FIFA World Cup

World Cup Champions

1/1/2023

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There have been eight countries to hoist twenty-two championships:

Brazil - 5
Germany - 4
Italy - 4
Argentina - 3
France - 2
Uruguay - 2
Spain - 1
England - 1

For 2022 Game by Game Recap, with historical implications, please visit the the 2022 World Cup Page.

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World Cup Champion - Argentina

1/1/2023

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Champions: 3 (1978, 1986, 2022)
Runner Ups: 3 (1930, 1990, 2014)
GOAT: Lionel "Leo" Messi
Mt. Rushmore:
- Diego Armando Maradona
- Alfredo di Stefano
- Mario Kempes

Top Five Major Highlights:

Argentina prides their futbol/ soccer in what they call "en la nuestra". Loose translation means, "in ours", where for Argentines it refers to a method of play where the technique is fundamental, where the love of futbol/ soccer in the center of everything, based on the soccer played on the streets and rising from poverty. And the first individual to bring a more formalized approach to that ideology was Cesar Luis Menotti, the manager of the 1978 World Cup and the first in the nations history, and the era started in 1974 ensuring he brings up the players and right tactics for that 1978 victory.
The 1978 World Cup for Argentina is one filled with iconic moments of brilliance in the pitch, but much controversy outside the pitch. Folks credit the work done of Argentina in the pitch, is rightfully rewarded with the title, but it does come with blemishes and conspiracies. The first one being Argentina facing one of the most violent dictatorships of their time. In which, Videla used to propogate an Argentine victory for his political gain, and to esae the tensions of the "desaparecidos" or lives disappeared. The second was a match against Peru in which, Argentina had to beat Peru by four goals or more to progress. The way Argentina won basically fueled rumors that the match was fixed. For instance, Videla the dictator of the country at that time, made a presence in the Peruvian locker room (along with the Peruvian dictator), days in which there was an off scheduled and large shipment of wheat and resources from Argentina to Peru. Also, the time Argentina made the fourth goal, there was a bomb in the house of the Minister of Finance - the individual who was very critical of the World Cup Spending. The third was the exclusion of a young Diego Armando Maradona for that club.
As lady luck has it, fortunes and misfortunes do go both ways. First and foremost, Argentina boasts what is considered in general opinion, two of the four players in futbol/ soccer Mt. Rushmore, and the majority selection of the GOAT being Maradoa or Messi. Therefore, we cannot go without highlighting Diego Armando Maradona, and the 1986 World Cup. A World Cup in which he carried that team to a championship. Furthermore, Argentina were the protagonists and beneficiaries to arguably the most iconic moment in all of World Cup competitions. And yes that is Maradona's "Hand of God". It was the English that were victims to arguably the most contentious goal scored by whom people consider to be the GOAT of the sport, that potentially could have costed the England team a semifinal place in the World Cup. Moreover, the lasting image and iconic goal of Maradona slicing through the entire England team, less than a couple minutes apart from the "hand of God" goal, makes that sequence between Argentina and England, perpetual. Now add the fact that Argentina and England are arguably one of World Football's/ Futbol/ Soccer Top 5 biggest rivalries, fueled by not only moments on the pitch, but politics outside (Las Islas Malvinas/Falkland Islands).
The Messi generation (still being written). Messi has delivered EVERYTHING you need for country. Messi will end up as the leading goal scorer and most capped player for Argentina in all competitions. Messi has been able to deliver a World Cup and Copa America trophies (plus a World Cup Runner Up run in 2014). What has always stayed in most futbol/ soccer fan's mind, prior to the 2022 triumph, is Maradona in 1986 carried the Argentina team to a World Cup, where Messi had failed to do so up to that point, in which culminated in one of the greatest sports triumphs in football/futbol history. And although Messi's club record and statistics, along with Cristiano Ronaldo, are unprecedented, what has many fans and participants of the sport now putting Messi as the definitive GOAT is elusive World Cup.
Other major championships: They have won 15 Copa Americas with 14 runner ups.

