Scheduled to begin on Monday, November 21st, the FIFA Football World Cup will consist of 32 international teams. Over 64 games, one team will come out as winners on Sunday, December 17th, looking to get their hands on the FIFA World Cup Trophy.
With the 2021/2022 season coming to an end, football fans are looking ahead to the next season which will be unlike any other football season we’ve seen. And that’s because it will be interrupted by the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Who has won the FIFA World Cup?
For nearly a century, the FIFA World Cup has been contested around the world. However, only eight countries have won the World Cup.
Brazil
The most successful team in FIFA World Cup history is Brazil. Since winning their first World Cup in Sweden in 1958, the South American nation has gone on to win the tournament five times.
1958 (Sweden)
- Group 4:
- Brazil 3-0 Austria
- Brazil 0-0 England
- Brazil 2-0 Soviet Union
- Quarter-Finals: Brazil 1-0 Wales
- Semi-Finals: Brazil 5-2 France
- Final: Brazil 5-2 Sweden
1962 (Chile)
- Group 3:
- Brazil 2-0 Mexico
- Brazil 0-0 Czechoslovakia
- Brazil 2-1 Spain
- Quarter-Finals: Brazil 3-1 England
- Semi-Finals: Chile 2-4 Brazil
- Final: Brazil 3-1 Czechoslovakia
1970 (Mexico)
- Group 3:
- Czechoslovakia 1-4 Brazil
- England 0-1 Brazil
- Romania 2-3 Brazil
- Quarter-Finals: Brazil 4-2 Peru
- Semi-Finals: Uruguay 1-3 Brazil
- Final: Brazil 4-1 Italy
1994 (USA)
- Group B:
- Brazil 2-0 Russia
- Brazil 3-0 Cameroon
- Brazil 1-1 Sweden
- Round of 16: Brazil 1-0 USA
- Quarter-Finals: Netherlands 2-3 Brazil
- Semi-Finals: Sweden 0-1 Brazil
- Final: Brazil 0-0 Italy (Brazil won 3-2 on penalties)
2002 (South Korea and Japan)
- Group C:
- Brazil 2-1 Turkey
- Brazil 4-0 China
- Costa Rica 2-5 Brazil
- Round of 16: Brazil 2-0 Belgium
- Quarter-Finals: England 1-2 Brazil
- Semi-Finals: Brazil 1-0 Turkey
- Final: Germany 0-2 Brazil
Germany/West Germany
Following the Second World War, Germany was divided into two (West and East). Between 1950 and 1990, FIFA recognised two separate teams; West Germany (Federal Republic of Germany), and East Germany (German Democratic Republic). However, since reunification in 1990, West Germany and East Germany’s record has been absorbed into one, making Germany one of the most successful European sides in World Cup history with four victories.
1954 (Switzerland) (as West Germany)
- Group 2:
- West Germany 4-1 Turkey
- Hungary 8-3 West Germany
- Play-Off: West Germany 7-2 Turkey
- Quarter-Finals: West Germany 2-0 Yugoslavia
- Semi-Finals: West Germany 6-1 Austria
- Final: West Germany 3-2 Hungary
1974 (West Germany) (as West Germany)
- Group 1:
- West Germany 1-0 Chile
- Australia 0-3 West Germany
- East Germany 1-0 West Germany
- Second Round – Group B:
- Yugoslavia 0-2 West Germany
- West Germany 4-2 Sweden
- Poland 0-1 West Germany
- Final: Netherlands 1-2 West Germany
1990 (Italy)
- Group D:
- West Germany 4-1 Yugoslavia
- West Germany 5-1 United Arab Emirates
- West Germany 1-1 Columbia
- Round of 16: West Germany 2-1 Netherlands
- Quarter-Finals: Czechoslovakia 0-1 West Germany
- Semi-Finals: West Germany 1-1 England (Germany won 4-3 on penalties)
- Final: Argentina 0-1 West Germany
2014 (Brazil)
- Group G:
- Germany 4-0 Portugal
- Germany 2-2 Ghana
- United States of America 0-1 Germany
- Round of 16: Germany 2-1 Algeria (A.E.T.)
