Sanjesh Singh

NBC Sports, Sun. Nov. 20, 2022

One of the most prestigious trophies in all of sports will be up for grabs in Qatar this year.

The 2022 FIFA World Cup is on the horizon and soon, 32 teams from around the globe will be competing for the chance to lift the infamous trophy in December.

Let’s comb through the tournament’s history to see which nations have won the most World Cups:

Who has won the most World Cups?

Brazil is the nation that has won the most World Cups with five, though two European countries are hoping to tie the record this year.

Here’s a breakdown of the 21 World Cup winners dating back to 1930:

Brazil – 5 (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002)

Germany – 4 (1954, 1974, 1990, 2014)

Italy – 4 (1934, 1938, 1982, 2006)

Argentina – 2 (1978, 1986)

France – 2 (1998, 2018)

Uruguay – 2 (1930, 1950)

Spain – 1 (2010)

England – 1 (1966)

Has any nation won back-to-back World Cups?

Italy (1934, 1938) and Brazil (1958, 1962) are the only two nations to win back-to-back titles in World Cup history. Italy beat Czechoslovakia 2-1 in 1934 and Hungary 4-2 in 1938 while Brazil defeated Sweden 5-2 in 1958 and Czechoslovakia 3-1 in 1962.

Which teams made the World Cup Final but didn’t win?

Five countries have reached a World Cup Final but are still waiting to hoist the trophy.

Here’s a breakdown of every runner-up in the final, including nations that have won:

Germany – 4 (1966, 1982, 1986, 2002)

Netherlands – 3 (1974, 1978, 2010)

Argentina – 3 (1930, 1990, 2014)

Brazil – 2 (1950, 1998)

Italy – 2 (1970, 1994)

Czechoslovakia – 2 (1934, 1962)

Hungary – 2 (1938, 1954)

Sweden – 1 (1958)

Croatia – 1 (2018)

In 1993, Czechoslovakia split and became two teams – Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Which confederation has won the most World Cups?

With six confederations in FIFA, only two have seen their representative countries win the World Cup: UEFA (Europe) and CONMEBOL (South America). CONCACAF (North America/Caribbean), CAF (Africa), AFC (Asia) and OFC (Oceania) have not had a country reach the final.

Here’s the breakdown between UEFA and CONMEBOL in the World Cup Final:

UEFA – 28 appearances, 12 wins, 16 runner-ups

CONMEBOL – 14 appearances, 9 wins, 5 runner-ups