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History of FIFA World Cup
FIFA was founded in 1904 and its stands for the Federation International de Football Association. It is the sports global governing body. The world championship awarded every four years since it started in 1930. There were only two instances when this world’s most famous world cup was not played those were the years 1942 and 1946 due to world war 11.
International Competitions Before the Foundation of FIFA
1872 was the year when the world’s first International match was played. It’s a challenging match played in Glasgow between Scotland and England.
In 1884 the first International tournament was played under the name of the British Home Championship.
At the start of the 20th Century, Football gains popularity in other parts of the world. Football has been included in the 1900 and 1904 Summer Olympics but no medals were awarded.
These were the early days of Football. The First time when football became an official competition it was the 1908 Summer Olympics in London but this event was for amateur players only. the Gold medal was won by Great Britain (England National Amateur football team)
First time in 1914, FIFA agreed to recognize the Olympic tournament as a World Football Championship for amateurs. FIFA took the responsibility to organize the event. This step leads to the way for the world’s first international football competition in the 1920 summer Olympics.
In 1920 summer Olympics were contested by 14 teams including Egypt and 13 other European teams. Belgium was the winner of the 1920 summer Olympics.
The next two summer Olympics were held in 1924 and 1928 both football tournaments were won by Uruguay.
1924 is the year when FIFA’s professional era started.
Start of the FIFA World Cup
After the successful Olympics football tournaments. FIFA start thinking that they should arrange their own international football tournaments outside the Olympics
FIFA meeting was held in Amsterdam on 28 May 1928 in which it was decided that FIFA would stage an international world championship on its own.
Inaugural World Cup 1930 Uruguay

The honor to stage the inaugural world cup in 1930 was given to Uruguay. The reason to host the world cup was their brilliant performance in the summer Olympics. Uruguay was two time champion of the Summer Olympics in 1924 and 1928. Thus the FIFA world cup started.
Total 13 Nations took part in the inaugural world cup.
Group A | Argentina | Chile | France | Mexico |
Group B | Yugoslavia | Brazil | Bolivia | |
Group C | Uruguay | Romania | Peru | |
Group D | USA | Paraguay | Belgium |
- Seven teams from South America
- Two teams from North America and
- Four teams from Europe
In the Final, Uruguay defeated Argentina 4-2 in front of 93,000 people in Montevideo. Uruguay becomes the first nation to win the world cup.
Foot Ball Dropped from Olympics
International Olympic Committee (IOC) disagreed with the decision of FIFA to stage the Football World Cup by itself. Eventually, they dropped the football from Olympics in Summer Olympics in 1932.
FIFA World Cup 1934 Italy

The second world cup was hosted by Italy. Sixteen teams participated in the world cup. In this world cup, the group stages have been abended. the tournament was played on a knockout system. The group stages keep abended till the 1950 World Cup.
The Sixteen Teams were.
Argentina | Australia | Belgium | Czechoslovakia |
Egypt | France | Germany | Hungry |
Italy | Netherlands | Romania | Spain, |
Sweden | Switzerland | Brazil | USA |
The Final was played between Italy and Czechoslovakia, and won by Italy by 2-1. This match was attended by 55,000 thousand people.
FIFA World Cup 1938 France

The Third World cup was played in France. Again sixteen teams participated in this world cup as well. As the group stages are abended the tournament is again played on a knockout system. Austria was abolished just before the start of the tournament.
The Teams were.
Austria (Abolished) | Belgium | Brazil | Cuba |
Czechoslovakia | Indonesia | France | Germany |
Hungry | Italy | Netherlands | Norway |
Poland | Romania | Sweden | Switzerland |
Italy won the world cup by defeating Hungry by two goals and become the world champion and remain the champion till 1950 as the World Cup 1942 and 1946 were not played due to world war second.
FIFA World Cup 1942 Germany (Cancelled)
The world cup was canceled due to world war second.
FIFA World Cup 1946 (Cancelled)
Canceled due to world war second.
FIFA World Cup 1950 Brazil

The fourth World cup was played in Brazil. Sixteen teams were qualified but India, Scotland, and Turkey have drawn from the world cup. Therefore thirteen teams participated in the tournament. Groups stages were introduced again. These teams were divided into four groups.
Group 1 | Brazil | Yugoslavia | Switzerland | Mexico |
Group 2 | Spain | England | Chile | USA |
Group 3 | Sweden | Italy | Paraguay | |
Group 4 | Uruguay | Bolivia |
The winner of the world cup was not decided in the single-match final.
Uruguay defeated the host Brazil in the deciding match of the four-team group of the final round.
FIFA World Cup 1954 Switzerland

