FIFA World Cup winners: Why Brazilians are unique and Germany, Italy relentless - full roll of honour
Brazil have won the FIFA World Cup five times, the most in history, while Germany and Italy have won it four times each. Get the complete list of champions.
Football
The most prestigious competition in international football, the men’s FIFA World Cup showcases the best international teams in action.
With football often considered the world’s most popular sport, the FIFA World Cup spectacularly generates a huge following when it is held every four years.
Argentina are the reigning world champions, having won the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar.
The 2022 edition was the first World Cup in history to be organised in winter so that players could escape the soaring high temperatures during summer in Qatar. It was also the first FIFA World Cup to be held in the middle of the club football season.
FIFA, the international governing body of football, was formed in 1904 and it organised the football competition at the Antwerp 1920 Olympics, which was recognised as an inter-continental competition.
This paved the way for the first-ever FIFA World Cup to be held in 1930. Uruguay were hosts as they celebrated 100 years of independence and had also won gold at the 1924 and 1928 Olympics.
Uruguay also went on to lift the trophy at home, beating Argentina 4-2 in the final to be crowned the first FIFA World Cup champions.
Italy then won the next two FIFA World Cups - in 1934 and 1938 - and became the first nation to defend their title.
Uruguay won their second title in 1950 and West Germany lifted their first FIFA World Cup trophy in 1954.
Brazil are the most successful team at the FIFA World Cup, having won the title five times. They are also the only country to play in all 22 editions of the FIFA World Cup.
Brazil’s first title came in 1958 as the 17-year-old Pele, who would go on to become a legend, scored six goals in the tournament. Brazil beat hosts Sweden 5-2 in the final to lift the trophy. Brazil defended their title in 1962.
England went on to win their first, and to date only, FIFA World Cup trophy in 1966. England’s Geoff Hurst scored three goals in the 4-2 win over West Germany and was the first man to score a hat-trick in a FIFA World Cup final.
Pele and Brazil won their third title in 1970. Pele, with three trophies, has won the most World Cups by an individual player. Brazil’s last World Cup trophy came in 2002.
Argentina, powered by the brilliance of the late Diego Maradona, won their second title in 1986, having first won it in 1978. Lionel Messi added to Argentina's glory by leading them to their third World Cup title in 2022.
The FIFA World Cup got a new winner next in 1998 as modern football giants France, under the captaincy of Didier Deschamps, beat Brazil in the final to win their first title on home soil.
Didier Deschamps was the manager of the French team that won the 2018 FIFA World Cup, making him the third individual to win the title both as a player and a manager. Mario Zagallo (Brazil) and Franz Beckenbauer (Germany) have also achieved the feat.
German striker Miroslav Klose is the all-time top-scorer in FIFA World Cups, having scored 16 goals from 2002-2014.
The record for most goals scored in a single FIFA World Cup is held by Frenchman Just Fontaine, who scored 13 goals in 1958.