Football: World Cup

You can see a lot of the information on this page in a different format – with the answers not hidden – in World Cup Finals, World Cup Awards, and World Cup Notable Scores.

The only country that's won both the men's and women's world cups (men's: 1954, 1974, 1990, 2014; women's, 2003 and 2007)

Germany

The only country that's appeared in every (men's) World Cup finals tournament		Brazil
The first country to hold the (men's) World Cup twice (1970 and 1986)		Mexico
Has appeared in three men's World Cup finals (1974, 1978 and 2010) and one women's (2019) – and lost all four		Netherlands

The Women's World Cup

Year		Host Nation		Winners		Runners–Up		England
1991		China		USA		Norway		DNQ
1995		Sweden		Norway		Germany		Quarter–Finals
1999		USA		USA		China		DNQ
2003		USA		Germany		Sweden		DNQ
2007		China		Germany		Brazil		Quarter–Finals
2011		Germany		Japan		USA		Quarter–Finals
2015		Canada		USA		Japan		Third
2019		France		USA		Netherlands		Fourth
2023		Australia / New Zealand		Spain		England		Runners–Up

2023 Final

Captain of Spain, and scorer of the only goal		Olga Carmona (Garcia)
Barcelona and Spain striker, kissed on the lips by the President of the Spanish Football Federation during the presentation ceremony		Jenni(fer) Hermoso (Fuentes)
The aforementioned President of the Spanish Football Federation		Luis Rubiales

Future Tournaments

Men

2026		Canada, Mexico, USA
2030		Morocco, Portugal, Spain
2034		Saudi Arabia

Women

2027

TBA

2022 Qatar

Final

	City		Stadium		Winners	Score			Runners–Up
	Lusail		Lusail Stadium		Argentina	3	3		France
			Scorer(s)		Messi 23 (pen.), 108 Di María 36				Mbappé 80, 81, 118

Argentina won 4–2 on penalties.

Referee

Szymon Marciniak

Poland

Awards

Award		Goals		Player		Country
Golden Boot (most goals)		8		Kylian Mbappé		France
Golden Ball (top player)				Lionel Messi		Argentina
Best Young Player				Enzo Fernández		Argentina
Golden Gloves (best goalkeeper)				Emilio Martínez		Argentina
Fair Play Award						England

Notable scores

	England	6	2		Iran	Group B
	Wales	0	3		England	Group B
	England	0	0		USA	Group B
	Spain	7	0		Costa Rica	Group E
	Portugal	6	1		Switzerland	Round of 16

England lost 2–1 to France in the quarter–finals. Harry Kane scored England's goal from the penalty spot in the 53rd minute, but missed a second in the 84th – sending it over the bar. France's goals were scored by Aurélien Tchouaméni (17) and Olivier Giroud (78).

Name of the ball (supplied by Adidas under the 1970 agreement)

Al Rihla ('the journey')

2018 Russia

Final

	City		Stadium		Winners	Score			Runners–Up
	Moscow		Luzhniki		France	4	2		Croatia
			Scorer(s)		Mandžukić 18 (o.g.) Griezmann 38 Pogba 59 Mbappé 65				Perišić 28 Mandžukić 69

Referee

Néstor Pitana

Argentina

Awards

Award		Goals		Player		Country
Golden Boot (most goals)		6		Harry Kane		England
Golden Ball (top player)				Luka Modrić		Croatia
Best Young Player				Kylian Mbappé		France
Golden Gloves (best goalkeeper)				Thibaut Courtois		Belgium
Fair Play Award						Spain

England player whose penalty (our third) was saved in the shootout v. Colombia		Jordan Henderson
Scorer of England's decisive fifth penalty, in the same shootout (with the score at 3–3)		Eric Dier
Team that England lost to twice (at the group stage and in the third–place play–off)		Belgium

Notable scores

	Russia	5	0		Saudi Arabia	Opening game
	Belgium	5	2		Tunisia	Group G
	England	6	1		Panama	Group G
	France	4	3		Argentina	Round of 16

Name of the ball (supplied by Adidas under the 1970 agreement)

Telstar 18

2014 Brazil

Final

	City		Stadium		Winners	Score			Runners–Up
	Rio de Janeiro		Maracana		Germany	1	0		Argentina
			Scorer(s)		Götze 113

The final went into extra time, the score after 90 minutes being 0–0. The winning goal was scored with 7 minutes of extra time remaining.

