Most World Cups won by country, player and coach: Who has the most wins in history of FIFA men's tournament?

Nathan Evans

Most World Cups won by country, player and coach: Who has the most wins in history of FIFA men's tournament? image

Every footballer and football fan grows up with one clear dream in mind: to either win the World Cup or to watch their side play and even win the World Cup. 

To compete as a player in the World Cup is therefore a dream come true for professional footballers, though to take that one step further and obtain glory on the sport's biggest stage must be a feeling hard to top. 

To achieve that feat multiple times is scarcely possible to believe.

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But which country hold the most titles, which player has won the World Cup the most times, and which manager has coached their side to multiple tournament victories? 

Which country has won the most World Cups? 

The 2022 World Cup in Qatar was the 22nd time that football's biggest tournament has been contested.

Across those previous editions, Brazil remain the most successful nation, winning five titles in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002.

Cafu Brazil World Cup 2002

Germany and Italy place joint-second on the list, both winning the tournaments four times apiece. 

All-time World Cup winners

Year Winner Runner-up Third place
1930 Uruguay Argentina United States
1934 Italy  Czechoslovakia Germany
1938 Italy Hungary Brazil
1950 Uruguay Brazil Sweden
1954 West Germany Hungary Austria
1958 Brazil Sweden France
1962 Brazil Czechoslovakia Chile
1966 England West Germany Portugal
1970 Brazil Italy West Germany
1974 West Germany Netherlands Poland
1978 Argentina Netherlands Brazil
1982 Italy West Germany Poland
1986 Argentina West Germany France
1990 West Germany Argentina Italy
1994 Brazil Italy Sweden
1998 France Brazil Croatia
2002 Brazil Germany Turkey
2006 Italy France Germany
2010 Spain Netherlands Germany
2014 Germany Argentina Netherlands
2018 France Croatia Belgium
2022 Argentina France Croatia

Which player has won the most World Cups?

Only one player has previously won the World Cup three times and that distinction lies with legendary Brazilian forward Pele.

Winning his first title in 1958 when Sweden hosted the tournament, Pele - who was just 17 at the time - netted twice in the final as his Brazilian side beat the hosts 5-2 to claim their first ever world title. 

Pele

Brazil then won the 1962 edition thanks to a 3-1 victory over Czechoslovakia in the final with Pele in the squad, though he didn't participate in much of the tournament due to picking up an injury in his country's second game. 

Pele would also lead his country to another title in 1970, opening the scoring in the final as Brazil routed Italy 4-1 in Mexico City. 

List of players to win the World Cup multiple times

Player Nation World Cup Wins Tournaments Won
Pele Brazil 3 1958, 1962, 1970
Cafu Brazil 2 1994, 2002
Hilderaldo Bellini  Brazil 2 1958, 1962
Carlos José Castilho Brazil 2 1958, 1962
Didi Brazil 2 1958, 1962
Djalma Santos Brazil 2 1958, 1962
Garrincha Brazil 2 1958, 1962
Gilmar Brazil 2 1958, 1962
Mauro Brazil 2 1958, 1962
Nílton Santos Brazil 2 1958, 1962
Pepe Brazil 2 1958, 1962
Vavá Brazil 2 1958, 1962
Mário Zagallo Brazil 2 1958, 1962
Zito Brazil 2 1958, 1962
Zózimo Brazil 2 1958, 1962
Ronaldo Brazil 2 1994, 2002
Giovanni Ferrari  Italy 2 1934, 1938
Guido Masetti Italy 2 1934, 1938
Giuseppe Meazza Italy 2 1934, 1938
Eraldo Monzeglio Italy 2 1934, 1938
Daniel Passarella Argentina 2 1978, 1986

Which coach has won the most World Cups?

Throughout the history of the World Cup, 20 managers have claimed victory and led their respective countries to success. 

But only one manager has been able to win the title on two separate occasions previously, Italian coach Vittorio Pozzo who helped his side to lift the trophy in both 1934 and 1938. 

France coach Didier Deschamps missed out on matching that feat in 2022, as Les Bleus were beaten in the final by Argentina.

Blessed with a golden age of Italian talent led by striker Giuseppe Meazza - who is considered by many as the country's greatest ever player - Italy lifted their first title in 1934, their inaugural appearance at the tournament. 

In 1938, the European nation would make it back-to-back titles after defeating Hungary in the final 4-2 in Paris. 

List of World Cup-winning managers

Manager Nationality Winning Nation Tournament
Alberto Suppici Uruguay Uruguay 1930
Vittorio Pozzo Italy Italy 1934
Vittorio Pozzo Italy Italy 1938
Juan López Fontana Uruguay Uruguay 1950
Sepp Herberger West Germany West Germany 1954
Vicente Feola Brazil Brazil 1958
Aymoré Moreira Brazil Brazil 1962
Alf Ramsey England England 1966
Mário Zagallo Brazil Brazil 1970
Helmut Schön West Germany West Germany 1974
César Luis Menotti Argentina Argentina 1978
Enzo Bearzot Italy Italy 1982
Carlos Bilardo Argentina Argentina 1986
Franz Beckenbauer West Germany West Germany 1990
Carlos Alberto Parreira Brazil Brazil 1994
Aimé Jacquet France France 1998
Luiz Felipe Scolari Brazil Brazil 2002
Marcello Lippi Italy Italy 2006
Vicente del Bosque Spain Spain 2010
Joachim Löw Germany Germany 2014
Didier Deschamps France France 2018
Lionel Scaloni Argentina Argentina 2022

Remarkably to this point, it still remains that whichever country has won the World Cup has been managed by a coach of the same nationality!

In fact, only two managers of different nationality to the country they've managed have even reached the final before, Englishman George Raynor with Sweden in 1958, and Austrian Ernst Happel with the Netherlands in 1978.

Has anyone won the World Cup as a player and as a coach?

Three individuals have previously won the FIFA Men's World Cup as both a player and as a manager. 

They are: Brazilian Mario Zagallo as a player in both 1958 and 1962 with the South American side and as a manager in 1970; Franz Beckenbauer as a player in 1974 and as West Germany manager in 1990; and French midfielder Didier Deschamps as a player in 1998 and as a manager in 2018.

Both Beckenbauer and Deschamps were also the captain of their respective nation while winning the World Cup as a player.

Nathan Evans

Nathan Evans Photo

A Sports Journalism Masters graduate, Nathan Evans joined The Sporting News in 2022 after working at Opta/Stats Perform for six years. He's an avid fan of Bradford City, FC Köln and the Pittsburgh Penguins.