World Cup hosts: All-time list of countries, cities, stadiums, venues in tournament history

Kyle Bonn

World Cup hosts: All-time list of countries, cities, stadiums, venues in tournament history image

There is arguably nothing more prestigious in sport than hosting a World Cup.

Since the tournament's origins in 1930, when Uruguay hosted 16 countries in the inaugural FIFA World Cup, the competition has been held every four years, only interrupted once, to crown the best national team on the planet.

Brazil has won the most World Cups with five, and they have hosted the tournament twice. No nation has hosted more than two tournaments, and five continents have put on at least one World Cup.

The Sporting News looks back at all the previous World Cups, including a full breakdown of which stadiums featured most prominently and how the host nations performed.

MORE: Which clubs have the most players at the 2022 World Cup?

World Cup hosts

The first World Cup was held in 1930 in Uruguay, and the tournament has been held every four years since, only paused once for an eight-year period due to World War II.

The first multi-nation World Cup was in 2002, with the event split between Japan and South Korea. The 2026 World Cup held across the United States, Mexico, and Canada will be the second such event.

Year Host Continent Venues
1930 Uruguay South America 3
1934 Italy Europe 8
1938 France Europe 10
1942 cancelled  —
1946 cancelled  —
1950 Brazil South America 6
1954 Switzerland Europe 6
1958 Sweden Europe 12
1962 Chile South America 4
1966 England Europe 8
1970 Mexico North America 5
1974 West Germany Europe 9
1978 Argentina South America 6
1982 Spain Europe 17
1986 Mexico North America 12
1990 Italy Europe 12
1994 United States North America 9
1998 France Europe 10
2002 Japan/
South Korea
Asia 20
2006 Germany Europe 12
2010 South Africa Africa 10
2014 Brazil South America 12
2018 Russia Europe 12
2022 Qatar Asia 8
2026 United States/
Mexico/
Canada
North America 16

World Cup hosts and venue breakdown

The World Cup has been the staple event of the global football calendar since its inception in 1930, when Uruguay hosted the inaugural event across three stadiums in Montevideo.

Since then, 18 different countries have hosted World Cup matches, with Qatar the 19th for the 2022 tournament, and Canada the 19th in 2026.

Mexico was the first country to repeat as a World Cup host when it welcomed the tournament for the second time in 1986, and Estadio Azteca became the first stadium to host two World Cup finals. It remains one of only two venues across the globe to have held multiple World Cup finals, alongside Brazil's famous Maracana.

Estadio Azteca has also hosted the most World Cup games, with 19 World Cup matches. It will add to that number in the 2026 World Cup.

World Cup venue breakdown

Year Host Venues Opening Match Final Most games
1930 Uruguay 3 Monteviedo
(Estadio Pocitos)
Monteviedo
(Estadio Centenario)
10 - Monteviedo
(Estadio Centenario)
1934 Italy 8 Eight concurrent
opening games
Rome
(Stadio Nazionale)
Four venues tied
with three games
1938 France 10 Paris
(Parc des Princes)
Paris
(Stade Olympique)
Two venues tied
with three games
1950 Brazil 6 Rio de Janeiro
(Estadio do Maracana)
Rio de Janeiro
(Estadio do Maracana)
6 - Rio de Janeiro
(Estadio do Maracana)
1954 Switzerland 6 Geneva
(Charmilles Stadium)
Bern
(Wankdorf Stadium)
6 - Basel
(St. Jakob Stadium)
1958 Sweden 12 Solna
(Rasunda Stadium)
Solna
(Rasunda Stadium)
8 - Solna
(Rasunda Stadium)
1962 Chile 4 Four concurrent
opening games
Santiago
(Estadio Nacional)
11 - Santiago
(Estadio Nacional)
1966 England 8 London
(Wembley Stadium)
London
(Wembley Stadium)
10 - London
(Wembley Stadium)
1970 Mexico 5 Mexico City
(Estadio Azteca)
Mexico City
(Estadio Azteca)
10 - Mexico City
(Estadio Azteca)
1974 W. Germany 9 West Berlin
(Olympiastadion)
Munich
(Olympiastadion)
Four venues tied
with five games
1978 Argentina 6 Mar del Plata
(Estadio Jose Minella)
Buenos Aires
(Estadio Monumental)
9 - Buenos Aires
(Estadio Monumental)
1982 Spain 17 Barcelona
(Camp Nou)
Madrid
(Santiago Bernabeu)
Two venues tied
with four games
1986 Mexico 12 Mexico City
(Estadio Azteca)
Mexico City
(Estadio Azteca)
9 - Mexico City
(Estadio Azteca)
1990 Italy 12 Milan
(San Siro)
Rome
(Stadio Olimpico)
Two venues tied
with six games
1994 United States 9 Chicago
(Soldier Field)
Los Angeles
(Rose Bowl)
8 - Los Angeles
(Rose Bowl)
1998 France 10 Paris
(Stade de France)
Paris
(Parc des Princes)
Two venues tied
with seven games
2002 Japan
South Korea
20 Seoul
(Sangam Stadium)
Yokohama
(Nissan Stadium)
Four venues tied
with four games
2006 Germany 12 Munich
(Allianz Arena)
Berlin
(Olympiastadion)
Four venues tied
with six games
2010 South Africa 10 Johannesburg
(FNB Stadium)
Johannesburg
(FNB Stadium)
Two venues tied
with seven games
2014 Brazil 12 Sao Paulo
(Neo Quimica Arena)
Rio de Janeiro
(Estadio do Maracana)
Two venues tied
with seven games
2018 Russia 12 Moscow
(Luzhniki Stadium)
Moscow
(Luzhniki Stadium)
Two venues tied
with seven games
2022 Qatar 8 Doha
(Al Thumama Stadium)
Lusail
(Lusail Iconic Stadium)
10 - Lusail
(Lusail Stadium)
2026 United States
Mexico
Canada
16      

