The World Cup all-time table: Argentina 3rd, England above Spain…
From the first tournament in 1930, to 2022, the FIFA World Cup has grown from into the biggest sporting competition on the planet with billions of people watching some of the recent edition. But who are the most successful sides in World Cup history?
It won’t surprise anybody to see five-time winners Brazil at the top of our list but Germany, who have lifted the trophy four times and reached another four finals, aren’t too far behind them despite exiting in the group stages of the last two World Cups.
Argentina are third, overtaking Italy thanks to their triumph at Qatar 2022.
France have been Europe’s most successful side since 1998 – two victories and two runner-up finishes – to overtake the likes of England and Spain, who both flew home from the Middles East rueing a missed opportunity for glory.
A number of sides have flown up the rankings after the 2022 World Cup; Morocco have climbed a remarkable 13 places following their historic march to the semi-finals while Croatia, Japan and Australia also made significant strides up the standings.
Historic World Cup countries that weren’t in Qatar included Sweden, Russia, Hungary (who haven’t played in the finals since 1986) and the Czech Republic, while Canada (zero points and goals) remain the lowest ranked side that participated at the 2022 tournament.
We’ve crunched the numbers from every World Cup to present the all-time table.
The system used in the World Cup up to 1990 was two points for a win. In this ranking, three points are awarded for a win, one for a draw and zero for a loss. Penalty shoot-outs are listed as three points for the winning team and zero points for the losing team.
Germany’s results include those of West Germany, Yugoslavia’s come under Serbia while Czechoslovakia’s result are included with the Czech Republic’s. Indonesia competed as the Dutch East Indies in 1938 and Congo DR competed as Zaire in 1974.
A team in bold participated at the 2022 World Cup finals.
1. Brazil – 251 points
2. Germany – 233 points
3. Argentina – 169 points
Lionel Messi and the World Cup.
A match made in heaven.
🎥 @itvfootball pic.twitter.com/aqMY4q1BfI
— The Athletic | Football (@TheAthleticFC) December 18, 2022
4. Italy – 155 points
5. France – 132 points
6. England – 117 points
7. Spain – 108 points
8. Netherlands – 103 points
9. Uruguay – 90 points
10. Belgium – 75 points
11. Sweden – 72 points
12. Russia – 68 points
13. Mexico – 64 points
🤩 STUNNER!
💫 Free kick heroics from Luis Chavez but it wasn't quite enough for Mexico#ITVFootball | #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/oRtMjmkLlZ
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) November 30, 2022
14. Serbia – 62 points
15. Portugal – 59 points
16. Poland – 57 points
17. Croatia – 54 points
18. Hungary – 48 points
19. Switzerland – 47 points
20. Czech Republic – 41 points
21. Austria – 40 points
22. Chile – 39 points
23. Paraguay – 33 points (GD: -8)
• • • •
READ: 8 players from World Cup 2002 we can’t believe are still playing in 2022
• • • •
24. United States – 35 points (GD: -36)
25. South Korea – 33 points (GD: -33)
26. Denmark – 32 points
27. Colombia – 29 points
28. Romania – 27 points
29. Japan – 25 points
30. Morocco – 24 points (GD: -7)
31. Costa Rica – 24 points (GD: -9)
32. Cameroon – 23 points (GD: -25)
33. Nigeria – 21 points (GD: -7)
34. Scotland – 19 points (GD: -16)
• • • •
READ: Kilt mishaps, frit Brazilians & red, red wine: Scotland’s World Cup 98 story
• • • •
35. Bulgaria – 19 points (GD: -31)
36. Senegal – 18 points (GD: -1)
37. Peru – 18 points (GD: -12)
38. Ecuador – 17 points (GD: 0)
39. Ghana – 17 points (GD: -3)
40. Turkey – 16 points (GD: +3)
41. Australia – 16 points (GD: -20)
42. Republic of Ireland – 15 points
43. Northern Ireland – 14 points (GD: -10)
44. Tunisia – 14 points (GD: -12)
45. Saudi Arabia – 14 points (GD: -30)
A jubilant Saudi Arabia celebrate in the dressing room – and probably long into the night after beating Argentina… #KSA #FIFAWorldCup
🎥 @itvfootballpic.twitter.com/wX2uXSmkYe
— The Athletic | Football (@TheAthleticFC) November 22, 2022
46. Iran – 13 points
47. Algeria – 12 points (GD: -6)
48. Ivory Coast – 10 points (GD: -1)
49. South Africa – 10 points (GD: -5)
50. Norway – 9 points (GD: -1)
51. Ukraine – 9 points (GD: -2)
52. East Germany – 8 points
53. Wales – 7 points (GD: -5)
54. Greece – 7 points (GD: -15)
55. Slovakia – 4 points (GD: -2)
56. Slovenia – 4 points (GD: -5)
57. Cuba – 4 points (GD: -7)
58. North Korea – 4 points (GD: -15)
59. Bosnia & Herzegovina – 3 points (GD: 0)
60. Jamaica – 3 points (GD: -6)
61. New Zealand – 3 points (GD: -10)
62. Honduras – 3 points (GD: -11)
63. Angola – 2 points (GD: -1)
64. Israel – 2 points (GD: -2)
65. Egypt – 2 points (GD: -7)
66. Iceland – 1 point (GD: -3)
Iceland's goalkeeper produced this Coca-Cola advert before going to the World Cup and saving a penalty from Messi. 🇮🇸
What a guy. 👏 pic.twitter.com/38nJTMM7HE
— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Football__Tweet) November 8, 2022
67. Kuwait – 1 point (GD: -4, Goals Scored: 2)
68. Trinidad & Tobago – 1 point (GD: -4, Goals Scored: 0)
69. Bolivia – 1 point (GD: -19)
70. Iraq – 0 points
71. Togo – 0 points (GD: -5, Goals Scored: 1)
72. Qatar – 0 points (GD: -6, Goals Scored: 1)
73. Indonesia – 0 points (GD: -6, Goals Scored: 0)
74. Panama – 0 points (GD: -9, Goals Scored: 2)
75. United Arab Emirates – 0 points (GD: -9, Goals Scored: 2)
76. China – 0 points (GD: -9, Goals Scored: 0)
77. Canada – 0 points (GD: -10)
78. Haiti – 0 points (GD: -12)
79. Congo DR – 0 points (GD: -14)
80. El Salvador – 0 points (GD: -21)
READ MORE: A definitive ranking of every World Cup since 1990 from worst to best
TRY A QUIZ: Can you name every player that’s made 15+ World Cup appearances?