Sport and Leisure/FIFA World Cup
History
FIFA was founded in Paris in 1904
In 1914, FIFA agreed to recognise the Olympic tournament as a "world football championship for amateurs", and took responsibility for organising the event. This led the way for the world's first intercontinental football competition, at the 1920 Summer Olympics, won by Belgium. Uruguay won the tournaments in 1924 and 1928.
In 1928 FIFA made the decision to stage their own international tournament. With Uruguay now two-time official football world champions and due to celebrate their centenary of independence in 1930, FIFA named Uruguay as the host country for the inaugural World Cup tournament, organised by FIFA president Jules Rimet
1930 Uruguay
Thirteen teams, seven from South America, four from Europe and two from North America entered the tournament
Group stage
Lucien Laurent scored the first ever FIFA World Cup goal, for France against Mexico
Argentina 6 Mexico 3
The first hat-trick in a World Cup match was scored by Bert Patenaude of USA in the match against Paraguay
Mario de Las Casas (Peru) was the first player to be sent off
Argentina, Uruguay, the United States and Yugoslavia each won their respective groups to qualify for the semi-finals
Semi-finals
Argentina 6 USA 1
Uruguay 6 Yugoslavia 1
Final
Uruguay 4 Argentina 2. Match played at the Centenary Stadium, Montevideo
Jules Rimet presented the trophy.
Each half was played with a different ball manufactured in each country.
Winning captain – Jose Nasazzi.
Winning manager – Alberto Suppici.
Golden Boot – Guillermo Stabile (Argentina). 8 goals.
King Carol II selected the Romania squad.
The last living player from the final, Francisco Varallo (Argentina), died in 2010.
There was no third place playoff.
1934 Italy
Qualifying competition
First World Cup for which teams had to qualify to take part.
Uruguay did not enter.
Sweden beat Estonia 6-2 in first World Cup qualifier in 1933.
This was the first and only time the host nation was not granted automatic qualification.
Egypt was the first team from Africa in the finals.
The last place in the finals was contested between the United States and Mexico only three days before the start of the tournament in a one-off match in Rome, which the United States won.
First round
All eight first round matches kicked off at the same time.
Italy 7 USA
Spain 3 Brazil 1
Valdemar de Brito (Brazil) became the first player to miss a penalty in a World Cup.
Quarter-finals
Italy drew with Spain, with Italy winning the replay played the following day.
Semi-finals
Italy 1 Austria 0
Czechoslovakia 3 Germany 1
Third-place playoff
Germany 3 Austria 2
Final
Italy 2 Czechoslovakia 1. Match played at Stadio Nazionale del PNF (National Stadium of the National Fascist Party) in Rome
Winning goal scored by Sciavio in extra time
Winning captain – Gianpiero Combi
Winning manager – Vittorio Pozzo
Golden Boot – Oldrich Nejedly (Czechoslovakia). 5 goals
1938 France
Qualifying competition
Because of anger over the decision to hold a second successive World Cup in Europe, neither Uruguay nor Argentina entered the competition, whilst Spain became the first country to be prevented from competing because of it being at war.
It was the first time that the hosts (France) and the title holders (Italy) qualified automatically.
Title holders were given an automatic entry into the World Cup until 2006 when this was abolished. Of the 14 remaining places, eleven were allocated to Europe, two to the Americas, and one to Asia.
Indonesia, under the name Dutch East Indies, was the first Asian team to participate in the World Cup. A 6-0 first-round loss to Hungary remains the country's only appearance
Austria qualified, but after qualification was complete, the Anschluss united Austria with Germany. Austria subsequently withdrew from the tournament
Cuba appeared in the World Cup for the only time
First round
Brazil 6 Poland 5 (after extra time)
Sweden given a walkover following the withdrawal of Austria
Cuba 2 Romania 1 (replay after a 3-3 draw)
Quarter-finals
Sweden 8 Cuba 0
The match between Brazil and Czechoslovakia was known as “The Battle of Bordeaux”. Three players were sent off, and the Czech goalkeeper played most of the match with a broken arm (it ended 1-1, Brazil winning the reply).
Semi-finals
Hungary 5 Sweden 1
Italy 2 Brazil 1
Third place playoff
Brazil 4 Sweden 2
Final
Italy 4 Hungary 2. Match played at Stade Olympique de Colombes, Paris
Winning captain – Giuseppe Meazza
Winning manager – Vittorio Pozzo
Pozzo is the only person to guide his national team to two World Cup final wins
Golden Boot – Leonidas (Brazil). 8 goals
1942 and 1946 World Cups were cancelled due to World War II
1950 Brazil
Qualifying competition
Germany and Japan were banned from qualifying
The British nations were invited to take part, having rejoined FIFA four years earlier, after 17 years of self-imposed exile. It was decided to use the 1949–50 British Home Championship as a qualifying group, with the top two teams qualifying. England finished first and Scotland second, although Scotland withdrew before the tournament as they were not British champions.
India withdrew for a number of reasons, including that according to FIFA regulations players had to wear football boots and would not be allowed to play barefoot.
First round
For the first time, the 16 teams were divided into four first round groups of four teams, with the four group winners advancing to a final group stage
England’s first World Cup match was against Chile, played in the Maracana. England won 2-0, with goals from Mortensen and Mannion
England’s second match was a shock 1-0 loss to USA, played in Belo Horizonte. The goal was scored by Haitian-born centre forward Joe Gaetjens
England lost the third match 1-0 to Spain and were eliminated
Uruguay beat Bolivia 8-0 in the only match played in Group 4, following the withdrawal of France (who had complained at the amount of travel involved).
Final round
Brazil beat Sweden 7-1 and Spain 6-1 but lost the deciding match 2-1 to Uruguay. The match was played at the Maracana in front of a crowd close to 200,000, and was refereed by George Reader (England)
Winning captain – Obdulio Varela
Winning manager – Juan López Fontana
Golden Boot – Ademir (Brazil). 8 goals
This was the only tournament not decided by a one-match final. It was also the first tournament where the trophy was referred to as the Jules Rimet Cup, to mark the 25th anniversary of Jules Rimet's presidency of FIFA.
