Ball IQEvery World Cup Winner (1930-2026)
23 entries · verified 2026-07-20 · free · hand-checked by Ball IQ
Since Uruguay lifted the very first trophy on home soil in 1930, the FIFA World Cup has crowned a champion every four years — pausing only in 1942 and 1946 as the world went to war. Across 23 tournaments, just eight nations have ever gotten their hands on the trophy, a club so exclusive that reaching a final is itself a piece of history.
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Liédson, who scored over 100 league goals for Sporting, represented which nation at the 2010 World Cup?
Brazilian-born Liédson took Portuguese citizenship and played for Portugal at the 2010 World Cup.
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The fastest World Cup hat-trick in history — 7 minutes by László Kiss as a substitute in Hungary's 10-1 win over El Salvador in 1982 — came in which minute for the first goal?
Kiss came on in the 57th minute and scored in the 69th, 72nd and 76th — still the only substitute hat-trick in World Cup history.
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Mexico's two World Cup quarter-final runs both came as hosts (1970, 1986). How many consecutive round-of-16 appearances did they string together from 1994 to 2018?
Mexico reached R16 in seven consecutive World Cups: 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018 — before exiting at the group stage in 2022.
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Silvio Piola scored twice in the 1938 World Cup final as Italy beat which nation 4-2?
Italy retained the trophy in Paris in 1938, with Piola bagging a brace against the Hungarians.
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Which German keeper saved Stuart Pearce's penalty in the 1990 World Cup semi-final shootout — before Chris Waddle skied his kick over to send West Germany to the final?
The 22-year-old Köln stopper guessed right to his left, diving low to push away Pearce's effort — a moment made all the more agonising when Waddle followed with his infamous miss.
| Year | Winner | Runner-up | Score | Host |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1930 | Uruguay | Argentina | 4-2 | Uruguay |
| 1934 | Italy | Czechoslovakia | 2-1 (a.e.t.) | Italy |
| 1938 | Italy | Hungary | 4-2 | France |
| 1950 | Uruguay | Brazil | 2-1 | Brazil |
| 1954 | West Germany | Hungary | 3-2 | Switzerland |
| 1958 | Brazil | Sweden | 5-2 | Sweden |
| 1962 | Brazil | Czechoslovakia | 3-1 | Chile |
| 1966 | England | West Germany | 4-2 (a.e.t.) | England |
| 1970 | Brazil | Italy | 4-1 | Mexico |
| 1974 | West Germany | Netherlands | 2-1 | West Germany |
| 1978 | Argentina | Netherlands | 3-1 (a.e.t.) | Argentina |
| 1982 | Italy | West Germany | 3-1 | Spain |
| 1986 | Argentina | West Germany | 3-2 | Mexico |
| 1990 | West Germany | Argentina | 1-0 | Italy |
| 1994 | Brazil | Italy | 0-0 (a.e.t., 3-2 pen.) | United States |
| 1998 | France | Brazil | 3-0 | France |
| 2002 | Brazil | Germany | 2-0 | South Korea / Japan |
| 2006 | Italy | France | 1-1 (a.e.t., 5-3 pen.) | Germany |
| 2010 | Spain | Netherlands | 1-0 (a.e.t.) | South Africa |
| 2014 | Germany | Argentina | 1-0 (a.e.t.) | Brazil |
| 2018 | France | Croatia | 4-2 | Russia |
| 2022 | Argentina | France | 3-3 (a.e.t., 4-2 pen.) | Qatar |
| 2026 | Spain | Argentina | 1-0 (a.e.t.) | United States / Canada / Mexico |
Brazil remain the benchmark with five titles and the distinction of being the only side to appear at every finals. Germany and Italy sit on four apiece, while Argentina's 2022 triumph in Qatar and Spain's breakthrough in 2010 rounded out the modern era. The table below tracks every final in order, including the host nation and whether the decisive match needed extra time or penalties.
The 2026 edition — the first ever co-hosted by three countries, the United States, Canada and Mexico, and the first with 48 teams — ended with a new chapter: Spain edged Argentina 1-0 after extra time on July 19, 2026, to claim their second World Cup and deny Lionel Messi a farewell repeat.
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