1-1 draw with Norway. Glenn Hoddle's England were eventually knocked out by Argentina in the last 16 match, which went to a penalty shoot-out with scores locked at 2-2 after extra-time. A teenage Michael Owen scored a fine individual effort before David Beckham was sent off. In the group stages, England beat Tunisia 2-0 and lost 2-1 to Romania, before beating Colombia 2-0. Spain failed to progress past the group stages after losing 3-2 against Nigeria, while Croatia made a surprise run to the semi-finals after they beat Germany 3-0 in the last eight.

Hosts France, who beat Italy on penalties in the quarters, ended Croatia's run with a 2-1 win in the last-four before enjoying a 3-0 victory over Brazil in the final, with Zinedine Zidane scoring twice. 1994: Hosts USA, winners Brazil With England failing to qualify, the Republic of Ireland took centre-stage, shocking Italy 1-0 in their opening game before losing 2-1 to Mexico and drawing 0-0 with Norway. Their tournament ended in the last 16, when they lost 2-0 to Netherlands. Bulgaria, aided by Hristo Stoichkov's six goals, were the tournament's surprise package as they beat Argentina 2-0 in the group stages, Mexico on penalties in the second round and then holders Germany 2-1 in the last eight. Romania also shone, beating Argentina 3-2 in the knockout stages, before losing to Sweden on penalties in the quarters.

Brazil, featuring the Romario-Bebeto strike partnership, beat Russia 2-0 and Cameroon 3-0 in the opening round, before knocking out the hosts USA 1-0, beating the Netherlands 3-2 and Sweden 1-0. Italy also impressed on their way to the final by beating Norway 1-0, Nigeria 2-1, Spain 2-1, and Bulgaria 2-1 in the semi-finals. Brazil lifted the crown after beating Italy on penalties after a goalless final. Roberto Baggio missed the decisive spot-kick. 1990: Hosts Italy, winners West Germany England enjoyed their best World Cup showing since 1966. After a slow start, with successive draws against the Republic of Ireland and the Netherlands, they beat Egypt 1-0 to progress to the knockout stages where they beat Belgium 1-0 and Cameroon 3-2, both after extra time. In a nerve-shredding semi-final, which saw midfielder Paul Gascoigne shed tears after being given a yellow card which would have barred him from the final, they lost 4-3 on penalties after extra time finished 1-1.

The Republic of Ireland recorded three draws in the group stages, against England, Egypt and the Netherlands, before beating Romania 5-4 on penalties in the next round. They were eliminated the quarter-final phase, losing 1-0 to hosts Italy. Scotland also qualified, but again failed to make it out of their group, losing 1-0 to Costa Rica and Brazil either side of a 2-1 win against Sweden. Cameroon shocked the world by opening the tournament with a 1-0 win against defending champions Argentina, before beating Romania 2-1. Their run, powered by the goals of the evergreen Roger Milla, continued into the knockout stages when they beat Colombia 2-1, before losing to England. Hosts Italy lost 4-3 on penalties to Argentina in the semis, before West Germany beat the South Americans 1-0 in an ill-tempered final. 1986: Hosts Mexico, winners Argentina England's participation was infamously ended by Diego Maradona's 'Hand of God' 2-1 quarter-final defeat by Argentina.

After losing their opening game 1-0 to Portugal, Bobby Robson's side had drawn with Morocco, and beaten both Poland and Paraguay 3-0 to reach the last-eight. Scotland failed to win a match, losing 1-0 to Denmark and 2-1 to West Germany before drawing 0-0 with Uruguay. Similarly Northern Ireland drew 1-1 with Algeria, but lost 2-1 to Spain and 3-0 to Brazil. Belgium impressed on their way to the semi-finals, beating the Soviet Union 4-3 in the last 16 and Spain on penalties in the quarters before losing 2-0 to Argentina in the semis. West Germany, who beat France 2-0 in their semi-final, were Argentina's opponents in a thrilling final which the South Americans won 3-2. England's Gary Lineker won the Golden Boot with six goals. 1982: Hosts Spain, winners Italy Northern Ireland were one of the surprise packages as they beat hosts Spain 1-0 in the group stages after drawing 1-1 against Honduras and 0-0 with Yugoslavia.

