All the World Cup winners in the history of the competition
Since the birth of the FIFA World Cup, the competition had a special and unique aura that attracted people as well as a desire for all players and coaches to lift, in those first editions, the Jules Rimet trophy and be called World Cup winners. As the years have passed, the tournament has become bigger and bigger, to the point of becoming the most important sporting event next to the Olympic Games.Only eight countries, of the 80 that have managed to play matches in a final phase of a FIFA World Cup, can boast of having won the tournament that has had 21 editions to date. Below we present these eight national teams:
Vicente del Bosque - the manager of Spain when they won the World Cup
Spain (1 title)
The latest national team to join this prestigious group of world champions is Spain, who in South Africa 2010 established themselves by beating the Netherlands in the final with Andrés Iniesta's goal in the second half of extra time. That was the only time Spain has made it past the quarter-finals in their 15 appearances (although they do have a fourth-place finish in 1950 with a format that included a final group stage). In 2010, the spine of the team was FC Barcelona, which at that time was the reference team in terms of style of play with its focus on retaining possession of the ball, something that manager Vicente del Bosque took advantage of for the national team.England (1 title)
The creators of football also have the honor of being part of the group of world champions thanks to the fact that they won the 1966 edition, where they were the home team. It must be said that England had a great team with names such as Gordon Banks, Bobby Moore, Bobby Charlton or the protagonist of the final, Geoff Hurst, who scored a hat-trick that night. The second of those goals, which served to break the tie at 2 in the game that was already in extra time, was a "ghost goal" that has generated much controversy over the years with discussions about whether the ball really went in. England ended up beating West Germany 4-2 and lifting its last official title of importance in the last 56 years.Uruguay (2 titles)
Uruguay was the first host of the World Cup in 1930 and in that same edition they became the first champions in the competition's history. In that first edition that had 13 participants, only with participants from America and Europe, the Uruguayan team came back from 2-1 against Argentina to end up being crowned with a final 4-2. In 1950, Uruguay would win the cup again, this time with a feat that is still remembered to this very day-in fact, it is a reference in terms of surprises in the world of football. On July 16, 1950, Uruguay also came from behind, this time 1-0 against Brazil, to end up winning 2-1 in what was called "El Maracanazo", thanks to a goal by Alcides Ghiggia.Argentina (2 titles)
In 1978, as locals, the Argentine national team won its first world championship title by beating Ernst Happel's Netherlands in the final, which did not have Johan Cruyff, who had left the national team a year before the tournament. Goals from Kempes and Bertoni in extra time allowed the South American team to lift their first World Cup. In that year, Diego Maradona was 17 years old and was the star of Argentinos Juniors and the local championship, however, Menotti, coach of Argentina, decided to leave him out of the World Cup. In 1986, with Bilardo on the sidelines, Maradona was the star of the World Cup in Mexico that saw Argentina beat West Germany in a spectacular 3-2 upset.France (2 titles)
Although France has always had a great footballing tradition with many great players and coaches, it was not until 1998 that they won their first World Cup, led by a splendid Zinedine Zidane who, it should be noted, was the author of two of the three goals with which France beat Brazil 3-0 in the final. In 2018, they would lift the trophy again, this time with a generation that had several of the best players in the world and that had as one of its main references a young Kylian Mbappe, who was the great "revelation: of the cup. France defeated 4-2 in the final a heroic Croatian national team that had reached the last match after three consecutive extra-times.Italy (4 titles)
The Italian team led by Vittorio Pozzo became world champions in the 1934 and 1938 editions, making the Italian coach the only one in history to win two World Cups as head coach. In 1934, the Italians as locals beat Czechoslovakia 2-1 in extra time and in 1938, they defeated Hungary 4-2 with doubles from Colaussi and Piola, this time on French soil. The third trophy would come in Spain 1982, when a pragmatic Italian team, led by Dino Zoff and with players like Paolo Rossi and Gaetano Scirea, beat Germany 3-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium. In Germany 2006, Marcelo Lippi's Italy beat France on penalties in Berlin, the same match in which Zidane was sent off for headbutting Materazzi, thus ending his last professional game.Germany (4 titles)
Die Mannschaft is the national team with the most World Cup finals played to date (8) and is one of the usual favorites having won four editions, tied with Italy and only surpassed by Brazil. In Switzerland 1954, they reached their first final of the competition and in front of them was the favorite Hungary, which, at that time, was the reference team worldwide for its attacking style of play and its great figures such as Sándor Kocsis, Zoltán Czibor or Captain Ferenc Puskás. Germany (West) started losing 2-0 in the first 8 minutes however they managed to come back from the game and won 3-2 in what is remembered by the Germans as the "Miracle of Bern".
Mario Götze - decided the final with the match only goal
Brazil (5 titles)
The Canarinha is the world reference in the competition for being the most winning side in history despite having a 20-year "drought" without reaching a final. In 1958, Brazil became world champions for the first time when they beat the Swedish team 5-2 with what was the world introduction of a 17-year-old boy named Pelé. Four years later, in Chile, Brazil would lift the cup again, defeating Czechoslovakia 3-1, this time without Pelé, who was injured during the tournament.In Mexico 1970, Brazil led a team that for many is the best in history with a stellar Pelé who was accompanied by other players of great caliber such as Rivellino, Carlos Alberto, Tostao or Jairzinho. Brazil thrashed Italy 4-1 and became the first country to win the cup three times. In USA 1994, after a final that was forgotten, Brazil beat Italy again, this time on penalties, with the remembered penalty missed by the Italian star, Roberto Baggio. Finally, in Korea-Japan 2002, with a resurgent Ronaldo, Canarinha beat Germany 2-0 with two goals from O Fenomeno.
With Qatar 2022 so close, it is good to remember who has lifted the World Cup to see which of these teams can add one more to their showcases or if a ninth nation is going to be added to this list.
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