FIFA World Cup

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 the Fédération
Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's global
governing body. The tournament has been held 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
reigning champions are Argentina, who won their third title at
the 2022 tournament.
The format involves a qualification phase, which takes place over
the preceding three years, to determine which teams qualify for the
tournament phase. In the tournament phase, 32 teams compete for
the title at venues within the host nation(s) over about a month. The
host nation(s) automatically qualify for the tournament group stage.
As of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, 22 final tournaments have been
held, and 80 national teams have competed. The trophy has been
won by eight national teams. Brazil, with five wins, is the only team
to have played in every tournament. The other World Cup winners
are Germany and Italy, with four titles each; Argentina, with three
titles; France and inaugural winner Uruguay, each with two titles;
and England and Spain, with one title each.

The First World Cup was held on July 13, 1930. FIFA, football's
international governing body, selected Uruguay as the host nation,
as the country would be celebrating the centenary of its first
constitution and the Uruguay national football team had successfully
retained their football title at the 1928 Summer Olympics. All
matches were played in the Uruguayan capital, Montevideo, the
majority at the Estadio Centenario, which was built for the
tournament. The most goals were scored by Guillermo Stábile from
Argentina which was 8.

The Second World Cup was held in 1934 and was the second
edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial
international football championship for senior men's national teams.
It took place in Italy from 27 May to 10 June 1934. Reigning
champions Uruguay boycotted the tournament as only four
European teams had accepted their invitation to the 1930
tournament. Italy beat Czechoslovakia 2–1 to become the second
World Cup champions and the first European winners. The most
goals were scored by  Oldřich Nejedlý from Czechoslovakia with 5.

The Third World Cup was held in 1938 and was the third edition of
the World Cup. It was held in France from 4 June until 19 June
1938. Italy defended its title in the final, beating Hungary 4–2.
Italy's 1934 and 1938 teams are the only men's national team to win
the World Cup multiple times under the same coach, Vittorio Pozzo.
The most goals were scored by  Leônidas from Brazil with 7.

The Fourth World Cup was held in 1950 and was the fourth edition
of the FIFA World Cup. It was held in Brazil from 24 June to 16
July 1950. The planned 1942 and 1946 World Cups were cancelled
due to World War II. This tournament ended the hiatus. Uruguay,
who had won the inaugural competition in 1930, defeated the host
nation, Brazil, in the deciding match of the four-team group of the
final round. This was the only tournament not decided by a one-
match final. It was also the inaugural tournament where the trophy
was referred to as the Jules Rimet Cup, to mark the 25th anniversary
of Jules Rimet's presidency of FIFA. The most goals were scored by
Ademir from Brazil with 9.

The Fifth World Cup was held in 1954 and was the fifth edition of
the FIFA World Cup. It was held in Switzerland from 16 June to 4
July. Switzerland was selected as the host country in July 1946. At
the tournament, several all-time records for goal scoring were set,
including the highest average number of goals scored per game. The
tournament was won by West Germany, who defeated tournament
favourites Hungary 3–2 in the final, their first World Cup title. The
most goals were scored by Sándor Kocsis from Hungary with 11.

The Sixth World Cup was held in 1958 and was the sixth edition of
the FIFA World Cup. It was played in Sweden from 8 to 29 June
1958. It was the first FIFA World Cup to be played in a Nordic
country.
Brazil beat Sweden 5–2 in the final in Solna, Stockholm to claim
their first title, having beaten France in the semi-final and Wales in
the quarter-final. The tournament also marked the arrival of a then
17-year-old Pelé on the world stage, who scored in all three of
Brazil's knockout games. This was the first appearance of Wales at
the FIFA World Cup and they would not qualify for another until 64
years later. There were also debut appearances for Northern
Ireland and the Soviet Union. The most goals were scored by Just
Fontaine of France with 13. Pele was named the best young player.

The Seventh World Cup was held in 1962 and was the seventh
edition of the FIFA World Cup. It was held from 30 May to 17 June
1962 in Chile. The qualification rounds took place between August
1960 and December 1961, with 56 teams entering from six
confederations, and fourteen qualifying for the finals tournament
alongside Chile, the hosts, and Brazil, the defending champions.
Brazil successfully defended their World Cup title,
defeating Czechoslovakia 3–1 in the final in the Chilean capital
of Santiago. They became the second team,
after Italy in 1934 and 1938, to win the World Cup twice
consecutively; no team has since achieved the feat. Host nation
Chile finished third, defeating Yugoslavia 1–0 in the third-place
play-off. With four goals each, Flórián Albert, Garrincha, Valentin
Ivanov, Dražan Jerković, Leonel Sánchez and Vavá were the top
scorers in the tournament. Flórián Albert from Hungary was named
the Best Young Player.

