FIFA World Cup Winners & Runners List

France won the tournament after a gap of 20 years, defeating Croatia 4-2 in the final held at the Luznikhi Stadium in Moscow. Didier Deschamps had the honour of doing a rare double. Deschamps was the captain when France won the World Cup in 1998 and 20 years later, the Frenchman was the toast of the nation after coaching the Les Bleus to World Cup glory. It was the 11th time that the World Cup was being held in Europe.

Germany ended their World Cup drought with a 1-0 win over Argentina in the final which went to the extra time with Mario Goetze netting the all-important winner at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro. But the most poignant memory of the World Cup will remain the hosts' crushing 1-7 loss to the eventual champions in the semifinal at Belo Horizonte. The match was as good as the 29th minute by which Germany had pumped in five goals. The defeat remains Brazil's heaviest since 1920.

Spain clinched their maiden World Cup after beating the Netherlands 1-0 in the final that had gone to extra time with Andres Iniesta scoring the winner. The tournament had many firsts with South Africa hosting it for the first time as Spain became the first nation since West Germany in 1974 to win the World Cup as European champions. The 2010 edition was made popular by the vuvuzela, a long horn blown by fans throughout the tournament.

Italy beat France 5-3 on penalties in the final in Berlin after the two sides were level at 1-1 at the end of 90-minute regulation time as well 30-minute extra time. The final will be remembered for the infamous Zinedine Zidane's head-butt on Matteo Materazzi which resulted in the the French star being given the marching orders. It was Italy's first World Cup in 24 years and fourth overall.

Ronaldo made amends for his failure four years back, with a clinical effort as he scored a brace in Brazil's 2-0 win over Germany in the final held at Japan's Yokohama International Stadium. Brazil skipper Cafu had the rare honour of appearing in three consecutive World Cup finals. This too was a World Cup which created many firsts, including the first one to be held in the Asian continent, the first to be held outside of the Americas or Europe, as well as the first to be jointly-hosted by more than one nation.

Host nation France clinched their maiden World Cup, defeating Brazil 3-0 in the final with Zinedine Zidane scoring a double and Emmanuel Petit adding one more. The Les Bleus became the seventh nation to win a World Cup, and the sixth after Uruguay, Italy, England, West Germany and Argentina to win the tournament on home soil. Brazilian striker Ronaldo's initial omission from the starting XI in the final before his subsequent reinstatement just 45 minutes before the kick off still remains a mystery.

Brazil beat Italy in 3-2 penalties in the final at Rose Bowl, Pasadena to lift the title. It was the first World Cup final decided on penalties. Every penalty shoot has a villain and this time it was Roberto Baggagio. His shot which went over and the sight of Baggio standing their at the ground in disbelief remains part of football lore. The 1994 edition will also be remembered for Diego Maradona's expulsion after the Argentinian failed a drug test. Colombian defender Andres Escobar was shot dead 10 days after the tournament for scoring a self goal which resulted in the country's elimination from the tournament.

West Germany edged Argentina 1-0 in the final held at the Olympic Stadium in Rome with Andreas Brehme scoring the winner from the spot. The final was a little bit of anti-climax in a tournament where the Azzuri were in impeccable form before being halted by Argentina in the semifinal in a match which was decided on penalties. Salvatore Schillaci was the star of the show for the host nation and he won the Golden Boot honours with six goals.

It was Diego Maradona's World Cup all the way as the talismanic skipper led Argentina to a 3-2 win over West Germany in the final. Maradona finished as adjudged the player of the tournament and was the second-highest scorer with five goals -- that included the famous Hand of God goal against England in the quarterfinals, which was voted as Goal of the Century. It was Argentina's second triumph in a World Cup that also saw Iraq, Canada and Denmark making their debuts.

It was Paolo Rossi's World Cup as Italy beat Germany 3-1 in the final at the Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid to lay hands on the trophy. Rossi was the star for the Azzuri and was named the player of the tournament in addition to being the top scorer with six goals. It was Italy's third World Cup triumph, but most importantly they had broken a title jinx which dates back to 1938. The tournament also featured the first penalty shoot-out in World Cup competition history.

Argentina clinched their maiden World Cup title after beating the Netherlands 3-1 in the final at held River Plate's home ground -- Estadio Monumental --. For the records Argentina became the fifth team after Uruguay, Italy, England and West Germany to be both hosts and world champions and the third South American team to win a World Cup. Iran and Tunisia made their World Cup debuts.