The fifth FIFA world cup was played in Switzerland. Total of Sixteen teams qualified for the tournament. which were divided into four groups.
Group 1 | Brazil | Yugoslavia | France | Mexico |
Group 2 | Hungary | West Germany | Turkey | South Korea |
Group 3 | Uruguay | Austria | Czechoslovakia | Scotland |
Group 4 | England | Switzerland | Italy | Belgium |
West Germany won the world cup defeating Hungary 3-2.
FIFA World Cup 1958 Sweden

The sixth World Cup was staged in Sweden. Sixteen teams participated and were divided into four groups. The groups were.
Group 1 | West Germany | Northern Ireland | Czechoslovakia | Argentina |
Group 2 | France | Yugoslavia | Paraguay | Scotland |
Group 3 | Sweden | Wales | Hungary | Mexico |
Group 4 | Brazil | Brazil | England | Austria |
The Final was played between Brazil and host Sweden. Brazil won by 5-2
This is the first world cup win for Brazil and the start of the winning steak in world cups
FIFA World Cup 1962 Chile

The Seventh Edition of the FIFA world cup was played in Chile. Sixteen teams take part in the tournament and were divided into four groups. The groups were.
Group 1 | USSR | Yugoslavia | Uruguay | Colombia |
Group 2 | West Germany | Chile | Italy | Switzerland |
Group 3 | Brazil | Czechoslovakia | Mexico | Spain |
Group 4 | Hungary | England | Argentina | Bulgaria |
Brazil won the match 3-1 defeating Czechoslovakia and successfully defending the title.
FIFA World Cup 1966 England

The Eighth Edition of the FIFA World cup was staged in England. Sixteen teams again into four groups. groups were.
Group 1 | England | Uruguay | Mexico | France |
Group 2 | West Germany | Argentina | Spain | Switzerland |
Group 3 | Portugal | Hungary | Brazil | Bulgaria |
Group 4 | USSR | Korea DPR | Italy | Chile |
The Final Played between host England and West Germany
England won the match by 4-2
FIFA World Cup 1970 Mexico

The Ninth Edition of the world cup was hosted by Mexico. Sixteen teams were participated in the tournament and divided into four groups.
Group 1 | USSR | Mexico | Belgium | El Salvador |
Group 2 | Italy | Uruguay | Sweden | Israel |
Group 3 | Brazil | England | Romania | Czechoslovakia |
Group 4 | West Germany | Bulgaria | Morocco | Peru |
The Final was played between Brazil and Italy
Brazil won by 4-1 and complete the hat trick of world cups
FIFA World Cup 1974 West Germany

West Germany hosted the Tenth Edition of the world cup. Sixteen teams into four groups.
Group 1 | German DR | West Germany | Chile | Australia |
Group 2 | Yugoslavia | Brazil | Scotland | Zaire |
Group 3 | Netherlands | Sweden | Bulgaria | Uruguay |
Group 4 | Poland | Argentina | Italy | Haiti. |
West Germany won the title beating Netherland 2-1
FIFA World Cup 1978 Argentina

The Eleventh Edition of the FIFA World Cup was hosted by Argentina. Sixteen teams divided into four groups
Group 1 | Italy | Argentina | France | Hungary |
Group 2 | Poland | West Germany | Tunisia | Mexico |
Group 3 | Austria | Brazil | Spain | Sweden |
Group 4 | Peru | Netherlands | Scotland | Iran |
The host Argentina won the world cup beating Netherland by 3-1
FIFA World Cup 1982 Spain

Spain hosted the twelfth edition of the world cup. No of the teams has been increased from 16 to 24 and divided into 6 groups. Four teams in each group. The groups were
Group 1 | Poland | Italy | Cameroon | Peru |
Group 2 | West Germany | Austria | Algeria | Chile |
Group 3 | Belgium | Argentina | Hungary | El Salvador |
Group 4 | England | France | Czechoslovakia | Kuwait |
Group 5 | Netherlands | Spain | Yugoslavia | Honduras |
Group 6 | Brazil | USSR | Scotland | New Zealand |
Italy won the world cup defeating West Germany 3-1. Italy completes its third world cup title equal to Brazil.
FIFA World Cup 1986 Mexico

13th Edition of the world cup hosted by Mexico. This is the second time that Mexico hosting the world cup in 16 Years as they hosted of 1970 world cup as well. Again 24 teams into 6 groups.
Group A | Argentina | Italy | Bulgaria | South Korea |
Group B | Mexico | Paraguay | Belgium | Iraq |
Group C | USSR | France | Hungary | Canada |
Group D | Brazil | Spain | Northern Ireland | Algeria |
Group E | Denmark | West Germany | Scotland | Uruguay |
Group F | Morocco | England | Poland | Portugal |
Argentina won this football FIFA world cup against West Germany 3-2. This is West Germany’s second consecutive defeat in the world cup Finals
FIFA World Cup 1990 Italy

