The most prestigious competition in international football and being named among the FIFA World Cup winners is the absolute dream for any footballing country.

With football often considered the world's most popular sport, the FIFA World Cup spectacularly generates a huge following when it is held every four years.

France are the reigning world champions, having won the last FIFA World Cup in 2018.

FIFA World Cup winners | Sportz Point — Image- Sportz Point

The upcoming FIFA World Cup 2022, to be held from November 18 to December 20 in Qatar, will be the first winter World Cup in history, organised so that players can escape the soaring high temperatures during summer in Qatar. It is also the first FIFA World Cup to be held in the middle of the club football season.

FIFA, the international governing body of football, was formed in 1904 and it organised the football competition at the Antwerp 1920 Olympics, which was recognised as an inter-continental competition.

This paved the way for the first-ever FIFA World Cup to be held in 1930. Uruguay were hosts as they celebrated 100 years of independence and had also won gold at the 1924 and 1928 Olympics.

Uruguay also went on to lift the trophy at home, beating Argentina 4-2 in the final to be crowned the first FIFA World Cup champions.

Italy then won the next two FIFA World Cups - in 1934 and 1938 - and became the first nation to defend their title.

Uruguay won their second title in 1950 and West Germany lifted their first FIFA World Cup trophy in 1954.

Brazil are the most successful team at the FIFA World Cup, having won the title five times. They are also the only country to qualify for all 21 editions of the FIFA World Cup.

Brazil's first title came in 1958 as the 17-year-old Pele, who would go on to become a legend, scored six goals in the tournament. Brazil beat hosts Sweden 5-2 in the final to lift the trophy. Brazil defended their title in 1962.

England went on to win their first, and to date only, FIFA World Cup trophy in 1966. England's Geoff Hurst scored three goals in the 4-2 win over West Germany and he is the only man to score a hat-trick in a FIFA World Cup final.

Oct 1966. World Cup WINNERS @England parade the Jules Rimet trophy around Windsor Park Belfast before their first match since winning the World Cup. Final score N. Ireland 0 England 2 #englandvssenegal @jslovechild @retrofootballnw @robertmdaws @thecentretunnel @FootballArchive pic.twitter.com/DkXvWV1wCl
— Retirement In Black & White (@BlackRetirement) December 8, 2022

Pele and Brazil won their third title in 1970. Pele, with three trophies, has won the most World Cups by an individual player. Brazil's last World Cup trophy came in 2002.

Argentina, powered by the brilliance of the late Diego Maradona, won their second title in 1986, having first won it in 1978.

Maradona winning the World Cup for Argentina 1986 pic.twitter.com/N1MAqt41OZ
— Old Days Football (@OldDaysFootball) December 15, 2022

The FIFA World Cup got a new winner next in 1998 as modern football giants France, under the captaincy of Didier Deschamps, beat Brazil in the final to win their first title on home soil.

Didier Deschamps was the manager of the French team that won the 2018 FIFA World Cup, making him the third individual to win the title both as a player and a manager. Mario Zagallo (Brazil) and Franz Beckenbauer (Germany) have also achieved the feat.

The record for most goals scored in a single FIFA World Cup is held by Frenchman Just Fontaine, who scored 13 goals in 1958.

FIFA World Cup winners list:

Year	Winners	Runners-up
1930	Uruguay	Argentina
1934	Italy	Czechoslovakia
1938	Italy	Hungary
1950	Uruguay	Brazil
1954	West Germany	Hungary
1958	Brazil	Sweden
1962	Brazil	Czechoslovakia
1966	England	West Germany
1970	Brazil	Italy
1974	West Germany	The Netherlands
1978	Argentina	The Netherlands
1982	Italy	West Germany
1986	Argentina	West Germany
1990	West Germany	Argentina
1994	Brazil	Italy
1998	France	Brazil
2002	Brazil	Germany
2006	Italy	France
2010	Spain	The Netherlands
2014	Germany	Argentina
2018	France	Croatia
2022	Argentina	France

The World Cup tournaments were reportedly cancelled in 1942 and 1946 due to World War II.

Brazil top the roll of honour, having won the World Cup a record five times and to them goes the credit of having competed in all the editions of the FIFA marquee event held till date. Seventeen countries have hosted the FIFA World Cup so far. From the 2026 edition, the tournament will be expanded to 48 nations.

That completes our list of FIFA World Cup winner list. Follow Sportz Point.

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