Most World Cup wins in history – can England end 60-year wait or will Brazil add to their five trophies?

Uruguay – 2

Uruguay have had some great players, but they’re not necessarily someone you’d expect to have two World Cups. Still, the South Americans won the first ever edition of this tournament in 1930.

The World Cup was much smaller back then, though, with only 13 teams taking part, and with the semi-finals coming right after the group stages. Uruguay beat Argentina 4-2 in the final in front of a crowd of 68,346 in Montevideo.

Uruguay’s second World Cup was a dramatic upset in 1950 as they beat host nation Brazil 2-1 in Rio de Janeiro. They came from 1-0 down to upset the odds in a game that the Brazilian press had already more or less already declared as a victory for their country days before the game actually kicked off!

France – 2

Another great footballing nation who had to wait surprisingly long to lift the World Cup, France finally got there in their first final appearance when hosting the tournament in 1998. Zidane scored twice in the first half against a lacklustre Brazil side, and Emmanuel Petit added some gloss to the score-line with a late third.

France were surprisingly knocked out of the group stages in 2002, but were back in the final four years later, losing to Italy on penalties. By 2018, a new-look side of superstars came together as they beat Croatia 4-2 in the final in Moscow.

Then Les Bleus suffered their second final defeat in the most recent World Cup, despite Kylian Mbappe becoming only the second player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final in that penalty shoot-out defeat to Argentina.

England – 1

60 years on, England’s only World Cup final win is that famous day in 1966. Geoff Hurst scored that stunning hat-trick, with that immortal ‘they think it’s all over’ line from commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme.

Since then, the Three Lions have been major under-achievers at this level, though they started a recent improved era under Gareth Southgate by making it to the semi-finals in 2018, before two final appearances at the Euros in 2021 and 2024. Can this finally be the year they go one further and get their hands on the trophy again at long last?

Spain – 1

Probably the favourites to win the 2026 edition of the World Cup, Spain are hunting just their second ever victory in this competition.

Andres Iniesta scored that famous extra time winner against the Netherlands in 2010, in a close game that ultimately gave Spain their second trophy in what ended up being a run of three tournament victories in a row as they also came out on top in Euro 2008 and 2012.

Spain then beat England in the final of Euro 2024 two years ago, and it’s hard to see past Lamine Yamal and co. this time around in North America.

Every World Cup final

1930: Uruguay 4-2 Argentina
1934: Italy 2-1 Czechoslovakia
1938: Italy 4-2 Hungary
1950: Uruguay 2-1 Brazil
1954: Germany 3-2 Hungary
1958: Brazil 5-2 Sweden
1962: Brazil 3-1 Czechoslovakia
1966: England 4-2 Germany
1970: Brazil 4-1 Italy
1974: Germany 2-1 Netherlands
1978: Argentina 3-1 Netherlands
1982: Italy 3-1 Germany
1986: Argentina 3-2 Germany
1990: Germany 1-0 Argentina
1994: Brazil 0-0 Italy (3-2 on penalties)
1998: France 3-0 Brazil
2002: Brazil 2-0 Germany
2006: Italy 1-1 France (5-3 on penalties)
2010: Spain 1-0 Netherlands
2014: Germany 1-0 Argentina
2018: France 4-2 Croatia
2022: Argentina 3-3 France (4-2 on penalties)