List of FIFA World Cup Winners Since Its Inception (1930 – 2022)

FIFA is regarded as the most prestigious soccer tournament in the world. It has been organized every four years since 1930, except for 1942 and 1946. So many countries have hosted the world cup so far and the battle for the ultimate soccer cup has been fought between many countries with only three countries emerging as the winner, runner-up, and third place respectively.

While the 2022 FIFA World Cup tournament is scheduled to end on December 18 in Qatar, here is the full list of FIFA World Cup Winners Since its inception in 1930.

FIFA World Cup Winners List from 1930 to 2022

The first ever FIFA world cup was won by Uruguay in 1930. It was played between 13 teams altogether and Uruguay defeated Argentina to clench the first-ever World Cup. 21 World Cups have been organized so far between 1930 and 2018 and countries like Brazil have taken the prize home on 5 occasions.

France won the last FIFA World Cup in 2018 after defeating Croatia 4-2 at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia. While we promise an article on countries that have hosted the World Cup so far, here’s the full list of FIFA World Cup Winners since its inception in 1930.

FIFA 1930

Uruguay became the first ever world champions in 1930 after they defeated their neighbors, Argentina in a 4-2 win. The South American countries clenched first and second place with the United States and Yugoslavia coming in third and fourth place respectively.

Uruguay’s win over Argentina will always be remembered as both South American countries were big names on the World Cup field in Uruguay. Altogether, only 13 countries participated in the World Cup.

FIFA 1934

Like Uruguay in 1930, Italy also won the 1934 tournament, making it the second time in a row that a host country would win the FIFA World Cup. They bagged the win in a match against Czechoslovakia in the World Cup finals on June 10, 1934. The game ended in a 2-1 score in favor of Italy.

Germany and Austria came in third an fourth place respectively.

FIFA 1938

The 1938 FIFA World Cup tournament saw Italy retain their title as World Champions. To take the cup home one more time, they were led into a 4-2 victory against Hungary by Piola and Meazza. Hungary and Brazil came in second and third place respectively.

FIFA 1950

The 1950 tournament was a great comeback after the 8-year break from the games. The 1942 and 1946 editions of the World Cup were not held due to the World War II, so the next game was in June and July 1950. This edition of the tournament was won by Uruguay with Brazil coming in second place. The two-time champions won Brazil 2-1 to clench the cup. Brazil lost their first chance to be the next country to host a World Cup and still win it.

FIFA 1954

The 1954 FIFA tournament saw an entirely new face emerge as the winner. West Germany won the 5th World Cup games after a 20-year reign of South American and European countries, Uruguay and Italy. They were announce the winner after beating Hungary to a 3-2 win on July 4 of that year. The win has since been tagged “The Miracle of Bern“. Austria and Uruguay came in third and fourth place respectively.

FIFA 1958

Brazil won the 1958 World Cup after leading a 5-2 victory over Sweden. The game saw 17-year-old Pele announce himself as a guru in the world of football. Brazil’s win made them become the first country to win the World title in a different continent. France and Germany came in second and third place.

FIFA 1962

Brazil maintained their World Champions title in the 1962 tournament as they won Czechoslovakia in a 3-1 victory in Chile that year. The host country, Chile and Yugoslavia came in third and fourth place respectively.

FIFA 1966

The 1966 FIFA tournament saw the host country, England bag the World Cup win. They won 4-2 against Germany and this earned them their only World Cup title so far. Portugal and Soviet Union came in third and fourth places respectively.

FIFA 1970

The 1970 tournament gave Brazil the privilege of bagging their second World Cup title out of the 5 times they ever won the world cup. The World Cup finals saw Brazil defeat Italy 4-1 as they took the Cup home. Germany and Uruguay came in third and fourth places respectively.

FIFA 1974

West German footballers on the Germany pitch led their country to a 2-1 win against the Netherlands as Poland and Brazil take third and fourth places. The final match was played on July 7, 1974, earning the country the World Champions title since their first ever win 20 years earlier.

