List of World Cup Previous Winners. The FIFA World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the men’s national teams of the member nations of the FIFA, the sport’s global governing body. Established in 1930, it has been held every four years ever since, except in 1942 and 1946.
The World Cup final match is the last one of the competition, played by the only two teams remaining in contention, and the result determines which country is declared the world champion. It is a one-off match decided in regulation time; in case of a tie, extra time is used, followed if needed by a penalty shoot-out under the current rules. Until 1982, finals still level after extra time would have been replayed, although this never proved necessary. The golden goal rule would have applied during extra time in 1998 and 2002, but was not put in practice either.
The only exception to this type of format was the 1950 World Cup, which featured a final round-robin group of four teams; the decisive match of that group is often regarded as the de facto final of that tournament, including by FIFA itself.
The winning team receives the FIFA World Cup Trophy, and its name is engraved on the bottom side of the trophy. Throughout the twenty-one editions of the World Cup, thirteen nations have reached the final, and eight have won. Brazil is the most successful team having won the title five times; Italy and Germany have four titles each; Uruguay, Argentina and current champion France have two each; while England and Spain have one each. Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Sweden, the Netherlands and Croatia have played in the final without winning. The team with the most appearances in the final overall is Germany, with eight. No team from outside Europe (UEFA) or South America (CONMEBOL) has made it to the final.
Here are the full list of winners of the previous men’s FIFA World Cups. Click on the highlighted text for more information about each host city and participating country.
| Hosts | Winner | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 Russia | France | France 4-2 Croatia |
| 2014 Brazil | Germany | Germany 1-0 Argentina |
| 2010 South Africa | Spain | Spain 1-0 Netherlands |
| 2006 Germany | Italy | 1-1, then Italy beat France 5-3 in penalties |
| 2002 Japan / S. Korea | Brazil | Brazil 2-0 Germany |
| 1998 France | France | France 3-0 Brazil |
| 1994 USA | Brazil | 0-0, then Brazil defeated Italy 3-2 in penalties |
| 1990 Italy | Germany | Germany 1-0 Argentina |
| 1986 Mexico | Argentina | Argentina 3-2 Germany |
| 1982 Spain | Italy | Italy 3-1 Germany |
| 1978 Argentina | Argentina | Argentina 3-1 Holland |
| 1974 Germany | Germany | Germany 2-1 Holland |
| 1970 Mexico | Brazil | Brazil 4-1 Italy |
| 1966 England | England | England 4-2 Germany |
| 1962 Chile | Brazil | Brazil 3-1 Czechoslovakia |
| 1958 Sweden | Brazil | Brazil 5-2 Sweden |
| 1954 Switzerland | Germany | Germany 3-2 Hungary |
| 1950 Brazil | Uruguay | Uruguay 2-1 Brazil |
| 1946 | not held | |
| 1942 | not held | |
| 1938 France | Italy | Italy 4-2 Hungary |
| 1934 Italy | Italy | Italy 2-1 Czechoslovakia |
| 1930 Uruguay | Uruguay | Uruguay 4-2 Argentina |
List of World Cup Previous Winners Results by nation
| Team | Winners | Runners-up | Total finals | Years won | Years runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Brazil |
5 | 2 | 7 | 1958,
1962, 1970, 1994, 2002 |
1950,
1998 |
 Germany |
4 | 4 | 8 | 1954,
1974, 1990, 2014 |
1966,
1982, 1986, 2002 |
 Italy |
4 | 2 | 6 | 1934,
1938, 1982, 2006 |
1970,
1994 |
 Argentina |
2 | 3 | 5 | 1978,
1986 |
1930,
1990, 2014 |
 France |
2 | 1 | 3 | 1998,
2018 |
2006 |
 Uruguay |
2 | 0 | 2 | 1930,
1950 |
– |
 Spain |
1 | 0 | 1 | 2010 | – |
 England |
1 | 0 | 1 | 1966 | – |
 Netherlands |
0 | 3 | 3 | – | 1974,
1978, 2010 |
 Czech Republic[n 2] |
0 | 2 | 2 | – | 1934,
1962 |
 Hungary |
0 | 2 | 2 | – | 1938,
1954 |
 Sweden |
0 | 1 | 1 | – | 1958 |
 Croatia |
0 | 1 | 1 | – | 2018 |
| Confederation | Appearances | Winners | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| UEFA | 29 | 12 | 16 |
| CONMEBOL | 14 | 9 | 5 |
