Football world cup full history
The FIFA World Cup is an international soccer competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has taken place every four years since the inaugural event in 1930, except in 1942 and 1946 when it was cancelled due to World War II.
The first World Cup was held in 1930 in Uruguay, with 13 teams participating. The host team emerged as the winners, defeating Argentina 4-2 in the final. Since then, the World Cup has grown in size and popularity, with the number of teams participating increasing to 32 for the 2002 tournament and the current format featuring a total of 48 teams.
The World Cup has been won by eight different countries: Uruguay (1930), Italy (1934), Brazil (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002), England (1966), West Germany (1974, 1990), Argentina (1978), France (1998), and Spain (2010). Brazil is the most successful team, having won the tournament a record five times. The current champion is France, who won the tournament in 2018.
The World Cup is one of the most widely viewed and followed sporting events in the world, with an estimated 715.1 million people watching the final match of the 2006 tournament. The next World Cup is scheduled to take place in Qatar in 2022.