Referee

Nicola Rizzoli

Italy

Awards

Award		Goals		Player		Country
Golden Boot (most goals)		6		James Rodriguez		Colombia
Golden Ball (top player)				Lionel Messi		Argentina
Hyundai Young Player Award				Paul Pogba		France
Golden Gloves (best goalkeeper)				Manuel Neuer		Germany
Fair Play Award						Colombia

Notable scores

	Germany	7	1		Brazil	Semi–final
	Netherlands	5	1		Spain	Round 1

Name of the ball (supplied by Adidas under the 1970 agreement)

Brazuca

2010 South Africa

Final

	City		Stadium		Winners	Score			Runners–Up
	Johannesburg		Soccer City		Spain	1	0		Netherlands
			Scorer(s)		Iniesta 116

The final went into extra time, the score after 90 minutes being 0–0. The winning goal was scored with 4 minutes of extra time remaining.

Referee

Howard Webb

England

Awards

Award		Player		Country
Golden Ball (top player)		Diego Forlan		Uruguay
Best Young Player Award		Thomas Müller		Germany
Golden Gloves (best goalkeeper)		Iker Casillas		Spain

Four players tied for the Golden Boot in 2010, with 5 goals each:

Player		Diego Forlan		Thomas Muller		Wesley Sneijder		David Villa
Country		Uruguay		Germany		Netherlands		Spain

The only undefeated team in the tournament – but were eliminated in Round 1, having drawn all three games

New Zealand

Notable scores

Portugal

7

0

North Korea

First round

Name of the ball (supplied by Adidas under the 1970 agreement)

Jabulani

2006 Germany

Final

	City		Stadium		Winners	Score			Runners–Up
	Berlin		Olympiastadion		Italy	1	1		France
			Scorer(s)		Materazzi 19				Zidane 7 (pen.)

The final went into extra time, the score after 90 minutes being 1–1. Italy won 5–3 on penalties.

Referee		Nicola Rizzoli		Italy
France's captain and goalscorer, and winner of the Golden Ball as the tournament's top player: sent off near the end of extra time in the final (the last game of his career) for head–butting Marco Materazzi (Italy's goalscorer) in the chest in response to verbal provocation				Zinedine Zidane
Missed France's second penalty (hit the bar)				David Trezeguet

Awards

Award		Goals		Player		Country
Golden Boot (most goals)		5		Thomas Müller		Germany
Golden Ball (top player)				Zinedine Zidane		France
Young Player Award				Lukas Podolski		Germany
Golden Gloves (best goalkeeper)				Gianluigi Buffon		Italy

Notable scores

Argentina

6

0

Serbia & Montenegro

First round

English referee who booked the same player three times in Croatia's first–round game against Australia		Graham Poll
Croatian player booked three times by Graham Poll		Josip Šimunić

Name of the ball (supplied by Adidas under the 1970 agreement)

+Teamgeist

2002 South Korea & Japan

Final

	City		Stadium		Winners	Score			Runners–Up
	Yokohama		Yokohama International		Brazil	2	0		Germany
			Scorer(s)		Ronaldo 67, 79

Referee

Pierluigi Collina

Italy

Awards

Award		Goals		Player		Country
Golden Boot (most goals)		8		Ronaldo		Brazil
Golden Ball (top player)				Oliver Kahn		Germany
Young Player Award				Landon Donovan		USA
Golden Gloves (best goalkeeper)				Oliver Kahn		Germany

