The world cup was first held in 1930, when FIFA president Jules Rimet decided to

stage an international football tournament. The inaugural edition, held in Urug

uay in 1930, was contested as a final tournament of only 13 teams invited by the
organization. Since then, the FIFA World Cup has experienced successive expansi
ons and format remodeling to its current 32-team final tournament preceded by a
two-year qualifying process, involving almost 200 teams from all over the world.
The first official international football match was played in 1872 in Glasgow be
tween Scotland and England,[1] although at this stage the sport was rarely playe
d outside Great Britain.
However by 1900 the sport had gained ground all around the world and national fo
otball associations were being founded. The first official international match o
utside of the British Isles was played between Uruguay and Argentina in Montevid
eo on July 1902.[2] FIFA was founded in Paris on 22 May 1904 comprising football
associations from France, Belgium (the preceding two teams having played their
first international against each other earlier in the month), Denmark, the Nethe
rlands, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland, with Germany pledging to join.[3]
As soccer began to increase in popularity, it was contested as an IOC-recognised
Olympic sport at the 1900 and 1904 Summer Olympics, as well as at the 1906 Inte
rcalated Games, before becoming an official FIFA-supervised Olympic competition
at the 1908 Summer Olympics.[4] Organised by England's Football Association, the
event was for amateur players only and was regarded suspiciously as a show rath
er than a competition. The England national amateur football team won the event
in both 1908 and 1912.
There was an attempt made by FIFA to organize an international football tourname
nt between nations outside of the Olympic framework in 1906 and this took place
in Switzerland. These were very early days for international football and the of
ficial history of FIFA describes the competition as having been a failure.
With the Olympic event continuing to be contested only between amateur teams, co
mpetitions involving professional teams also started to appear. The Torneo Inter
nazionale Stampa Sportiva, held in Turin, Italy in 1908, was one of the first an
d the following year Sir Thomas Lipton organised the Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy, a
lso held in Turin. Both tournaments were contested between individual clubs (not
national teams), each one of which represented an entire nation. For this reaso
n, neither was really a direct forerunner of the World Cup, but notwithstanding
that, the Thomas Lipton Trophy is sometimes described as The First World Cup,[5]
at the expense of its less well-known Italian predecessor.
In 1914, FIFA agreed to recognise the Olympic tournament as a "world football ch
ampionship for amateurs",[6] and took responsibility for organising the event. T
his led the way for the world's first intercontinental football competition, at
the 1920 Summer Olympics, won by Belgium.[7] Uruguay won the tournaments in 1924
and 1928.
Contents
1 19301938
1.1 1930
1.2 1934
1.3 1938
2 Cancellations due to World War II
2.1 1942
2.2 1946
3 19501978
3.1 1950
3.2 1954
3.3 1958
3.4 1962
3.5 1966
3.6 1970
3.7 1974
3.8 1978
4 19822014
4.1 1982
4.2 1986
4.3 1990
4.4 1994
4.5 1998
4.6 2002
4.7 2006
4.8 2010
5 Format of each final tournament
5.1 Group Stage Advancement Format
6 Winning teams, captains, and managers
7 See also
8 References
19301938
1930
In 1928 FIFA made the decision to stage their own international tournament. The
1932 Summer Olympics, held in Los Angeles, did not plan to include football as p
art of the programme due to the low popularity of football in the United States.
FIFA and the IOC also disagreed over the status of amateur players, and so foot
ball was dropped from the Games.[8] FIFA president Jules Rimet thus set about or
ganising the inaugural World Cup tournament. With Uruguay now two-time official
football world champions and due to celebrate their centenary of independence in
1930, FIFA named Uruguay as the host country. The national associations of sele
cted nations were invited to send a team, but the choice of Uruguay as a venue f
or the competition meant a long and costly trip across the Atlantic Ocean for Eu
ropean sides. Indeed, no European country pledged to send a team until two month
s before the start of the competition.[citation needed] Rimet eventually persuad
ed teams from Belgium, France, Romania, Hungary and Yugoslavia to make the trip.
