Ahead of the World Cup 2026, a chronological record of all winners since the first global tournament took place in 1930.
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Argentina head into the FIFA World Cup 2026 as the reigning champions after dethroning France at the Qatar World Cup 2022 to win their third title.
Their great South American rivals Brazil are the most successful team in the tournament’s history, having won the title five times.
Here is a list of all the previous World Cup winners:
1930 Uruguay – Uruguay hosted and won the inaugural World Cup, defeating Argentina in the final.
1934 Italy – Italy won the first of their four World Cups in this edition.
1938 Italy – Italy won the last World Cup before World War II put the tournament on hold for 12 years.
1950 Uruguay – La Celeste famously defeated Brazil in the final at the Maracana to win their second World Cup.
1954 West Germany – West Germany won the World Cup hosted by Switzerland.
1958 Brazil – A 17-year-old Pele scored six goals as Brazil lifted their first World Cup.
1962 Brazil – Brazil became the second team after Italy to successfully defend a World Cup crown.
1966 England – Football “came home” for the first and only time so far in 1966 when England won the World Cup at Wembley.
1970 Brazil – Pele got his hands on the trophy for the third time in 1970. No player in history has won as many World Cups as him.
1974 West Germany – Led by Gerd Mueller, West Germany won their second World Cup.
1978 Argentina – Argentina won their first World Cup in 1978, defeating the Netherlands in the final.
1982 Italy – A Paolo Rossi-inspired Italy won the 1982 tournament in Spain.
1986 Argentina – The legend of Diego Maradona was written at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, where the mercurial genius almost single-handedly led Argentina to glory.
1990 West Germany – Maradona’s Argentina reached the final in 1990 as well but were thwarted by West Germany, which won eight months after the Berlin Wall fell and three months before Germany’s unification.
1994 Brazil – The first World Cup in North America was won by Brazil, which claimed their fourth title in the United States.
1998 France – France won the tournament at home with players like Zinedine Zidane, Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira ushering in a new era of success for Les Bleus.
2002 Brazil – Brazil won a record fifth World Cup, overcoming Germany in the final.
2006 Italy – Despite Serie A being rocked by match-fixing allegations, Italy showed great resolve to win the 2006 edition.
2010 Spain – Spain’s possession style of football saw them win their first World Cup in South Africa in 2010.
2014 Germany – After making the semifinals in each of the previous two editions, Germany finally got their hands on the trophy again in 2014.
2018 France – Didier Deschamps, who captained France to their 1998 triumph, won the World Cup for a second time in 2018 as coach.
2022 Argentina – Lionel Messi, one of the greatest footballers the world has ever seen, won the one title that had eluded him in one of the greatest finals the World Cup has ever seen. After battling France to a 2-2 draw after 90 minutes and a 3-3 draw after extra time, Argentina won 4-2 on penalties.
Can you identify all 48 teams participating in the FIFA World Cup 2026? Take our quiz here.
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