Notable scores

Brazil

4

0

China

First round

Name of the ball (supplied by Adidas under the 1970 agreement)

Fevernova

England player, surprisingly named by Pelé as "player of the tournament ... so far" (up to and including the Round of 16, when England beat Denmark 3–0)

Nicky Butt

1998 France

Final

	City		Stadium		Winners	Score			Runners–Up
	Paris		Stade de France		France	3	0		Brazil
			Scorer(s)		Zidane (27, 45+1) Petit (90+3)

Referee

Said Belqola

Morocco

Awards

Award		Goals		Player		Country
Golden Boot (most goals)		6		Davor Šuker		Croatia
Golden Ball (top player)				Ronaldo		Brazil
Young Player Award				Michael Owen		England
Golden Gloves (best goalkeeper)				Fabien Barthez		France

Notable scores

	Spain	6	1		Bulgaria	Round 1
	Netherlands	5	0		South Korea	Round 1
	Argentina	5	0		Jamaica	Round 1

Name of the ball (supplied by Adidas under the 1970 agreement)

Tricolore

Scored a golden goal for France against Paraguay, in the Round of 16 – the first in a World Cup finals tournament

Laurent Blanc

1994 USA

Final

	City		Stadium		Winners	Score			Runners–Up
	Pasadena		Rose Bowl		Brazil	0	0		Italy

The match finished 0–0 after extra time. Pagliuca saved Brazil's first penalty (taken by Márcio Santos); Franco Baresi missed Italy's first, Daniele Massaro missed their fourth, and Roberto Baggio missed their fifth. Brazil won 3–2 without having to take their last penalty.

Referee

Sándor Puhl

Hungary

Awards

Award		Goals		Player		Country
Golden Boot (most goals)		6		Hristo Stoichkov		Bulgaria
		6		Oleg Salenko		Russia
Golden Ball (top player)				Romário		Brazil
Young Player Award				Marc Overmars		Netherlands
Golden Gloves (best goalkeeper)				Michel Preud'homme		Belgium

Notable scores

Russia

6

1

Cameroon

Round 1

Name of the ball (supplied by Adidas under the 1970 agreement)

Questra

1990 Italy

Final

	City		Stadium		Winners	Score			Runners–Up
	Rome		Stadio Olimpico		West Germany	1	0		Argentina
			Scorer(s)		Brehme 85 (pen.)

Referee

Edgardo Codesal

Mexico

Awards

Award		Goals		Player		Country
Golden Boot (most goals)		6		Salvatore Schillaci		Italy
Golden Ball (top player)				Salvatore Schillaci		Italy
Young Player Award				Robert Prosinečki		Croatia

Notable scores

Czechoslovakia

5

1

USA

Round 1

Name of the ball (supplied by Adidas under the 1970 agreement)

Etrusco

Argentinian defender, sent off in the final – the first player to be sent off in a FIFA World Cup Final		Pedro Monzón monzon
Victim of the tackle that got the above player sent off (he was accused of diving, but later claimed he was left with a 15 cm gash on his shin)		Jürgen Klinsmann

1986 Mexico

In 1986, Mexico became the first country to host the World Cup finals for a second time. Colombia had originally been chosen as the host nation, but resigned in 1982, largely for economic reasons. Mexico was selected as the new host in May 1983.

Final

	City		Stadium		Winners	Score			Runners–Up
	Mexico City		Aztec Stadium		Argentina	3	2		West Germany
			Scorer(s)		Brown 23 Valdano 55 Burruchaga 83				Rummenigge 74 Völler 80

Referee

Romualdo Arppi Filho

Brazil

Awards

Award		Goals		Player		Country
Golden Boot (most goals)		6		Gary Lineker		England
Golden Ball (top player)				Diego Maradona		Argentina
Young Player Award				Enzo Scifo		Belgium

Notable scores

	USSR	6	0		Hungary	Round 1
	Denmark	6	1		Uruguay	Round 1

Name of the ball (supplied by Adidas under the 1970 agreement)

Azteca

England goalkeeper beaten by Diego Maradona's infamous "hand of God" goal in the quarter–final

Peter Shilton

1982 Spain

Final

	City		Stadium		Winners	Score			Runners–Up
	Madrid		Bernabéu		Italy	3	1		West Germany
			Scorer(s)		Rossi 57 Tardelli 69 Altobelli 81				Breitner 83

There was no score at half–time, but Italy's Antonio Cabrini missed a penalty in the first half.