[9] In total 13 nations took part seven from South America, four from Europe and
two from North America.
The first two World Cup matches took place simultaneously, and were won by Franc
e and the USA, who beat Mexico 41 and Belgium 30, respectively. The first goal in
World Cup history was scored by Lucien Laurent of France. Four days later, the f
irst World Cup hat-trick was achieved by Bert Patenaude of the USA in the Americ
ans' 30 win against Paraguay. In the final, Uruguay defeated Argentina 42 in front
of a crowd of 93,000 people in Montevideo, and became the first nation to win a
World Cup.[10]
1934
The 1934 World Cup was hosted by Italy, and was the first World Cup to include a
qualification stage. 16 teams qualified for the tournament, a number which woul
d be retained until the expansion of the finals tournament in 1982. Uruguay, the
titleholders from 1930, still upset about the poor European attendance at their
World Cup in 1930, boycotted the 1934 World Cup. Bolivia and Paraguay were abse
nt, allowing Argentina and Brazil to go to the finals in Italy without having to
play any qualifying matches. Egypt became the first African team to compete, bu
t lost to Hungary in the first round. Italy won the tournament, becoming the fir
st European team to do so.
1938
The 1938 World Cup competition was also held in Europe, much to the consternatio
n of many South Americans, with Uruguay and Argentina boycotting. For the first
time the title holders and the host country were given automatic qualification.
Following a play-off match against Latvia, Austria had officially qualified for
the final round, but because of the Anschluss in April 1938 with Germany, the Au
strian national team withdrew, with some Austrian players being added to the Ger
man squad (the combined German squad was eliminated in the first round for the o
nly time in the World Cup's history). Austria's place was offered to England, bu
t they declined. This left the Finals with 15 nations competing. France hosted,
but for the first time the hosts did not win the competition, as Italy retained
their title, beating Hungary in the final. Polish striker Ernest Willimowski bec
ame the first player to score four goals in a World Cup game during Poland's 65 l
oss against Brazil; his record was later equalled by other players, but was bett
ered only 56 years later in the 1994 World Cup.
Cancellations due to World War II
1942
The FIFA World Cup was originally planned to take place again in 1942. Germany o
fficially applied to host the FIFA World Cup 1942 on the 23rd FIFA Congress on 1
3 August 1936 in Berlin. In June 1939 Brazil also applied to host the tournament
. However, after the beginning of World War II, further plans for the World Cup
1942 were cancelled, before a host country was selected. The tournament did not
take place.
1946
[icon] This section requires expansion. (February 2014)
The aftermath of World War II also caused the cancellation of the 1946 tournamen
t.
19501978
1950
Competition resumed with the 1950 World Cup in Brazil, which was the first to in
clude British participants. British teams withdrew from FIFA in 1920, partly out
of unwillingness to play against the countries they had been at war with, and p
artly as a protest against a foreign influence to football,[11] but rejoined in
1946 following FIFA's invitation. However, England's involvement was not to be a
success. The English failed to make the final group round in a campaign that in
cluded a surprise 10 loss to the United States.[12]
See also: England v United States (1950)
The tournament also saw the return of 1930 champions Uruguay, who had boycotted
the previous two World Cups. For political reasons, Eastern European countries (
such as Hungary, the Soviet Union, and Czechoslovakia) did not enter. Title-hold
er Italy did take part, despite the Superga air disaster of 1949 in which the en
tire Grande Torino team (many who were national team players) were killed. The 1
950 World Cup was the only tournament not to stage a final tie, replacing knocko
ut rounds with two group phases. However, the last match of the second group pha
se is sometimes referred to as a "final", as the group standings meant the winne
rs would be the overall winners.
