Below you’ll find all World Cup winners since 1930, the most successful nations in history, and an overview of the most successful players in history.
All World Cup Winners by Year (1930–2022)
1930 – Uruguay
1934 – Italy
1938 – Italy
1950 – Uruguay
1954 – Germany
1958 – Brazil
1962 – Brazil
1966 – England
1970 – Brazil
1974 – Germany
1978 – Argentina
1982 – Italy
1986 – Argentina
1990 – Germany
1994 – Brazil
1998 – France
2002 – Brazil
2006 – Italy
2010 – Spain
2014 – Germany
2018 – France
2022 – Argentina
Most Successful Nations
A handful of countries have left a particularly strong mark on World Cup history. The ranking of the most successful nations is based on the number of World Cup titles – with Brazil leading the way:
Brazil – 5 titles (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002)
Germany – 4 titles (1954, 1974, 1990, 2014)
Italy – 4 titles (1934, 1938, 1982, 2006)
Argentina – 3 titles (1978, 1986, 2022)
France – 2 titles (1998, 2018)
Uruguay – 2 titles (1930, 1950)
England – 1 title (1966)
Spain – 1 title (2010)
Brazil is the only team to have appeared at every World Cup – and despite a long drought since 2002, remains the most successful football nation in history.
The Most Successful World Cup Players
Only a select few players have managed to win the World Cup more than once. The record holder is Pelé, the only footballer in history to win three World Cups (1958, 1962, 1970). He is followed by several other Brazilian legends such as Cafu, Ronaldo and Garrincha, as well as a number of Italian double world champions (1934 and 1938) including Giuseppe Meazza and Giovanni Ferrari.
Lionel Messi, regarded by many as the greatest player of the modern era, capped his career with victory in 2022. Other greats of the game, such as Diego Maradona, who led Argentina to glory in 1986, Franz Beckenbauer, who won the title both as a player and as a manager, and Lothar Matthäus, have each triumphed once at the World Cup.