The World Cup is the most prestigious international football tournament that has been held since 1930. The number of participants in the final tournament gradually increased with the development of transport infrastructure and the increasing popularity of international football.
The number of participants in the final tournaments
The winners of the World Cup are determined from the number of teams that have won the right to participate in the final tournament by passing the qualification tournament. Only the team that owns the tournament is exempted from the need to pass the selection. True, there was one time when the qualifying tournament was not held. This is the first world championship in Uruguay, when participants were recruited almost by force.
In Mundial in 1930, 13 teams took part. 16 teams played among themselves in Italy after 4 years and in France after 8 years. Then the championship could be held for well-known reasons only after 12 years in Brazil. Only 13 teams came to the tournament. In the next 7 tournaments (through 1978 inclusive) 16 teams took part in the championship. Since 1982 (mundial in Spain) the first expansion of the number of participants (up to 24 national teams) has passed. In this format, the organizers held the tournament 4 times. Since 1998, 32 teams have participated in world championships. The plans of the new FIFA President Gianni Infantino present an increase in the number of participants in the world Cups to 40 teams.
World Cup : Winners by Year
So, in 1930, as we already said, Uruguayans became champions. The next 2 tournaments (in 1934 and 1938) were won by the Italian team. From 1938 to 1950, a 12-year break was associated with the Second World War. In 1950, the Uruguayan national team became the 2-time world champion. In 1954, the Germans first triumphed (the German national team). In 1958 and 1962 (twice in a row), the Brazilians won the tournament with João Santos do Nascimento (Pele) and Mario Zagallo in the roster. The list of winners of the World Cup will be incomplete without the England team. The ancestors of football won their only victory in major tournaments at the home world Cup in 1966. The third victory of the Brazilians in the main football tournament took place in 1970. After 4 years, the German national team won its second victory in the history of the championships. In 1978, the Argentinean team won the home World Cup. The Italians won their third world championship victory in 1982 on Spanish soil. In 1986, Argentina with Diego Maradona in the composition won the world championship for the second time. In 1990 and 2014, German footballers won their next victories. Twice (in 1994 and 2002), the Brazilians took the trophy. In 1998, the French became champions, in 2006 - Squadra Azzurra, and in 2010 - the Spanish national team.
World Cup: winners statistics
In the next tournament after a victory, the champion team always has a very hard time. The national teams managed to defend their title only twice (Italy in 1938 and Brazil in 1962). In 1954, the Uruguayan national team became the 4th at a tournament in Sweden. The Germans in 1958 also became 4. The Brazilian national team in 1966, after 2 consecutive victories on the world championships, performed quite unsuccessfully, not being among the winners. And after winning the 1970 championship in Mexico, the magicians of the ball in 1974 and 1978 took 3rd and 4th place. After their victories in the tournament, the Germans never occupied serious places in the next competition. Brazilians after winning the 1994 American Championship in 1998 in France became second.
Not once have teams managed to win the tournament three times in a row.
The most intense finals
The 7 final championship bouts did not end in regular time. 2 times the winners of the World Cup were identified in a penalty shoot-out. Let's talk about all these fights in more detail.
In 1934, the Italian team in extra time beat the representatives of Czechoslovakia with a score of 2: 1 (goal authors and goal minutes are unknown). In 1966, the famous final of England-Germany took place, which was served by the Soviet referee Tofig Bahramov. The British scored at 18, 78, 101 and 120 minutes, and the Germans at 12 and 90 minutes of the match. The final score is 4: 2 in favor of the British. After 12 years, the Argentina-Netherlands match ended in a 3-1 victory for South Americans in overtime (38, 105, 116 - 82). In 1994, Brazil and Italy scored only in the penalty shootout, which ended with a 3: 2 result in favor of Romario and the company.
The last 3 finals did not end in regular time. For example, in 2006, the national teams of Italy and France ended the main and extra time with a score of 1: 1, but the Italians won the lottery with a score of 5: 3. Matches Spain-Netherlands (2010) and Germany-Argentina (2014) ended after overtime with a score of 1: 0 in favor of the first teams.
Record Winners
The winners of the World Cup in theory and were supposed to win the most matches in the final tournaments. As of July 14, 2014, Brazilian Pentacampions have won 70 of these fights. The German national team has 4 wins less. These teams are unlikely to ever lose their leadership position in this table, because the Italian team, which is third, has only 45 victories. Also in the top five are Argentina (42 wins) and Spain (29 maximum results).
The winners of the World Cup are really the strongest teams of their time. It is impossible to win such a tournament by chance.