FIFA World Cup History

207 teams have competed to qualiy for the FIFA World Cup Finals, 78 of them qualified at least once, 11 out of these made it to final match, and only seven has won, Brazil alone crowned with five victories. This is the glimpse of FIFA World Cup.

Jules Rimbet, the third president of FIFA, in the 1920s, led a group of visionary French football administrators to bring the world’s strongest national football teams together to compete for the title of World Champions. This gave birth to the first ever FIFA World Cup. It was organized in Uruguay in 1930 and to continue it once in every four years.

Three World Cups were held in the 1930s. The 1942 and 1946 World Cups could not make its presence due to World War II. However, the tournament resumed in 1950.

The earlier FIFA World Cups were held in the Americas and Europe alternatively. After 1998, there was a change in the system. Now the host country is chosen in a vote by FIFA’s executive committee. It is done under a single transferable vote system and is made six years in advance of the tournament.

FIFA World Cup Summary

Year	Host	Winner	Date	Runner Up
1930	Uruguay	Uruguay	2-Apr	Argentina
1934	Italy	Italy	1-Feb (after extra time)	Czechoslovakia
1938	France	Italy	2-Apr	Hungary
1950	Brazil	Uruguay	[20]	Brazil
1954	Switzerland	Germany	2-Mar	Hungary
1958	Sweden	Brazil	2-May	Sweden
1962	Chile	Brazil	1-Mar	Czechoslovakia
1966	England	England	2-Apr	Germany
1970	Mexico	Brazil	1-Apr	Italy
1974	West Germany	Germany	1-Feb	Netherlands
1978	Argentina	Argentina	1-Mar	Netherlands
1982	Spain	Italy	1-Mar	Germany
1986	Mexico	Argentina	2-Mar	Germany
1990	Italy	Germany	Jan-00	Argentina
1994	USA	Brazil	0 - 0 (3 - 2 - On Penalties)	Italy
1998	France	France	Mar-00	Brazil
2002	South Korea & Japan	Brazil	Feb-00	Germany
2006	Germany	Italy	9-July	France

FIFA World Cup Records

• Largest margin of victory: Hungary 9-0 South Korea, 1954; Yugoslavia 9-0 Zaire 1974; Hungary 10-1 El Salvador, 1982
• Most goals scored by one player in a game: Oleg Salenko scored 5 goals for Russia vs Cameroon in the 1994 World Cup.
• Fastest goal from kickoff: Hakan ªükür, 11 seconds, Turkey vs South Korea, 2002
• Most World Cup tournament appearances: Antonio Carbajal (Mexico, 1950-1966) and Lothar Matthäus (West Germany and Germany, 1982-1998), 5
• Most World Cup match appearances: Lothar Matthäus, 25
• Most goals scored: Gerd Müller (West Germany 1970-1974), 14
• Most goals scored in one tournament: Just Fontaine (France), 13, 1958
• Oldest player to score a goal: Roger Milla, 42 years and 39 days, Cameroon vs Russia, 1994
• Most goals scored in a World Cup qualifier: 31, Australia, Australia 31-0 American Samoa, 2002 qualification.

FIFA World Cup Awards

• The Adidas Golden Shoe (formerly called the Golden Shoe, or, sometimes, the Golden Boot, first awarded in 1930) for top goal scorer.
• The Adidas Golden Ball for best player (formerly called the Golden Ball, first awarded in 1982).
• The Yashin Award for best goalkeeper (first awarded in 1994).
• The FIFA Fair Play Award for the team with the best record of fair play (first awarded in 1978).
• The Most Entertaining Team award for the team that has entertained the public the most during the World Cup final tournament, as determined by a poll of the general public, first awarded in 1994.
• The Gillette Best Young Player award for best player under 21 years of age at the start of the calendar year, which will be awarded for the first time in 2006.