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World Cup Champion - France

12/31/2022

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Champions: 2 (1998, 2018)
Runner Ups: 2 (2006, 2022)
GOAT: Zinedine Zidane
Mt. Rushmore:
- Michel Platini
- Kylian Mbappe
- Thierry Henry

Top Five Major Highlights:

French futbol/ soccer was, in the world of the sport, a late bloomer. There was a time, basically decades where if your own national team was in a rut or in a bad streak, the saying was, "just put a friendly against France", to recover emotionally. In the 60s and 70s, they went through a period of stagnation. This was highlighted where in the 66' World Cup, they didn't get through the first rounds, and then they preceded to to not play in the following two iterations (the 1970 and 1974 competitions). Of which during this time, futbol/ soccer was in fact not the national sport (as Rugby and Tennis at the time were more popular).
The French National Team has enjoyed their greatest triumphs and teams, when not so coincidentally, the construction of the team mirrors the France demographic (inclusive of its rich immigrant population), or what has been known as the "Blending of the Races" - which is another way of saying embracing in the diversity. You have the French team of 1958 who reached the World Cup semi-final led by Raymond Kopa, who in fact was of Polish descendants (Polish miners, who's last name was in fact Kopaszewski). And then of course you have the 1998 and 2018 World Cup teams led by players like Zidane, Thuram, Henry, and Mbappe (all from immigrant descent).
The French futbol/ soccer renaissance and it's rise from their period of stagnation truly begins to recover the enthusiam because of the great Michel Platini, and his success with not only France but Sant-Etienne. It is Platini and the Sant-Etienne success in club football, that began bringing back the united euphoria of the country (and fans outside as well) back to French football. And in the World Cup stage, albeit he never was able to lift the trophy, he helped lead a way of beautiful and iconic football, highlighted mostly in the 1978 and 1982 world cups (where in 2982, they made it into the semifinals).
For most of their futbol origins, France futbol/ soccer was more important for their world directors than their players. For instance, the FIFA was managed and founded by French men, and it was two French men (Henry Delanuay and Jules Rimet) who created the World Cup. Fortunately, this is no longer the case, as France powers a proverbial favorite in many of the competitions it currently plays.
Other major championships: They have won 2 European Championships with 1 runner up finish.

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World Cup Champion - Germany

12/30/2022

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Champions: 4 (1954, 1974, 1990, 2014)
Runner Ups: 4 (1966, 1982, 1986, 2002)
GOAT: Franz Beckenbauer
Mt. Rushmore:
- Gerd Muller
- Lothar Matthaus
- Miroslav Klose

Top Five Major Highlights:

Pele and the first Golden Era of Brazil does hide the fact that Germany should be considered the All Time Powerhouse in World Futbol/Soccer. The reason for saying this is that they are the most consistent, where they are like the "machine" that folks refer them to be. There isn't a striking Golden Era that you can pin point to in being as the best for the German National Team, however, there is merit in consistently being relevant and dangerous to winning the Cup.
Germany has won four World Cup Titles, four Runner-Ups, and four Third Place Finishes. They are the only nation to have 10+ Top 3 finishes.
Franz Beckenbauer is the ultimate example of German Futbol/Soccer. Beckenbauer is one of three people to have ever won a World Cup title as both a player and manager (Zagallo and Deschamps are the other two). Jurgen Klinsmann was close in joining Beckenbauer, as he won it as a player, and just fell short in 2006 (they finished in 3rd place).
Germany took part in two of the most memorable moments in all of World Cup History. The first one is being in the most memorable loss, in which they lost to England in 1966. Where the running theory is, if goal line technology existed, England should have not been rewarded the goal and thus putting their one World Cup Title into question. The other came in a 7-1 victory over Brazil in 2014 AT Brazil (the semifinal match) in which we know as the Agony of Mineirão (giving Brazil its most humiliating lost in their history).
Other major championships: They have won 3 European Championships with 3 runner ups.