1954 Switzerland
Qualifying competition
Scotland, Turkey and South Korea made their World Cup debuts
West Germany qualified against fellow Germans from the Saarland (which then was a French protectorate)
Argentina declined to participate for the third World Cup in succession
Group stage
The sixteen qualifying teams were divided into four groups of four teams each. Each group contained two seeded teams and two unseeded teams. Only four matches were scheduled for each group, each pitting a seeded team against an unseeded team
Extra time was played if the score was level after 90 minutes, with the result being a draw if the scores were still level after 120 minutes
Two of the four groups required playoffs, and the other two required drawing of lots between the two top teams
England drew their first game against Belgium 4-4 (after extra time). Nat Lofthouse scored two of the goals
England beat Switzerland 2-0 in their second game
Hungary 9 South Korea 0
Turkey 7 South Korea 0
Hungary 8 Germany 3
Austria 1 Scotland 0
Scotland’s first manager, Andy Beattie, resigned after match against Austria
Uruguay 7 Scotland 0
Quarter-finals
Uruguay 4 England 2. Lofthouse and Finney scored for England
Austria 7 Switzerland 5. Highest scoring match ever in the World Cup
The match between Hungary and Brazil is known as “The Battle of Bern”. Violent conduct and fighting prompted English referee Arthur Ellis to send off three players during the match. Fighting between the teams continued in the dressing rooms after the final whistle.
Semi-finals
West Germany 6 Austria 1
Hungary 4 Uruguay 2
Third place playoff
Austria 3 Uruguay 1
Final
West Germany 3 Hungary 2
Known as “The Miracle of Bern” as Hungary had beaten West Germany 8-3 in the group stages. Played at the Wankdorf Stadium. Puskas scored the first goal for Hungary. Helmut Rahn scored the winning goal
Winning captain – Fritz Walter
Winning manager – Sepp Herberger
Golden Boot – Sandor Kocsis (Hungary) 11 goals
This tournament had the highest average goals per game (5.38)
1958 Sweden
Qualifying competition
Soviet Union qualified for the first time
All four home nations qualified for the only time
Wales qualified after winning a playoff against Israel
Italy failed to qualify for the only time
Group stage
Seeding for the groups was done on a geographical basis, with Western European, Eastern European, British, and Americas pots
Northern Ireland beat Czechoslovakia, lost to Argentina, and drew with West Germany. They finished second in Group 1 after winning a playoff against Czechoslovakia, with Peter McParland scoring two goals
Scotland finished bottom of Group 2 after drawing with Yugoslavia, but losing to Paraguay and France
In Group 3 Wales drew their matches against Hungary, Mexico, and Sweden. They qualified for the quarter-finals with a playoff win against Hungary, with Ivor Allchurch and Terry Medwin scoring the goals
England 2 Soviet Union 2
England 0 Brazil 0. First ever goalless game in World Cup history
England 2 Austria 2
Playoff – Soviet Union 1 England 0
Quarter-finals
Brazil 1 Wales 0. Pele scored his first World Cup goal, aged 17
France 4 Northern Ireland 0
Semi-finals
Brazil 5 France 2. Pele scored a hat-trick
Sweden 3 West Germany 1
Third-place playoff
France 6 West Germany 3
Final
Brazil 5 Sweden 2
Pele scored two goals, to become the youngest goal scorer in a final
Winning captain – Hideraldo Bellini
Winning manager – Vicente Feola
Golden Boot – Just Fontaine (France). 13 goals
To date, this marks the only occasion that a World Cup staged in Europe was not won by a European team
Bobby Robson played for England
Wales were managed by Jimmy Murphy
Northern Ireland were managed by Peter Doherty
Northern Ireland goalkeeper Harry Gregg was named in the team of the tournament. Although Just Fontaine got more votes than any other forward, they were split between the left and right inside forward positions, so he was not included
1962 Chile
Qualifying competition
Colombia and Bulgaria qualified for the first time. France failed to qualify
Group stage
Pele was injured in the match against Czechoslovakia
The match between host Chile and Italy was known as “The Battle of Santiago”. Although only two players (both of them Italian) were sent off by the English referee Ken Aston, the match saw repeated attempts from players on both sides to harm opponents, and the Italian team needed police protection to leave the field in safety
England 1 (Flowers (pen)) Hungary 2
England 3 (Flowers (pen), Charlton, Greaves) Argentina 1
England 0 Bulgaria 0
Quarter-finals
Brazil 3 (Garrincha (2), Vava) England 1 (Hitchens)
Jimmy Greaves caught a stray dog and carried it off the pitch
Semi-finals
Brazil 4 Chile 2
Czechoslovakia 3 Yugoslavia 1
Third place playoff
Chile 1 Yugoslavia 0
Final
Brazil 3 Czechoslovakia 1
Pele’s replacement, Amarildo, scored the first goal for Brazil
Vava became the first player to score in two World Cup finals
Winning captain – Mauro Ramos
Winning manager – Aymore Moriera
Golden Boot – shared by six players. 4 goals
Golden Ball – Garrincha (Brazil)
First World Cup that used goal average as a means of separating teams with the same amount of points
Ferenc Puskas played for Spain
The average goals per match dropped to 2.78, under 3 for the first time in competition history (the average has never been above 3 since)
The American federations claimed the tournament must be held in South America or face a complete boycott of the tournament. Chile was selected after winning a vote against Argentina
1966 England
Qualifying tournament
Portugal and North Korea qualified for the first time
Sixteen African nations boycotted the tournament in protest of a 1964 FIFA ruling that required the three second-round winners from the African zone to enter a playoff round against the winners of the Asian zone in order to win a place at the finals
Group stage
England 0 Uruguay 0
England 2 (Bobby Charlton, Hunt) Mexico 0
England 2 (Hunt (2)) France 0
Jimmy Greaves played in all three group matches. John Connolly, Terry Paine, and Ian Callaghan all played one match
All Group 1 matches were played at Wembley apart from Uruguay v France which was played at White City Stadium as Wembley had been booked for greyhound racing.
