FIFA World Cups List

The Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup will be the 22nd edition of the tournament. Some of the best moments in soccer history took place at the World Cup, thanks to legends such Pelé, Ronaldo, Diego Maradona, and Lionel Messi. Winning the World Cup is a feat that only eight national teams have achieved in almost 100 years of the tournament, meaning perennial glory for the players that were able to hoist that trophy.

What Years Has The FIFA World Cup Taken Place In?

• 1930 FIFA World Cup
• 1934 FIFA World Cup
• 1938 FIFA World Cup
• 1950 FIFA World Cup
• 1954 FIFA World Cup
• 1958 FIFA World Cup
• 1962 FIFA World Cup
• 1966 FIFA World Cup
• 1970 FIFA World Cup
• 1974 FIFA World Cup
• 1978 FIFA World Cup
• 1982 FIFA World Cup
• 1986 FIFA World Cup
• 1990 FIFA World Cup
• 1994 FIFA World Cup
• 1998 FIFA World Cup
• 2002 FIFA World Cup
• 2006 FIFA World Cup
• 2010 FIFA World Cup
• 2014 FIFA World Cup
• 2018 FIFA World Cup

1930 FIFA World Cup

• Host Country: Uruguay
• Dates: July 13 - July 30
• Champion: Uruguay
• Runner-up: Argentina
• Third Place: United States
• Fourth Place: Yugoslavia

The first-ever World Cup was held in Uruguay, and only 13 teams took part in it. The four winners of the groups (Argentina, United States, Uruguay and Yugoslavia) advanced to the semifinals. Host country Uruguay dominated the knockout phase, defeating Yugoslavia 6-1 in the semifinal and Guillermo Stabile’s Argentina 4-2 in the final.

1934 FIFA World Cup

• Host Country: Italy
• Dates: May 27 - June 10
• Champion: Italy
• Runner-up: Czechoslovakia
• Third Place: Germany
• Fourth Place: Austria

The 1934 FIFA World Cup was the first to be played in Europe, as Italy hosted the tourney. Like Uruguay in 1930, the Italians dominated the tournament and won their first-ever World Cup title as the host country, defeating Czechoslovakia 2-1 in the final. Oldřich Nejedlý was the highest goalscorer with five goals.

1938 FIFA World Cup

• Host Country: France        
• Dates: June 4 - June 19
• Champion: Italy
• Runner-up: Hungary
• Third Place: Brazil
• Fourth Place: Sweden

Led by legendary coach Vittorio Pozzo, the Italian National team became World Champion again at the 1938 World Cup in France, beating Hungary in the final. Similarly to the previous edition of the tournament, the 16 teams only competed in a single-leg knockout stage without being divided into groups first.

1950 FIFA World Cup

• Host Country: Brazil
• Dates: June 24 - July 16
• Champion: Uruguay
• Runner-up: Brazil
• Third Place: Sweden
• Fourth Place: Spain

Twenty years later, Uruguay triumphed again at the 1950 World Cup in a dramatic fashion. “La Celeste” went into the final as an underdog facing host country Brazil, who had defeated Sweden 7-1 and Spain 6-1 in the previous two rounds. Brazilian star Ademir was the top scorer with eight goals.

1954 FIFA World Cup

• Host Country: Switzerland
• Dates: June 16 - July 4
• Champion: West Germany
• Runner-up: Hungary
• Third Place: Austria
• Fourth Place: Uruguay 

West Germany became the second victorious European national team when they triumphed at the 1954 FIFA World Cup in Switzerland. The Germans smoothly sailed towards the final, where they faced Hungary. Despite a goal from superstar Ferenc Puskás, Hungary had to settle for the silver medal in a tournament where their ace Sándor Kocsis had scored 11 goals.

1958 FIFA World Cup

• Host Country: Sweden
• Dates: June 8 - June 29
• Champion: Brazil
• Runner-up: Sweden
• Third Place: France
• Fourth Place: West Germany

After a third-place finish in 1938 and the heartbreaking final loss in 1950, Brazil was finally crowned champion in the 1958 World Cup in Sweden. This was the tournament where the world first noticed the pristine talent of Brazilian striker Pelé, who, despite being only 17 at the time, led Brazil with six goals.

1962 FIFA World Cup

• Host Country: Chile
• Dates: May 30 - June 17
• Champion: Brazil
• Runner-up: Czechoslovakia
• Third Place: Chile
• Fourth Place: Yugoslavia

A star-studded Brazilian side that could count on Garrincha, Vavá, and Pelé claimed its second consecutive title at the 1962 World Cup. The Brazilians defeated hosts Chile in the semifinal to advance to the final against Czechoslovakia, who lost their second final after the 1934 defeat against Italy.

1966 FIFA World Cup

• Host Country: England
• Dates: July 11 - July 30
• Champion: England
• Runner-up: West Germany
• Third Place: Portugal
• Fourth Place: Soviet Union

Host country England reached their first and only World Cup final in 1966, winning 4-2 against West Germany in one of the most controversial finals of all time as Geoffrey Charles’s goal that put England ahead in the final did not entirely cross the line. The tournament saw the rise of Portuguese legend Eusebio, who was the top scorer with nine goals.

1970 FIFA World Cup

• Host Country: Mexico
• Dates: May 31 - 21 June
• Champion: Brazil
• Runner-up: Italy
• Third Place: West Germany
• Fourth Place: Uruguay

The 1970 World Cup in Mexico was once again Pelé’s tournament. The Brazilian superstar scored four goals in the tournament, including one in the final, as Brazil beat Italy 4-1 to win its third World Cup title. Gerd Müller was the top scorer with ten goals, which was still not enough to lead West Germany to the final.