Uruguay were surprise victors over hosts Brazil, with a final score of 2-1 (the
would later be known as Maracanazo), and became champions for the second time. T
his game also held the record for the highest attendance at any sporting match,
at roughly 200,000.[13]
1954
The 1954 World Cup, held in Switzerland, was the first to be televised. The Sovi
et Union did not participate because of their dismal performance at the 1952 Sum
mer Olympics. Scotland made their first appearance in the tournament, but were u
nable to register a win, going out after the group stage. This tournament set a
number of all-time goal-scoring records, including highest average goals per gam
e and highest-scoring team (Hungary), and most goals in a single match (Austria'
s 75 quarter-final victory over Switzerland). West Germany were the tournament wi
nners, defeating Olympic champions Hungary 32 in the final, overturning a 20 defic
it in the process, with Helmut Rahn scoring the winner. The match is known as th
e Miracle of Bern in Germany.
1958
Brazil won the 1958 World Cup, held in Sweden, and became the first team to win
a World Cup outside their home continent (only 4 teams have done this to date Br
azil in 1958, 1970, 1994 and 2002, Argentina in 1986, Spain in 2010 and Germany
in 2014). The Soviet Union participated this time, most likely due to their win
at Melbourne 1956. For the first (and so far only) time, all four British teams
qualified for the final round. Wales was able to take advantage of a situation i
n the Africa/Asia zone, where the amount of withdrawals would give Israel qualif
ication without having played a single qualifying match. This prompted FIFA to r
ule that qualification without playing was not allowed (despite allowing this to
happen in earlier years of the Cup), and so Israel were ordered to play against
one of the teams finishing second in the other groups. A tie was created, and W
ales defeated Israel 20 twice in 1958. It was the first (and so far the only) tim
e that a country played a World Cup final round after having been eliminated in
the regular qualifiers. The tournament also saw the emergence of Pel, who scored
two goals in the final. French striker Just Fontaine became the top scorer of th
e tournament with a still standing record of 13 goals.
1962
Chile hosted the 1962 World Cup. Before play began, an earthquake struck, the la
rgest ever recorded at 9.5 magnitude, prompting officials to rebuild due to majo
r damage to infrastructure. When the competition began, two of the best players
were in poor form as Pel was injured in Brazil's second group match vs Czechoslov
akia. Also, USSR saw their goalkeeper Lev Yashin show poor form including a 21 lo
ss to hosts Chile as that team, inspired by team spirit captured third place.
The competition was also marred by overly defensive and often violent tactics. T
his poisonous atmosphere culminated in what was known as the Battle of Santiago
first round match between Italy and Chile in which Chile won 20. Prior to the mat
ch, two Italian journalists wrote unflattering articles about the host country.
In the match, players on both sides made deliberate attempts to harm opponents t
hough only two players from Italy were sent off by English referee Ken Aston. In
the end, the Italian team needed police protection to leave the field in safety
.
When the final whistle blew, Brazil beat Czechoslovakia for the second World Cup
in a row by a final of 31 led by Garrincha and Amarildo, in Pel's absence, and re
tained the Jules Rimet trophy.
In this tournament, Colombia's Marcos Coll made World Cup history when he scored
a goal direct from a corner kick (called an Olympic Goal in Latin America) the
only one ever made in a World Cup and to the mythical goal keeper Lev Yashin.
1966
The 1966 World Cup, hosted by England (UK), was the first to embrace marketing,
featuring a mascot and official logo for the first time. The trophy was stolen i
n the run-up to the tournament but was found a week later by a dog named "Pickle
s".[14] South Africa was banned for violating the anti-discrimination charter (a
partheid). The ban remained in effect until 1992 when the South Africa Football
Association was finally accepted by FIFA. The qualifying rounds of the tournamen
t saw a controversy when the African nations decided to withdraw in protest of o
nly one qualifying place allocated by FIFA to the regions of Asia, Oceania and A
frica. The eventual qualifiers from the zone, North Korea, became the first Asia
n team to reach the quarter-finals, eliminating Italy in the process. England wo
n the tournament, although Joao Havelange (former FIFA President from 1974 to 19
98) claimed that the 1966 and 1974 World Cups were fixed so that England and Ger
many would win respectively.[15] Geoff Hurst became the first and to this day th
e only player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup Final and Eusbio, whose team Po
rtugal were taking part in their first World Cup, was the tournament top-scorer,
with 9 goals to his name.
