The 10 Most Memorable Fifa World Cup Winners

As the Fifa World Cup Finals draw near, this list of top 10 winners provides a history-based look at some of the most memorable soccer moments in history. The matches included range from 1974 to 2018, and the winners are separated into groups that coincide with their year of victory.

The History of the Fifa World Cup

The Fifa World Cup is the biggest and most important international football tournament in the world. The first World Cup was held in 1930 and since then, it has been hosted by different countries every four years. There have been a total of 21 World Cup tournaments so far. The most memorable winners of the World Cup are Brazil, who have won the tournament five times. Spain is second with four titles, while Germany and Argentina are third and fourth with three titles each. Italy has two titles, while Uruguay and Mexico have one title each. The first World Cup was held in 1930 in France and was won by Switzerland. The most recent championship was held in Russia in 2018, where Belgium emerged as champions after beating France 1-0 in the final. The next World Cup is scheduled to be held in Qatar in 2022.

Major Differences in the Last 20 World Cups

The 2018 World Cup is set to kickoff on Thursday, June 14th in Russia. The 20 World Cups that have been held up until now have had a number of major differences. Here are the five biggest: In 1934, only 16 teams competed and it was hosted by Belgium. 1958 was the first World Cup to be televised and it was also the first time that teams were allowed to play all their matches in one city. Brazil won the tournament. 1978 saw the introduction of goal-line technology which led to controversy when West Germany beat Argentina 1-0 in the final. 1986 saw England win their first World Cup after defeating Diego Maradona's Argentina 4-2 in a penalty shootout. 1994 saw Uruguay win their first ever World Cup after beating Brazil 3-1 in the final. 2014 saw Brazil win their fourth World Cup after defeating Germany 7-1 in the final. Each World Cup has had a different host country and the schedule of matches has also varied. For example, the 1978 World Cup was played in four countries – Argentina, Brazil, France, and Sweden – with each team playing one match. The 1986 World Cup was played in 12 countries – Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Honduras, Italy, Mexico, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, and Sweden – with each team playing three matches. The 2014 World Cup was played in Brazil and seven other countries – Argentina, Bosnia and Herzegovina*, Cameroon*, Croatia*, Iceland*, Senegal*, and Wales*. *An additional country, South Korea, took part in the 2002 World Cup as an observer .