History of the World Cup
In this article you will read a short review with the most interesting of each WC in history so far, in what formats were held and who are the champions of the biggest tournament on the planet. Enjoy reading!
World Cup history
1930 WC
So far, 21 World Cups(WC) tournaments have been played, all of which began way back in 1930. The first World Cup in the history of football took place in Uruguay and then, of course, football itself, as a game, had nothing to do with today’s modern sports and business, which has become our favorite game. The championship in 1930 is played in a completely different format. It was very difficult to get into the tournament because only 13 teams participated, but not all countries played football at the time.
There is an interesting story from that time that tells how several teams were traveling from Europe with one ship to South America. Rumors have it that the then King of Romania sponsored the ship so that players of the country, as well as other European teams, can reach the continent and even ship themselves to train and prepare for the upcoming matches.
There were four groups in the tournament itself. The first was with four teams and the other three with three teams. After finishing the groups, they participated directly in the semifinals and finals. Then Uruguay smashed Yugoslavia 6-1 in the first semifinal and in the other Argentina defeated the United States with the same result. Two of the biggest South American rivals met in the finals, but Uruguay won with an impressive result, 4-2, making it the first world title winner.
1934 WC
The next is in Italy. There are already 16 teams participating, as has happened in the next few mondials. The interesting thing here is that there are no groups. It starts straight from the round of 16 as a typical tournament and some teams dropped out of world championships after just one match.
Can you imagine preparing for months for the biggest forum on the planet and quitting after a single match that could be lost due to bad luck? And then there was not even a selection, i.e. anyone could have been chosen against anyone at the round of 16.
For example, Brazil and Spain meet in the first match. In the end, the hosts from Italy are the most prepared and the most cold minded.
After smashing the United States 7-1 at the start, they won their match against Spain, continued to win against Austria 1-0 in the semifinals, and then faced Czechoslovakia to beat them again after 2-1.
The Italians then had some of the biggest stars. Schavio and Orsi both scored in the finals, and for the first time in the World Cup there is a match for 3rd and 4th place.
1938 WC
The next World Cup in 1938 is in France, where Italy eliminates France in the quarterfinals. We mentioned that Italy had some of the biggest stars at the time, and Italian football was famous for its quality. The Azzurries beat all the strongest teams in the tournament then, including Hungary in the final. Giuseppe Meazza, who has been named the Inter stadium for quite some time, was the main player of the team, and Vittorio Pozzo was the coach at the time.
An interesting rumor from this World Cup is that the then Prime Minister of Italy, Benito Mussolini, who was also a fascist, sent a telegram to the team before the championship saying “Vincere o morire!”. It literally means “Victory or Death!” It’s a rumor and some players have since denied such a thing.
The big drama was in the final between Italy and Hungary, because the Hungarians are the stronger team, but after losing to Italy, some players are even glad, because they know that their colleagues are very likely to face after they get back to Italy without the title, the fascist regime in Italy at that time.
1950 WC
Because of WWII, there was no World Cup for 12 years. The 1950 championship marks the new start of football and is taking place in Brazil. For the first time, such an event is attended by over one million people.
It is noteworthy that in the South American countries there is much more curiosity in WC these years, because there are almost 600,000 people in the first World Cup in Uruguay. In this tournament, the format with the groups is back again, this time we have four groups with only one of 3 teams and the other with four.
At this WC, two teams refuse to participate for various reasons, most notably related to poor training, poor organization and financial resources for the trip. These two teams are India and France. England did make their World Cup debut then.
Here, the Brazilian tournament organizers are proposing a new format that is made mainly to have more matches and more money, respectively. Most interestingly, there was no direct elimination. In fact, the winners in the groups have formed one final group in which everyone plays against each other.
Brazil destroys Sweden 7-1, and the Spaniards reach a tormented penalty shootout against Uruguay, but Selesao smash La Furia Roja, defeating them 6-1. Finally, Uruguay and Brazil face off against each other in a decisive clash to allow the Uruses to make a complete comeback within 13 minutes in the 2nd half and secure the 2nd title.
This match was not really the final, but played in a group and the draw would give the title to Brazil. Selesao, however, eventually lost and the people in the stadium were shocked. South Americans are fanatics in this regard and there have been deaths, falls from stadium floors and other excesses of Maracana, where 200,000 people watched the game live.
1954 WC
At the Swiss WC in 1954 finally there were no problems with the team numbers in the championship and it took place in the normal 4 groups with 4 teams. Then for the first time matches were shown on television and people had to put special coins to watch.