1970
The qualification stages of the 1970 World Cup were coincidental with the Footba
ll War between Honduras and El Salvador. The finals were held in Mexico. Israel
had been with Europe, but due to political issues, it was becoming harder to pla
ce them adequately in the qualifying rounds. They were grouped in Asia/Oceania.
Korea DPR then refused to meet them, even though this meant automatic disqualifi
cation. The group stage clash between defending champions England and Brazil liv
ed up to its billing, and is still remembered for England goalkeeper Gordon Bank
s' save from a Pel header on the six-yard line, arguably the best save ever. The
tournament is also remembered for the semi-final match between Italy and West Ge
rmany, in which 5 goals were scored in extra time, and Franz Beckenbauer played
with a broken arm, since Germany had used up all their allowed substitutions. It
aly were the eventual 43 winners, but were defeated 14 in the final by Brazil, who
became the first nation to win three World Cups, and were awarded the Jules Rim
et trophy permanently for their achievement.
1974
A new trophy was created for the 1974 edition, held in West Germany. After a dra
w in their first UEFA/CONMEBOL Intercontinental play-off match against Chile in
the qualifiers, the Soviet Union refused to travel to the Chilean capital for th
e return fixture for political reasons, and in accordance with the regulations,
Chile were awarded a victory. East Germany, Haiti, Australia and Zaire made thei
r first finals. The tournament also saw a new format, where the two top teams fr
om each of the earlier four groups were divided into two groups of four each aga
in, the winner of either group playing each other in the final. The West German
hosts won the competition by beating the Netherlands 21 in the final, but it was
also the revolutionary Total Football system of the Dutch that captured the foot
balling world's imagination. The very well-playing Poland finished third, after
defeating Brazil 10 (and after defeating Argentina 32 and eliminating Italy 21 in t
he initial group play), having barely lost in terrible rain in the semifinals to
West Germany 01.
1978
The 1978 World Cup was held in Argentina, causing controversy as a military coup
had taken place in the country two years earlier. Allegations that Dutch star J
ohan Cruijff refused to participate because of political convictions were refute
d by him 30 years later.[16] and none of the teams decided to stay away. Iran an
d Tunisia were first time participants. Tunisia won their first match against Me
xico 31 and became the first African team to ever win a world cup game. There was
some on-field controversy as well. During the second round Argentina had an adv
antage in their match against Peru since the kick off was several hours after Br
azil's match with Poland. Brazil won their match 31, so Argentina knew that they
had to beat Peru by four goals to advance to the final. Trailing 20 at half-time,
Peru simply collapsed in the second half, and Argentina eventually won 60. Rumor
s suggested that Peru might have been bribed into allowing Argentina to win the
match by such a large margin. Argentina went on to win the final 31, Mario Kempes
scoring twice, with the Dutch being runners-up for the second time in a row.
19822014
1982
Spain hosted an expanded 1982 World Cup which featured 24 teams, the first expan
sion since 1934. The teams were divided into six groups of four, with the top tw
o teams in each group advancing to the second round, where they split into four
groups of three. The winners of each group advanced to the semi-finals. Cameroon
, Algeria, Honduras, New Zealand and Kuwait were the debutants. The group match
between Kuwait and France was stage of a farcical incident. As the French were l
eading 31, the Kuwaiti team stopped playing after hearing a whistle from the stan
ds which they thought had come from referee, as French defender Maxime Bossis sc
ored. As the Kuwaiti team were protesting the goal, Sheikh Fahid Al-Ahmad Al-Sab
ah, president of the Kuwaiti Football Association, rushed onto the pitch and gav
e the referee a piece of his mind, who proceeded to disallow the goal. Bossis sc
ored another valid goal a few minutes later and France won 41. Also during the gr
oup stages Hungary beat El Salvador 101, which has been the only occasion to this
day that a team scored 10 goals in a World Cup match. The group match between W
est Germany and Austria later resulted in a change of World Cup rules, after bot
h teams visibly aimed to keep the qualification ensuring 10 scoreline over 80 min
utes. The semi-final between West Germany and France saw another controversy whe
n German keeper Harald Schumacher's challenge took out Patrick Battiston, with t
he score at 11. Schumacher escaped a red card, and Germany won in a penalty shoot
-out, after coming back to level from having gone 13 down. The final was won by I
taly, making Italian captain Dino Zoff the oldest player to win the World Cup an
d Alessandro Altobelli to become the first substitute player to score in the fin
al. Italian striker Paolo Rossi, who was making his comeback after a match-fixin
g scandal and the ensuing ban, was the tournament top-scorer with six goals incl
uding a classic hat-trick against Brazil.
