22 EDITIONS · 1930–2022 · CLICK ANY CARD FOR FULL DETAILS
First ever World Cup. Only 13 nations entered. Uruguay beat Argentina in the final at Estadio Centenario in Montevideo.
Italy became first home nation to win. All 16 teams played knockout rounds from the start. Uruguay refused to defend.
Italy retained the title under Vittorio Pozzo. The last pre-WW2 tournament; next held 12 years later. Leônidas 'Black Diamond' shone.
No formal knockout final — a final round-robin. Uruguay's win at the Maracanã (est. 173,850) called the 'Maracanazo'. Record crowd.
'Miracle of Bern' — Hungary's 'Golden Team' was heavy favourite but lost to W.Germany. Kocsis' 11 goals record still stands.
17-year-old Pelé scored 6 goals including a hat-trick in the semi. Fontaine's 13 goals in one tournament is an all-time record.
Brazil retained the title despite Pelé getting injured in game 2. Garrincha was the tournament's standout player.
England's only World Cup. Geoff Hurst scored a hat-trick in the final. Eusébio lit up the tournament with 9 goals for Portugal.
Considered one of the greatest tournaments. Brazil's third title — they kept the Jules Rimet Trophy. Pelé's peak. Müller scored 10.
Johan Cruyff's 'Total Football' Netherlands were favourites but lost. A new trophy introduced — the current FIFA World Cup Trophy.
Argentina's first title on home soil. Mario Kempes top scored 6 goals. Political controversy surrounded the host military regime.
Expanded to 24 teams. Paolo Rossi scored 6 goals after returning from a match-fixing ban. Italy's third and final title to date.
Maradona's tournament — the 'Hand of God' and 'Goal of the Century' both scored vs England. Mexico hosted after Colombia withdrew.
The most defensive tournament in history — 2.21 goals/match. Penalties introduced for knockouts. Schillaci's surprise Golden Boot & Ball.
Record total attendance 3.58M — still the all-time record. First final decided by penalties. Maradona's doping ban. Baggio's miss.
Expanded to 32 teams and 64 matches. France won their first title. Ronaldo's mysterious illness before the final. Zidane shone.
First World Cup in Asia and co-hosted by two nations. Ronaldo scored twice in the final to redeem his 1998 illness. Senegal & Turkey surprised.
Zidane's last game ended with a headbutt and red card in the final. Italy won on penalties. Klose began his all-time scoring record run.
First World Cup on African soil. Spain won their first title — Iniesta's extra-time winner. Vuvuzelas. Paul the octopus predicted all results.
Germany's '7–1' semi-final destruction of Brazil became the most-watched football broadcast. Mario Götze's extra-time winner.
France's second title, led by 19-year-old Mbappé. Croatia reached their first final. VAR introduced. Luka Modrić won the Golden Ball.
First World Cup in the Middle East; moved to November–December. Argentina's 3rd title — Messi finally lifts the trophy. Mbappé scored a hat-trick in the final.
