List of FIFA World Cup finals facts for kids
| Founded | 1930 |
|---|---|
| Current champions |  Argentina (3rd title) |
| Most successful team(s) |  Brazil (5 titles) |
The FIFA World Cup is a huge international soccer competition. It's played by the best men's national teams from around the world. The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) is the group that runs it. This championship happens every four years since 1930. It was only skipped in 1942 and 1946 because of World War II.
The World Cup final match is the very last game of the tournament. Only two teams are left, and they play to see who becomes the world champion! It's usually a single match. If the score is tied after the normal game time, they play extra time. If it's still tied after extra time, they have a penalty shoot-out to decide the winner. This rule has been in place since 1986. Before that, they would have replayed the final if it was a draw, but that never happened.
There was one special World Cup in 1950. Instead of a single final match, the winner was decided by a group of four teams playing against each other. The last game of that group, between Uruguay and Brazil, is often called the "final" because it decided the champion.
The team that wins the final gets the famous FIFA World Cup Trophy. Their country's name is carved onto the bottom of the trophy! Out of 80 different countries that have played in the World Cup, 13 have reached the final, and 8 have won the trophy. Brazil is the only team that has played in every World Cup. They are also the most successful, winning five titles and finishing second twice. Italy and Germany each have four titles. Germany has actually played in more finals than any other team, reaching eight!
The current champion is Argentina, with three titles. Uruguay and France have won twice each. England and Spain have each won one title. Some teams like Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Croatia have played in the final but haven't won. So far, only teams from Europe and South America have ever made it to the final match.
In the most recent final, held in Qatar in 2022, Argentina beat France in a penalty shoot-out.
List of Final Matches
| a.e.t. | Match was won during extra time |
| pen. | Match was won on a penalty shoot-out |
Results
| Team | Winners | Runners-up | Total finals | Years won | Years runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil |
5 | 2 | 7 | 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002 | 1950, 1998 |
 Germany |
4 | 4 | 8 | 1954, 1974, 1990, 2014 | 1966, 1982, 1986, 2002 |
 Italy |
4 | 2 | 6 | 1934, 1938, 1982, 2006 | 1970, 1994 |
| Argentina |
3 | 3 | 6 | 1978, 1986, 2022 | 1930, 1990, 2014 |
 France |
2 | 2 | 4 | 1998, 2018 | 2006, 2022 |
 Uruguay |
2 | 0 | 2 | 1930, 1950 | — |
 England |
1 | 0 | 1 | 1966 | — |
 Spain |
1 | 0 | 1 | 2010 | — |
 Netherlands |
0 | 3 | 3 | — | 1974, 1978, 2010 |
 Hungary |
0 | 2 | 2 | — | 1938, 1954 |
 Czechoslovakia |
0 | 2 | 2 | — | 1934, 1962 |
 Sweden |
0 | 1 | 1 | — | 1958 |
 Croatia |
0 | 1 | 1 | — | 2018 |
| Continent | Appearances | Winners | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| UEFA (Europe) | 29 | 12 | 17 |
| CONMEBOL (South America) | 15 | 10 | 5 |
See Also
In Spanish: Anexo:Finales de la Copa Mundial de Fútbol para niños
- List of FIFA Confederations Cup finals
- List of FIFA World Cup final stadiums
- List of FIFA World Cup final goalscorers