1986
Mexico became the first nation to hold two World Cups by hosting the 1986 World
Cup. The format changed again, with the second round being replaced by a pre-qua
rterfinal, knockout competition, for which 16 teams would qualify. It was also d
ecided that the final two matches in all groups would kick off simultaneously, t
o ensure complete fairness. Canada, Denmark and Iraq made their first finals. Jo
s Batista of Uruguay set a World Cup record being sent off after a mere 56 second
s into the game against Scotland. The quarterfinal match between England and Arg
entina is remembered for two remarkable Diego Maradona goals, later regarded as
player of the tournament, the first, the controversial handball goal, and the se
cond, considered to be the Goal of the Century, in which he dribbled half the le
ngth of the field past five English players before scoring. In the final, Argent
ina beat West Germany 32, inspired by Diego Maradona, who set up Jorge Burruchaga
for the winner.
1990
The 1990 World Cup was held in Italy. Cameroon participating in their second Wor
ld Cup, made it to the quarter finals after beating Argentina in the opening gam
e. No African country had ever reached the quarter finals before. Mexico was una
ble to compete in the 1990 World Cup preliminary competition as a result of a tw
o-year ban for age fraud at a youth championship; the United States qualified fo
r the first time since 1950. An unpleasant episode marred the South American pre
liminaries: during the match between Brazil and Chile, a firework landed close t
o the Chilean goalkeeper Rojas, who then feigned injury by cutting his own face
with a razor blade he had hidden in his glove. His team refused to continue the
match (as they were down a goal at the time). The plot was discovered and result
ed in a 12-year suspension for Rojas and to Chile being banned from the World Cu
p in 1994. The final featured the same teams as in 1986. After finishing runners
-up in the two previous tournaments, West Germany beat Argentina 10 in the final
to record their third title. The Republic of Ireland also made their first appea
rance in the tournament, reaching the quarter-finals without winning a single ga
me (4 draws, with a penalty shoot-out win over Romania in the second round). Thi
s is the furthest a team has ever advanced in the World Cup without winning a ga
me.
1994
The 1994 World Cup, held in the USA, saw the first World Cup final to be decided
on penalties, with Brazil edging out Italy. Yugoslavia was excluded due to UN s
anctions in connection with the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Russia (taking the pl
ace of USSR which had disintegrated over 1990 and 1991) played their first World
Cup competition as a new country, with Greece, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia as the
other first-timers. Along with disgrace Diego Maradona being banned mid-tourname
nt after testing positive for recreational drugs. Without him, Argentina were el
iminated in the last 16 by Romania the tournament also saw tragedy when Colombia
n defender Andrs Escobar was murdered 10 days after his own-goal against the host
s in their first round match that eliminated Colombia. The total attendance for
the final tournament of nearly 3.6 million remains the greatest in World Cup his
tory. Oleg Salenko of Russia became the first player to score five goals in a si
ngle World Cup finals game in his country's 61 group stage win over Cameroon. The
same match, 42-year old Roger Milla scored the only goal for Cameroon, becoming
the oldest player ever to score in a World Cup match. At the 1994 World Cup, St
oichkov was awarded the World Cup Golden Boot as the joint top goal scorer of th
e tournament (with Oleg Salenko), with six goals, as well as earning the Bronze
Ball award. He led Bulgaria past Germany in the quarterfinals 2-1, a shock resul
t as Germany were the then-defending champions; in the semi-finals, they lost 21
to Italy. They subsequently lost the third place play-off to Sweden, 40.