There is something else interesting here. New innovations are used on this World Cup, because there were two placed and two non-placed teams in the groups. This means that all teams played 2 games in their respective groups and there were no matches between the placed and the non-placed teams.
Another interesting thing is that then all the winners in the groups played against each other in one pot, and all winners in the second, played in another pot, which would be absurd to happen in the current world championships, respectively, which was later removed as a rule.
West Germany finished 2nd in the standings with a worse goal difference than Turkey, who have 2 points as much as the Germans. That is why an extra playoff is played to decide who will go ahead and the Germans win an impressive 7-2.
Later, Die Mannschaft defeated Yugoslavia, defeated Austria, and finally played the final with Hungary, who not only had a great team, but were absolutely dominant in Europe. Anyway, the Germans won 3-2. They are also the first team to win a World Cup and lose a match in the tournament. Germany is also the only champion who does not play with any team outside their own continent.
The most important thing about the finals of this World Cup and in the whole of the tournament is that Germany, in fact, only had amateurs in the squad, because the Germans did not have a professional league then. Hungary were also amateurs at paper, but they played as professionals and some of their players were in the best club teams on the planet. In the groups, Hungary beat West Germany 8-3, so they are expected to crush them again in the final, but nothing like that happens.
1958 WC
It is time for Sweden to host the World Cup. This is the first time a format is implemented that is quite similar to the current one, because there are 4 groups of 4 teams and each of the 2nd finishers in their group plays against someone who finished first in his. The genius of the great Pele shines at this championship.
The Brazilian won the award for best young player and literally drove his team to the final. Pele scored a total of 6 goals in the championship, then only at the age of 18. He scored a hat trick against France in the semi-finals, and Selesao beat host Sweden 5-2 in the final to start Brazilian dominance. This is the first World Cup and the only one in which the South American team has become a champion in Europe and this has never happened again since.
1962 WC
Finally, it is time for Bulgaria to join the biggest football forum. The 1962 championship was held in Chile and the Bulgarians qualified as one of the top 16 teams on the planet. In a brief contemporary analogy, if there were only 16 World Cup teams now, Bulgaria would hardly qualify this century, but at that time it is happening. The format is the same and most of the top teams are there.
The Brazilians back then were not much weaker than the previous World Cup – on the contrary. The team defeats everyone with ease. Selesao did not manage to win and score only vs Czechoslovakia in the groups, but in the end he made it to the final.
Brazil is also the most productive team at this championship. Only Garrincha, Vavá and Amarildo have scored a total of 11 goals. Even more impressive is the fact that they have achieved such success after their big star, Pele, injured directly against Czechoslovakia in the second group game and did not finish the tournament.
1966 WC
The 1966 World Cup remembers the success of England, which also hosted the tournament. The greatest football pride of the English people remains this far year, and then some of the greatest legends of English football are born.
When English is involved, there are always interesting stories. A rather unusual character before the tournament then was a dog named Pickles. Jules Rimet’s trophy was stolen from an exhibition display before the championship began. Immediate steps to search for it follow. It later turns out that the dog somehow stole it and wrapped it in a newspaper.
It was later discovered wrapped in newspaper as the dog sniffed under some bushes in London. The FA also orders replicas in case the cup is not found then. This replica, as well as Pickles’s strap, are stored at the National Football Museum in Manchester to this day.
As for the tournament itself, there are some phenomenal players involved, such as Eusebio, the legendary Portuguese who scored nine goals in the tournament and became a goal scorer. Here is also Franz Beckenbauer, one of the greatest defenders in history. However, the British show tremendous qualities.
In the groups, they finish first and have only one draw against Uruguay in the first game. They faced one of the best teams in then, Argentina and Portugal, in the quarterfinals and semifinals respectively. West Germany defeats Uruguay 4-0 and overcomes the Soviet Union.
The finale is the last one to be broadcast in black and white. He is incredibly intense and very entertaining. The regular time ended at 2-2, with Weber scoring for the Germans in the 89th minute. In the extra time, however, Hurst registered his hat trick by scoring twice to give the Cup to England. To this day, there is talk of a huge lack of sportsmanship for the third goal of the British, because it is almost certain that the goal itself did not cross the line.
The trophy was awarded directly by Queen Elizabeth II. An interesting fact is that then the anthems were performed only at the final. There have been no anthems in previous games. The reason was because of fears that there might be problems between North Korea and South Korea. Of course, North Korea as a socialist country was not recognized by the kingdom at the time.
