The World Cup was Jules Rimet's idea and Uruguay's opportunity. Olympic champions in 1924 and 1928, the Uruguayans offered to host the first tournament in 1930 to mark their centenary of independence, built the Estadio Centenario for it and beat Argentina 4–2 in the final. Only 13 teams took part — four of them from Europe, after a two-week sea crossing — but the template was set: a tournament of nations, every four years, with a trophy the winners would chase for the rest of the century.
1930–1938: the founding years
Italy won the next two editions — at home in 1934 (2–1 against Czechoslovakia after extra time) and in France in 1938 (4–2 against Hungary) — under Vittorio Pozzo, still the only coach to win the trophy twice. The war then stopped the tournament for twelve years.
1950–1970: the Maracanazo, the Miracle of Bern and Pelé
Brazil 1950 ended with the most famous upset in the tournament's history: Uruguay beat the hosts 2–1 in the decisive match in front of some 200,000 people at the Maracanã. Four years later in Switzerland, West Germany overturned a 2–0 deficit to beat Hungary's Magical Magyars 3–2 — the Miracle of Bern. Then came Brazil's dynasty: a 17-year-old Pelé scored twice in the 1958 final in Stockholm (5–2 against Sweden), Garrincha carried the team in Chile 1962 (3–1 against Czechoslovakia), and the 1970 side — Pelé, Jairzinho, Tostão, Rivellino, Carlos Alberto — beat Italy 4–1 in Mexico City to keep the Jules Rimet Trophy for good. In between, England won their only title at Wembley in 1966, 4–2 against West Germany after extra time, with Geoff Hurst's hat-trick.
1974–1990: total football, Maradona and the German machine
The Netherlands of Johan Cruyff lost two finals in a row — 2–1 to West Germany in Munich in 1974 and 3–1 to Argentina in Buenos Aires in 1978, where Mario Kempes gave the hosts their first title. Italy's Paolo Rossi fired the Azzurri to a third star in Spain 1982 (3–1 against West Germany). Mexico 1986 belonged to Diego Maradona: the Hand of God and the Goal of the Century against England in the same quarter-final, then a 3–2 final win over West Germany. The Germans finally got their revenge in Rome in 1990, 1–0 against Argentina from an Andreas Brehme penalty.
1994–2010: Brazil's fifth star, France, Italy and Spain
USA 1994 produced the first final decided on penalties, Brazil beating Italy after a goalless draw in Pasadena. France won at home in 1998 with two Zinedine Zidane headers in a 3–0 final against Brazil, and Ronaldo answered four years later in Yokohama with both goals in Brazil's 2–0 win over Germany — a record fifth title. Italy took a fourth star in Berlin 2006, on penalties against France after Zidane's red card, and Spain's tiki-taka generation won its first World Cup in Johannesburg 2010 with Andrés Iniesta's extra-time goal against the Netherlands.
2014–2022: Germany's 7–1, France's second star and Messi's crown
Brazil 2014 is remembered for the hosts' 7–1 semi-final collapse against Germany, who then beat Argentina 1–0 in the Maracanã with Mario Götze's extra-time volley. France's young side won Russia 2018, 4–2 against Croatia in the highest-scoring final since 1966, with a 19-year-old Kylian Mbappé on the scoresheet. Qatar 2022 delivered the final many consider the greatest ever: Argentina 3–3 France, Mbappé's hat-trick against Messi's two goals, settled 4–2 on penalties to give Lionel Messi the one trophy missing from his career and Argentina a third star.
2026: 48 teams, three hosts and Spain's second title
The first 48-team World Cup, spread across the United States, Canada and Mexico, added a round of 32 and stretched to 104 matches. Spain beat Argentina 1–0 after extra time in the final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey to win their second title, sixteen years after the first; England took third place and Kylian Mbappé finished as top scorer with ten goals. Every match, squad, goal and record of the tournament is archived on Mundialoop.
Titles and records after 2026
- Titles: Brazil 5 · Germany 4 · Italy 4 · Argentina 3 · France 2 · Uruguay 2 · Spain 2 · England 1
- All-time top scorer: Kylian Mbappé, 22 goals (2018–2026) — he and Lionel Messi (21) both passed Miroslav Klose's 16, a record that had stood since 2014
- Most goals in one tournament: Just Fontaine, 13 for France in 1958 — still untouched
- Most appearances: Lionel Messi, 34 matches across six World Cups (2006–2026)
- Only coach with two titles: Vittorio Pozzo (Italy 1934 and 1938)
- Biggest final win: Brazil 5–2 Sweden (1958) and France 3–0 Brazil (1998) share the three-goal margin
Next up: the Women's World Cup in Brazil in June–July 2027, then the centenary World Cup in 2030, opening in Montevideo where it all began. Browse every edition, final and top scorer on our history pages.