1998
The 1998 World Cup was held in France, and had an expanded format featuring 32 t
eams. Iran beat the Maldives in qualification by the widest margin in World Cup
history 170. In the finals, the second round match between France and Paraguay wi
tnessed the first Golden Goal in World Cup history, as Laurent Blanc scored to g
ive the hosts a 10 victory. Hosts France won the tournament by beating Brazil 30 i
n the final, as the scorer of four goals in the tournament, Ronaldo, appeared to
be less than a hundred percent in the match, and was unable to make any impact.
Debutants Croatia finished a commendable third.
2002
The 2002 World Cup was the first to be held in Asia, and was hosted jointly by S
outh Korea and Japan. Togolese Souleymane Mamam became the youngest player ever
to take to a World Cup preliminary game field at 13 years, 310 days in Lom in May
2001. Australia defeated American Samoa 310 in a preliminary match a new record
for the margin of victory, and the highest-scoring match ever. The tournament wa
s a successful one for teams traditionally regarded as minnows, with South Korea
, Senegal and USA all reaching the last eight. Brazil beat Germany 20 in the fina
l for their fifth title.
2006
The 2006 World Cup was held in Germany. It was the first World Cup for which the
previous winner had to qualify; the host nation(s) continue to receive an autom
atic berth. Four African teams also made their debut in the world cup finals Tog
o, Cte d'Ivoire, Angola and Ghana who impressively made it to last 16 by beating
the Czech Republic, third ranked in the world, 21, along with the USA 20, before l
osing to the defending champions Brazil 03.
First seed and holders Brazil and second seeded England were initially English b
ookmakers' favourites. A strong performance by Germany brought them as far as th
e semifinals. However, the final match-up was between Italy and France, in which
French captain Zinedine Zidane was sent off in the last 10 minutes of extra tim
e for a headbutt to the chest of Italian central defender Marco Materazzi. Italy
went on to win 53 in a penalty shootout, the score having been 11 after 90 minute
s and extra time.
2010
The 2010 World Cup was held in South Africa. It was the first cup hosted on Afri
can soil, and the cup was won by Spain. The tournament was noted for its highly
defensive opening matches, controversies surrounding goal-line technology, and t
he introduction of vuvuzelas. Though considered as one of the tournament favorit
es, the Spaniards won the cup despite scoring only 8 goals in 7 games and losing
their opening match to Switzerland. David Villa led the squad in scoring with 5
goals. In a final which saw a record number of yellow cards distributed and wha
t some considered violent play from the Dutch side, the 10-man Netherlands squad
were defeated 10 in the 116th minute of extra time by an Andrs Iniesta goal.