The Eighth World Cup was held in 1966 and was the eighth FIFA
World Cup. It was played in England from 11 July to 30 July 1966.
The England national football team defeated West Germany 4-2 in
the final to win the tournament. The final had finished at 2–2 after
90 minutes and went to extra time, when Geoff Hurst scored two
goals to complete his hat-trick, the first to be scored in a men's
World Cup final. England were the fifth nation to win the event, and
the third host nation to win
after Uruguay in 1930 and Italy in 1934. Brazil were the defending
champions, but they failed to progress from the group stage. The
most goals were scored Eusébio 
From Portugal with 9. Franz Beckenbauer from Germany was
named the Best Young Player.

The Ninth World Cup was held in 1970 and was the ninth edition of
the FIFA World Cup. It was held from 31 May to 21 June in
Mexico, it was the first World Cup tournament held outside Europe
and South America, and it was also the first held in North America.
The tournament final had Brazil battle Italy, another FIFA two-time
champion (and UEFA Euro 1968 winner), 4–1. This is currently the
only time that the winning team defeated the European and South
American champions alongside the tournament's defending
champions. The most goals were scored by Gerd Müller from
Germany with 9. Teófilo Cubillas from Peru was named the Best
Young Player. The Fair Play Award was also given to Peru. 

The Tenth World Cup was held in 1974 and was played in West
Germany (and West Berlin) between 13 June and 7 July. The
tournament marked the first time that the current trophy, the FIFA
World Cup Trophy, created by the Italian sculptor Silvio Gazzaniga,
was awarded. The previous trophy, the Jules Rimet Trophy, had
been won for the third time by Brazil in 1970 and awarded
permanently to the Brazilians. This was the first out of three World
Cups to feature two rounds of group stages. West Germany won the
title, beating the Netherlands 2–1 in the final at the Olympiastadion
in Munich. This was the second victory for West Germany, who had
also won in 1954. Australia, East Germany, Haiti , and Zaire made
their first appearances at the final stage, with the latter two making
their only appearance, and East Germany making their only
appearance before Germany was reunified in 1990. The most goals
were scored by Grzegorz Lato from Poland with 7. Władysław
Żmuda was named the Best Young player and was also from Poland.
The Fair Play Award was given to West Germany. 

The Eleventh World Cup was held in 1978 and was held in
Argentina between 1 and 25 June. The Cup was won by the host
nation, Argentina, who defeated the Netherlands 3–1 in the final,
after extra time. Argentina, the Netherlands, and Brazil were the
gold, silver, and bronze medalists, respectively. This was also the
last World Cup tournament to use the original inclusion of 16 teams.
Since the first World Cup in 1930, only 15 teams (plus the host, who
automatically qualified) had been allowed to qualify (the reigning
title holders also received automatic qualification from 1934
through 2002); but for the next World Cup, in Spain, FIFA
expanded that tournament to 24 teams. The most goals were scored
by Mario Kempes from Argentina with 6. Mario Kempes was also
named the Best Player. Antonio Cabrini from Italy was named the
best Young Player. The Fair Play Award was given to Argentina.

The Twelfth World Cup was held in 1982 and was played in Spain
between 13 June and 11 July 1982. The tournament was won
by Italy, who defeated West Germany 3–1 in the final, held in
the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in the capital, Madrid. It was Italy's
third World Cup title, but their first since 1938. The defending
champions, Argentina, were eliminated in the second round
(finishing third and last in their group). Algeria, Cameroon,
Honduras, Kuwait and New Zealand made their first appearances in
the finals. The tournament featured the first penalty shoot-out in the
World Cup competition. This was the last World Cup to feature two
rounds of group stages. It was also the third time
(after 1934 and 1966) in which all four semi-finalists were
European. The most goals were scored by Paolo Rossi from Italy
with 6. Paolo Rossi was also named the Best Player.  Manuel
Amoros from France was named the Best Young Player. The Fair
Play award was given to Brazil.
The Thirteenth World Cup was held in 1986. Colombia had been
originally chosen to host the competition by FIFA but, largely due
to economic reasons, was not able to do so, and resigned in 1982.
Mexico was selected as the new host in May 1983 and became the
first country to host the World Cup more than once, after
previously hosting in 1970. The World Cup was won
by Argentina (their second title, after winning in 1978). Argentina
was captained by the 25-year-old Diego Maradona, who played a
large part in his team's success by scoring his "Hand of God" goal,
as well as another, voted "Goal of the Century", in the quarter-final
against England. These were two of the five goals that Maradona
scored during the tournament, and he also created another five for
his teammates. Argentina beat West Germany 3–2 in
the final at Mexico City's Estadio Azteca. Total attendance was
2,394,031, an average per match of 46,039.
Canada, Denmark and Iraq made their first appearances at the final
stage. The most goals were scored by Gary Lineker from England
with 6.  Diego Maradona was named the Best Player. Enzo Scifo
from Germany was named the Best Young Player. Brazil was given
the Fair Play Award.

