France's chances of winning this year's World Cup are very high, they are considered second favorites to win behind Brazil. However, winning the World Cup championship is one of the most difficult competitions in soccer, let alone to win it multiple times. One of the reasons it is so hard to win consecutive championships is mostly because you become the target to beat and all teams are against you. Given that almost a third of all winners who have failed to make it past the initial stage of the competition the following year.
How many teams have won back to back World Cups?
The World Cup is considered to be the most prestigious soccer championship in the world. It recruits the best players of each country to compete against one another. One could say that this championship is the most difficult tournament to win, let alone to win it multiple times is succession. The world cup championship has been played every four years since the first time in 1930, except in 1942 and 1946 when it was not held because of the Second World War. and between 1930 and 2019, Italy in 1934 & 1938 and Brazil in 1958 & 1962 have been the only nations to win back-to-back FIFA World Cups.
Argentina may have been very close to achieving this title when they defeated West Germany in the 1986 World Cup final, but then the following World Cup Germany was able to turn the table when the two met again in the finals of Italia ‘90. Brazil were also runners up in 1998 having won the 1994 World Cup, going on to be World Champions again in 2002. Let's have a look at all the World Cup champions and their performance in the following World Cup 4 years later.
Performance of Reigning Champions at the World Cup
Year | World Cup Winner | Performance at next World Cup |
1930 | Uruguay | Did not participate (1934) |
1934 | Italy | Winners (1938) |
1938 | Italy | Group Stage exit (1950) |
1950 | Uruguay | Semi-Finalists (1954) |
1954 | West Germany | Semi-Finalists (1958) |
1958 | Brazil | Winners (1962) |
1962 | Brazil | Group Stage exit (1966) |
1966 | England | Quarter-Finalists (1970) |
1970 | Brazil | Second Group Stage exit (1974) |
1974 | West Germany | Second Group Stage exit (1978) |
1978 | Argentina | Second Group Stage exit (1982) |
1982 | Italy | Round of 16 exit (1986) |
1986 | Argentina | Runners-up (1990) |
1990 | West Germany | Quarter-Finalists (1994) |
1994 | Brazil | Runners-up (1998) |
1998 | France | Group Stage exit (2002) |
2002 | Brazil | Quarter-Finalists (2006) |
2006 | Italy | Group Stage exit (2010) |
2010 | Spain | Group Stage exit (2014) |
2014 | Germany | Group Stage exit (2018) |
2018 | France | TBD (2022) |
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