The History of FIFA World Cup

The history of FIFA World Cup
There is nothing in football that can compare with the World Cup. Even though
the UEFA Champions League may produce games of the same quality, it can't
overreach the status earned from the long tradition and the fact that one team
represent a whole country. No other sport event can compete in significance: the
latest FIFA World Cup reached over three billion television viewers worldwide and
one billion watched the final.
Background
Before the World Cup was inaugurated, the football tournament arranged as part
of the Summer Olympics was given the most prestige. But in the 1920s, the game
was facing a transition to professionalism that wasn't consistent with the Olympic
spirit. Therefore, the government body, FIFA, made plans to organize a World Cup.
The decision of arranging the first edition was officially declared on May 26, 1928.
The FIFA World Cup was first held in 1930, when FIFA, the world's football
governing body, decided to stage an international men's football tournament
under the era of FIFA president Jules Rimet who put this idea into place. Jules
Rimet was the president of FIFA from 1921 to 1954. Rimet was appreciated so
much for bringing the idea of FIFA to life that 1946 the trophy was named the
Jules Rimet Cup instead of the World Cup Trophy. The inaugural edition, held in
1930, was contested as a final tournament of only thirteen teams invited by the
organization. Since then, the World Cup has experienced successive expansions
and format remodeling, with its current 48-team final tournament preceded by a
two-year qualifying process, involving over 200 teams from around the world.
All World Cup tournaments
The first official World Cup was played in Uruguay 1930, and since when the
tournament has been held every fourth year (with exceptions for interruption due
to the Second World War). There were, however, unofficial pre-FIFA World Cups
already in the late 1800s, in a time when only few national teams existed. Another
unofficial "world cup" arranged before 1930 was Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy held in
1909 and 1911. Besides that, the Summer Olympic football competitions would be
a mark of which the best national teams were before 1930. The Olympic
tournaments consisted, however, only of amateur teams – the World Cup became
the "real deal". The trophy cup awarded from 1930 to 1970 was the Jules Rimet
Trophy, named for the Frenchman who proposed the tournament. This cup was
permanently awarded in 1970 to then three-time winner Brazil (1958, 1962, and
1970), and a new trophy called the FIFA World Cup was put up for competition.
1930: Urugay
The FIFA World Cup 1930 was played in Uruguay 3 July-30 July, with 13 nations.
1934: Italy
The FIFA World Cup 1934 was played in Italy 27 May-10 June, with 16 nations.
1938: France
The FIFA World Cup 1938 was played in France 4-19 June, with 16 nations.
1950: Brazil
The FIFA World Cup 1950 was played in Brazil 24 June-16 July, with 15 nations.
1954: Switzerland
The FIFA World Cup 1954 was played in Switzerland 16 June-4 July, with 16
nations.
1958: Sweden
The FIFA World Cup 1958 was played in Sweden 8-29 June, with 16 nations.
1962: Chile
The FIFA World Cup 1962 was played in Chile 30 May-17 June, with 16 nations.
1966: England
The FIFA World Cup 1966 was played in England 11-30 July, with 16 nations.
1970: Mexico
The FIFA World Cup 1970 was played in Mexico 31 May-21 June, with 16 nations.
1974: West Germany
The FIFA World Cup 1974 was played in West Germany 13 June-7 July, with 16
nations.
1978: Argentina
The FIFA World Cup 1978 was played in Argentina 1-25 June, with 16 nations.
1982: Spain
The FIFA World Cup 1982 was played in Spain 13 June-11 July, with 24 nations.
1986: Mexico
The FIFA World Cup 1986 was played in Mexico 31 May-29 June, with 24 nations.
1990: Italy
The FIFA World Cup 1990 was played in Italy 8 June-8 July, with 24 nations.
1994: United States
The FIFA World Cup 1994 was played in United States 17 June-17 July, with 24
nations.
1998: France
The FIFA World Cup 1998 was played in France 10 June-12 July, with 32 nations.
2002: Korea/Japan
The FIFA World Cup 2002 was played in Korea/Japan 31 May-30 June, with 32
nations.
2006: Germany
The FIFA World Cup 2006 was played in Germany 9 June-9 July, with 32 nations.
2010: South Africa
The FIFA World Cup 2010 was played in South Africa 11 June-11 July, with 32
nations.
2014: Brazil
The FIFA World Cup 2014 was played in Brazil 12 June-13 July, with 32 nations.
2018: Russia
The FIFA World Cup 2018 was played in Russia 14 June-15 July, with 32 nations.
Teams with most titles and finals
Statistics of all national teams that have won or played a final together with
numbers of participation in World Cup, concerning the period 1930-2018.
Table 1. Most successful national teams in FIFA World Cup
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
All finals including winners of World Cup tournaments 1930-2018.

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
2022 Argentina France 4-2 (3-3)
Top goalscorers
These players have made most goals in a single World Cup.
Table 3. Most successful goal scorers in a single tournament
PlayerGoals 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).
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.

The History of FIFA World Cup

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The History of FIFA World Cup

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The history of FIFA World Cup

Teams with most titles and finals

World Cup finals

All finals including winners of World Cup tournaments 1930-2018.

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