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World Cup Champion - Spain

12/29/2022

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Champions: 1 (2010)
Runner Ups: 0
GOAT: Andres Iniesta
Mt. Rushmore:
- Xavi Hernandez
- Sergio Ramos
- Iker Casillas

Top Five Major Highlights:

Spain is known for being a footballing or a futbol nation, that is not only represented in the Spanish Team, but more so highlighted in Club Football biggest clubs being Real Madrid and Barcelona (they by most are considered the pinnacle). Until Spain won in 2010 (even after the 2008 triumph in the European Championships), those in Spain if they were being honest with themselves (the majority), would have not expected to have won the World Cup, because until that victory, they were considered the best footballing nation to have never lifted the trophy. So much so, that previous historic performances added to the pessimism, highlighted on what was known as the "la maldición de cuartos" or the "the curse of the quarterfinals", which really stemmed from not being able to break through that part of the bracket (and continually falling out during that stage of the tournament).
Spanish futbol is known for many things, but one that sticks out is their iconic method of playing which is very technical (the colloquial way that you may have heard is "tiqui-taka" or "take the ball/pass the ball"). The way they started perfecting this actually was almost casual in the sense, where Luis Aragones (the manager of Spain at the time) began to find the right blend of Madrid and Barcelona nationals as the base of the team, and then sprinkled in the right players from other teams in other leagues (more than just La Liga).
Spain hailed one of the most successful, historic, and arguably the greatest Golden Generation (in debates, the 2008-2013 Spain National Team is said to be the most successful other than the Brazilian generation of the 60s). Spain is the only national team with three consecutive major titles. They also became the first European team to win a World Cup that was outside of Europe in 2010 (that has later been followed by Germany in 2014 at Brazil). Additionally, they are the only nation to win back-to-back European championships. And then lastly, from 2008 to 2013, Spain won the FIFA Team of the Year (they have won six times), which is the second-most of any nation, behind only Brazil (12) and one ahead of Belgium (5).
In terms of managers, there are the obvious two icons that led both teams to the championships being Vicente Del Bosque and Luis Aragones. However, it is as important to mention that much of the base, touch, and technical way of play has also been very much influenced by Pep Guardiola, who has never managed the Spanish National Team, but is said to have influenced and imprinted the way of play arguably more than the two "misters" to have lifted the trophies. Pep Guardiola, and his managing and style of play, has him arguably as one of, if not the greatest futbol/ soccer manager of all time.
Other major championships: They have won 3 European Championships with 1 runner up finish.

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World Cup Champion - Brazil

12/28/2022

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Champions: 5 (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002)
Runner Ups: 2 (1950, 1998)
GOAT: Pele
Mt. Rushmore:
- Garrincha
- Ronaldo
- Ronaldinho

Top Five Major Highlights:

Pele and the first Golden Generation of Brazil established the nation as the football powerhouse of its time. Other major pillars surrounding Pele included (Garrincha, Zito, Alberto Torres, Jairzinho, Tostão, Gérson and Rivelino). This Brazilian generation won two consecutive World Cups and three of four.
This first golden generation, which arguably is one of if not the best generation of world football, gave rise to the beautiful term of "Samba Football". This is the football equivalent of playing the sport while dancing with the ball. The more colloquial term has been coined "Jogo Bonito".
Ronaldo and the Second Golden generation rekindled some of the Brazilian magic from the first golden generation. In 1994 they won led by Romario, Bebeto, Dunga, and Jorginho. And in 2002, you had the famous three Rs (Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho). The great Cafu was part of both World Cup Title teams.
Sustained droughts. From the first golden era to the second golden era, there was 24 years that passed by without a title. And then from the last title in 2002, it has been 20 years since they won. Both droughts (one that has broken and the other still ongoing) highlights that Brazil has very much to thank the first golden era for its resonance as "the" football powerhouse. Other major championships: They have won 9 Copa Americas with 12 runner ups.
The Neymar generation (still being written). Neymar will end up as the leading goal scorer for Brazil in all competitions, and one of the Top 3 most capped players. Neymar had good talent around him, but never to the likes of what they had in the golden era.