Brazil eliminated after losing to Hungary and Portugal. All Brazil’s qualifying matches were played at Goodison Park
North Korea beat Italy 1–0 at Ayresome Park, Middlesbrough and finished above them, thus earning qualification to the next round. This was the first time that a nation from outside Europe or the Americas had progressed from the first stage of a World Cup – the next would be Morocco in 1986
Quarter-finals
England 1 (Hurst) Argentina 0
Antonio Rattin (Argentina) became the first player to be sent off in a senior international football match at Wembley, by Rudolf Kreitlein (West Germany). Alf Ramsey called the Argentinians “animals”
Eusebio scored four goals as Portugal came from 3-0 behind to beat North Korea 5-3
Semi-finals
England 2 (Bobby Charlton (2)) Portugal 1 (Eusebio)
West Germany 2 Soviet Union 1. Played at Goodison Park
Third-place playoff
Portugal 2 Soviet Union 1. Refereed by Ken Dagnall (England)
Final
England 4 (Hurst (3), Peters) West Germany 2 (Haller, Weber)
Referee – Gottfried Dienst (Switzerland)
Hurst’s second goal was awarded by the linesman, Tofiq Bahramov
Peters wore No 16, Hunt wore No 21
Alan Ball was the youngest player in the England team
England team – Banks, Cohen, Wilson, Stiles, J Charlton, Moore, Ball, Hunt, R Charlton, Hurst, Peters
Played on 30 July. Trophy presented by Queen Elizabeth II
Winning captain – Bobby Moore
Winning manager – Alf Ramsey
Golden Boot – Eusebio (Portugal). 9 goals
Golden Ball – Bobby Charlton
After his death in 1993, the national stadium of Azerbaijan was renamed the Tofiq Bahramov Stadium
Helmut Haller got the match ball, though more than 30 years later he returned to England to present it to Geoff Hurst
The next time Ian Callaghan played for England was in 1977
World Cup was stolen from an exhibition at Westminster Central Hall, and found seven days later in South Norwood by Pickles, a black and white Collie dog owned by Dave Corbett. Pickles died in 1967 when he choked on his lead while chasing a cat. His collar is on display in the National Football Museum in Manchester.
Mascot – World Cup Willie
England beat West Germany and Spain in the bid process
1970 Mexico
Qualifying tournament
Three teams qualified for the first time – El Salvador, Israel and Morocco
Peru returned to the finals after a 40 year absence
El Salvador qualified for the finals after beating Honduras in a playoff match, which was the catalyst for a conflict in 1969 known as “The Football War”
Group stage
England 1 (Hurst) Romania 0
England 0 Brazil 1 (Jairzinho)
Gordon Banks produced a miraculous save from a header by Pele
England 1 (Clarke (pen.)) Czechoslovakia 0
All of England’s group matches were played in Guadalajara
In the match against Czechoslovakia, Pele audaciously attempted to lob goalkeeper Ivo Viktor from the half-way line, only narrowly missing the goal
Quarter-finals
West Germany 3 (Beckenbauer, Seeler, Muller) England 2 (Mullery, Peters). After extra time. Match played in Leon
Peter Bonetti played in goal for England as Gordon Banks was suffering from food poisoning. Ramsey had substituted Charlton and Peters, possibly to save them from more exertion in the heat, in the belief that the tie was won.
Semi-finals
Brazil 3 Uruguay 1
Pele made his famous “runaround move”, where he fooled the goalkeeper by not touching the ball, in the match against Uruguay
Italy 4 West Germany 3. Known as the “Game of the Century”. Five goals were scored in extra time. Winning goal scored by Rivera
Third place playoff
West Germany bt Uruguay
Final
Brazil 4 (Pele, Gerson, Jairzinho, Carlos Alberto) Italy 1 (Boninsegna)
Match played at Aztec Stadium, Mexico City
Winning captain – Carlos Alberto
Winning manager – Mario Zagallo
Golden Boot – Gerd Muller (West Germany). 10 goals
Golden Ball – Pele
Jairzinho scored seven goals, and scored in all six matches
Red and yellow cards used for the first time
Substitutes were allowed for the first time. Anatoli Puzach (Soviet Union) was the first substitute used
England's preparations were hampered by the arrest of Bobby Moore in Bogota for allegedly stealing a bracelet from a jeweller's shop
The third title earned Brazil the right to retain the Jules Rimet Trophy permanently – however, it was stolen in 1983 while on display in Rio de Janeiro and never recovered
Brazilian coach Mario Zagallo was the first footballer to become World Cup champion as a player (1958, 1962) and a coach
1974 West Germany
Qualifying competition
Australia, East Germany, Haiti and Zaire made their first appearances at the final stage, and the Netherlands and Poland their first since 1938
Group 5 consisted of England, Wales and Poland
England won 1-0 in Wales, but could only draw 1-1 at Wembley. A 2-0 defeat in Poland meant that England had to win the final match to qualify
In the match in Poland in 1973, Alan Ball became only the second England player to be sent off in a full international, after grabbing Lesław Ćmikiewicz by the throat and kneeing him in the groin
Final qualifying match – England 1 (Clarke (pen.)) Poland 1 (Domarski). Poland goalkeeper was Jan Tomaszewski, who had been labelled "a clown" by Brian Clough during the match
The second leg of the Intercontinental playoff was scratched and Chile qualified automatically after the Soviet Union refused to play the return leg due to the recent Chilean coup d'état. FIFA ordered that the match should go ahead and Chile scored in the empty Soviet net
Group stage
Scotland 2 (Lorimer, Jordan) Zaire 0
Scotland 0 Brazil 0
Scotland 1 (Jordan) Yugoslavia 1
Scotland were eliminated, but were the only unbeaten team in the tournament
Yugoslavia 9 Zaire 0
There was a comic moment in the Brazil match against Zaire, where Ilunga broke from the wall waiting for a Brazil free kick, and booted the ball downfield
West Germany 0 East Germany 1. Match played in Hamburg
Poland 7 Haiti 0
Fabio Capello scored for Italy against Poland
The”Cruyff Turn” was first executed by Johan Cruyff in the Netherlands' match against Sweden
Second round
Two groups – the winners of each group qualified for the final, and the runners-up played in the third place match. In the final group matches Netherlands beat Brazil 2-0 and West Germany beat Poland 1-0
Third place playoff
Poland 1 Brazil 0
Final
West Germany 2 (Breitner (pen), Muller) Netherlands 1 (Neeskens (pen.))
Referee – Jack Taylor.