However, they were knocked out in the second round after a 2-2 draw with Austria and a 4-1 defeat to France. England, managed by Ron Greenwood, won all three first-round matches against France (3-1), Czechoslovakia (2-0) and Kuwait (1-0), but went out in the second group stage following goalless draws with West Germany and Spain. Scotland did not make it past the first round despite opening with a 5-2 win over New Zealand. They lost their next match 4-1 to Brazil, and ended with a 2-2 draw against the Soviet Union. European champions West Germany were humbled 2-1 by Algeria early in the tournament, but recovered to beat France on penalties in the semis, after the match ended 3-3. They lost 3-1 to Italy in the final. 1978: Hosts Argentina, winners Argentina Scotland were once more the only home nation to reach Argentina in 1978, but again went home after the first group stage.

They started with a 3-1 defeat against Peru, drew 1-1 with Iran, and beat the Netherlands 3-2, with Archie Gemmill scoring twice. There were several early surprises, with Austria beating Spain 2-1 and Sweden 1-0 as they topped their group ahead of Brazil. Peru finished ahead of the Netherlands, while Poland topped a group also containing West Germany. West Germany were eliminated in the second group stage after drawing 0-0 with Italy, 2-2 with the Netherlands, and losing 3-2 to Austria. The Netherlands, who also beat Austria 5-1 and Italy 2-1 in the second round, played Argentina in the final but were beaten 3-1 after extra-time as Mario Kempes scored twice before the hosts lifted the trophy. 1974: Hosts West Germany, winners West Germany With England failing to qualify, Scotland led the home nations' challenge, but went out in the first round despite being unbeaten. They won 2-0 against Zaire and drew with Brazil 0-0 and Yugoslavia 1-1.

Hosts West Germany finished runners-up to East Germany in the group stages, losing 1-0 to their neighbours who also beat Australia 2-0 and drew 1-1 with Chile. Poland also impressed in the first round, beating Argentina 3-2 and Italy 2-1. With eight teams split into two groups in the second round, the Netherlands and West Germany came through to reach the final, both teams winning all three games. West Germany came from behind to beat Netherlands 2-1 in the final, with Poland beating Brazil 1-0 to finish third. 1970: Hosts Mexico, winners Brazil Holders England let a 2-0 lead slip and lost 3-2 in extra time to West Germany in the quarter-finals. In the earlier group stages, Alf Ramsey's side beat Romania 1-0 and Czechoslovakia 1-0, between a 1-0 defeat to a Pele-inspired Brazil. The Soviet Union impressed in the group stages as they drew 0-0 with hosts Mexico, beat Belgium 4-1 and El Salvador 2-0. However, they lost 1-0 in extra-time to Uruguay in the last eight.

Italy impressed in the knockout stages, beating Mexico 4-1 and West Germany 4-3, while Brazil won 4-2 against Peru and 3-1 against Uruguay. In a classic final, legendary Brazilians Pele, Jairzinho, Gerson and Carlos Alberto scored in a 4-1 victory over Italy. 1966: Hosts England, winners England Held in England, won by England. Skippered by Bobby Moore, England drew 0-0 with Uruguay before beating Mexico 2-0 and France 2-0 in the group stages. They then beat Argentina 1-0 and Portugal 2-1 to set up a final against West Germany. North Korea provided the shock of the tournament when they beat Italy 1-0. With Pele's genius blunted by brutal tackling, Brazil’s fortunes slumped and they made a group stage exit after defeats to Hungary and Portugal. The Soviet Union won all three group matches against North Korea (3-0), Italy (1-0) and Chile (2-1) before beating Hungary 2-1 in the quarters.

West Germany, who hammered Uruguay 4-0 at the last-eight stage, knocked out the Soviets with a 2-1 win in the final four. England's Geoff Hurst scored a hat-trick in the final as Alf Ramsey's side beat West Germany 4-2 after extra-time in front of 98,000 fans at Wembley Stadium. 1962: Hosts Chile, winners Brazil England, still managed by Walter Winterbottom, were knocked out in the quarter-finals 3-1 by Brazil. They opened with a 2-1 loss against Hungary but recovered to beat Argentina 3-1 and draw with Bulgaria 0-0 before their Brazil defeat. Czechoslovakia reached the final, beating Spain 1-0 in the group stages and holding Brazil to a goalless draw. Their good form continued into the knockout stages as they defeated Hungary 1-0 and Yugoslavia 3-1. Yugoslavia had ended West Germany's hopes in the quarter-finals (1-0), while Italy failed to make it past the group stage, a 2-0 defeat to hosts Chile proving costly.