- Quarter-Finals: France 0-1 Germany
- Semi-Finals: Brazil 1-7 Germany
- Final: Germany 1-0 Argentina (A.E.T.)
Italy
With four World Cup victories to their name, the current European Champions are one of the most successful teams in World Cup history.
1934 (Italy)
- Round of 16: Italy 7-1 United States of America
- Quarter-Finals: Italy 1-1 Spain (Italy won a replay 1-0)
- Semi-Finals: Italy 1-0 Austria
- Final: Italy 2-1 Czechoslovakia (A.E.T.)
1938 (France)
- Round of 16: Italy 2-1 Norway (A.E.T.)
- Quarter-Finals: Italy 3-1 France
- Semi-Finals: Italy 2-1 Brazil
- Final: Italy 4-2 Hungary
1982 (Spain)
- Group 1:
- Italy 0-0 Poland
- Italy 1-1 Peru
- Italy 1-1 Cameroon
- Second Round – Group C:
- Italy 2-1 Argentina
- Italy 3-2 Brazil
- Semi-Finals: Poland 0-2 Italy
- Final: Italy 3-1 West Germany
2006 (Germany)
- Group E:
- Italy 2-0 Ghana
- Italy 1-1 United States of America
- Czech Republic 0-2 Italy
- Round of 16: Italy 1-0 Australia
- Quarter-Finals: Italy 3-0 Ukraine
- Semi-Finals: Germany 0-2 Italy (A.E.T.)
- Final: Italy 1-1 France (Italy won 5-3 on penalties)
Argentina
Argentina are often one of the favourites at many World Cup tournaments, and it’s easy to see why. The “La Albiceleste” have produced legendary names such as Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi, and Mario Kempes. Nevertheless, despite reaching the World Cup final five times, Argentina have only won it twice.
1978 (Argentina)
- Group 1:
- Argentina 2-1 Hungary
- Argentina 2-1 France
- Argentina 0-1 Italy
- Second Round – Group B:
- Argentina 2-0 Poland
- Argentina 0-0 Brazil
- Argentina 6-0 Peru
- Final: Argentina 3-1 Netherlands (A.E.T.)
1986 (Mexico)
- Group A:
- Argentina 3-1 South Korea
- Italy 1-1 Argentina 2
- Argentina 2-0 Bulgaria
- Round of 16: Argentina 1-0 Uruguay
- Quarter-Finals: Argentina 2-1 England
- Semi-Finals: Argentina 2-0 Belgium
- Final: Argentina 3-2 West Germany
France
The current FIFA World Cup holders are France. “Les Blues” first found success when they hosted the tournament in 1998. With a team filled with star players including Zinedine Zidane, Thierry Henry, and captain Didier Deschamps, they would defeat Brazil in the final in Paris. 20 years later, they won their second World Cup in Russia.
1998 (France)
- Group C:
- France 3-0 South Africa
- France 4-0 Saudi Arabia
- France 2-1 Denmark
- Round of 16: France 1-0 Paraguay (A.E.T. / France scored a “golden goal”)
- Quarter-Finals: Italy 0-0 France (France won 4-3 on penalties)
- Semi-Finals: France 2-1 Croatia
- Final: Brazil 0-3 France
2018 (Russia)
- Group C:
- France 2-1 Australia
- France 1-0 Peru
- Denmark 0-0 France
- Round of 16: France 4-3 Argentina
- Quarter-Finals: Uruguay 0-2 France
- Semi-Finals: France 1-0 Belgium
- Final: France 4-2 Croatia
Uruguay
While their success in recent tournaments has varied, Uruguay has the acclaim of being the first host and winners of the FIFA World Cup in 1930. Their second World Cup victory happened 20 years later in Brazil with goals from Óscar Míguez and Juan Alberto Schiaffino helping them along the way.
