Which Country Has the Most World Cup Wins?

The highlight of any soccer fan’s social calendar is the men’s FIFA World Cup. This prestigious tournament has a long history beginning in 1930. In this post, we will examine the countries with the most World Cup wins and take a look at what can be expected from the upcoming 2026 World Cup.

The FIFA World Cup is the biggest soccer tournament in the world and arguably the most popular sports event, with billions of people tuning in to watch. It’s been held every four years since 1930, except for two years during the Second World War, and seems to be getting bigger and better every time.

Winning the World Cup is a rare honor and only eight countries have ever accomplished this feat. Winning countries don’t only get the glory, they’re also awarded prize money. So which country has walked away with the coveted trophy the most times? Continue reading to find out as we look back at all World Cup winners:

• The Most Successful Team in World Cup History
• Brazil
• Germany
• Italy
• Argentina
• France
• Uruguay
• Spain
• England
• What’s in Store for World Cup 2026?

The Most Successful Team in World Cup History

Before we talk about the Men’s World Cup, the Women’s World Cup deserves a mention. It has a much shorter history, beginning in 1991, but the USA Women’s team is the most successful nation. They have won the tournament four times. Germany has won twice, and Norway and Japan once.

Brazil is still the most successful country when it comes to the men’s World Cup, and they have taken home the trophy five times! We will go into detail about Brazil’s success shortly. Germany and Italy are not far behind, having both won the competition on four occasions.

Other teams repeatedly show up in World Cup finals and come tantalizingly close but have yet to lift the trophy. The Netherlands stands out as one such team. They have reached the final three times but have never won. The last time was in 2010 when they lost out to Spain.

A big factor in determining a team’s success on the road to becoming soccer World Cup winners is having great players. Some players are so exceptional that they go down in World Cup history, such as Pelé for Brazil – he is the only player to have three World Cup wins to his name!

So, here is our list of all the countries that have won the World Cup:

Brazil

Brazil is the most successful team in World Cup history. They have five wins under their belt, and they are also one of the few teams to win the tournament back-to-back, in both 1958 and 1962. Despite being the most successful team, Brazil has not actually won the title since 2002.

However, Brazil is also considered the team with the best overall performance. They are the only one to have qualified for and played at every World Cup. Despite a slightly disappointing performance at the 2022 World Cup, after they lost to Croatia during penalties, they are still a team to watch out for in 2026.

Germany

Germany place second in our FIFA World Cup winners list, with a total of four wins, the most recent in 2014. However, the team is probably the most well-known in recent years for their disappointing performances. The team suffered a shock exit in the 2022 World Cup after failing to make it past the group stages.

A notable German player is Miroslav Klose, who holds the title of the all-time top goal scorer. He scored 16 goals in his World Cup soccer career between 2002 – 2014 in a total of 24 matches. This has yet to be beaten, but Brazil’s Ronaldo is not far behind with 15 goals.

Italy

Joint second with Germany, the next team on our list is Italy, with four World Cup wins. The team won most recently in 2006. They also managed to successfully defend their title and win the tournament back-to-back (similarly to Brazil) in 1934 and 1938.

You may be wondering where Italy has been in recent World Cups, and the team’s absence has definitely been the elephant in the room, especially after their victory in the 2020 European Championships. Somewhat surprisingly, the UEFA Euro winners didn’t qualify for the last two World Cups, meaning their last appearance was in 2014.

Argentina

Next up, we have the most recent soccer World Cup winners, Argentina! After beating France in a nail-biting 2022 final that went to penalties, they have racked up a total of three World Cup wins. Before this historic victory, Argentina had not walked away with the cup since 1986.

Argentina is also a team that is home to many world-famous players. There’s Maradona, who helped the country win its second World Cup title in 1986, and of course, more recently, we have the beloved Messi, who helped them towards their 2022 win and finally got to lift the trophy.

France

The next team on our list of winners is France. The team has won the World Cup twice before. The first time was in 1998, which was also the year they were hosting, and they won again in 2018, making them the defending champions during the 2022 tournament.

This team is home to the FIFA World Cup 2022 Golden Boot winner, Kylian Mbappe, thanks to his hat-trick in the final against Argentina. This sadly wasn’t enough to see the team to victory though, when the match went to penalties, and they narrowly lost out.

Uruguay

Uruguay was the first team to win the World Cup in 1930. This was also the year that they were the hosts, and they beat Argentina 4–2 in the final match. In total they have won two World Cups, going on to win again in 1950.

In this 1950 match, they upset hosts Brazil, beating them 2–1 in the final. Since then, Uruguay has not made it to a World Cup final, the best they’ve done in recent years is coming in 4th place in 2010. They were knocked out during the group stage in 2022.

Spain

Next up, we have the teams who have won the World Cup just once. Spain won the title of the soccer World Cup winners in 2010. This was also their first appearance in a final, and they took home the trophy after defeating the Netherlands in South Africa.

England

Lastly, we have England. Similarly to Spain, they have only won the World Cup once in 1966. This was also the year they were hosts and the final was played at London’s Wembley Stadium against West Germany, England winning 4–2. The best they have done since is finish in 4th place in 1990 and 2018.

What’s in Store for the World Cup 2026?

So, all eyes are now on the next World Cup taking place in 2026 which will be the 23rd tournament. For the first time ever, it is being hosted across three countries, the US, Canada, and Mexico. This will surely be very different from the compact 2022 tournament hosted in Qatar.

The 2022 World Cup in Qatar was the first time that the tournament was held in Winter, so that players would not have to suffer through the extreme heat of a Qatar summer. But 2026 will see a return to the usual summer tournament.

There are also going to be more teams taking part, increasing from the usual 32 to 48. FIFA is expecting this will mean more fans as well as more money generated. It’s also good news for sports betting fans, as it means more betting opportunities. Check out our list of sportsbooks in PA for betting on the World Cup.

To cut down on travel time between the countries, the plan is for the US to host all matches from the quarterfinals onwards. It’ll be interesting to see which teams make it and if being one of the host nations will boost the USA’s chances after a disappointing loss to the Netherlands in 2022.

We don’t know about you, but we’re excited to see how this unique setup plays out.