The 14th Edition of the word cup was hosted by Italy. 24 teams into 6 groups.
Group A | Italy | Czechoslovakia | Austria | USA |
Group B | Cameroon | Romania | Argentina | SSSR |
Group C | Brazil | Costa Rica | Sweden | Scotland |
Group D | Germany | Yugoslavia | Colombia | United Arab Emirates |
Group E | Spain | Belgium | Uruguay | Korea Republic |
Group F | England | Republic of Ireland | Netherlands | Egypt |
West Germany won the title beating Argentina 1-0. Finally, West Germany managed to win the title. This was his third consecutive World Cup Final.
FIFA World Cup 1994 United States of America

The USA hosted the 15th Edition of the World Cup. 24 teams competing for the title were divided into 6 groups. Each group has four teams.
Group A | Romania | Switzerland | USA | Colombia |
Group B | Brazil | Sweden | Russia | Cameroon |
Group C | Germany | Spain | South Korea | Bolivia |
Group D | Nigeria | Argentina | Bulgaria | Greece |
Group E | Mexico | Ireland | Italy | Norway |
Group F | Netherlands | Saudi Arabia | Belgium | Morocco |
Brazil won the world cup title defeating Italy in penalty shootouts by 3-2
FIFA World Cup 1998 France

16th Edition has been hosted by France. At this time FIFA has decided to increase the teams from 24 to 32. So now each team is divided into 8 different groups were 4 teams in each group.
Group A | Brazil | Norway | Morocco | Scotland |
Group B | Italy | Chile | Austria | Cameroon |
Group C | France | Denmark | South Africa | Saudi Arabia |
Group D | Nigeria | Paraguay | Spain | Bulgaria |
Group E | Netherlands | Mexico | Belgium | Korea Republic |
Group F | Germany | Serbia | IR Iran | USA |
Group G | Romania | England | Colombia | Tunisia |
Group H | Argentina | Croatia | Jamaica | Japan |
France won the Final beating Brazil by 3-0
FIFA World Cup 2002 Korea / Japan

The 17th Edition of the FIFA world cup was combined and hosted by Korea and Japan. Thirty-two teams were qualified and placed into eight groups of four teams each.
Group A | Denmark | Senegal | Uruguay | France |
Group B | Spain | Paraguay | South Africa | Slovenia |
Group C | Brazil | Turkey | Costa Rica | China |
Group D | South Korea | USA | Portugal | Poland |
Group E | Germany | Republic of Ireland | Cameroon | Saudi Arabia |
Group F | Sweden | England | Argentina | Nigeria |
Group G | Mexico | Italy | Croatia | Ecuador |
Group H | Japan | Belgium | Russia | Tunisia |
Brazil once again won the title beating Germany 2-0 in the Final. This is the 5th world cup title for Brazil. This is the first time in FIFA history and a record winning for Brazil.
FIFA World Cup 2006 Germany

Germany hosted the 18th Edition of the world cup. This is the second time when Germany hosting the Tournament. Earlier in 1974, the world cup was hosted when its called West Germany. Thirty-two teams participated and were divided into eight groups of four teams
Group A | Germany | Ecuador | Poland | Costa Rica |
Group B | England | Sweden | Paraguay | Trinidad and Tobago |
Group C | Argentina | Netherlands | Ivory Coast | Serbia and Montenegro |
Group D | Portugal | Mexico | Angola | Iran |
Group E | Italy | Ghana | Czech Republic | USA |
Group F | Brazil | Australia | Croatia | Japan |
Group G | Switzerland | France | South Korea | Togo |
Group H | Spain | Ukraine | Tunisia | Saudi Arabia |
Italy won the world cup defeating France 5-3 in a penalty shoot-out as the match ended 1-1 after the extra time. This was Italy’s fourth world cup win after Brazil who won five times.
FIFA World Cup 2010 South Africa

South Africa has the honor to host the 19th Edition of the world cup. First instance for South Africa to host a big one. Thirty-two teams, Eight Groups, and Four teams in each group.
Group A | Uruguay | South Africa | Mexico | France |
Group B | Argentina | Korea Republic | Greece | Nigeria |
Group C | USA | England | Slovenia | Algeria |
Group D | Germany | Ghana | Australia | Serbia |
Group E | Netherlands | Japan | Denmark | Cameroon |
Group F | Paraguay | Slovakia | New Zealand | Italy |
Group G | Brazil | Portugal | Ivory Coast | Korea DPR |
Group H | Spain | Chile | Switzerland | Honduras |
Spain won the world cup title beating Netherlands 1-0. This is the first time in FIFA world cup history that Spain wins its first winning title against the Netherlands.
FIFA World Cup 2014 Brazil