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World Cup Champion - England

12/26/2022

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Champions: 1 (1966)
Runner Ups: 0
GOAT: Bobby Charlton
Mt. Rushmore:
- Bobby Moore
- Gordon Banks
- Wayne Rooney

Top Five Major Highlights:

England does have the authority of being the "Mother/Father" of the game and the country to have invented the game. It is the English who are known to have written down the rules of what is known as the uniform and accepted version of the sport. Furthermore, it is in trade and commerce, that they were able to transport the sport across the world. As they were able to bring the original futbol/ soccer ball, port to port.
England took part in one of the most memorable and controversial moments in all of World Cup History. They iconically won their one and only title in 1966, where the running theory is, if goal line technology existed, England should have not been rewarded the goal against Germany. But that is futbol/ soccer and if we are honest with ourselves, you always need that luck to be World Champions. Where rumor has it, the line judge being Russian, who were allies with the English during the second world war and enemies of Germany (the runner ups that year), may have had some hidden or not so hidden prejudice to allow any close call to favor the home team. We say home team, as the 1966 World Cup was being played in England, where England along with Uruguay, Italy, France, and Germany are the countries to have hoisted the title while hosting the World Cup.
In continuation to the World Cup victory in 1966, there was a sort of English renaissance within the sport (which not so coincidentally) aligns to the English music renaissance headlined by the Beatles and Rolling Stones. It's almost as the grey years of the post second world war (resonated with poverty, hunger, and depression) was dissipating in the early 50s, and it was in the 60s that it gave rise to a new and lively England.
But as lady luck has it, fortunes and misfortunes do go both ways. England were the victims and participating party to arguable the most iconic moment in all of World Cup competitions. And yes that is Maradona's "hand of God". It was the English that were victims to arguably the most contentious goal scored by whom people consider to be the GOAT of the sport, that potentially could have costed the England team a semifinal place in the World Cup. They were then also victim to the next, arguably, iconic goal of Maradona slicing through the entire England team, less than a couple minutes apart from the "hand of God" goal, which makes that sequence between Argentina and England, perpetual. Now add the fact that England and Argentina are arguably one of England's Top 5 biggest rivalries, fueled by not only moments on the pitch but politics outside (Las Islas Malvinas/Falkland Islands).
Other major championships: They have won 0 European Championships with 1 runner up position.

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World Cup Champion - Uruguay

12/25/2022

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Champions: 2 (1930, 1950)
Runner Ups: 0
GOAT: Juan Alberto "Pepe" Schiaffino
Mt. Rushmore:
- Enzo Francescoli
- Diego Forlan
- Luis Suarez

Top Five Major Highlights:

Uruguay is by far the nation with the smallest population to have ever hoisted a World Cup and for most years, are among (and consistently) one of the strong footballing nations, albeit the population size. So much so, there footballing history goes deeper than 1930, where they have won and championed the olympic games, even before winning the first ever World Cup. They wear four stars above their emblem, to signify also the 1924 and 1928 Summer Olympics, which FIFA for those two years, technically recognize as World Championships.
Uruguay's golden generation is aligned with those first early twenty five years (from the Olympic Games to their second World Cup victory in 1950). Where both World Cup victories came against the perceived two giants of South American futbol/ soccer being Brazil and Argentina. The first World Cup final was against Argentina, which folks ended up dubbing the game, "un juego del barrio" or a "game from the neighborhood". The 1950 Final, which was being hosted in Brazil (in Maracana), in the famous the Maracanazo match, still remains the most highly-attended football match ever played (with official number nearing the 174K) people.
The saying goes if you contract an Uruguayan player for your club football team, the worst of the Uruguayan signings will at the bare minimum support and bring something to the team,. Where at any given point in any generation, the best of the signings, and there will be a handful of Uruguayan players at any point and time, will be one of the highest quotes and priced footballers in the world. It is remarkable and extraordinary when you put it in its proper context. Argentina and Spain are the 2nd and 3rd smallest countries to hoist the World Cup Title, and Uruguay is 13 times smaller in population than them. And when compared to Brazil, the largest population for a World Cup champion, they are 61 times smaller than them.
Uruguay capitalized very early in developing and understanding a futbol/ soccer that was required to play in order to win in the early stages of global competition. It is still a remarkable feat that they stay and are often times a threat or power player, given the size of their country. You have recent players like Luis Suarez (all time Uruguayan goal scorer), Edinson Cavani, Diego Forlan, or Diego Godin (most capped Uruguayan player).
Other major championships: They have won 15 Copa Americas with 6 runner ups.