1970 WC
At the 1970 World Cup teams played extremely dynamic and attacking football, even though it took place in incredible heat. Mexico was the host. The tournament had 16 teams again, with some teams such as Israel, Morocco and even El Salvador playing for the first time in world championships.
It was no accident that we started with the style of football at this championship, because it is remembered as one of the best with some of the best teams in the history of the tournament. For the first time, referees can give yellow and red cards, which made the game itself more technical.
The tournament has been won by Brazil for the third time in the last 4 editions and then for the third time in their history. Their squad had players such as Pelé, Clodoaldo, Gerson, Jairzinho, Rivelino and Tostão is often referred to as the greatest team ever seen in the world championships.
This is a subjective concept, but the very fact that it is spoken about that team means that it was truly phenomenal. He won all his 6 matches in the tournament. Zagallo also wins the tournament as a coach, having won it before and as a player. For the first time they play with a ball of Adidas (Telstar Erlast). It was made with high quality materials. The great Gerd Mueller becomes the top scorer of the tournament.
1974 WC
West Germany hosted the next World Cup in 1974. Here, East Germany makes their debut in the tournament and this turns out to be their only participation, because later the reunion follows. The two countries even fall into one group and finish in 1st and 2nd place in it. The format here was different and relatively new.
The qualifying 2 teams from the 4 groups formed two new groups with 4 teams each. The winners in these two groups play the final.
This tournament will be remembered not only with the title of West Germany, but also with that incredible team of Netherlands, who for the first time demonstrated the total football from Ajax academy. Neeskens and Cruyff are the big stars of the tulips.
The Dutch are the big losers in the World Cups, because they always reach the final and lose it with phenomenal quality in their squads, but if we have to choose one – this team from 1970 really deserved to take the title in all paragraphs.
1978 WC
There was a dispute over the 1978 championship, because Argentina suffered a military coup just two years before the World Cup. There is a dictatorship in the country, and it will host this championship. The dictatorship is known as the National Reorganization Process. Less than a year before the World Cup, in September 1977, Interior Minister-General Albano Harguindegi said 5618 people had recently disappeared.
The infamous Higher School of Mechanics of the Navy (known by its abbreviation ESMA) holds prisoners from a Dirty War concentration camp, and detainees can hear the roar of the crowd during matches played at the River Plate Monumental Stadium, located just one mile away.
This metaphorically echoes the alleged political manipulation of sport by Hitler and Mussolini during the 1936 Berlin Olympics and the 1934 World Cup. Due to political turmoil, some countries, notably the Netherlands, are considering whether to refuse to participate in the event.
However, in the end, everyone participated without restrictions. Claims that Dutch star Johan Cruyff refuses to participate because of political convictions were denied by him 30 years later. Argentina then has Mario Kempes, who is the captain of the team, as well as Ardiles, who is one of the best midfielders at the time, playing with number 1.
The Brazilians of this championship are not with the glory of this 70s team and the only reason is that they did not even reach the final of the tournament, and the football they professed was phenomenal.
Overall, the strongest teams in the tournament were Italy, the Netherlands, Argentina and Brazil. All four teams have incredible players and they finish in the first two places in both groups formed after the matches of the original groups were played.
The awesome Dutch and Argentina, who are the hosts, reach the final, which was won by Argentina. The Dutch accuse the rival of using dishonest measures to delay the match. It is said to this day that the match was fixed, but nothing has been proven. The match itself is very much the same, but Argentina wins after overtime and so takes their first cup.
1982 WC
The championship in Spain in 1982 has a new format. There are 6 groups of 4 teams and 2 points are awarded for winning and 1 for a draw. Equal points are the goal difference, and the 12 teams in the top 2 in the groups make a total of 4 groups with 3 teams, where by equivalent of the past World Cups the winners reach the semifinals. The World Cup is hosted by Spain, and this tournament is full of stars again.
The Poles are making a very strong campaign this time, reaching even the semifinals. The Italians beat them there and then won the tournament against West Germany. Paolo Rossi is the star. He becomes the goal scorer and player of the tournament.
The interesting thing is that all this happens after the Serie A scandals for match-fixing during the season, and Rossi himself is in prison.
Even more curious is that the Azzurri make 3 draws in the first group and are very harshly criticized by the press at home.
They change their playing style a bit in the second group, and their mood for the matches changes, too. They are lucky because they play with some incredible teams like Brazil, which at the time is still full of top players, and Falcao leads the team and scores goal after goal.
However, after winning the championship, Italy did not even qualify for the European Cup in 1984, which is indicative of the fact that they had serious internal problems that had an effect later.