Brazil beat Chile 4-2 in the semi-finals to ensure a final against Czechoslovakia, in which they came from behind to win 3-1. 1958: Hosts Sweden, winners Brazil England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales all participated at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden. Only Northern Ireland and Wales reached the quarter-finals, where Northern Ireland lost 4-0 against France, and lost 1-0 to Brazil. Northern Ireland had defeated Czechoslovakia 2-1 in a play-off to qualify from their group, while Wales beat Hungary 2-1 in their decisive first-round match. Walter Winterbottom's England, who had drawn 2-2 against the Soviet Union, 0-0 with Brazil and 2-2 with Austria, lost 1-0 to the Soviets in their play-off. Scotland failed to win a match, drawing 1-1 with Yugoslavia and losing 3-2 to Paraguay and 2-1 to France.

Hosts Sweden beat the Soviet Union 2-0 and West Germany 3-1 in the knockout stages, while Brazil hammered France 5-2 in the semis to reach the final, where the South Americans won 5-2 against the Swedes, with Vava and Pele both scoring twice. 1954: Hosts Switzerland, winners West Germany It was a 4-2 quarter-final defeat to Uruguay for Walter Winterbottom's England in 1954, following a group-stage 4-4 draw with Belgium and 2-0 victory over hosts Switzerland. Hungary, with the legendary Ferenc Puskas in their ranks, were ruthless in the group stages as they beat South Korea 9-0 and West Germany 8-3. They won a fiery encounter against Brazil 4-2 in the quarters before beating Uruguay 4-2 to book their place in the final. Austria beat Switzerland 7-5 in an amazing last-eight clash, but they fell 6-1 to West Germany in the final four.

West Germany, who were only reinstated as full Fifa members four years earlier, won an entertaining final against Hungary 3-2 despite going 2-0 down after just eight minutes. 1950: Hosts Brazil, winners Uruguay With Scotland withdrawing before the draw was made, England were Britain's only representatives at Brazil 1950. However, the side, managed by Walter Winterbottom, only won one game, 2-0 against Chile, as they suffered a first-round exit. Surprise defeats to United States 1-0 and Spain 1-0 ended their participation. The top four teams from each group - Uruguay, Brazil, Sweden and Spain - qualified for the final round Brazil appeared on course for glory as they hammered Sweden 7-1 and Spain 6-1. Uruguay drew 2-2 with Spain and beat Sweden 3-2 to set up a decider for the title. In one of the biggest World Cup shocks of all time, Uruguay came from behind in the second half to win the final match 2-1 and lift the title.

1938: Hosts France, winners Italy None of the home nations played at the 1938 World Cup in France, where the tournament was a knockout from the very first round. The Dutch East Indies were among the competitors, losing 6-0 to Hungary in the first round. Cuba also took part, knocking out Romania before losing 8-0 to Sweden in the next phase. Defending champions Italy were the team to beat, winning against Norway 2-1, France 3-1 and Brazil 2-1 on their way to the final. Hungary, who hammered Sweden 5-1 in the semi-finals, also made the final but were beaten 4-2 by the dominant Italians. 1934: Hosts Italy, winners Italy Italy hosted the second World Cup, which involved none of the home nations as they instead played in their own championship. The Azzurri began with a convincing 7-1 victory over United States. Perhaps the shock of the opening round came when Spain beat Brazil 3-1 while Sweden edged out Argentina 3-2.

Czechoslovakia made it all the way to the final, beating Romania 2-1, Switzerland 3-2 and Germany 3-1. Italy, who needed a replay to beat Spain before they edged out Austria 1-0, also made the final and lifted the trophy following a 2-1 victory over the Czechs in extra time. 1930: Hosts Uruguay, winners Uruguay The very first football World Cup was held in Uruguay, with 13 teams competing, none of them from the British Isles. Argentina appeared the dominant side as they beat France 1-0, Mexico 6-3 and Chile 3-1 before hammering United States 6-1 in the final four. The hosts Uruguay were also in good form as they won against Peru (1-0) and Romania (4-0) before also enjoying a 6-1 success in the semi-finals against Yugoslavia. In front of 93,000 fans in Montevideo, Uruguay lifted the first World Cup courtesy of a 4-2 victory over rivals Argentina. Note: Graphic is not interactive if you are using Internet Explorer 8 (or below).

Question: In which year were 3 points for a win first introduced to the group stages of the World Cup finals?
Answer: 1994