Format of each final tournament
The number of teams and the format of each final tournament have varied consider
ably over the years. In most tournaments, the tournament consists of a round-rob
in group stage followed by a single-elimination knockout stage.[17]
1930: A group stage, followed by a knockout stage with 4 teams (group winner
s; note that no third-place match was played)
19341938: Single-elimination tournament; these are the only tournaments witho
ut a group stage
1950: A first group stage, followed by a final group stage with 4 teams (gro
up winners); this is the only tournament without an official final match
19541970: A group stage, followed by a knockout stage with 8 teams (group win
ners and runners-up)
19741978: A first group stage, followed by a second group stage with 8 teams
(first round group winners and runners-up), followed by the final (second round
group winners; second round group runners-up played in the third-place match)
1982: A first group stage, followed by a second group stage with 12 teams (f
irst round group winners and runners-up), followed by a knockout stage with 4 te
ams (second round group winners)
19861994: A group stage, followed by a knockout stage with 16 teams (group wi
nners, runners-up and the four best third-placed teams)
1998present: A group stage, followed by a knockout stage with 16 teams (group
winners and runners-up)
In summary:
Year Host Teams Matches Round 1 Round 2 Final st
ages
1930 Uruguay 13 18 4 groups of 3 or 4 teams[s 1] knockout
of 4 teams
(round 1 group winners)[s 2]
1934 Italy 16 17 knockout[s 3]
1938 France 16[s 4] 18 knockout[s 3]
1950 Brazil 16[s 5] 22 4 groups of 4 teams[s 5][s 1]
group of 4 teams
(round 1 group winners)
1954 Switzerland 16 26 4 groups of 4 teams[s 6][s 1] knockout
of 8 teams
(round 1 group winners and runners-up)
1958 Sweden 16 35 4 groups of 4 teams[s 1] knockout
of 8 teams
(round 1 group winners and runners-up)
1962 Chile 16 32 4 groups of 4 teams knockout of 8 teams
(round 1 group winners and runners-up)
1966 England 16 32 4 groups of 4 teams knockout of 8 te
ams
(round 1 group winners and runners-up)
1970 Mexico 16 32 4 groups of 4 teams knockout of 8 te
ams
(round 1 group winners and runners-up)
1974 West Germany 16 38 4 groups of 4 teams 2 groups of 4 te
ams
(round 1 group winners and runners-up) final
(round 2 group winners)[s 7]
1978 Argentina 16 38 4 groups of 4 teams 2 groups of 4 te
ams
(round 1 group winners and runners-up) final
(round 2 group winners)[s 7]
1982 Spain 24 52 6 groups of 4 teams 4 groups of 3 teams
(round 1 group winners and runners-up) knockout of 4 teams
(round 2 group winners)
1986 Mexico 24 52 6 groups of 4 teams knockout of 16 t
eams
(round 1 group winners and runners-up, plus 4 best 3rd-placed teams)
1990 Italy 24 52 6 groups of 4 teams knockout of 16 teams
(round 1 group winners and runners-up, plus 4 best 3rd-placed teams)
1994 United States 24 52 6 groups of 4 teams knockout of 16 t
eams
(round 1 group winners and runners-up, plus 4 best 3rd-placed teams)
1998 France 32 64 8 groups of 4 teams knockout of 16 t
eams
(round 1 group winners and runners-up)
2002 South Korea
Japan 32 64 8 groups of 4 teams knockout of 16 teams
(round 1 group winners and runners-up)
2006 Germany 32 64 8 groups of 4 teams knockout of 16 t
eams
(round 1 group winners and runners-up)
2010 South Africa 32 64 8 groups of 4 team knockout of 16 t
eams
(round 1 group winners and runners-up)
2014 Brazil 32 64 8 groups of 4 teams knockout of 16 t
eams
(round 1 group winners and runners-up)
2018 Russia To be announced
2022 Qatar To be announced
Up to 1958, ranking ties in groups were to be broken via a playoff; this onl
y happened in 1954 and 1958. Since 1962, all ties are broken by goal average or
goal difference.
No third-place match was played
In 1934 and 1938, draws in knockout matches were resolved via a replay. Late
r, drawing of lots was provided for, though never invoked. Since 1974, penalty s
hootouts are used.
Austria pulled out after qualifying, leaving the tournament with only 15 tea
ms
India, Scotland and Turkey pulled out after qualifying, leaving the tourname
nt with only 13 teams, and thus, one group had only 3 teams and one group had on
ly 2 teams
Each group had two seeded and two unseeded teams; the seeded teams played on
ly unseeded teams and vice versa.