Referee

Arnaldo Cézar Coelho

Brazil

Awards

Award		Goals		Player		Country
Golden Boot (most goals)		6		Paolo Rossi		Italy
Golden Ball (top player)				Paolo Rossi		Italy
Young Player Award				Manuel Amoros		France

This was the first time there was an actual award for the top scorer.

Notable scores

	Hungary	10	1		El Salvador	Round 1
	Poland	5	1		Peru	Round 1

Name of the ball (supplied by Adidas under the 1970 agreement)

Tango España

1978 Argentina

Final

	City		Stadium		Winners	Score			Runners–Up
	Buenos Aires		River Plate (Monumental)		Argentina	3	1		Netherlands
			Scorer(s)		Kempes 37, 104 Bertoni 115				Nanninga 82

This was the second time in a row that the Netherlands had lost the World Cup Final to the host nation.

Referee

Sergio Gonella

Italy

Awards

Award		Goals		Player		Country
Top scorer		6		Mario Kempes		Argentina
Young Player Award				Antonio Cabrini		Italy

Notable scores

	West Germany	6	0		Mexico	Round 1
	Argentina	6	0		Peru	Round 2

Name of the ball (supplied by Adidas under the 1970 agreement)

Tango

1974 West Germany

Final

	City		Stadium		Winners	Score			Runners–Up
	Munich		Olympic Stadium		West Germany	2	1		Netherlands
			Scorer(s)		Breitner 25 (pen.) Müller 43				Neeskens 2 (pen.)

The kick–off was delayed because stadium staff had removed the corner flags for the tournament's closing ceremony (which preceded the final) but forgot to put them back.

Referee

Jack Taylor

England

Awards

Award		Goals		Player		Country
Top scorer		7		Grzegorz Lato		Poland
Young Player Award				Władysław Żmuda		Poland

Notable scores

	Yugoslavia	9	0		Zaire	Round 1
	Poland	7	0		Haiti	Round 1

Name of the ball (supplied by Adidas under the 1970 agreement)

Telstar Durlast

1970 Mexico

Final

	City		Stadium		Winners	Score			Runners–Up
	Mexico City		Aztec Stadium		Brazil	4	1		Italy
			Scorer(s)		Pelé 18 Gérson 66 Jairzinho 71 Carlos Alberto 86				Boninsegna 37

This was the first time that two former world champion nations had met in a World Cup Final.

Referee

Rudi Glöckner

East Germany

Awards

Award		Goals		Player		Country
Top scorer		10		Gerd Müller		West Germany
Young Player Award				Teófilo Cubillas		Peru
Fair Play Award						Peru

Gerd Müller also scored four goals in the 1974 tournament, and he holds the record with 14 career goals in World Cup Finals tournaments.

Notable scores

West Germany

5

2

Bulgaria

Round 1

Name of the ball (the first one supplied by Adidas under the 1970 agreement)

Telstar

1966 England

England's Round 1 results		England 0 Uruguay 0
		England 2 Mexico 0 (B. Charlton, Hunt)
		England 2 France 0 (Hunt 2)
England's quarter–final		England 1 Argentina 0 (Hurst)

Qualified for the quarter–finals ahead of Italy, after beating them 1–0 in the group stage; lost 5–3 to Portugal in the quarter–final, after leading 3–0		North Korea
Scorer of North Korea's goal against Italy		Pak Doo–Ik

Wembley semi–final		England 2 Portugal 1 (B. Charlton 2, Eusebio)
Goodison Park semi–final		West Germany 2 (Haller, Beckenbauer) USSR 1 (Porkujan)
Third place play–off (Wembley)		Portugal 2 (Eusébio 12 pen., Torres 89) USSR 1 (Malofeyev 43)

Final

	City		Stadium		Winners	Score			Runners–Up
	London		Wembley		England	4	2		West Germany
			Scorer(s)		Hurst 18, 101, 120 Peters 78				Haller 12 Weber 89

Geoff Hurst is still the only player, up to and including 2018, to score a hat–trick in a World Cup Final.