1930 (Uruguay)
- Group 3:
- Uruguay 1-0 Peru
- Uruguay 4-0 Romania
- Semi-Finals: Uruguay 6-1 Yugoslavia
- Final: Uruguay 4-2 Argentina
1950 (Brazil)
- Group 4:
- Uruguay 8-0 Bolivia
- Final Round:
- Uruguay 2-2 Spain
- Uruguay 3-2 Sweden
- Uruguay 2-1 Brazil
England
England’s history with the World Cup has been mixed. At times, they’ve failed to qualify, and when they have, it’s more often than not ended in heartbreak. The “Three Lions” won the World Cup once in their homeland in 1966. They defeated the “old enemy” West Germany 4-2, thanks to a legendary hat-trick from Sir Geoff Hurst.
1966 (England)
- Group 1:
- England 0-0 Uruguay
- England 2-0 Mexico
- England 2-0 France
- Quarter-Finals: England 1-0 Argentina
- Semi-Finals: England 2-1
- Final: England 4-2 West Germany (A.E.T.)
Spain
Like England, Spain’s history with the World Cup has been up and down. Nevertheless, they finally won their first World Cup in South Africa in 2010. The “La Furia Roja” (Red Fury) was led by goalkeeper Iker Casillas and had players such as Fernando Torres, Xavi, and final goalscorer Andrés Iniesta in their squad.
2010 (South Africa)
- Group H:
- Spain 0-1 Switzerland
- Spain 2-0 Honduras
- Chile 1-2 Spain
- Round of 16: Spain 1-0 Portugal
- Quarter-Finals: Paraguay 0-1 Spain
- Semi-Finals: Germany 0-1 Spain
- Final: Netherlands 0-1 Spain (A.E.T.)
Who has the most Golden Boots in the World Cup?
The Golden Boot is awarded to the top goalscorer at the end of each FIFA World Cup. Before 2010, when it was renamed under its current title, the award was called the Golden Shoe. The FIFA Golden Shoe was awarded between 1982 and 2006. In the tournaments before this (1930 – 1978), no award was given although records show who were the top scorers at those tournaments.
The player with the most goals in a single World Cup tournament is Just Fontaine of France. He scored 13 goals in Chile in 1958.
Miroslav Klose of Germany holds the record for the most goals scored at the World Cup with 16 goals across four tournaments (2002, 2006, 2010, and 2014).
No player has won the Golden Boot more than once.
While Brazil has the highest amount of the most Golden Boot won with four. Their first was in 1938 for Leônidas. Ademir’s 8 goals in 1950 meant Brazil won consecutive Golden Boot awards. While in 1962 when Garrincha and Vavá shared the award with 4 other players. Their last award was for Ronaldo in 2002.
- 1930 Uruguay: Guillermo Stábile (Argentina) – 8 goals
- 1934 Italy: Oldřich Nejedlý (Czechoslovakia) – 5 goals
- 1938 France: Leônidas (Brazil) – 7 goals
- 1950 Brazil: Ademir (Brazil) – 8 goals
- 1954 Switzerland: Sándor Kocsis (Hungary) – 11 goals
- 1958 Sweden: Just Fontaine (France) – 13 goals
- 1962 Chile: Flórián Albert (Hungary), Valentin Ivanov (Soviet Russia), Garrincha and Vavá (Brazil), Dražan Jerković (Yugoslavia Croatia), Leonel Sánchez (Chile) – 4 goals
- 1966 England: Eusébio (Portugal) – 9 goals
- 1970 Mexico: Gerd Müller (West Germany) – 10 goals
- 1974 West Germany: Grzegorz Lato (Poland) – 7 goals
- 1978 Argentina: Mario Kempes (Argentina) – 6 goals
- 1982 Spain: Paolo Rossi (Italy) – 6 goals
- 1986 Mexico: Gary Lineker (England) – 6 goals
- 1990 Italy: Salvatore Schillaci (Italy) – 6 goals
- 1994 USA: Oleg Salenko (Russia) and Hristo Stoichkov (Bulgaria) – 6 goals
- 1998 France: Davor Šuker (Croatia) – 6 goals
- 2002 South Korea/Japan: Ronaldo (Brazil) – 8 goals
- 2006 Germany: Miroslav Klose (Germany) – 16 goals
- 2010 South Africa: Thomas Müller (Germany) – 5 goals
- 2014 Brazil: James Rodríguez (Columbia) – 6 goals
- 2018 Russia: Harry Kane (England) – 6 goals
Does Ronaldo have a World Cup Golden Boot?
Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo is considered to be one of the greatest football players of all time. However, despite breaking various records, both for Portugal and his former club Real Madrid, he has never been a World Cup Golden Boot winner.
Regardless of this, there has been a Ronaldo who has won the World Cup Golden Boot. Brazilian striker, Ronaldo, won the Golden Boot at the World Cup in South Korea and Japan in 2002. As Brazil won their fifth FIFA World Cup, the former Barcelona, Inter Milan, and Real Madrid scored 8 goals.
Which English footballers have won the World Cup Golden Boot?
Having entered the World Cup 16 times, only two England players have won the FIFA World Cup Golden Boot.
The first player was striker Gary Lineker in 1986 in Mexico. Although England somewhat controversially was knocked out in the quarter-finals by Argentina, the BBC Match of the Day presenter scored six goals. Three of these goals came in a 3-0 win against Poland at the Estadio Universitario in San Nicolás de los Garza. He followed this up with two goals against Paraguay in the Round of 16, and a consolation goal in England’s 2-1 defeat to Argentina.
The second England player to win the FIFA Golden Boot is Harry Kane. The Tottenham Hotspur forward scored 6 goals in Russia in 2018. As England reached the semi-finals for the first time since 1990, Kane scored 4 goals in the group stage with 2 goals against Tunisia and a hat-trick against Panama. He would go on to score a vital penalty against Columbia in the round of 16. Kane will be aiming to help England to go on better in Qatar.
Who are the favourites for the World Cup Golden Boot in Qatar?
With major teams such as current holders France, England, Argentina, Brazil, and Portugal being amongst the 32 countries heading to Qatar later this year, there are a variety of names who will be looking to win the Golden Boot 2022.
Various bookmakers have highlighted some of the best players that will be hoping to take home the Golden Boot from Qatar.
- Harry Kane (England)
- Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
- Kylian Mbappe (France)
- Karim Benzema (France)
- Romelu Lukaku (Belgium)
- Lionel Messi (Argentina)
- Neymar Jr (Brazil)
- Memphis Depay (Netherlands)
- Diego Jota (Portugal)
- Vinicius Junior (Brazil)
What is the FIFA World Cup Fair Play Trophy?
Since 1970, FIFA has awarded the international team with the best record of fair play. In addition to the being rewarded the FIFA World Cup Fair Play Trophy, the country with the best disciplinary record is also given a diploma, a fair play medal for each player and official, and $50,000 worth of football equipment to be used for youth development.
Who has won the FIFA World Cup Fair Play Trophy?
Nine countries have been awarded the FIFA World Cup Fair Play Trophy since it was established at the 1970 World Cup. Peru was the first winners of the FIFA World Cup Fair Play Trophy after they received no yellow or red cards in Mexico.
Brazil has been awarded the most Fair Play Trophies, with four trophies. The first won it in 1982 and then again in 1986. Their third Fair Play Trophy came eight years in the United States of America. While their fourth was shared with Spain at the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
- 1970 in Mexico: Peru
- 1974 in West Germany: West Germany
- 1978 in Argentina: Argentina
- 1982 in Spain: Brazil
- 1986 in Mexico: Brazil
- 1990 in Italy: England
- 1994 in USA: Brazil
- 1998 in France: France and England
- 2002 in South Korea and Japan: Belgium
- 2006 in Germany: Brazil and Spain
- 2010 in South Africa: Spain
- 2014 in Brazil: Columbia
- 2018 in Russia: Spain