The Fourteenth World Cup was held in 1990. It was held from 8
June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for
a second time (the first being Mexico in 1986). Teams representing
116 national football associations entered and qualification began in
April 1988. 22 teams qualified from this process, along with host
nation Italy and defending champions Argentina. The tournament
was won by West Germany, for the third time. They beat Argentina
1–0 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, a rematch of the previous
final four years earlier. Italy finished third and England fourth after
both lost their semi-finals in penalty shootouts. This was the last
tournament to feature a team from West Germany, with the country
being reunified with East Germany a few months later in October,
as well as teams from the Eastern Bloc prior to the end of the Cold
War in 1991, as the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia teams made
last appearances. Costa Rica, Ireland, and the United Arab
Emirates made their first appearances in the finals. As of 2022, this
was the last time the United Arab Emirates qualified for the FIFA
World Cup finals. The official match ball was the Adidas Etrusco
Unico. The most goals were scored by Salvatore Schillaci from Italy
with 6. Salvatore Schillaci was also named the Best Player. Robert
Prosinečki from Croatia was named the Best Young Player. England
was given the Fair Play Award.

The Fifteenth World Cup was held in 1994. It was hosted by the
United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine
venues across the country. The United States was chosen as
the host by FIFA on July 4, 1988. Despite soccer's relative lack of
popularity in the host nation, the tournament was the most
financially successful in World Cup history. It broke tournament
records with an overall attendance of 3,587,538 and an average of
68,991 per game, marks that stood unsurpassed as of 2022 despite
the expansion of the competition from 24 to 32 teams starting with
the 1998 World Cup. Brazil were crowned the winners
after defeating Italy 3–2 in a penalty shoot-out at the Rose
Bowl in Pasadena, California near Los Angeles, after the game had
ended 0–0 after extra time. It was the first World Cup final to be
decided on penalties. The victory made Brazil the first nation to win
four World Cup titles. Hristo Stoichkov from Bulgaria and Oleg
Salenko from Russia were the Top Scorers. Romário from Brazil
was named the Best Player. Marc Overmars from the Dutch was
named the Best Young Player. Michel Preud'homme from Germany
was named the Best Goalkeeper. The Fair Play Award was awarded
to Brazil.

The Sixteenth World Cup was held in 1998. The finals tournament
was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. The country was
chosen as the host nation by FIFA for the second time in the history
of the tournament, defeating Morocco in the bidding process. It was
the second time that France staged the competition (the first was
in 1938) and the ninth time that it was held in Europe. Spanning 32
days, it is the longest World Cup tournament ever held. 64 matches
were played in 10 stadiums in 10 host cities, with the opening match
and final staged at the newly built Stade de France in the Parisian
commune of Saint-Denis. The tournament was won by host
country France, who beat defending champions Brazil 3–0 in the
final. The most goals were scored by Davor Šuker from Croatia with
6. Ronaldo Nazario from Brazil was named the Best Player. Michael
Owen from England was named the Best Young Player. Fabien
Barthez from France was named the Best Goalkeeper. The Fair Play
Award was awarded to England and France.
The Seventeenth World Cup was held in 2002. It was held from 31
May to 30 June 2002 at sites in South Korea and Japan, with
its final match hosted by Japan at International
Stadium in Yokohama. A field of 32 teams qualified for this World
Cup, which was the first to be held in Asia, the first to be held
outside of the Americas or Europe, as well as the first to be jointly
hosted by more than one nation. China, Ecuador, Senegal,
and Slovenia made their World Cup debuts. The former and the
latter have never been in the tournament since, making this the only
World Cup for China and Slovenia. The most potent team at the
tournament, Brazil, prevailed, winning the final against Germany 2–
0, making them the first and only country to have won the World
Cup five times. The most goals were scored by Ronaldo Nazario
with 8. Oliver Kahn from Germany was named the Best Player.
Landon Donovan from the U.S.A. was named the Best Young
Player. Oliver Kahn was named the Best Goalkeeper. Belgium was
awarded the Fair Play Award.

The Eighteenth World Cup was held in 2006. It was held from 9
June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the
event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football
associations from all six populated continents participated in
the qualification process which began in September 2003. Thirty-
one teams qualified from this process along with hosts Germany for
the finals tournament. It was the second time that Germany staged
the competition and the first as a unified country along with
former East Germany with Leipzig as a host city (the other was
in 1974 in West Germany), and the 10th time that the tournament
was held in Europe. Italy won the tournament, claiming their fourth
World Cup title, defeating France 5–3 in a penalty shoot-out in
the final after extra time had finished in a 1–1 draw. Miroslav Klose
from Germany scored the most goals which was 5. Zinedine Zidane
from France was named the best player. Lukas Podolski from
Germany was named Best Young Player. Gianluigi Buffon was
named the Best Goalkeeper. Brazil and Spain were awarded the Fair
Play Award.