FIFA 1978

The 1978 World Cup tournament was Argentina’s first ever World Champions title and this was before the entrance of Messi into the world of football and even into the world biologically. The current World Champions (as of December 19, 2022) won Netherlands 3-1 to win the Golden Cup and the likes of striker, Mario Kempes made the country’s win a memorable one. With this win, Argentina joined the list of host countries that eventually won the World Cup.

FIFA 1982

The 1982 World Cup tournament was won by Italy. This win earned them their third win since 1938 when they won it for the second time in a row with the first being in 1934. To bag this win, the three-time champions beat Germany t a 3-1 victory. Poland and France came in third and fourth place respectively.

FIFA 1986

FIFA 1986 was the game that saw the introduction of the last-16 rounds in the World Cup. Argentina was launched into the finals after defeating Belgium 2-0. They went ahead to claim the World Champions title when they defeated West Germany 3-2 in Mexico. According to FIFA, the win was “Inspired by a Diego Maradona at the peak of his powers”. Coming in third and fourth place were France and Belgium.

FIFA 1990

The 1990 FIFA World Cup tournament saw angry Argentine players in a protest as a penalty was given in favor of West Germany in the 85th minute after Rudi Voller was felled in the box. This led to a 1-0 win by Germany against Argentina, earning them their third World Cup win. With Argentina automatically occupying second place, Italy and England came in third and fourth place.

FIFA 1994

Brazil won the 1994 World Cup in a penalty shoot-out against Italy at the United States Stadium on July 17. The full-time match ended with a 0-0 and the penalty earned them a 3-2 win against the then 3-time champions. Sweden and Bulgaria bagged third and fourth places respectively.

FIFA 1998

The 1998 tournament saw yet another episode of “a host country winning the World Cup”. France beat the then reigning World Champions, Brazil to a 3-0 win in full-time.  Coming behind them in third and fourth place were Croatia and Netherlands.

FIFA 2002

The 2002 World Cup tournament hosted by Japan was an opportunity for Brazil to clench the World Champions title back from France and they took it. Brazil beat Germany to a 2-0 win in full-time with Ronaldo scoring in the 67th and 79th minute. Turkey and Korea Republic came in third and fourth place.

FIFA 2006

The 2006 World Cup tournament was Italy’s fourth World Cup win and their last so far. In a 5-3 penalty shoot-out win against France, the European country bagged their 4th World Cup championship title as Germany and Portugal came in third and fourth place respectively.

FIFA 2010

FIFA 2010 World Cup games saw an African country host the World Cup for the first time ever. The Spain vs Netherlands final match was indeed a show worthy of the finals as Spain was launched into their first and only World Cup win so far. The 1-0 win was courtesy of Andres Iniesta who scored the goal in the 116th minute to give his country their first World Championship title. Germany and Uruguay came in third and fourth places respectively.

FIFA 2014

Brazil hosted the FIFA 2014 World Cup for the second time and unlike Uruguay and Italy in 1930 and 1934 respectively, the South American country failed to win the Cup. Coming in fourth place, the country hosted the Germany vs Argentina final match which saw Germany win Argentina 1-0 in full-time. The first and only goal was led by Mario Gotze in the 113th minute of the match. Netherlands however, came in third place.

FIFA 2018

The famous Famous France vs Croatia final match in Russia will always be remembered. With Croatia almost bagging their first ever World Cup championship title, France won the tournament for the second time (the first was in 1998). Coming behind Croatia and France were Belgium and England in third and fourth place respectively.

As seen on the FIFA World Cup Winners List, countries like Germany, France, Italy, and Brazil are famous for either winning or being in second or third place in the tournament. These countries are the big names in world soccer and they are often looked out for during the World Cup Tournaments.

FIFA 2022 World Cup Tournament

France would have been the second team to retain the world cup for the second time in a row since Brazil in 1962 but a penalty shootout deprived them of the title. Beating the former World champions at the finals in Lusail Stadium, Qatar, Argentina went ahead to claim the World Champions title after a tough match.

Coming in second and third place are France and Croatia. Croatia’s match against Morocco ended in a 2-1 win for the European nation, depriving Morocco the honor of being the first African country to win third place in the World Cup. With Morocco joining Senegal, Cameroon and Ghana on the list, only four African countries have ever made it to the World Cup quarter-finals since its inception in 1930.