Netherlands scored before West Germany had touched the ball
Winning captain – Franz Beckenbauer
Winning manager – Helmut Schon
Golden Boot – Grzegorz Lato (Poland). 7 goals
Golden Ball – Johann Cruyff
The tournament marked the first time that the current trophy, the FIFA World Cup Trophy, created by the Italian sculptor Silvio Gazzaniga, was awarded
The style of play used by the Netherlands was known as Total Football. It was invented by Rinus Michels, who was the coach of both Ajax and the Netherlands national team at the time
1978 Argentina
Qualifying competition
Iran and Tunisia qualified for the first time
Austria qualified for the first time since 1958
Uruguay failed to qualify for the first time since 1958
For the first time, more than 100 nations entered the competition
England failed to qualify, losing out to Italy on goal difference
Scotland qualified by beating Wales 2-0 in a match played at Anfield
Group stage
Italy won Group 1, after beating runners-up Argentina 1-0
West Germany finished as runners-up to Poland in Group 2, despite beating Mexico 6-0
Austria won Group 3, ahead of Brazil
Scotland 1 (Jordan) Peru 3 (Cubillas (2), Cueto)
Willie Johnston was sent him after the Peru match after testing positive for a banned stimulant
Scotland 1 Iran 1
Scotland 3 (Gemmill (2), Dalglish) Netherlands 3 (Rensenbrink, Rep)
Rensenbrink's goal against Scotland was the 1000th goal of World Cup history
Gemmill’s second goal to put Scotland 3-1 up is reckoned to be one of the best scored during a Finals tournament
Netherlands qualified by finishing above Scotland on goal difference
Tunisia beat Mexico to become the first African team to win a match at the World Cup finals
Second round
Winners of each group advanced to the final
Netherlands won Group A
Austria beat Germany in a match known as “The Miracle of Cordoba” – it was the first time in 47 years that Austria had defeated Germany. Winning goal scored by Hans Krankl
Argentina needed to win by a margin of four goals to win Group B and proceed to the final and did so by defeating Peru by 6–0. However, claims that the Argentine military dictatorship interfered to ensure Argentina would defeat Peru, were denied by the Peru team
Third place match
Brazil 2 Italy 1
Final
Argentina 3 (Kempes (2), Bertoni) Netherlands 1 (Nanninga)
After extra time. Played at Estadio Monumental (River Plate Stadium)
Rob Rensenbrink hit the post in the 90th minute with the score 1-1
Winning captain – Daniel Passarella
Winning manager – Cesar Luis Menotti
Golden Boot – Mario Kempes (Argentina). 6 goals
Golden Ball – Mario Kempes
The official match ball was the Adidas Tango
Penalty shootout was introduced, but was not needed
1982 Spain
Qualifying competition
For the first time, the World Cup finals expanded from 16 to 24 teams
Netherlands were eliminated by Belgium and France
Algeria, Cameroon, Honduras, Kuwait, and New Zealand all participated for the first time
England qualified despite a 2-1 loss to Norway in Oslo, which prompted the famous “Your boys took a hell of a beating” commentary from Bjorg Lillelien
Group stage
England 3 (Robson (2), Mariner) France 1 (Soler). Bryan Robson scored after 27 seconds
England 2 (Francis, Barmos (o.g.)) Czechoslovakia 0
England 1 (Francis) Kuwait 0
Northern Ireland drew with Yugoslavia and Honduras, and beat Spain 1-0 with a Gerry Armstrong goal to top the group. Mal Donaghy was sent off against Spain, becoming the first British player to be sent off in World Cup finals
Norman Whiteside became the youngest player to play in the World Cup, aged 17 years and 41 days
Scotland 5 New Zealand 2
Scotland 1 Brazil 4
Scotland took the lead with an unstoppable shot by David Narey (or “toe-poke” as it was described by Jimmy Hill at the time)
Scotland 2 Soviet Union 2
Scotland eliminated on goal difference (again)
Algeria 2 West Germany 1
In the final group match, a win by one or two goals for West Germany would result in both them and Austria qualifying at the expense of Algeria. The match was known as “The Disgrace of Gijon”. West Germany scored after 10 minutes, then neither team tried to score. As a result of this, FIFA revised the group system for future tournaments, so that the final two games in each group would be played simultaneously
Hungary 10 El Salvador 1. Laszlo Kiss became the first substitute to score a hat-trick
Match between France and Kuwait was delayed after Prince Fahid, the Kuwaiti FA president, marched onto the pitch and demanded that a French goal be disallowed
Second round
The second round of matches consisted of four 3-way round-robin groups. The winners of each one of these groups would progress to the semi-finals
England drew 0-0 with West Germany and 0-0 with Spain at the Bernabau in Madrid. West Germany beat Spain, so England were eliminated
Keegan and Brooking were brought on as substitutes for the final 30 minutes against Spain – their only appearance in the World Cup finals
Northern Ireland drew 2-2 with Austria, and lost 4-1 to France
Northern Ireland were managed by Billy Bingham in 1982 and 1986
Italy beat Argentina, a match renowned for Maradona being aggressively man-marked by Claudio Gentile
Brazil beat Argentina, with Maradona being sent off
Italy beat Brazil 3-2, with Paolo Rossi scoring a hat-trick
Semi-finals
West Germany 3 France 3. West Germany won 5-4 on penalties
First penalty shootout in a World Cup
Patrick Battiston was left unconscious after a controversial collision with German goalkeeper Harald Schumacher
Italy 2 Poland 0
Third place playoff
Poland 3 France 2
Final
Italy 3 (Rossi, Tardelli, Altobelli) West Germany 1 (Brietner)
Antonio Cabrina became the first player to miss a penalty in a World Cup final
Dino Zoff at forty became the oldest player to win the World Cup
Winning captain – Dino Zoff
Winning manager – Enzo Bearzot
Golden Boot – Paolo Rossi (Italy). 6 goals
Golden Ball – Paolo Rossi
1986 Mexico
Colombia was originally chosen as hosts for the 1986 World Cup by FIFA in 1974. However, the Colombian authorities declared in 1982 that they could not afford to host the World Cup under the terms that FIFA demanded. Mexico was selected in 1983 as the replacement hosts, beating the bids of Canada and the United States
Qualifying competition
Canada, Denmark and Iraq qualified for the first time
Iraq played all their home matches on neutral ground because of the Iran–Iraq War
England and Northern Ireland qualified from the same group. England won 1-0 in Belfast with a goal from Mark Hateley, and the match at Wembley finished 0-0
Scotland qualified for the playoff by finishing second in their UEFA group, behind Spain. Scotland secured second place in dramatic circumstances with a 1–1 draw against Wales at Ninian Park, Cardiff. Davie Cooper scored a late equalising goal with a penalty kick to give Scotland the point they needed, but manager Jock Stein collapsed and died of a heart attack. Assistant manager Alex Ferguson took charge of the team for the playoff. Scotland qualified after winning the playoff against Australia
Group stage
England 0 Portugal 1
England 0 Morocco 0
Bryan Robson was injured and missed the rest of the tournament. Ray Wilkins was sent off for throwing the ball at the referee
England 3 Poland 0
Gary Lineker scored a hat-trick. Peter Shilton took over from Robson as captain
Morocco topped the group
Northern Ireland drew with Algeria, but were beaten by Spain and Brazil
Scotland lost to Denmark and West Germany
In the goalless draw between Scotland and Uruguay, José Batista was sent off after less than one minute of play for a foul on Gordon Strachan
Round of 16
The format of the competition changed from 1982, with the second round being played on a knock-out basis rather than groups
England 3 (Lineker (2), Beardsley) Paraguay 0
Defending champions Italy were beaten by France
Belgium 4 Soviet Union 3
Quarter-finals
England 1 (Lineker) Argentina 2 (Maradona (2))
Maradona scored with "Hand of God goal" and "Goal of the Century". Played at Aztec Stadium. Referee was Ali Bin Nasser (Tunisia)
Steve Hodge exchanged shirts with Maradona after the match
France beat Brazil on penalties
West Germany beat Mexico on penalties
Belgium beat Spain on penalties
Semi-finals
Argentina 2 (Maradona (2)) Belgium 0
West Germany 2 France 0
Third place playoff
France 4 Belgium 2
Final
Argentina 3 (Brown, Valdano, Burruchaga) West Germany 2 (Rummenigge, Voller)
Franz Beckenbauer became the first person to have lost a World Cup final as both a player and a manager
Winning captain – Diego Maradona
Winning manager – Carlos Bilardo
Golden Boot – Gary Lineker. 6 goals
Golden Ball – Diego Maradona
FIFA prohibited shirt swapping because they did not want players to ‘bare their chests’ on the field
1990 Italy
Qualifying competition
Chile were banned from the 1990 and 1994 World Cup as keeper Roberto Rojas feigned injury after a flare landed near him during a qualifier against Brazil, cutting himself with a razor blade in an attempt to get the match abandoned
Republic of Ireland, Costa Rica, and the UAE qualified for the first time
Egypt appeared for the first time since 1934
United States competed for the first time since 1950
England finished second to Sweden in their qualifying group, but qualified as one of the best runners-up
Group stage
Group F featured the Netherlands, England, the Republic of Ireland and Egypt. England beat Egypt 1–0, with a goal from Mark Wright. All five other matches were drawn 1-1 or 0-0
England 1 (Lineker) Republic of Ireland 1 (Sheedy)
England’s qualifying matches were all played on Sardinia
Republic of Ireland and the Netherlands finished with identical records. With both teams assured of progressing, they were split by the drawing of lots to determine second and third place
Scotland beat Sweden, but lost to Costa Rica and Brazil
Cameroon beat Argentina and Romania, with Roger Milla scoring twice against Romania
Round of 16
England 1 (Platt) Belgium 0
Platt scored in the 120th minute, a volley on the turn from a Paul Gascoigne free-kick
Republic of Ireland 0 Romania 0. Republic of Ireland won 5-4 on penalties
David O’Leary scored the winning penalty after Packie Bonner saved the fifth Romanian penalty kick. After the match Jack Charlton took the Ireland team to the Vatican to meet the Pope
West Germany 2 Netherlands 1
Rudi Voller and Frank Rijkaard were both sent off after a number of incidents (including Rijkaard spitting on Voller)
Cameroon beat Colombia with Roger Milla scoring after dispossessing Colombian keeper Rene Higuita who had dribbled the ball to the halfway line
Quarter-finals
England beat Cameroon 3-2 after extra time with a goal from Platt and two penalties from Lineker
Republic of Ireland 0 Italy 1 (Schillaci)
Semi-finals
England 1 (Lineker) West Germany 1 (Brehme). West Germany won on penalties. Match played in Turin
Brehme’s shot was deflected by Paul Parker into his own net
Gascoigne was booked, which meant that he would be suspended for the final if England won the match. Television cameras showed that he had tears in his eyes
Lineker, Beardsley and Platt scored penalties. Pearce and Waddle missed penalties
Argentina 1 Italy 1. Argentina won on penalties
Third place playoff
England 1 (Platt) Italy 2 (Baggio, Schillaci)
Final
West Germany 1 (Brehme (pen.)) Argentina 0
Argentina became the first team not to score during a World Cup Final
Pedro Monzon became the first player to be sent off in a World Cup final. Gustavo Dezotti was also sent off
Winning captain – Lothar Matthaus
Winning manager – Franz Beckenbauer
Golden Boot – Salvatore Schillaci (Italy). 6 goals
Golden Ball – Salvatore Schillaci
The tournament generated an average 2.21 goals per game, a record low that still stands, and a then-record 16 red cards. Negative tactics led to the introduction of the back-pass rule in 1992, and three points for a win instead of two at future World Cups
Rangers provided the most members (four) of England’s World Cup squad
Franz Beckenbauer became the second person to have won a World Cup final as both a player and a manager
Walter Zenga (Italy) set a record of five consecutive clean sheets
The closing ceremony was marked as a ‘Century gala’ with a performance by the Three Tenors
1994 USA
Qualifying competition
Greece, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia made their first appearances in the finals
Norway made their first appearance since 1938
England finished third in their qualifying group, behind Norway and Netherlands
Davide Gualtieri scored for San Marino against England after 8 seconds. England won the match 7-1
West Germany were united with East Germany, representing the unified Germany for the first time since the 1938 World Cup
France were knocked out by Bulgaria, who scored a last minute winner in the final qualifying match in Paris following a mistake by David Ginola
Japan and Iraq drew a qualifying match 2–2 in Doha, Qatar. If Japan had won the match, they would have qualified for the World Cup for the first time. Instead, Japan finished third in their group and South Korea qualified instead. The Japanese media refers to the match as "The Agony of Doha"
Group stage
Oleg Salenko of Russia became the first – and remains the only – man ever to score five goals in a single World Cup game as Russia beat Cameroon 6–1. In the same match 42-year-old Roger Milla became the oldest goal scorer and the oldest player in World Cup history
Group E remains the only group in World Cup history in which all four teams finished with the same points. Ray Houghton scored the only goal in Republic of Ireland’s win against Italy. John Aldridge scored in a 2-1 defeat by Mexico, but a 0-0 draw against Norway meant that Ireland finished as runners-up
Saudi Arabia finished as runners-up in Group F after beating Belgium
Round of 16
Netherlands 2 Republic of Ireland 0
Brazil 1 USA 0
Quarter-finals
Brazil 3 Netherlands 2
Semi-finals
Italy 2 Bulgaria 1
Brazil 1 Sweden 0
Third place playoff
Sweden 4 Bulgaria 0
Final
Brazil 0 Italy 0. Brazil won 3-2 on penalties
The first World Cup final to be both scoreless in regular and extra time and to be decided by a penalty shoot-out. Silver Ball winner Roberto Baggio missed the decisive penalty
Played at Rose Bowl, Pasadena
Winning captain – Dunga
Winning manager – Carlos Alberto Parreira
Golden Boot – Oleg Salenko (Russia) and Hristo Stoichkov (Bulgaria). 6 goals
Golden Ball – Romario (Brazil)
The tournament broke the World Cup average attendance record with nearly 69,000 spectators per game, a mark that still stands today. The total attendance of nearly 3.6 million for the final tournament remains the highest in World Cup history
Maradona was expelled from the tournament after he failed a drug test which uncovered ephedrine, a weight loss drug, in his blood
Columbian defender Andrés Escobar scored an own goal in the group stage game against the United States that eliminated Columbia. Escobar was shot to death outside a bar in Medellin 10 days later, apparently in retaliation for the own goal
The official mascot was Striker, the World Cup Pup
In the opening ceremony, Diana Ross was also supposed to kick a ball into the goal from the penalty spot at the beginning of her performance, but she missed
The game between the United States and Switzerland was the first ever to take place indoors, played under the roof at the Pontiac Silverdome in Detroit
Brazil dedicated their victory to Ayrton Senna
Goal collapsed in the match between Mexico and Bulgaria
1998 France
Qualifying competition
Croatia, Jamaica, Japan and South Africa made their first appearances in the finals
England and Italy qualified from the same group. Italy won the match 1-0 at Wembley, with a goal from Zola. The match in Rome finished 0-0
Estonia did not turn up for a home qualifying match with Scotland
Group stage
The group stage were expanded from 24 teams to 32
England 2 (Shearer, Scholes) Tunisia 0
England 1 (Owen) Romania 2 (Moldovan, Petrescu)
Dan Petrescu of Chelsea scored the winning goal in the last minute
England 2 (Anderton, Beckham) Colombia 0
Scotland drew 1-1 with Norway, but lost 2-1 to Brazil and 3-0 to Morocco
Zidane sent off against Saudi Arabia
Theodore Whitmore scored twice for Jamaica in a 2-1 win over Japan
Round of 16
England 2 (Shearer (pen.), Owen) Argentina 2 (Batistuta (pen.), Zanetti). Argentina won 4-3 on penalties. Shearer, Merson, and Owen scored. Ince and Batty missed
Beckham sent off for kicking Simione by referee Kim Nielsen of Denmark. Match played at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard in Saint-Étienne
Laurent Blanc scored the first-ever golden goal in a World Cup, against Paraguay
Quarter-finals
France 0 Italy 0. France won on penalties
Brazil 3 Denmark 2
Netherlands 2 Argentina 1
Dennis Bergkamp scored a wonder goal to win the match in the final minute
Croatia 3 Germany 0
Semi-finals
Brazil 1 (Ronaldo) Netherlands 1 (Kluivert). Brazil won on penalties
France 2 (Thuram (2)) Croatia 1 (Suker)
Third place playoff
Croatia 2 Netherlands 1
Davor Suker scored the winning goal to secure the golden boot
Final
France 3 (Zidane (2), Petit) Brazil 0
The build-up to the final was dominated by the fitness of Ronaldo, amid reports that he had suffered a pre-match fit. Edmundo replaced Ronaldo on the team sheet, only for Ronaldo to be reinstated 45 minutes before kick-off
Winning captain – Didier Deschamps
Winning manager – Aime Jacquet
Golden Boot – Davor Suker (Croatia). 6 goals
Golden Ball – Ronaldo (Brazil)
France only conceded two goals in the competition
Mascot was Footix, a blue cockerel
France beat Morocco in the bidding process
2002 Japan and South Korea
Qualifying competition
China, Ecuador, Senegal and Slovenia made their first appearances at the finals
Turkey made its first appearance since 1954
England lost 1-0 to Germany in the last game played at the old Wembley Stadium. Dietmar Hamann scored the goal
England beat Germany 5-1 in Munich with Michael Owen scoring a hat-trick
England won the group with Beckham scoring a last minute goal in a 2-2 draw with Greece
Republic of Ireland qualified by beating Iran in a playoff
Australia 31 (Archie Thompson (13)) American Samoa 0
Group stage
First match – Senegal 1 (Diop) France 0
France were eliminated from the competition without scoring a goal
South Korea and USA qualified from Group D, eliminating Portugal and Poland
England 1 (Campbell) Sweden 1 (Alexandersson)
England 1 (Beckham (pen.)) Argentina 0. Match played in Sapporo
England 0 Nigeria 0
Sweden topped the group, with England as runners-up
Germany 8 Saudi Arabia 0
Match between Germany and Cameroon had 16 yellow cards
Republic of Ireland beat Saudi Arabia, and drew with Cameroon and Germany
Robbie Keane scored an injury-time equalizer against Germany
“The Saipan incident” was a public quarrel between captain Roy Keane and manager Mick McCarthy when the Ireland team was preparing in Saipan for its matches. It resulted in Keane being sent home from the squad
Round of 16
England 3 (Ferdinand, Owen, Heskey) Denmark 0
Republic of Ireland knocked out by Spain on penalties
Quarter-finals
Brazil 2 (Rivaldo, Ronaldinho) England 1 (Owen). Match played in Shizuoka
Ronaldinho took a free-kick from 40 yards out which curled into the corner of the net, completely surprising David Seaman. Later in the game he was sent off for a foul on Danny Mills
Germany 1 USA 0
South Korea 0 Spain 0. South Korea won on penalties
Turkey 1 Senegal 0
Semi-finals
Germany 1 (Ballack) South Korea 0
Brazil 1 (Ronaldo) Turkey 0
Third place playoff
Turkey 3 South Korea 2
The fastest goal in the World Cup was scored by Turkey’s Hakan Sukur, 11 seconds into the game
Final
Brazil 2 (Ronaldo 2) Germany 0. Match played in Yokohama
Winning captain – Cafu
Winning manager – Luiz Felipe Scolari
Golden Boot – Ronaldo (Brazil). 8 goals
Golden Ball – Oliver Khan
Initially, Japan and South Korea were competitors in the bidding process. But just before the vote, they agreed with FIFA to co-host the event. In 2004 FIFA stated that it will not allow future co-hosting bids, but this was reversed in 2007
Final World Cup during which the golden goal rule was in force
This was the final World Cup in which the defending champions qualified automatically
2006 Germany
Qualifying competition
Angola, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Serbia & Montenegro, Trinidad & Tobago and Togo made their first appearances in the finals
Czech Republic and Ukraine made their first appearance as independent nations
England were in the same qualifying group as Northern Ireland and Wales, and only lost one match, 1-0 to Northern Ireland with David Healy scoring the goal
Group stage
First game – Germany 4 Costa Rica 2. First goal scored by Philip Lahm
England 1 (Gamassa o.g.) Paraguay 0
England 2 (Crouch, Gerrard) Trinidad and Tobago 0
England 2 (Joe Cole, Gerrard) Sweden 2 (Allback, Larsson)
Allback’s goal was the 2000th in World Cup history
Graham Poll gave Simunic (Croatia) three yellow cards in the match against Australia
Australia won their first ever match in the World Cup, beating Japan, and qualified for the next round
Argentina 6 Serbia & Montenegro 0
Round of 16
England 1 (Beckham) Ecuador 0
Beckham became first English player to score in three World Cups
Russian referee Valentin Ivanov issued a World Cup record four red cards and 16 yellow cards in the match between Portugal and the Netherlands, which was known as “The Battle of Nuremberg”
Ronaldo scored his fifteenth goal in the World Cup, against Ghana
Italy 1 Australia 0
Switzerland failed to convert any of their three penalties in the penalty shoot-out against Ukraine to see them exit the competition with a new record in becoming the first team in a World Cup to fail to convert any penalties in a shootout. Their elimination also meant that they became the first nation to be eliminated from the World Cup without conceding any goals
Quarter-finals
Portugal 0 England 0. Portugal won 3-1 on penalties
Winning penalty scored by Ronaldo. Hargreaves scored. Lampard, Gerrard and Carragher missed
Rooney sent off for stamping on Ricardo Carvalho by Argentinean referee Elizondo. Played in Gelsenkirchen
Germany 1 (Klose) Argentina 1 (Ayala). Germany won on penalties
France 1 (Henry) Brazil 0
Italy 3 Ukraine 0
Semi-finals
Italy 2 Germany 0
France 1 Portugal 0
Third-place playoff
Germany 3 Portugal 1
Final
Italy 1 (Materazzi) France 1 (Zidane pen). Italy won 5-3 on penalties.
Winning penalty scored by Grosso. David Trezeguet missed for France.
Zidane sent off for head-butting Materazzi
Referee – Elizondo (Argentina)
Played at Olympic Stadium, Berlin
Winning captain – Fabio Cannavaro
Winning manager – Marcello Lippi
Golden Boot – Miroslav Klose (Germany). 5 goals
Golden Ball – Zinedine Zidane
Best Young Player – Lukas Podolski
Mascot was Goleo VI, a lion wearing a Germany shirt with the number 06, and a talking football named Pille
Fan Fests held for the first time
Germany beat South Africa, England and Morocco in the bidding process
Players received a record-breaking 345 yellow cards and 28 red cards
2010 South Africa
The first World Cup bidding process under continental rotation (the process of rotating hosting of the World Cup to each confederation in turn) and the first World Cup to be held in Africa. South Africa beat Morocco in the bid process
Qualifying competition
England won nine out of 10 qualifying matches, losing only to Ukraine
Theo Walcott scored a hat-trick against Croatia
Republic of Ireland lost to France in a playoff. After the second leg, Thierry Henry admitted that he had illegally handled the ball in the build-up to William Gallas's match-winning goal
Slovakia made their first appearance as an independent nation
Group stage
First game – South Africa 1 Mexico 1. First goal scored by Tshabalala
South Africa become the first host nation not to qualify from the group stages, despite beating France in their final match
England 1 (Gerrard) USA1 (Dempsey)
Robert Green gifted USA their goal, and was replaced by David James for the rest of the tournament
England 0 Algeria 0
England 1 (Defoe) Slovenia 0
Gonzalo Higuain scored a hat-trick for Argentina against South Korea. This was the only hat-trick in the World Cup
Switzerland 1 Spain 0
Switzerland set a new record for the longest amount of time without conceding a goal in the World Cup
Serbia 1 Germany 0. Germany’s first defeat in a World Cup group game since 1986
Portugal 7 North Korea 0
New Zealand drew all three matches, including a 1-1 draw with Italy
Round of 16
Germany 4 (Klose, Podolski, Muller (2)) England 1 (Upson). Played in Bloemfontein
With the score 2-1, Lampard had a ‘goal’ disallowed as the Uruguayan officials did not see the ball cross the line
Paraguay and Ghana reached the quarter-finals for the first time
Quarter-finals
Germany 4 Argentina 0
Netherlands 2 Brazil 1
Spain 1 Paraguay 0
Uruguay 1 Ghana 1. Uruguay won on penalties
Semi-finals
Netherlands 3 Uruguay 2. Winning goal scored by Robben
Spain 1 (Puyol) Germany 0
Third place playoff
Germany 3 Uruguay 2
Germany holds the record for most third-place finishes in the World Cup (4), while Uruguay holds the record for most fourth-place finishes (3)
Final
Spain 1 (Iniesta) Netherlands 0
John Heitinga sent off. Nigel De Jong killed Xabi Alonso in the stomach. Howard Webb handed out 14 yellow cards. Played at Soccer City, Johannesburg
Winning captain – Iker Casillas
Winning manager – Vicente del Bosque
Golden Boot – Thomas Muller (Germany). 5 goals
Golden Ball – Diego Forlan (Uruguay)
Golden Glove – Iker Casillas
Best Young Player – Thomas Muller
Spain set a new record for the fewest goals scored by a World Cup-winning team, with eight. They won all four matches in the knockout stages 1-0
The official mascot was Zakumi, an anthropomorphised African leopard with green hair
The match ball, manufactured by Adidas, was named the Jabulani
The long horn blown by fans throughout matches was the vuvuzela
2014 Brazil
Qualifying competition
England finished top of Group H, and were unbeaten in 10 matches. San Marino finished bottom of the group, scoring one goal and conceding 54
Uruguay defeated Jordan in the final qualifying match
Group stage
First game – Brazil 3 Croatia 1. Played in Sao Paulo. Croatia opened the scoring through a Marcelo own goal
Italy 2 (Marchisio, Balotelli) England 1 (Sturridge). Match played in Manaus
Uruguay 2 (Suarez 2) England 1 (Rooney). Match played in Sao Paulo
Costa Rica 0 England 0. Match played in Belo Horizonte
England eliminated after two matches and failed to qualify from group stage of World Cup for first time since 1958. Costa Rica topped the group
Luis Suarez bit the shoulder of Georgio Chiellini (Italy)
Spain were eliminated after losing their first two matches, 5-1 to Netherlands and 2-0 to Chile
Mexico captain Rafael Marquez made history by becoming the first player to captain his nation in four different World Cups
Round of 16
For the first time since the introduction of a round of 16 after the group stage in 1986, all the group winners advanced into the quarter-finals
Mexico lost in last 16 for sixth successive World Cup
Brazil beat Chile on penalties
Tim Howard broke the record for most saves in a World Cup match with 15, for USA against Belgium
James Rodriguez’s goal for Colombia against Uruguay won the FIFA Puskas Award for the best goal of the year
Quarter-finals
With a 1–0 victory over France, Germany set a World Cup record with four consecutive semi-final appearances
Brazil beat Colombia 2–1, but Neymar was injured and missed the rest of the competition
Argentina reached the semi-finals for the first time since 1990 after a 1–0 win over Belgium
Netherlands beat Costa Rica in a penalty shoot-out following a 0–0 draw. Tim Krul was brought on by Louis van Gaal as a 120th-minute substitute for the penalty shootout. He saved two of the five penalties he faced
Semi-finals
Germany qualified for the final for the eighth time with a 7–1 win over Brazil – the biggest defeat in Brazilian history since 1920.