The Nineteenth World Cup was held in 2010. It took place in South
Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. The bidding process for
hosting the tournament finals was open only to African nations. In
2004, the international football federation, FIFA, selected South
Africa over Egypt and Morocco to become the first African nation
to host the finals. The matches were played in 10 stadiums in nine
host cities around the country, with the opening finally played at
the Soccer City stadium in South Africa's largest
city, Johannesburg. Thirty-two teams were selected for
participation via a worldwide qualification tournament that began in
August 2007. In the first round of the tournament finals, the teams
competed in round-robin groups of four teams for points, with the
top two teams in each group proceeding. These 16 teams advanced
to the knockout stage, where three rounds of play decided which
teams would participate in the final.
In the final, Spain, the European champions, defeated third-time
losing finalists the Netherlands 1–0 after extra time to win their first
world title.  Diego Forlán, Thomas Müller, Wesley Sneijder,
and David Villa scored the most goals with 5 each. Diego Forlán
from Uruguay was named Best Player. Thomas Müller from
Germany was named the Best Young Player.  Iker Casillas from
Spain was named the Best Goalkeeper. Spain was awarded the Fair
Play Award.

The Twentieth World Cup was held in 2014.  It took place in Brazil
from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the
hosting rights in 2007. It was the second time that Brazil staged the
competition, the first being in 1950. A total of 64 matches were
played in 12 venues located in as many host cities across Brazil. For
the first time at a World Cup finals, match officials used goal-line
technology, as well as vanishing spray for free kicks. Spain, the
defending champions, was eliminated at the group stage, along with
England and Italy. Host nation Brazil, who had won the 2013 FIFA
Confederations Cup, lost to Germany 7–1 in the semi-finals and
eventually finished in fourth place. In the final, Germany defeated
Argentina 1–0 after extra time. James Rodriguez scored the most
goals which was 6. Lionel Messi from Argentina was the Best
Player in the tournament. Paul Pogba from France was named the
Best Young Player. Manuel Neuer from Germany was named the
Best Goalkeeper. The Fair Play Award was awarded to Columbia.

The Twenty-first World Cup was held in 2018. It took place in

Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded
the hosting rights in 2010. It was the eleventh time the
championships had been held in Europe, and the first time they were
held in Eastern Europe. The estimated cost was over $14.2 billion.
The tournament phase involved 32 teams, of which 31 came
through qualifying competitions, while as the host
nation Russia qualified automatically. 64 matches were played in 12
venues across 11 cities. Germany, the defending champions, were
eliminated in the group stage for the first time since 1938. Russia
was eliminated in the quarter-finals. In
the final, France played Croatia on 15 July at the Luzhniki
Stadium in Moscow. France won the match 4–2, claiming their
second World Cup and becoming the fourth consecutive title won
by a European team. Harry Kane from England was the Top-Scorer
with 6 goals.  Luka Modrić from Croatia was named The Best
Player of the Tournament. Kylian Mbappe from France was named
the Best Young Player in the Tournament.  Thibaut Courtois from
Germany was named the Best Goalkeeper of the Tournament. Spain
was awarded the Fair Play Award.

The Twenty-second World Cup was held in 2022.  It took place
in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, making it the
first World Cup held in the Arab world and Muslim world, and the
second held entirely in Asia after the 2002 tournament in South
Korea and Japan. France were the defending champions, having
defeated Croatia 4–2 in the 2018 final.
This tournament was the last with 32 participating teams, with the
number of teams being increased to 48 for the 2026 edition. To
avoid the extremes of Qatar's hot climate, the event was held during
November and December. It was held over a reduced time frame of
29 days with 64 matches played in eight venues across five cities.
The Qatar national football team entered the event—their first
World Cup—automatically as the host's national team, alongside 31
teams determined by the qualification process. Argentina has
crowned the champions after winning the final against the title
holder France 4–2 on penalties following a 3–3 draw after extra
time. It was Argentina's third title and their first since 1986, as well
as being the first nation from South America to win the tournament
since 2002. French player Kylian Mbappé became the first player to
score a hat-trick in a World Cup final since Geoff Hurst in the 1966
World-Cup Final. A UK Youtuber named Theo set the World-
Record for attending all the World Cup matches. Messi also posted
a photo with his well-deserved World Cup Trophy which is now the
most-liked post on Instagram. Kylian Mbappé from France scored
the Most Goals in the tournament which was 8 goals. Lionel Messi
was named the Best Player in the tournament. Enzo Fernández from
Argentina was named the Best Young Player in the tournament.
Emiliano Martinez from Argentina was named the Best Goalkeeper.
England was awarded the Fair Play Award.