The World Cup is a big deal to soccer fans around the world. In nearly every country, soccer or football is celebrated and whether or not a country is participating in the World Cup, they watch it eagerly, rooting for their favorite teams. One way to get even more enjoyment from the tournament is to educate yourself on the previous winners, so you know just which countries have already won.
Only seven nations have won in the 18 World Cups over the years. Since it began in 1930, the Cup has been held every four years, except in 1942 and 1946, because of the Second World War.
Argentina Argentina has won two World Cups in total. Their first championship was in 1978 when they played in country against the Netherlands and won 3-1.
The second win was in Mexico in 1986. Argentina faced off against West Germany, ending in a 3-2 win. Brazil
This is the only country to have played in every single World Cup and they have also won the most times, with five wins under their belt. In 1958, the country`s team played Sweden in that team`s home country, crushing them 5-2. The following year, Brazil beat Czechoslovakia in a Chilean hosted World Cup, 3-1.
The country played in Mexico in 1970 and won 4-1 against Italy, then they had a losing streak until 1994, when Italy played against them again, this time in the US. Brazil won 3-2 via penalty shots after the game ended in a no goal tie.
Their final victory was in 2002, when South Korea and Japan hosted the World Cup. Brazil beat Germany 2-0.
England
England has won just once in 1966. The country played the final round against West Germany and beat them 4-2. That year, the World Cup was also hosted in England.
France
This is another country with only one win down. They won in 1998, playing against Brazil in their home country of France, 3-0.
Germany
Germany has won the Cup 3 times. The first was in 1954, in Switzerland. They played Hungary and won 3-2. The next time wasn`t until West Germany hosted the Cup and they beat the Netherlands 2-1. Their final victory was against Argentina, playing in Italy. The final score was 1-0.
Italy For the moment, Italy is the reigning champion. They have four wins so far. They first won in 1934, at the second World Cup which was hosted by Italy. The win was 2-1 against Czechoslovakia.
Italy also won the next championship in France, 1938, playing against Hungary. The final score was 4-2. They didn`t win again until 1982 when the Cup was hosted by Spain, beating West Germany 3-1. At the last Cup, held in Germany, Italy played France in the final round and tied 1-1. The end win was determined with penalty shots, which they won 5-3.
Uruguay
The Uruguay football team has won twice in the history of World Cup. They also have the noted honor of being the very first winners, in 1930, when the tournament was held in Uruguay. They won against Argentina 4-2.
In the 1950 competition, the country`s team once again took the Cup, winning against Brazil, 2-1. However, it`s important to note that there was no official competition this year . . . the win was decided in a round robin between Uruguay, Brazil, Sweden and Spain.
The World Cup has a long history of excellence in football/soccer. The next one will be held in South Africa in 2010.
