The FIFA World Cup is football’s ultimate prize.
Whether it’s Pelé and Brazil, Andrés Iniesta guiding Spain, or—most recently—Lionel Messi completing his destiny with Argentina, the World Cup trophy is reserved only for the game’s greatest teams and players.
Held every four years since its inaugural edition in 1930—apart from a break in the 1940s due to World War II—the tournament has seen just eight nations lift the famous trophy, some multiple times and others only once.
Here, we look back at every team to have won the world’s most prestigious football tournament—along with each edition’s runners-up and third-place finishers.
World Cup Winners by Year
| Year | Winner | Runner-Up | Third Place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1930 | Uruguay | Argentina | United States |
| 1934 | Italy | Czechoslovakia | Germany |
| 1938 | Italy | Hungary | Brazil |
| 1950 | Uruguay | Brazil | Sweden |
| 1954 | West Germany | Hungary | Austria |
| 1958 | Brazil | Sweden | France |
| 1962 | Brazil | Czechoslovakia | Chile |
| 1966 | England | West Germany | Portugal |
| 1970 | Brazil | Italy | West Germany |
| 1974 | West Germany | Netherlands | Poland |
| 1978 | Argentina | Netherlands | Brazil |
| 1982 | Italy | West Germany | Poland |
| 1986 | Argentina | West Germany | France |
| 1990 | West Germany | Argentina | Italy |
| 1994 | Brazil | Italy | Sweden |
| 1998 | France | Brazil | Croatia |
| 2002 | Brazil | Germany | Turkey |
| 2006 | Italy | France | Germany |
| 2010 | Spain | Netherlands | Germany |
| 2014 | Germany | Argentina | Netherlands |
| 2018 | France | Croatia | Belgium |
| 2022 | Argentina | France | Croatia |
Countries With the Most World Cup Titles
Brazil stands alone as the most successful nation in World Cup history, lifting the trophy five times. Their golden era came between 1958 and 1970, when a team led by the legendary Pelé—still the only player ever to win the World Cup three times—dominated the global stage.
Behind Brazil are Germany (including titles won by West Germany between 1954 and 1990 during the Cold War split) and Italy, with four titles each. Argentina follow with three, most recently in 2022.
Elsewhere, France and Uruguay have lifted the trophy twice, while England and Spain have each tasted World Cup glory once.
| Team | No. of World Cups |
|---|---|
| Brazil | 5 |
| Germany/West Germany | 4 |
| Italy | 4 |
| Argentina | 3 |
| France | 2 |
| Uruguay | 2 |
| England | 1 |
| Spain | 1 |
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as FIFA World Cup: Full List of Winners.