The 1966 World Cup Final was the most watched broadcast ever on UK television, with 32.3 million viewers. To put this into context: the funeral of Princess Diana is second with 32.1 million viewers, the 1969 documentary Royal Family is third with 30.7, and the 1986 Christmas Day episode of EastEnders, when Dirty Den Watts served divorce papers on Angie, is fourth with 30.15.

Referee (died in 1998, aged 78)

Gottfried Dienst

Switzerland

Youngest member of England's squad (born 12 May 1945)		Alan Ball
Oldest member of England's squad (born 28 July 1934) – didn't play in the tournament; see No. 17 below		Ron Flowers
Actual nationality of "the Russian linesman" (Tofik Bakhramov – died in 1993, aged 66)		Azerbaijani
The only player (on either side) to be booked in the final		Martin Peters
Captain of the West German team (in the final)		Uwe Seeler
West Germany's goalkeeper (in the final)		Hans Tilkowski

England's Squad

The eleven that played in the final were:

No.	Position	Club	Born	Place of Birth	Died		Name
1	Goalkeeper	Leicester City	30 Dec 1937	Sheffield	12 Feb 2019		Gordon Banks
2	Right back	Fulham	22 Oct 1939	London	23 Dec 2022		George Cohen
3	Left back	Everton	17 Dec 1934	Derbyshire	15 May 2018		Ray Wilson
4	Defensive midfield	Manchester United	18 May 1942	Manchester	30 Oct 2020		Nobby Stiles
5	Centre half	Leeds United	8 May 1935	Northumberland	10 July 2020		Jack Charlton
6	Centre half	West Ham United	12 April 1941	Barking, Essex	24 Feb 1993		Bobby Moore
7	Right midfield	Blackpool	12 May 1945	Bolton	25 April 2007		Alan Ball
9	Centre midfield	Manchester United	11 Oct 1937	Northumberland			Bobby Charlton
10	Centre forward	West Ham United	8 Dec 1941	Ashton, Lancs			Geoff Hurst
16	Inside forward	West Ham United	8 Nov 1943	Plaistow, Essex	21 Dec 2019		Martin Peters
21	Inside forward	Liverpool	20 July 1938	Nr. Warrington	27 Sep 2021		Roger Hunt

The eleven that didn't play in the final were:

No.	Position	Club	Born	Place of Birth	Died		Name
8	Striker	Spurs	20 Feb 1940	Manor Park, Essex	19 Sep 2021		Jimmy Greaves
11	Right wing forward	Manchester Utd.	18 July 1938	St. Helens, Lancs	25 Oct 2012		John Connelly
12	Goalkeeper	Sheffield Weds	22 July 1935	Fulham, London	12 Sep 2015		Ron Springett
13	Goalkeeper	Chelsea	27 Sep 1941	Putney, London	12 April 2020		Peter Bonetti
14	Right back	Blackpool	21 Sep 1935	Denton, Manchester	22 Jan 2018		Jimmy Armfield
15	Left back	Liverpool	29 Aug 1938	Liverpool	28 Nov 2015		Gerry Byrne
17	Centre half	Wolves	28 July 1934	Doncaster, Yorks	12 Nov 2021		Ron Flowers
18	Centre half	Leeds United	29 Oct 1943	Gateshead	17 April 2020		Norman Hunter
19	Right wing	Southampton	23 Mar 1939	Winchester, Hants			Terry Paine
20	Midfield	Liverpool	10 April 1942	Toxteth, Liverpool			Ian Callaghan
22	Inside forward	Arsenal	23 Sep 1936	Blackpool			George Eastham