1986 WC
Mexico hosted for the second time in 1986. and for the first time in history, it happens that a country is hosted for the second time. This is because they have previously chosen Colombia to host, but because of an earthquake and economic problems, plans are changed at the last moment and the mondial is being held in Mexico.
In this WC, the French have a huge team. These are the times of Platini, Giresse, Tigana, Fernandez. Previously, the French twice became European champions and are a favorite to win the tournament.
Maradona leads Argentina, and Gary Lineker becomes the goal scorer of the tournament, although the British will be eliminated in the quarterfinals, and it is from Argentina. We do not mention this match by accident, as it will remain as the most emblematic of this World Cup, because of Maradona’s two goals, and in particular the one where the phrase “God’s hand” comes from.
The first hit remains one of the most controversial moments in history, and the second, which came just 4 minutes later, is an absolute model for Diego Armando Maradona’s class.
As strong as the French were at the time, they dropped out before the final after West Germany beat them emphatically. Belgium also have a very strong team and reach the semifinals, where the Red Devils lose to Argentina with Maradona, who was selected as the best player of the tournament. In the final, the Germans were able to even level from 0-2 to 2-2 at the end of the match in 6 minutes from the 74th to the 80th minute, but only 3 minutes later Burruchaga scored the third winning goal for the Gauchos. This is the 2nd Argentina title.
1990 WC
In 1990 the World Cup was in Italy. This tournament is marked by numerous red cards and very serious rudeness. Also, the teams are extremely defensive. The two exceptions are Italy and West Germany, with the 1st winners and the 3rd group matches, with Germany only making 1 draw.
By coincidence, these two old acquaintances reach the final stage, but the Italians never play the final. The Germans meet Argentina this time and beat them 1-0 after a very controversial penalty shot by Brehme in the 85th minute and take their 3rd title.
1994 WC
The World Cup was held in the US and there are great teams and players here, with Mark Overmars becoming the best young player of the tournament and Romario the best player of the tournament. The top scorers, however, are Hristo Stoichkov and Salenko from Russia. Here again the format is with the 2 best teams qualifying in each group, as well as the 4 best out of 6, which finished in third place.
The US and Bulgaria are playing a very strong tournament. Italy and Brazil are the teams that reach the final, but it is debatable whether the Italians deserved it, even though they are back with some alien players like Roberto Baggio, who has a controversial tournament because at first he doesn’t even score a goal against Nigeria, but then is the strongest player on the team in the next deciding games.
Brazil and Italy play a very boring final, ending 0-0. After 120 minutes of “kicking the ball” Brazil won 3-2 on penalties. Ironically, Baggio misses the decisive penalty. Brazilian captain Dunga hoists the trophy and this is the fourth title for Brazil.
1998 WC
In 1998 is also the peak of the French national team that hosted the World Cup then. The players of the team are superstars like Henry, Zidane, Desailly, Pires, Deschamps, Barthes, Vieira, Anelka, Blanc, Thuram, Trezeguet, Petit.
Only top players. For the first time, so many teams have participated in this championship, and there have been 64 matches in total, as has happened in every World Cup since then, and the format has been the same since then.
Owen’s star, who is the best young player, rises here, but Ronaldo wins the prize for best player while Davor Schucker is the goal scorer with 6 goals.
The Brazilians are great again and actually reach the final a little easier than France, or at least the team play was more dominant.
The Netherlands have more serious problems in the semifinals, but they manage to win with penalties.
France, on the other hand, recorded victories after the victory of the semifinal with a penalty shoot-out with Italy. Few people, however, expect Les Bleus to smash Brazil 3-0 at the end.
There are rumors, as has often been the case in the World Cups, that Brazil did not want to play good in order for France to become world champions, as well as other theories, but the fact is that this becomes the first title for France.
2002 WC
In 2002.for the first time the championship was held in Asia and first time in two countries – Japan and South Korea. There is one scandalous match between Brazil and Turkey in the group, when the Turks receive two red cards, but one is due to the absurd simulation of one of Selesao’s stars, Rivaldo. Because of this, he gives a bad reputation on his team. Incidentally, Turkey and Brazil play a semi-final, even though they were in a group where the Brazilians won 1-0.
The England team has very strong individuals, but lost to Brazil in the quarterfinals. Then an interesting breakthrough is made by one of the hosts, South Korea, who play a semifinal in the tournament and eventually finish fourth. Anyway, the Germans beat them and reached the final in the tournament. However, with players like Ronaldinho, Carlos, Cafu, Juninho, Gilberto and most of all the Ronaldo phenomenon in the Selesao squad, Die Mannschaft has no chance. Ronaldo scores 2 goals vs Oliver Kahn to seal the 5th title for Brazil.