Brazil hosted the 20th Edition of the world cup. After 1950 It was the second time when Brazil hosted the tournament. The format of the tournament was the same Thirty-two teams, Eight Groups of four teams each.
Group A | Mexico | Cameroon | Croatia | Brazil |
Group B | Chile | Netherlands | Spain | Australia |
Group C | Ivory Coast | Japan | Greece | Columbia |
Group D | Italy | England | Costa Rica | Uruguay |
Group E | Honduras | France | Ecuador | Switzerland |
Group F | Nigeria | Iran | Argentina | Bosnia Herzegovina |
Group G | USA | Ghana | Portugal | Germany |
Group H | South Korea | Russia | Algeria | Belgium |
The Final was played Between Germany and Argentina. Germany won the match by 1-0 and completes his fourth world cup title and equal to Italy after Brazil who won five-time still leading the winning streaks of the world cup titles.
FIFA World Cup 2018 Russia

Russia hosted the 21st Edition of the world cup first time in the history of the country. Thirty-two countries eight groups of four teams each.
Group A | Uruguay | Russia | Saudi Arabia | Egypt |
Group B | Spain | Portugal | Iran | Morocco |
Group C | France | Denmark | Peru | Australia |
Group D | Croatia | Argentina | Nigeria | Iceland |
Group E | Brazil | Switzerland | Serbia | Costa Rica |
Group F | Sweden | Mexico | South Korea | Germany |
Group G | Belgium | England | Tunisia | Panama |
Group H | Colombia | Japan | Senegal | Poland |
France won the world cup beating Croatia by 4-2 and completing his second world cup title. Croatia, on the other hand, played a wonderful football game though out the tournament and the first time reach the final of the big event. Perhaps their best-ever performance in the history of world cups.
FIFA World Cup 2022 Qatar
The 22nd Edition of the World cup tournament will be played in Qatar from 20 November 2022 to 18 December 2022. The format of the tournament will be the same. A total of thirty-two countries will be participated divided into Eight Groups with four teams in Each Group.
Group A | Qatar | Ecuador | Senegal | Netherlands |
Group B | England | IR Iran | USA | Wales |
Group C | Argentina | Saudi Arabia | Mexico | Poland |
Group D | France | Australia | Denmark | Tunisia |
Group E | Spain | Costa Rica | Germany | Japan |
Group F | Belgium | Canada | Morocco | Croatia |
Group G | Brazil | Serbia | Switzerland | Cameroon |
Group H | Portugal | Ghana | Uruguay | Korea Republic |
France is the defending champion. Let’s see how he will defend the title.
FIFA World Cup Winners List by Years
Serial No. | World Cup | Host | Winner | Runner up | Score |
1 | World Cup 1930 | Uruguay | Uruguay | Argentina | 4-2 |
2 | World Cup 1934 | Italy | Italy | Czechoslovakia | 2-1 |
3 | World Cup 1938 | France | Italy | Hungary | 2-0 |
4 | World Cup 1942 | Cancelled | |||
5 | World Cup 1946 | Cancelled | |||
6 | World Cup 1950 | Brazil | Uruguay | Brazil | |
7 | World Cup 1954 | Switzerland | West Germany | Hungary | 3-2 |
8 | World Cup 1958 | Sweden | Brazil | Sweden | 5-2 |
9 | World Cup 1962 | Chile | Brazil | Czechoslovakia | 3-1 |
10 | World Cup 1966 | England | England | West Germany | 4-2 |
11 | World Cup 1970 | Mexico | Brazil | Italy | 4-1 |
12 | World Cup 1974 | West Germany | West Germany | Netherlands | 2-1 |
13 | World Cup 1978 | Argentina | Argentina | Netherlands | 3-1 |
14 | World Cup 1982 | Spain | Italy | West Germany | 3-1 |
15 | World Cup 1986 | Mexico | Argentina | West Germany | 3-2 |
16 | World Cup 1990 | Italy | West Germany | Argentina | 1-0 |
17 | World Cup 1994 | USA | Brazil | Italy | 3-2 |
18 | World Cup 1998 | France | France | Brazil | 3-0 |
19 | World Cup 2002 | Korea/Japan | Brazil | Germany | 2-0 |
20 | World Cup 2006 | Germany | Italy | France | 5-3 |
21 | World Cup 2010 | South Africa | Spain | Netherlands | 1-0 |
22 | World Cup 2014 | Brazil | Germany | Argentina | 1-0 |
23 | World Cup 2018 | Russia | France | Croatia | 4-2 |
24 | World Cup 2022 |
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