Grounds

Ground used in Group 1 (England, Uruguay, Mexico, France) for one game only (Uruguay v. France)		White City
Grounds used in Group 2 (West Germany, Argentina, Spain, Switzerland)		Hillsborough
		Villa Park
Grounds used in Group 3 (Portugal, Hungary, Brazil, Bulgaria)		Goodison Park
		Old Trafford
Grounds used in Group 4 (USSR, North Korea, Italy, Chile)		Roker Park
		Ayresome Park

In the above table, the teams are listed in final table order. The first named ground in each group was also used for a quarter final.

Awards

Award		Goals		Player		Country
Top scorer		9		Eusebio		Portugal
Young Player Award				Franz Beckenbauer		West Germany

Franz Beckenbauer was 20 years old at the time of the 1966 World Cup. He won the first of his 103 caps in 1965, and the last in 1977. He captained his country from 1971. He played in three World Cups (1966, 1970 and 1974) and two European Championships (1972 and 1976).

(In 1968, the European Championships finals tournament began with the quarter–finals, in which the winners of the eight qualifying groups groups played. West Germany failed to qualify, having made five changes for the away game against Albania, as compared with the team that won 6–0 in the home fixture. The missing players included Beckenbauer, Gerd Muller, and the goalkeeper, Hans Tilkowski. The result was a 0–0 draw, allowing Yugoslavia to qualify with three wins – compared to the Germans' two wins and a draw. Yugoslavia beat France in the quarter–final and England in the semi–final, but lost to Italy in the final after a replay.)

Notable scores

	West Germany	5	0		Switzerland	Round 1
	Portugal	5	3		North Korea	Quarter Final

Supplier of the balls (chosen from several manufacturers that were asked to provide samples)

Slazenger

1962 Chile

Final

	City		Stadium		Winners	Score			Runners–Up
	Santiago		National Stadium		Brazil	3	1		Czechoslovakia
			Scorer(s)		Amarildo 17 Zito 69 Vavá 78				Masopust 15

 

Referee

Nikolay Latyshev

Soviet Union

Awards

Award		Goals		Player		Country
Young Player Award				Flórián Albert		Hungary

Five players tied as top scorer in 1962, with 4 goals each:

Player		Flórián Albert		Garrincha		Valentin Ivanov		Leonel Sánchez		Vavá
Country		Hungary		Brazil		Soviet Union		Chile		Brazil

Notable scores

	Yugoslavia	5	0		Colombia	Round 1
	Hungary	6	1		Bulgaria	Round 1

1958 Sweden

Final

	City		Stadium		Winners	Score			Runners–Up
	Stockholm		Råsunda, Solna		Brazil	5	2		Sweden
			Scorer(s)		Vavá 9, 32 Pelé 55, 90 Zagallo 68				Liedholm 4 Simonsson 80

 

Referee

Maurice Guigue

France

Awards

Award		Goals		Player		Country
Top scorer		13		Just Fontaine		France
Young Player Award				Pelé		Brazil

Just Fontaine holds the record for the number of goals scored in a World Cup finals tournament. He scored three in France's opening group game against Paraguay (see below), two in a 3–2 defeat at the hands of Yugoslavia, and one in a 2–1 defeat of Scotland. In the quarter–final against Northern Ireland, which France won 4–0, he scored two; and he scored a ninth–minute equaliser in the semi–final against Brazil, which ended in a 5–2 defeat for France. He then scored four in a 6–3 defeat of West Germany in the third place play–off.

Pelé scored six goals in this tournament, including three in the semi–final against France (a 23–minute hat–trick that put Brazil 5–1 up with 15 minutes left to play) and two in the final. He went on to score one in each of the 1962 and 1966 tournaments, before sustaining injuries in each (the latter at the hands of some brutal tackling by Bulgaria and Portugal) and four in 1970 – making a total of 12.