2006 WC
The 2006 World Cup was held in Germany and it can be said that the greatest forces in football dominate the tournament.
The quarterfinals reach teams such as Germany, Argentina, Italy, England, Portugal, Brazil and France. This is the tournament of the Italians, however.
They manage to win the final against France, which is famous for the end of Zidane’s career. It is marked by a scandalous red card that Zidane earns after a hit without a ball with the head in Marco Materaci’s chest.
To this day, this remains one of the most iconic moments of world championships. The Azzurri ranks include the names of Pirlo, Zambrotta, Inzaghi, Nesta, Totti, Gattuso, Del Piero, Cannavaro, De Rossi and Buffon. After penalties, they take the cup.
2010 WC
In 2010, it was held for the first time in Africa and in particular in South Africa. This World Cup will basically be remembered with 2 things. One is Spain’s tiki-taka, which is why they take two European cups before and after the championship they win back then. The 2nd is another great Dutch team then, which again reaches the end, but does not win anything for the 3rd time. And in the 3 times in which the tulips reach the final of the World Cup and do not win it, they have great teams.
Before that, we have to point out an emblematic match between England and Germany, in which the Germans defeat the English, who, however, concede goals after Lampard scored first a regular goal, but he was canceled, because the referees do not see the passing of the goal line, and in fact the ball is at least half a meter behind the line. England suffer from this and lose the game by 1-4. However, Germany then defeated Argentina 4-0, but the Spaniards punished them in the semifinals.
The final is between Spain and the Netherlands and is incredibly even as Iniesta’s goal in the overtime gives the win for Spain, who literally have the perfect team then. Schneider is one of the strongest players on the planet this year and many people still think he should have taken the Ballon D’or, not Leo Messi.
2014 WC
Brazil hosts. Slesao were preparing for the 6th title. They played well in the group and then had two well-known South American rivals in the face of Chile and Colombia. With Chile, it was a penalty shootout for the Brazilians to move forward.
Germany then had some difficulties in their match against Algeria in the Round of 16, but then they played better. Argentina and the Netherlands were other teams that made a strong championship. Gauchos, of course, led at the time by Messi, who is in his peak and Netherlands with their 3-5-2 with van Gaal made a serious impression and even at the start in the groups they had 3 wins from 3 games including the big 5-1 win against the current champion, Spain.
Belgium only had top players at the time, which we see continues to this day, but the Red Devils only reached the quarterfinals. The Netherlands were ahead of the final four, but lost with penalties from Argentina.
The most memorable match, however, was played by Estadio Governador Magales Pinto. There, Germany simply destroyed and humiliated Brazil by 7-1.
It was phenomenal as a result, because it happens in the semi-finals in modern days, between the two most titled teams.
Neymar was Selesao’s hope then, but he got injured earlier in the tournament. Considering the players of Brazil, and especially the holders of that time, we can see that this team was far from impressive and even wonder how it got to the semifinals, because very few of these players made great careers after that.
In the final, Messi’s dream of becoming a world champion evaporated after a very tactical match between Germany and Argentina, in which Die Mannschaft took the win in Extra time.
2018 WC
The World Cup in Russia is our most recent memory, because it was held 2 years ago. In it, we saw the then current champion, Germany, finish last in his group, which was a huge shock. Argentina, torn by scandals and critics, was eliminated in the round of 16 by the future champs. Two pots were formed, one was very strong, the other far less so.
Spain dominated totally against host Russia in the round of 16, but eventually lost after a penalty shootout, with Croatia and England making the most of this weaker pot. The British finally played a World Cup they could be proud of. In the end, Croatia beat them in the semifinals, but this team of three lions is definitely very qualitative. In the other pot, Belgium and France dominated in total. The Belgians in their peak also eliminated Brazil.
The semifinal between France and Belgium was actually the final before the final, because these two were the strongest teams in the tournament. However, Les Bleus were the most prepared.
They had 2 of the strongest midfielders on the planet – Pogba and Kante. They had two of the main central defenders of Real Madrid and Barcelona – Varan and Umiti.
Great fullbacks like Pavard and Hernandez, Griezmann in the forefront and most notably one of the most anticipated greatest talents in football, Kylian Mbappe.
France beat Belgium 1-0 and defeated Croatia 4-2 in the final. Luka Modric took the prize for the player of the tournament, as well as the Ballon D’or later, and Mbappe became the best young player.
World Cup Champions
Here are all the champions with their titles from the 21 World Cups so far: