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With the 2026 World Cup nearly underway —the first edition with 48 teams and three host countries— it is worthwhile to review who has dominated the history of the most important tournament in soccer. In nearly a century of competition, only eight nations have managed to lift the trophy, and among them, one continues to look down on the rest from the top: Brazil.
La Canarinha has accumulated five titles (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, and 2002), more than any other team in history. It had to wait until 1958 to celebrate its first championship, but once it opened the door, it became an almost unstoppable force. Its peak came in Mexico 1970, when it defeated Italy in the final with a display of offensive football that still serves as a benchmark today.
However, recent history presents a paradox: the most successful national team in the world has not lifted the trophy since 2002 and is experiencing the longest World Cup drought in its history, with over 23 years without a title.
Behind Brazil are two European giants that share four crowns: Italy and Germany.
The Azzurra was a pioneer by organizing and winning the World Cup in 1934, defended their title in 1938, and reached the top again in 1982 and 2006, the latter with a generation led by Fabio Cannavaro, Gianluigi Buffon, and Andrea Pirlo.
Germany built its legacy on consistency. No other team has played in more World Cup finals: eight in total, with four victories and four losses. From the "Miracle of Bern" in 1954 to Mario Götze's goal in extra time of the 2014 final in Brazil against Argentina, the Germans have been synonymous with competitiveness in almost every era.
With three titles, Argentina stands as the reigning world champion. Their first victory came at home in 1978. Eight years later, Diego Armando Maradona delivered one of the most brilliant performances in history at Mexico 1986, playing a direct role in ten Argentine goals.
In Qatar 2022, Lionel Messi completed the masterpiece of his career by leading the Albiceleste to a third star that seemed destined to accompany him from the very beginning, after defeating France in penalties.
With two titles each, Uruguay and France have completely different histories.
Uruguay was the first champion in history, winning the final in 1930 against Argentina. Twenty years later, it was at the center of one of the greatest upsets in sports by defeating Brazil at the Maracanã Stadium, silencing nearly 200,000 spectators in the event known as the "Maracanazo."
France, on the other hand, belongs to a more recent generation. The Blues won their first World Cup in 1998 as hosts and repeated the feat in Russia 2018, also being the last home team to win a World Cup on home soil, a achievement that no country has matched since then.
The list is closed by England and Spain, each with a unique and unparalleled title in their history.
England won its only World Cup in 1966, when Geoff Hurst scored a legendary hat-trick in the Wembley final against West Germany. To this day, Hurst remains the only player to have scored three goals in a World Cup final.
Spain transformed its golden generation into immortality during South Africa 2010. After starting the tournament with an unexpected defeat against Switzerland, La Roja reached the final against the Netherlands, and in extra time, Andrés Iniesta scored the most important goal in the history of Spanish football.
With the tournament in full swing, the eight historical champions —Brazil, Germany, Italy, Argentina, Uruguay, France, England, and Spain— are competing today to add a new star to their crests in the twenty-third edition of the tournament, the first in history with 48 participating teams.
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