World Cup hosts by continent

European nations have hosted the most World Cups but in recent years, FIFA has clearly made an effort to spread the tournament to other parts of the globe.

The 2022 World Cup is the first-ever World Cup held in the Middle East.

The 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico will mean that five successive World Cups will all have taken place on different continents.

Continent World Cups Last
Europe 9 2018 (Russia)
South America 5 2014 (Brazil)
North America 4 1994 (USA)*
Asia 2 2022 (Qatar)
Africa 1 2010 (South Africa)

*Scheduled to host the 2026 World Cup

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How do hosts usually perform at the World Cup?

There is a clear home-field advantage when a host nation competes in a FIFA World Cup.

Six times in history a host nation has won the tournament altogether, with the host reaching the final on two other occasions.

Additionally, 12 times a nation's performance at their hosted tournament is on record as their best-ever result in a World Cup. While that hasn't happened recently, performances still show a clear host bump. For example, while Russia's run to the quarterfinals in the 2018 World Cup was not the nation's best World Cup performance (they finished fourth at the 1966 World Cup), it still represented a noticeable over-performance to where they were expected to finish.

Year Host Stage Reached Defeated By
1930 Uruguay Won*  —
1934 Italy Won*  —
1938 France Quarterfinals Italy
1950 Brazil Final Uruguay
1954 Switzerland Quarterfinals* Austria
1958 Sweden Final* Brazil
1962 Chile Third Place(won)* Brazil
1966 England Won*  —
1970 Mexico Quarterfinal* Italy
1974 W. Germany Won*  —
1978 Argentina Won*  —
1982 Spain 2nd Group Stage W. Germany
1986 Mexico Quarterfinals* W. Germany
1990 Italy Third Place (won) Argentina
1994 USA Round of 16 Brazil
1998 France Won*  —
2002 Japan
South Korea
Round of 16*
Third Place (lost)*
Turkey
Germany & Turkey
2006 Germany Third Place (won) Italy
2010 South Africa Group Stage Uruguay
2014 Brazil Third Place (lost) Germany & Netherlands
2018 Russia Quarterfinals Croatia
2022 Qatar Group Stage Ecuador, Senegal

* Nation's best result in a World Cup tournament

Kyle Bonn

Kyle Bonn Photo

Kyle Bonn, is a Syracuse University broadcast journalism graduate with over a decade of experience covering soccer globally. Kyle specializes in soccer tactics and betting, with a degree in data analytics. Kyle also does TV broadcasts for Wake Forest soccer, and has had previous stops with NBC Soccer and IMG College. When not covering the game, he has long enjoyed loyalty to the New York Giants, Yankees, and Fulham. Kyle enjoys playing racquetball and video games when not watching or covering sports.