West Germany clinched their second World Cup crown with a 3-1 win over the Netherlands in the final at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin. Two countries -- Haite and Zaire -- made their World Cup debuts while with East Germany made their only appearance before Germany was reunified in 1990. This was also only the fourth time in FIFA World Cup history after 1930, 1950 and 1962 that not a single match went to the extra time. This was the only case of the reigning European champions winning the World Cup, untill Spain repeated the feat by defeating the Netherlands in the South Africa 2010 Final.

Brazil beat Italy 4-1 in the final to lift their third World Cup crown. En route to the title, Brazil had defeated Uruguay in the semifinals and defending champions England in the group stage, incidentally becoming the first team e winning team to beat the European and South American champions alongside the tournament's defending champions. Morocco, Israel and El Salvador made their World Cup debuts. The 1970 edition attracted a new record television audience as games were broadcast live across the world and in a few cases in colour.

England beat West Germany 4-2 in extra time in the final at the famed Wembley Stadium with Geoff Hurst creating history by becoming the first player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final. The final had ended at 2–2 after the regulation time and went to the extra time where Hurst scored two goals to complete his hat-trick after he had given his side an early lead in the 18th minute. With nine goals, Portugal's Eusebio was the top scorer in the tournament. clinching the Golden Boot with three goals more than second-placed Helmut Haller.

Brazil successfully defended their World Cup title, defeating Czechoslovakia 3–1 in the final in the capital city of Santaigo in a tournament which was marred by violence between the players. The group tie between Chile and Italy -- known as the Battle of Santiago -- which the former won 2-0, saw two players were sent off, numerous punches being thrown and even police intervention was required four times. Brazil became the second team after Italy to defend the title. This was also the first World Cup that used goal average as a means of separating teams with the same number of points.

The tournament which heralded the arrival of Pele on to big stage saw Brazil winning their first title. The Selecao beat hosts Sweden 5-2 in the final held at Stockholm. It was the first FIFA World Cup to be played in a Nordic country. Pele scored six goals in all in the tournament, including two in the final. At the age of 17, Pele became the youngest player to participate, score, and win a FIFA World Cup final.

West Germany beat tournament favourites Hungary 3–2 in the final to clinch their maiden World Cup title. Scotland, Turkey, and South Korea made their World Cup debuts at this tournament. The Taeguk Warriors also became the first independent Asian country to participate in a World Cup tournament. The 1958 edition will be remembered for the quarterfinal tie between Hungary and Brazil, which is known as Battle of Berne. Hungary beat Brazil 4-2 in the match in which three players were shown the marching orders as fighting between the teams continued even in the dressing rooms after the final whistle.

The World Cup returned after a 12-year hap due to the World War II with Uruguay being crowned the champions. Uruguay, who had won the inaugural edition of the World Cup in 1930, defeated Brazil in the deciding match of the four-team group of the final round. This was the only tournament not decided by a one-match final. After wins against Spain and Sweden, in the final round-robin tie against Uruguay, Brazil needed only only a draw, but they lost 1-2 despite taking lead in front of a record crowd at the Maracana Stadium, a loss which is referred to as the Maracanazo. The results is still considered to be one of the biggest upsets in world football.

Italy beat Hungary 4-2 to defend the crown. Brazil's Leonidas was the top scorer in the tournament in which a total, 84 goals were scored by 42 players, with two of them credited as own goals. There were many off-pitch controversies as in protest against the decision to hold a second successive World Cup in Europe, both Uruguay and Argentina did not compete while Spain missed out due to the Spanish Civil War. Poland and Norway made their World Cup debuts.

Hosts Italy beat Czechoslovakia 2–1, to become the second World Cup champions and the first European team to win the World Cup titleholders. It was a World Cup marred by political tensions with Benitto Mussolini being accused of using the tournament to promote fascism. Ten teams made their World Cup debuts while Egypt became the first African nation to qualify for the marquee event. The 1934 edition of the World Cup was the first in which all the teams had to qualify to take part in the tournament.

Hosts Uruguay clinched the inaugural edition of the tournament, defeating Argentina 4–2 in front of a crowd of 68,346 crowd. All the matches were played in the Uruguayan capital, Montevideo the majority at the Estadio Centenario, which was built specifically for the tournament. There were 70 goals scored in 18 matches, for an average of 3.89 goals per match. Uruguay's aggregate goal difference of plus 12 over four games, at an average of plus 3 per match, remains the highest average goal difference per match of any World Cup champion.