The history of FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup 2022 (coming soon)
A guide with dates, groups, fixtures, cities and venues. Plus other key facts about the 2022 tournament.
Background
All World Cup tournaments
Teams with most titles and finals
| Team | Titles | Finals | Participation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | 5 | 7 | 21 |
| Germany | 4 | 8 | 19 |
| Italy | 4 | 6 | 18 |
| Argentina | 2 | 5 | 17 |
| France | 2 | 3 | 15 |
| Uruguay | 2 | 2 | 13 |
| England | 1 | 1 | 15 |
| Spain | 1 | 1 | 15 |
| Netherlands | 0 | 3 | 10 |
| Hungary | 0 | 2 | 9 |
| Czechoslovakia | 0 | 2 | 8 |
| Sweden | 0 | 1 | 12 |
| Croatia | 0 | 1 | 5 |
World Cup finals
| Year | Home team* | Away team* | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1930 | Uruguay | Argentina | 4-2 |
| 1934 | Italy | Czechoslovakia | 2-1 (a.e.t) |
| 1938 | Hungary | Italy | 2-4 |
| 1950† | Uruguay | Brazil | 2-1 |
| 1954 | West Germany | Hungary | 3-2 |
| 1958 | Brazil | Sweden | 5-2 |
| 1962 | Brazil | Czechoslovakia | 3-1 |
| 1966 | England | West Germany | 4-2 (a.e.t.) |
| 1970 | Brazil | Italy | 4-1 |
| 1974 | Netherlands | West Germany | 1-2 |
| 1978 | Netherlands | Argentina | 1-3 (a.e.t.) |
| 1982 | Italy | West Germany | 3-1 |
| 1986 | Argentina | West Germany | 3-2 |
| 1990 | West Germany | Argentina | 1-0 |
| 1994 | Brazil | Italy | 3-2 (pen.) |
| 1998 | Brazil | France | 0-3 |
| 2002 | Germany | Brazil | 0-2 |
| 2006 | Italy | France | 6-4 (pen.) |
| 2010 | Netherlands | Spain | 0-1 (a.e.t.) |
| 2014 | Germany | Argentina | 1-0 (a.e.t.) |
| 2018 | France | Croatia | 4-2 |
* The home and away team are only technical.
† No final was played since the tournament was decided by a group phase in which the listed match was the most decisive.
a.e.t. stands for after extra time.
pen. stands for penalties, meaning the match was decided after extra time and the result includes the penalty shootout.
The home advantage
One noticeable aspect in the World Cup history is that the home team has been over performing. On six occasions have the home team won the competition. Besides, many teams that normally doesn’t compete with the greatest teams have gone far in the tournament then playing on home ground. For example, Sweden in 1958, reaching the final, and South Korea in 2006, reaching the semi-finals.
Top goalscorers
| Player | Goals | Team | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Just Fontaine | 13 | France | 1958 |
| Sándor Kocsis | 11 | Hungary | 1954 |
| Gerd Müller | 10 | West Germany | 1970 |
| Eusébio | 9 | Portugal | 1966 |
| Guillermo Stábile | 8 | Argentina | 1930 |
| Ademir | 8 | Brazil | 1950 |
| Ronaldo | 8 | Brazil | 2002 |
| Leônidas | 7 | Brazil | 1938 |
| Jairzinho | 7 | Brazil | 1958 |
| Grzegorz Lato | 7 | Poland | 1974 |
There are many players that have done six goals in one World Cup and these are: Erich Probst (1954), Josef Hügi (1954), Max Morlock (1954), Pelé (1958), Helmut Rahn (1958), Helmut Haller (1966), Mario Kempes (1978), Paolo Rossi (1982), Gary Lineker (1986), Salvatore Schillaci (1990), Hristo Stoichkov (1994), Oleg Salenko (1994), Davor Šuker (1998), James Rodríguez (2014) and Harry Kane (2018).
The five players that have made most goals overall are Ronaldo (18 goals in 4 tournaments), Miroslav Klose (16 goals in 4 tournaments), Gerd Müller (14 goals in 2 tournaments), Just Fontaine (13 goals in 1 tournament) and Péle (12 goals in 4 tournaments).
World Cup awards
In connection to the World Cup, several awards are given to some players. The most known is The Golden Ball that is awarded to the best player in a FIFA World Cup. Candidates are decided by FIFA which media representatives votes on. Besides the Golden Ball there are also the Silver Ball and the Bronze Ball together with the Golden Boot (top goalscorer) and the Golden Glove (best goalkeeper).
World Cup by continents
| Continent | Titles | To reach final | To reach semi-finals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Europe | 12 | 28 | 52 |
| South America | 9 | 14 | 22 |
| Asia | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Central and North America | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Africa | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oceania | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Numbers of participants and games
| Year | Teams (finals) |
Teams (qualification) |
Games (finals) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1930 | 13 | no qualification | 18 |
| 1934 | 16 | 32 | 17 |
| 1938 | 16* | 37 | 18 |
| 1950 | 15† | 36 | 22 |
| 1954 | 16 | 37 | 26 |
| 1958 | 16 | 55 | 35 |
| 1962 | 16 | 56 | 32 |
| 1966 | 16 | 74 | 32 |
| 1970 | 16 | 75 | 32 |
| 1974 | 16 | 99 | 38 |
| 1978 | 16 | 107 | 38 |
| 1982 | 24 | 109 | 52 |
| 1986 | 24 | 121 | 52 |
| 1990 | 24 | 116 | 52 |
| 1994 | 24 | 147 | 52 |
| 1998 | 32 | 174 | 64 |
| 2002 | 32 | 199 | 64 |
| 2006 | 32 | 197 | 64 |
| 2010 | 32 | 204 | 64 |
| 2014 | 32 | 203 | 64 |
| 2018 | 32 | 210 | 64 |
* Austria were abolished before the first game of political reasons.
† France and India withdraw after qualification.
Prize money
The prize money for the tournament has increased massively during the years. The total prize money for the FIFA World Cup 2018 was $791 million (the winners received $35 million), which can be compared to $20 million for the FIFA World Cup 1982.