Notable scores

	France	7	3		Paraguay	Round 1
	Czechoslovakia	6	1		Argentina	Round 1
	France	6	3		West Germany	3rd place play–off

1954 Switzerland

Final

	City		Stadium		Winners	Score			Runners–Up
	Berne		Wankdorf		West Germany	3	2		Hungary
			Scorer(s)		Morlock 10 Rahn 18,84				Puskás 6 Czibor 8

Referee

William Ling

England

Awards

Award		Goals		Player		Country
Top scorer		11		Sándor Koscis		Hungary

Notable scores

	Brazil	5	0		Mexico	Round 1
	Hungary	9	0		South Korea	Round 1
	Hungary	8	3		West Germany	Round 1
	Turkey	7	0		South Korea	Round 1
	West Germany	7	2		Turkey	Round 1
	Uruguay	7	0		Scotland	Round 1
	Austria	5	0		Czechoslovakia	Round 1
	Austria	7	5		Switzerland	Quarter–final
	West Germany	6	1		Austria	Semi–final

1950 Brazil

With much of the world still recovering from World War II, FIFA had a job to find a host nation for the 1950 World Cup and qualification was a very hit–and–miss affair. Several countries withdrew after qualification; France initially accepted but then withdrew, leaving only two teams (Bolivia and Uruguay) in Group 4 of the first round.

Final

	City		Stadium		Winners	Score			Runners–Up
	Rio de Janeiro		Maracanã		Uruguay	2	1		Brazil
			Scorer(s)		Schiaffino 66 Ghiggia 79				Friaça 47

There was no knock–out stage in the 1950 World Cup; the tournament was decided by a round–robin group involving the winners of the four first round groups. Uruguay qualified for the final group having played only one game, against Bolivia, after France withdrew (as explained above). Uruguay won this match 8–0.

The final match of the second and final round–robin stage was Brazil v. Uruguay. Brazil were one point ahead of Uruguay (with 4 points to their 3) so they only needed a draw, while Uruguay needed to win. This match is often referred to as the 1950 World Cup Final, but in fact it was just the final match in the final group stage. As shown above, Brazil went ahead early in the second half but Uruguay came back to win 3–2 and finish top of the group with 5 points.

The other two teams in the final group were Sweden and Spain, who finished third on 2 points and fourth on 1 point respectively.

Referee

George Reader

England

Awards

Award		Goals		Player		Country
Top scorer		8		Ademir		Brazil

Notable scores

	Uruguay	8	0		Bolivia	Round 1
	USA	1	0		England	Round 1
	Brazil	7	1		Sweden	Final group stage (Round 2)
	Brazil	6	1		Spain	Final group stage (Round 2)

Scorer of the USA's goal against England

Joe Gaetjens

Gaetjens was born in Haiti into a well–to–do family; his mother was Haitian and his father was German. In 1947, at the age of 23, he won a scholarship from the Haitian government to study accounting at Columbia University in New York. He never took US citizenship and after the World Cup he went to live in France, returning to Haiti in 1954. He was distantly related to Louis Déjoie, who in 1957 lost the Haitian election to François 'Papa Doc' Duvalier. In 1964, when Duvalier declared himself "President for Life", the rest of Gaetjens's family fled the country. Gaetjens stayed, but was immediately arrested by the Tontons Macoutes. He was never seen again, and his body has never been found.

Gaejens's goal against England was a diving header that deflected a 25–yard shot from Walter Bahr and wrong–footed the England goalkeeper Bert Williams.

1938 France

Final

	City		Stadium		Winners	Score			Runners–Up
	Paris		Olympic Stadium (Colombes)		Italy	4	2		Hungary
			Scorer(s)		Colaussi 6, 35 Piola 16, 82				Titkos 8 Sárosi 70

In 1938 Italy became the first team to successfully defend the title, and the first team to win the title on foreign soil.