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World Cup Champion - Italy

12/24/2022

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Champions: 4 (1934, 1938, 1982, 2006)
Runner Ups: 2 (1970, 1994)
GOAT: Giuseppe Meazza
Mt. Rushmore:
- Paolo Maldini
- Roberto Baggio
- Gianluigi Buffon

Top Five Major Highlights:

In the romantic sense, Italians are said to live their futbol/ soccer the way Gladiators did in the Roman Empire. Winning at any cost, is really a matter of life or death (literally back in the day, figuratively now obviously). Rumor actually has it, that in a telegram prior to the 1938 finals, Mussolini sent a message to the team, saying it was a matter of "life or death", of which it has been denied. Italians attribute much of their success to what it is known as "calcio catenaccio", where catenaccio translates to door-bolt, a reference to a defensive, tactical, and pragmatic way of approaching the sport. Therefore, they have always given successes to covering zones, filling in gaps, and counterattacking when possible.
Italy is one of two countries (the other being Brazil) to win two consecutive World Cup titles, the first two being in 1934 and 1938. It's important to note here that there is often a debate on whether to put Meazza or Maldini as Italy's all time footballer. For us, typically when it comes to greatest defenders of all time, and we break it down by generations, the three that come up for their generations are Franz Beckenbuaer, Paolo Maldini, and Sergio Ramos. But, Maldini never raised the big one. And his opportunity of reaching the final came in 1994, which Italy lost to Brazil. So, it's important to note, that two of Italy's stars (that they rightfully and proudly get to where on their shirt) continues to stay, then Meazza is the main reason for those first two world cup titles they won in the 1930s.
The national team has provided many iconic moments for world futbol/ soccer. You have the infamous/famous, whichever perspective you look at it, of the 2006 World Cup title, headlined by Italy's catenaccio, Buffon's goalkeeping brilliance, and the elephant in the room, Zinedine Zidane’s headbutt on Marco Materazzi. But the other one that is etched in history is the Divine Ponytail, the great Roberto Baggio, and his 1994 performance. Many have said, if he didn't pull his hamstring and was at 100% against Brazil in the final, that Golden Generation that had Baggio, Maldini, and Baresi would have or could have won. But futbol/ soccer history is never written until the chapter is concluded, and so with that, that 1994 team with Baggio, Maldini, and Baresi will fall in penalites, and it was Romario's and Bebeto's Brazil who lifted the trophy.
With major successes, they are also met with epic and iconic failures. The issue is not the drought of not winning a world cup, which at the minimum will be twenty years. But since winning in 2006, they failed to exit the group stages in 2010 and 2014. So much so, that they failed to record only one win in those two participations and a total of five points. And if you think it couldn't have gotten worse, they failed to qualify for both the 2018 and 2022 world cups. So, and we are not being rocket scientists here, but once the next world cup comes along, they would have only garnered a total of 5 points and one world cup match victory in sixteen years. What is odd in all of this, in this unprecedented drought, Italy pulled together a wonderful team spirit performance, and was able to win the 2021 European Championships.
Other major championships: They have won 2 European Championships with 2 runner ups.

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World Cup Runner Ups- Netherlands

12/23/2022

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Champions: 0
Runner Ups: 3 (1974, 1978 and 2010)
GOAT: Johan Cruyff
Mt. Rushmore:
- Marco van Basten
- Ruud Gullit
- Ronald Koeman

Headline: The Netherlands are considered the greatest nation to have never won a World Cup. The Netherlands has competed in ten FIFA World Cup, appearing in the finals three times. They have also appeared in ten UEFA European Championship, winning the 1988 tournament in West Germany for their major trophy. They are also known as one of the more unfortunate nations when competing in the tournament, as they have said to have lost to the greatest footballing squad in the 2010 Spanish team, in the Final.