1974 FIFA World Cup

• Host Country: West Germany
• Dates: June 13 - July 7
• Champion: West Germany
• Runner-up: Netherlands
• Third Place: Poland
• Fourth Place: Brazil

West Germany went back on top of the world in 1974 as they hosted the tenth edition of the tournament. Brazil, the Netherlands, Poland, and West Germany reached the semifinals after advancing in the double group stage phase. The final was a hard-fought contest as Germany came back from an early goal from the Dutch team.

1978 FIFA World Cup

• Host Country: Argentina
• Dates: June 1 - June 25
• Champion: Argentina
• Runner-up: Netherlands
• Third Place: Brazil
• Fourth Place: Italy

Argentina won their first-ever World Cup when they hosted the tournament in 1978. The Argentinians finished second in the first group stage and then won the second, booking their ticket for a final against the Netherlands. Once again, the Dutch national team, led by Johan Cruyff, had to settle for second place, defeated by Mario Kempes’ brace.

1982 FIFA World Cup

• Host Country: Spain
• Dates: June 13 - July 11
• Champion: Italy
• Runner-up: West Germany
• Third Place: Poland
• Fourth Place: France

After a rough start with three ties in the first group stage, Italy pulled off a heroic run defeating Argentina and Brazil in the second group stage and Poland in the semifinals to advance to the final against West Germany. A 3-1 dominating win crowned Italy World Champions at the 1982 World Cup in Spain.

1986 FIFA World Cup

• Host Country: Mexico
• Dates: May 31 - June 29
• Champion: Argentina
• Runner-up: West Germany
• Third Place: France
• Fourth Place: Belgium

The 1986 FIFA World Cup, the second to be hosted in Mexico, saw one of the greatest individual runs in the history of the tournament. Diego Maradona led Argentina to legendary wins against England in the quarterfinals and West Germany in the final. This was the first to be organized following the same structure as the current one.

1990 FIFA World Cup

• Host Country: Italy
• Dates: June 8 - July 8
• Champion: West Germany
• Runner-up: Argentina
• Third Place: Italy
• Fourth Place: England

After 56 years, the World Cup was held once again in Italy. Despite a great run from top scorer and best player of the tournament, Salvatore Schillaci, Italy had to settle for a bronze medal as West Germany and Argentina met in the final once again. This time, the Germans got their revenge thanks to a penalty from Andreas Brehme.

1994 FIFA World Cup

• Host Country: United States
• Dates: June 17 - July 17
• Champion: Brazil
• Runner-up: Italy
• Third Place: Sweden
• Fourth Place: Bulgaria

The 1994 World Cup final was a remake of the 1970 one, as Brazil beat Italy again, this time on penalties. Sweden finished third, defeating Bulgaria, who turned out to be the biggest surprise of the tournament, led by six goals from tournament top scorer Hristo Stoichkov. This was the first World Cup to be held in the United States.

1998 FIFA World Cup

• Host Country: France
• Dates: June 10 - July 12
• Champion: France
• Runner-up: Brazil
• Third Place: Croatia
• Fourth Place: Netherlands

Brazil reached the final again in 1998 but came out defeated by hosts France, who dominated the game, earning their first World Cup star with a 3-0 win. This was the first-ever FIFA World Cup with 32 teams and followed the same group stage plus knockout phase structure from the previous two editions.

2002 FIFA World Cup

• Host Country: Japan-South Korea
• Dates: May 31 - June 30
• Champion: Brazil
• Runner-up: Germany
• Third Place: Turkey
• Fourth Place: South Korea

Reaching their third consecutive final, a record to this day, Brazil won their fifth title in 2002 against Germany, led by the trio Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, and Kaká. This was the first edition of the tournament to be hosted in Asia, as games took place in Japan and South Korea, which placed fourth overall.

2006 FIFA World Cup

• Host Country: Germany
• Dates: June 9 - July 9
• Champion: Italy
• Runner-up: France
• Third Place: Germany
• Fourth Place: Portugal

After 24 years of waiting since their last win, Italy won its fourth World Cup title at the 2006 tournament in Germany. The Italians beat France after a penalty shootout, while hosts Germany placed third after beating Portugal. Germany’s Miroslav Klose won the Golden Boot, while France’s Zinedine Zidane took home the Golden Ball as the best player in the tournament.

2010 FIFA World Cup

• Host Country: South Africa
• Dates: June 11 - July 11
• Champion: Spain
• Runner-up: Netherlands
• Third Place: Germany
• Fourth Place: Uruguay

The 2010 FIFA World Cup took place in Africa for the first time, with South Africa being selected as the host country. This 19th edition of the tournament saw Spain winning its first title, handing the Netherlands their third World Cup loss. The tournament was also notable for being the first time Uruguay had made it to the top four in 50 years.

2014 FIFA World Cup

• Host Country: Brazil
• Dates: June 12 - July 13
• Champion: Germany
• Runner-up: Argentina
• Third Place: Netherlands
• Fourth Place: Brazil

The 2014 World Cup was the second edition of the tournament to be hosted by Brazil, after the 1950 edition. Once again, it ended in a dramatic way for the hosts, who lost 7-1 in the semifinal against Germany, who would end up becoming tournament champions after defeating Argentina in their third matchup in a World Cup final.

2018 FIFA World Cup

• Host Country: Russia
• Dates: June 14 - July 15
• Champion: France
• Runner-up: Croatia
• Third Place: Belgium
• Fourth Place: England

The most recent edition of the World Cup, which was played in Russia, saw France winning their second title in a dominant fashion, beating Croatia 4-2 in the final. Despite the loss, Croatia, led by Golden Ball winner Luka Modrić, had an unprecedented run and reached the final by upsetting England.

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