Referee

Georges Capdeville

France

Awards

Award		Goals		Player		Country
Top scorer		7		Leônidas		Brazil

Notable scores

	Hungary	6	1		Dutch East Indies	Round 1
	Brazil	6	5		Poland	Round 1
	Sweden	8	0		Cuba	Round 2 (quarter–final)

As in 1934, the 1938 tournament was played on a knockout basis from Round 1 and there was no group stage. Brazil needed extra time to beat Poland in their group; the score after 90 minutes was 4–4. Brazil went 6–4 ahead, but Poland pulled one goal back with just two minutes of extra time remaining.

Two first–round ties were not settled after extra time, and had to be replayed: Germany v. Switzerland (Switzerland won the replay 4–2) and Cuba v. Romania (Cuba won the replay 2–1). Similarly, Brazil needed a replay to beat Czechoslovakia in the quarter–finals, winning the replay 2–1.

1934 Italy

Final

	City		Stadium		Winners	Score			Runners–Up
	Rome		PNF National Stadium		Italy	2	1		Czechoslovakia
			Scorer(s)		Orsi 81 Schiavio 95				Puč 71

The final went into extra time, the score after 90 minutes being 1–1.

The PNF National Stadium was named after the Italian National Fascist Party (Partito Nazionale Fascista).

Referee

Ivan Eklind

Sweden

Awards

Award		Goals		Player		Country
Top scorer		5		Oldřich Nejedlý		Czechoslovakia

Notable scores

Italy

7

1

USA

Round 1

There was no group stage in 1934; the tournament was decided entirely on a knockout basis, with 16 teams contesting the first round. The only tie that needed a replay was the quarter–final between Italy and Spain, which ended 1–1 after extra time. Italy won the replay 1–0.

1930 Uruguay

Final

	City		Stadium		Winners	Score			Runners–Up
	Montevideo		Centenary		Uruguay	4	2		Argentina
			Scorer(s)		Dorado 12 Cea 57 Iriarte 68 Castro 89				Peucelle 20 Stábile 37

The first round had three groups of three teams and one group of four; the winners of each group went through to the semi–finals. Both semi–finals finished 6–1 (see below).

The Centenary Stadium (Estadio Centenario) was specially built for the 1930 World Cup. It was named to commemorate the centenary of Uruguay's first constitution, which was adopted on 18 July 1830.

Referee

John Lengenus

Belgium

Awards

Award		Goals		Player		Country
Top scorer		8		Guillermo Stábile		Argentina

Notable scores

	Argentina	6	1		USA	Semi–final
	Uruguay	6	1		Yugoslavia	Semi–final

Yugoslavia opened the scoring in the 4th minute of their semi–final; Uruguay equalised in the 18th, went ahead 3 minutes later, and were 3–1 up by half time. In the second half, a further three goals in the space of 11 minutes put them 6–1 up after 72 minutes.

In the other semi–final, Argentina scored after 20 minutes and the score stayed at 1–0 until half–time. Argentina scored five more goals between the 56th and 85th minutes, and the USA scored a consolation in the 89th.

Scorer of the first World Cup goal (for France against Mexico)

Lucien Laurent

Lucien Laurent was born in the suburbs of Paris. Up to the 1930 World Cup he played as a semi–professional for Cercle Athlétique de Paris Charenton (CA Paris). He scored with a volley in the 19th minute of the first World Cup match, which France eventually won 4–1. He played only 10 games for France in total, and scored only one other goal.

After the World Cup he moved to FC Sochaux–Montbéliard, the works team of the Peugeot car factory. He played for five more French clubs (and also had second spells with both CA Paris and Sochaux) before World War II, when he joined the armed forces. He was taken prisoner by the Germans and played wartime football for Racing Club Besançon – in eastern France, near the border with Switzerland – retiring in 1946. He was the only member of France's 1930 squad that survived to see his country lift the World Cup in 1998; he died seven years later, in Besançon, aged 97.

© Haydn Thompson 2017–22