The third-place match was contested by the round 2 group runners-up
Group Stage Advancement Format
Match Points
FIFA World Cup 19301990[citation needed]
2 points for a win
1-point for a draw
5 points for automatic advancement to knockout phase
1-point minimum required for possible advancement to knockout phase[
citation needed]
FIFA World Cup 1994present
3 points for a win
1-point for a draw
7 points for automatic advancement to knockout phase
2 points minimum required for possible advancement to knockout phase
Match Schedule
Each group of 4 teams plays a round-robin schedule. As of the 1986 World
Cup, all final group games must be held simultaneously, a rule instituted by FI
FA to diminish collusion amongst teams requiring a certain result to advance. FI
FA instituted a policy to award 3 points for a win in the 1994 World Cup. Althou
gh goals for was already a tiebreaker, FIFA hoped to create an additional incent
ive for teams to pursue victory. The first team affected by the rule was Paragua
y in 1998, which would have won its group on goal differential over Nigeria unde
r prior FIFA rules. Paraguay advanced to the knockout phase as group runner-up a
nd was defeated by host nation and eventual champion France in the Round of 16.
It is not possible under the new point system to be eliminated from the group st
age with a 2nd place or higher winning percentage, however it is possible to fin
ish behind a team with the same winning percentage yet a lower goal difference.
This took place in the 2010 FIFA World Cup when New Zealand finished with three
draws and Slovakia finished with one win, one draw, and one loss. Slovakia advan
ced in Group F by finishing second with 4 points, eliminating New Zealand with 3
points. Under the previous FIFA point allotment system, New Zealand would have
advanced with an even goal difference (0), while Slovakia would have been elimin
ated with a goal difference of negative one (-1).
Criteria for Advancement to Knockout Phase
Greatest number of points in group matches
Greatest total goal difference in the three group matches
Greatest number of goals scored in the three group matches
If teams remained level after those criteria, a mini-group would be form
ed from those teams, who would be ranked on:
Most points earned in matches against other teams in the tie
Greatest goal difference in matches against other teams in the tie
Greatest number of goals scored in matches against other teams in th
e tie
If teams remained level after all these criteria, FIFA would hold a draw
ing of lots
The drawing of lots for tied teams takes place one hour after the final
game in the group at the stadium where the championship match is held. The drawi
ng of lots is similar to the World Cup Draw in terms of style and format; a ball
is drawn from a pot, which contains balls with the names of each tied team.
As of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, lots have only been drawn once in tournament hist
ory. However, they were used to separate second and third place in a group (Repu
blic of Ireland and the Netherlands at Italia '90). Thus, a team has never been
eliminated based upon drawn lots.
Winning teams, captains, and managers
Year Host Winning Team Captain Head coach
1930 Uruguay Uruguay Jos Nasazzi Alberto Suppici
1934 Italy Italy Giampiero Combi Vittorio Pozzo
1938 France Italy Giuseppe Meazza Vittorio Pozzo
1950 Brazil Uruguay Obdulio Varela Juan Lpez
1954 Switzerland West Germany Fritz Walter Sepp Herberger
1958 Sweden Brazil Hilderaldo Bellini Vicente Feola
1962 Chile Brazil Mauro Ramos Aymor Moreira
1966 England England Bobby Moore Alf Ramsey
1970 Mexico Brazil Carlos Alberto Torres Mrio Zagallo
1974 West Germany West Germany Franz Beckenbauer Helmut Schn
1978 Argentina Argentina Daniel Passarella Csar Luis Menotti
1982 Spain Italy Dino Zoff Enzo Bearzot
1986 Mexico Argentina Diego Maradona Carlos Bilardo
1990 Italy West Germany Lothar Matthus Franz Beckenbauer
1994 United States Brazil Dunga Carlos Alberto Parreira
1998 France France Didier Deschamps Aim Jacquet
2002 South Korea
Japan Brazil Cafu Luiz Felipe Scolari
2006 Germany Italy Fabio Cannavaro Marcello Lippi
2010 South Africa Spain Iker Casillas Vicente del Bosque
2014 Brazil Germany Philipp Lahm Joachim Lw
See also
Book icon
Book: FIFA World Cup
History of FIFA
FIFA World Cup bid voting results
FIFA overview of qualification campaigns
World Cup History
EveryFourthYear
References
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