World Cup Winners List | Football World Cup Champions – 1930-2022

The World Cup winners list reads like a who’s who of the biggest nations in international football.

After the exciting conclusion of the 2022 World Cup, Brazil lead the way with five titles with Germany and Italy one behind on four and Argentina on three.

France (2), Uruguay (2), England (1) and Spain (1) are the only other teams to win football’s most prestigious trophy.

Only four times in the last 14 World Cups has the winner been a first-time winner – England (1966), Argentina (1978), France (1998) and Spain (2010).

On that basis, if you are looking for potential finalists when you watch the World Cup live, you would be well advised to stick to the big guns.

Despite this monopoly, the excitement generated globally by the World Cup cannot be underestimated.

Every tournament generates its fair share of thrilling matches, controversies, penalty shoot-outs, shock results and noteworthy performances.

Here is the latest World Cup winners list and a short history of different eras. The next World Cup in 2026 will be jointly hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States.

World Cup Winners List

Hosts	Winner	Score
2022 Qatar	Argentina	Argentina 3-3 France (4-2 on penalties)
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, Italy beat France 5-3 on penalties
2002 Japan/S Korea	Brazil	Brazil 2-0 Germany
1998 France	France	France 3-0 Brazil
1994 USA	Brazil	0-0, Brazil beat Italy 3-2 on 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

Most World Cup Titles – By Country

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

World Cup History – 1930 to 1938

The inaugural World Cup in 1930 was held in Uruguay, and the hosts took the title with a 4-2 triumph over Argentina.

The host country claimed the World Cup again four years later, with Italy winning the first of their four titles with an extra-time victory over Czechoslovakia.

Uruguay refused to participate in that tournament, making them the only champions to date who did not attempt to defend the trophy.

Italy retained the title by beating Hungary in 1938 before the Second World War put the tournament on the back-burner for 12 years.

World Cup History – 1950 to 1966

The World Cup returned in Brazil in 1950, and Uruguay pipped the hosts to the trophy in the only tournament that did not have a final.

West Germany won the next edition in 1954 before a Pele-inspired Brazil led the Samba Kings to their first title four years later.

Pele’s absence failed to stop Brazil from winning the World Cup again in 1962, but he was unable to help them out of the group stage in 1966.

England’s success at that tournament made them the first host country to win the World Cup title since Italy in 1934.

World Cup History – 1970 to 1990

Pele played in his fourth and final World Cup in 1970 and led Brazil to a third title in 12 years.

West Germany (1974 & 1990) and Argentina (1978 & 1986) won four of the next five tournaments, with Italy’s thrilling success in 1982 sandwiched in between.

The Netherlands become the first team to lose two finals in a row (1974 & 1978) despite having some of the most talented players in the world at their disposal.

West Germany matched the Dutch team by finishing as runners-up in 1982 and 1986 but set the record straight by claiming the trophy in 1990.

World Cup History – 1994 to 2006

Brazil ended their 24-year wait to win the World Cup by edging out Italy in a penalty shoot-out in 1994.

They were beaten by France in the final four years later but bounced back to secure their fifth title by beating Germany in 2002.

Fabio Grosso’s exploits for Italy during the latter stages of the 2006 edition cemented his status as a World Cup hero.

He scored a semi-final winner against hosts Germany before bagging the decisive penalty in the final against France to deliver Italy’s first World Cup title since 1982.

World Cup History – 2010 to 2022

Spain’s golden generation demonstrated their quality by winning the 2010 World Cup before Germany (2014) and France (2018) took the next two editions.

Argentina bounced back from an opening-round defeat to Saudi Arabia to march to the 2022 final, where they met defending champions France.

The title was finally won on penalties by Argentina after a thrilling back-and-forth encounter. Lionel Messi was inevitably the star of the tournament.

You can see our World Cup qualifiers page for details on the next qualification process.

More World Cup Resources

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World Cup Live Streaming
World Cup Qualifiers: Schedule, Play-Offs & Teams
World Cup Draw
All-Time World Cup Top Scorers