FIFA World Cup Most Entertaining Team Winners List
After each FIFA World Cup, there are a few awards handed out to various players and teams. One of the more underappreciated awards is the Most Entertaining Team Award. Starting in 1994, the award was given out to the team deemed to entertain the public the most throughout the tournament. The remainder of this piece will discuss the award in more detail.
Creation of the Most Entertaining Team Award
The Most Entertaining Team Award at the FIFA World Cup was created in 1994. The award was not necessarily designed to go to the team who was the best, but rather the team who was the most enjoyable to watch for fans throughout the course of the tournament. Additionally, FIFA wanted to get more fan involvement with their awards. Thus, since this award was also an award for the fans in the first place, it has always been decided by a public fan poll. While it is a purely subjective award, it still creates some fun and debate for World Cup fans to discuss.
Winners of the Most Entertaining Team Award
Since the first award was handed out in 1994, the Most Entertaining Team Award has been handed out seven times to seven different teams. In order, Brazil, France, South Korea, Portugal, Germany, Columbia, and Belgium have won the award.
While the award was not created to go to the winning team, the first two did, as Brazil and France won the 1994 and 1998 World Cups, respectively. This is likely due to the newness of the award at the time, as people were not quite sure how to determine the most entertaining team, so they just voted for the winner. The other two winners to finish in the top three of the tournament were Germany in 2010 (3rd place) and Belgium in 2018 (3rd place).
As for the other three teams to win the Most Entertaining Team Award, South Korea and Portugal both finished in fourth place in 2002 and 2006, respectively, while Columbia was eliminated in the quarterfinals in 2014. Thus, every Most Entertaining Team Winner has at least made the semifinals, except for the 2014 Colombia squad. That year, Columbia was led by the young and popular James Rodriguez, so that likely helped to contribute to their claiming of the award.
FIFA Most Entertaining Team Winners List
- Brazil: 1994 United States World Cup
- France: 1998 France World Cup
- South Korea: 2002 South Korea/Japan World Cup
- Portugal: 2006 Germany World Cup
- Germany: 2010 South Africa World Cup
- Colombia: 2014 Brazil World Cup
- Belgium: 2018 Russia World Cup
FAQ
What is the Most Entertaining Team Award in the FIFA World Cup?
The Most Entertaining Team Award at the FIFA World Cup was created to award the team who was the most enjoyable to watch throughout the course of the tournament. A fan poll decides it after each World Cup, so the award is purely subjective but still appreciated by the teams who win it nonetheless.
Which Nation has Won the Most Entertaining Team Award in the FIFA World Cup the Most Times?
Since the Most Entertaining Team Award was first handed out following the 1994 FIFA World Cup, no nation has won the award more than once. The seven different winners in order are Brazil, France, South Korea, Portugal, Germany, Columbia, and Belgium. Thus, Europe has the most winners of any region of the world with four, followed by South America with two and Asia with one.