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List of FIFA World Cup finals facts for kids

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FIFA World Cup final
Founded 1930; 94 years ago (1930)
Current champions  Argentina (3rd title)
Most successful team(s)  Brazil (5 titles)

The FIFA World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The championship has been awarded every four years since 1930, except in 1942 and 1946, when it was not held because of World War II.

The World Cup final match is the last of the competition, played by the only two teams remaining in contention, and the result determines which country is declared the world champion. It is a one-off match decided in regulation time. In case of a draw, extra time is used. If scores are then still level, a penalty shoot-out determines the winner, under the rules in force since 1986; prior to that, finals still tied after extra time would have been replayed, though this never proved necessary. The golden goal rule would have applied during extra time in 1998 and 2002, but was not put in practice either.

The only exception to this type of format was the 1950 World Cup, which featured a final round-robin group of four teams; the decisive match of that group is often regarded as the de facto final of that tournament, including by FIFA itself.

The team that wins the final receives the FIFA World Cup Trophy, and its name is engraved on the bottom side of the trophy. Of 80 different nations that have appeared in the tournament, 13 have made it to the final, and 8 have won. Brazil, the only team that has participated in every World Cup, is also the most successful team in the competition, having won five titles and finished second twice. Italy and Germany have four titles each, with Germany having reached more finals than any other team, eight. Current champion Argentina has three titles, Uruguay and France have two each, while England and Spain have one each. Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Sweden, the Netherlands and Croatia have played in the final without winning. Only teams from Europe (UEFA) and South America (CONMEBOL) have ever competed in the final.

Argentina defeated France on penalties in the latest final, staged at Qatar's Lusail Stadium in 2022.

List of final matches

Key to the list
a.e.t. Match was won during extra time
pen. Match was won on a penalty shoot-out
List of FIFA World Cup finals
Year Winners Score Runners-up Venue Location Attendance Ref.
1930 Uruguay  4–2  Argentina Estadio Centenario Montevideo, Uruguay 68,346
1934 Italy  2–1 (aet)  Czechoslovakia Stadio Nazionale PNF Rome, Italy 55,000
1938 Italy  4–2  Hungary Stade Olympique de Colombes Paris, France 45,000
1950 Uruguay  2–1  Brazil Maracanã Stadium Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 173,850
1954 West Germany  3–2  Hungary Wankdorf Stadium Bern, Switzerland 62,500
1958 Brazil  5–2  Sweden Råsunda Stadium Solna, Sweden 49,737
1962 Brazil  3–1  Czechoslovakia Estadio Nacional Santiago, Chile 68,679
1966 England  4–2 (aet)  West Germany Wembley Stadium London, England 96,924
1970 Brazil  4–1  Italy Estadio Azteca Mexico City, Mexico 107,412
1974 West Germany  2–1  Netherlands Olympiastadion Munich, West Germany 78,200
1978 Argentina  3–1 (aet)  Netherlands Estadio Monumental Buenos Aires, Argentina 71,483
1982 Italy  3–1  West Germany Santiago Bernabéu Madrid, Spain 90,000
1986 Argentina  3–2  West Germany Estadio Azteca Mexico City, Mexico 114,600
1990 West Germany  1–0  Argentina Stadio Olimpico Rome, Italy 73,603
1994 Brazil  0–0 (aet)
(3–2 pen.)
 Italy Rose Bowl Pasadena, California, United States 94,194
1998 France  3–0  Brazil Stade de France Saint-Denis, France 80,000
2002 Brazil  2–0  Germany International Stadium Yokohama, Japan 69,029
2006 Italy  1–1 (aet)
(5–3 pen.)
 France Olympiastadion Berlin, Germany 69,000
2010 Spain  1–0 (aet)  Netherlands Soccer City Johannesburg, South Africa 84,490
2014 Germany  1–0 (aet)  Argentina Maracanã Stadium Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 74,738
2018 France  4–2  Croatia Luzhniki Stadium Moscow, Russia 78,011
2022 Argentina  3–3 (aet)
(4–2 pen.)
 France Lusail Stadium Lusail, Qatar 88,966
2026 MetLife Stadium East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States

Results

World cup winners
Map of winning countries
Results by nation
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
Results by confederation
Confederation Appearances Winners Runners-up
UEFA 29 12 17
CONMEBOL 15 10 5

See also

Kids robot.svg 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
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