Miroslav Klose's goal was his 16th throughout all World Cups, breaking the record he had previously shared with Ronaldo. Klose set another record by becoming the first player to appear in four World Cup semi-finals. Germany were 5-0 up after 30 minutes. Match played in Belo Horizonte
Argentina beat Netherlands in a penalty shoot-out following a 0–0 draw
Third place playoff
Netherlands 3 Brazil 0
Final
Germany 1 (Gotze) Argentina 0. Played at Maracana Stadium, Rio
Winning captain – Philipp Lahm
Winning manager – Joachim Low
Golden Boot – James Rodriguez (Colombia). 6 goals
Golden Ball – Lionel Messi (Argentina)
Golden Glove – Manuel Neuer
Best Young Player – Paul Pogba (France)
Brazil was elected unopposed after Colombia withdrew their candidacy
Goal-line technology (GoalControl) was used for the first time at World Cup, and was used to award a goal to France against Honduras
Vanishing foam was used for first time
The first mandatory three minute cooling break was used in the match between Netherlands and Mexico as temperatures reached 30oC
Biological passport was introduced
Half brothers Jerome Boateng (Germany) and Kevin-Prince Boateng (Ghana) played against each other
The official mascot was Fuleco, a three-banded armadillo
The match ball, manufactured by Adidas, was named the Brazuka
2018 Russia
FIFA announced in 2007 that it will no longer continue with its continental rotation policy, implemented after the 2006 World Cup host selection. The newest host selection policy is that any country may bid for a World Cup, provided that their continental confederation has not hosted either of the past two World Cups. For the 2018 World Cup bidding process, this meant that bids from Africa and South America were not allowed. For the 2022 World Cup bidding process, this meant that bids from South America and Europe were not allowed
The FIFA Executive Committee convened in Zurich in 2010 to vote to select the hosts of the 2018 and 2022 tournaments. Russia won the right to be the 2018 host in the second round of voting. The Spain/Portugal bid came second, and that from Belgium/Netherlands third. England's bid received just two votes in the first round of voting
2022 Qatar
The hosts were selected in 2010
Qatar won the right to be the 2018 host in the fourth round of voting. The USA bid came second, with South Korea third, Japan fourth, and Australia fifth
Following concerns about the summer heat in Qatar, the tournament was moved to later in the year. It is to be played in a reduced timeframe of around 28 days, with the final being held on 18 December 2022
2026
The bidding process was due to start in 2015, with the appointment of hosts previously scheduled for the FIFA Congress in 2017 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In June 2015, it was announced the bidding process has been postponed, amid corruption allegations around the previous tournaments, due to be held in 2018, as well as 2022
Trivia
England managers –
1950, 1954, 1958, 1962 Walter Winterbottom
1966, 1970 Alf Ramsey
1982 Ron Greenwood
1986, 1990 Bobby Robson
1998 Glenn Hoddle
2002, 2006 Sven-Goran Eriksson
2010 Fabio Capello
2014 Roy Hodgson
Billy Wright and Tom Finney appeared in 1950, 1954 and 1958 World Cups
Gary Lineker holds England's record for goals in FIFA World Cup finals, with 10
Scotland managers –
1954 Andy Beattie
1958 Dawson Walker
1974 Willie Ormond
1978 Ally MacLeod
1982 Jock Stein
1986 Alex Ferguson
1990 Andy Roxburgh
1998 Craig Brown
Scotland have appeared in World Cup finals eight times, but have never progressed to the second round
Joe Jordan is the only Scottish player to score in three World Cups, in 1974, 1978 and 1982
Robert Prosinecki is the only player to have scored goals for two countries – Yugoslavia and Croatia
Peter Shilton and Fabien Barthez have both kept 10 clean sheets
Zidane and Rigobert Song (Cameroon) have both been sent off twice in the World Cup
Zidane is the only player to be sent off in non-consecutive world cups
Bora Milutinovic from Serbia is the first person to have coached five different teams at the World Cup: Mexico (1986), Costa Rica (1990), the United States (1994), Nigeria (1998), and China (2002). He is also the first coach to take four different teams beyond the first round, before failing to do so with China
Carlos Alberto Parreira is the second coach that has led five national teams to the World Cup: Kuwait (1982), United Arab Emirates (1990), Brazil (1994 and 2006), Saudi Arabia (1998) and South Africa (2010)
Pele is the only three-time winner of the World Cup
Cafu is the only player to appear in three World Cup finals
Cruyff’s Adidas world cup shirt had two stripes instead of three as his sponsors Puma objected to him wearing the iconic three stripes
The hosts for the 1974, 1978, and 1982 World Cups were chosen in London in 1966 by the FIFA Congress
Some writers contend that Viv Richards also played international football for Antigua, appearing in qualifying matches for the 1974 World Cup, however he does not appear in recorded line-ups for these matches
Brazil is the only country to have appeared in every finals tournament
The record number of appearances in world cup matches is 25, held by Lothar Matthaus
Oliver Kahn is the only goalkeeper to have won the Golden Ball trophy (in 2002)
The record for most defeats suffered by a nation in World Cups is held by Mexico (25)
The only three players to have scored in four consecutive finals tournaments are Pele, Uwe Seeler, and Klose
Jules Rimet Trophy was designed by Abel Lafleur. It incorporates a statuette of Nike, the Greek Goddess of Victory.
England World Cup songs –
| 1970 | Back Home |
| 1982 | This time (we’ll get it right) |
| 1990 | World in Motion by New Order and England. Features a rap by John Barnes |
| 1998 | (How Does it Feel to Be) on Top of the World?. Overshadowed by the unofficial anthems Three Lions '98 and Vindaloo |
| 2002 | We're On The Ball by Ant & Dec |
| 2006 | World at Your Feet by Embrace |
Scotland World Cup songs –
| 1974 | Easy Easy |
| 1978 | Ally's Tartan Army. Novelty record by Scottish comedian Andy Cameron |
| 1982 | We Have a Dream |
| 1998 | Don't Come Home Too Soon by Del Amitri |