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World Cup Runner Up - Croatia

12/22/2022

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Champions: 0
Runner Ups: 1 (2018)
GOAT: Luka Modric
Mt. Rushmore:
- Davor Suker
- Mario Mandzukic
- Dario Simic

Headline: Croatia is known as a mighty football nation. The team represents the second-smallest country by population (behind Uruguay) and land mass (behind Netherlands) to reach a World Cup finals. Since they became separate and no longer part of the older Yugoslavia AND being eligible as a FIFA member, they have failed to only qualify once for the World Cup (six of seven possible appearances). Before 2018, where they were runner ups, they did finish in 3rd in 1998 (Croatia's first ever World Cup participation).

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World Cup - USA (United States of America)

12/21/2022

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Appearance: 11 (1930, 1934, 1950, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2022)
Best Finish: Semifinals
GOAT: Landon Donovan
Mt. Rushmore:
- Clint Dempsey
- Tim Howard
- Christian Pulisic

Headline: The U.S. team has appeared in eleven FIFA World Cups, including the first in 1930. Often forgotten, but the United States squad did reach the semi-finals, and is the farthest they made it into the competition. They returned in 1934 and 1950, but did not qualify again until 1990. Where apart from the 2018 qualifying "fiasco", they have been a regular in the tournament. They have hosted the World Cup in 1994, where they made it into the Round of 16, and is set to co-host with Canada and Mexico in 2026. So in honor of this World Cup, let us quote an Englishman who's energy still reigns in the sky by the name of Ian Darke, "GO GO USA".

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World Cup Champion - Mexico

11/21/2022

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Appearances: 17 (1930, 1950, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1978, 1986, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022)
Best Finish: Quarterfinals
GOAT: Hugo Sanchez
Mt. Rushmore:
- Rafael Marquez
- Cuauhtemoc Blanco
- Jorge Campos

Headline: Historically, Mexico is the most decorated and successful national team in the CONCACAF region, winning eleven Confederation Cups, eleven Gold Cups (three with the former CONCACAF Championship set up). "El Tri" farthest route was when it has reached the quarterfinals, where in aligns to 1986, which was hosted in Mexico. Although historically, Mexico has been sought to under achieve in certain showings, that doesn't mean we cannot get a "chela" and support them with the friendly "andale". And it is important for the Mexican National team to perform well, because as for a handful of countries around the world, this is a pinnacle point of pride for an entire nation.

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World Cup - Ecuador

11/20/2022

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Appearances: 4 (2002, 2006, 2014, 2022)
Best Finish: Round of 16 (1970, 1994)
GOAT: Alberto Spencer
Mt. Rushmore:
- Jorge Bolanos
- Antonio Valencia
- Alex Aguinaga

Headline: Historically, Ecuador has been seen as a struggling footballing nation in South America. However, recently, Ecuador has become a prominent competitor in South America through CONMEBOL participation. So as our amiguero Ecuadorian friends will say, let's order a couple of bielas (beers) and enjoy the good football.

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World Cup - Costa Rica

11/20/2022

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Appearances: 6 (1990, 2002, 2006, 2014, 2018, 2022)
Best Finish: Quarterfinals
GOAT: Keylor Navas
Mt. Rushmore:
- Paulo Wanchope
- Bryan Ruiz
- Alejandro Morera

Headline: Costa Rica is the most successful national football team from the region of Central America. Costa Rica was the first (and so far the only) Central American football team to win a game at a FIFA World Cup tournament, let alone make it as far as the Quarterfinals; and winning a World Cup group in 2014, against the likes Italy, England, and Uruguay (all past World Cup Winners!!). So, albeit they are smaller nation, they are known as the almighty Ticos.

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