A History of the FIFA World Cups Hosted in Europe

The FIFA World Cup is a football extravaganza played in countries in Europe and beyond. However, most of the FIFA World Cups have been played in Europe. As such, it is not a great surprise that the European teams have won more World Cups than the rest put together.

The first FIFA World Cup played in Europe was in 1934. Italy was the first to host this great soccer cup in Europe. This World Cup was one of the few that did not include any group stages. Instead, it was a cup knock-out which included 16 teams, most of which were from Europe. Only four teams from beyond Europe played in what was almost a European Championship. The European teams dominated, and the hosts, Italy, emerged victorious after a 2–1 win against Czechoslovakia in the final.

In 1938, the FIFA World Cup came to France. Few South American teams travelled to this FIFA World Cup, which was once again largely dominated by the European sides. Brazil was one exception, as they finished third with a 4–2 defeat of Sweden in the third-place play-off. However, the 1938 final included the champions, Italy, and the Hungarian national team. Italy emerged as the first team to defend the trophy as they defeated the Hungarians 4–2 in the final.

Hereafter, the FIFA World Cup disappeared in the 1940s. It returned in the 1950s, and the next FIFA World Cup in Europe was played in Switzerland. The 1954 FIFA World Cup was lit up by the enthralling Hungarian team that set a new scoring record in the cup with players such as Puskás and Kocsis. Their goals carried Hungary to the final, but the team fell short against West Germany. A 3–2 victory for West Germany ensured a first World Cup win for Germany.

The 1958 FIFA World Cup in Sweden was dominated by the dazzling Pele. Pele’s goals in the semi-finals and final inspired Brazil to victory. They played Sweden in a classic World Cup final. Five Brazilian goals settled the matter, as Brazil ran out 5–2 winners to win their first World Cup. It was the first time a team from beyond Europe had won the trophy in Europe.

In 1966, soccer came home to England. Wembley was the venue for a number of the great ’66 World Cup games. Brazil remained the champions, but the England team had plenty of great players, such as Banks and Greaves. A 2–1 victory against Portugal in the semi-finals booked their place in the final, where they played West Germany. In a classic final, the West German team took the lead, but two England goals seemed to have clinched victory before a late German equalizer. However, Hurst claimed his hat-trick in extra time to win England the FIFA World Cup.

West Germany hosted the 1974 FIFA World Cup. There were some great teams in this World Cup, including the Netherlands, which made it to their first final. In the final, they played the host, West Germany, and scored the first goal. However, the Germans later equalized, and Muller fired in the winning goal to win West Germany the trophy.

Spain hosted their first FIFA World Cup in 1982. This was an expanded World Cup with 24 teams playing in the finals. As such, there were more teams from beyond Europe, such as Cameroon, Algeria, Honduras, New Zealand, and Kuwait, which played their first World Cup games. This World Cup had some big scorelines, such as Hungary’s 10–1 thrashing of El Salvador, which remains among the record victories in a World Cup game. The flair and flamboyance of Brazil’s team were exciting, but a 3–2 defeat to the Italians in the 2nd round ensured their exit. Italy reached the World Cup final and defeated Germany 3–1.

The Italians hosted the 1990 FIFA World Cup. The 1990 World Cup was a low-scoring World Cup and included numerous penalty shoot-outs in the knock-out stages. Cameroon were the first African team to reach the quarter-finals, but were defeated by England. In the semis, West Germany and England’s game finished 1–1, and West Germany emerged victorious in the shoot-out. The final between West Germany and Argentina was settled by Brehme’s goal, which won the cup for the Germans.

The 1998 FIFA World Cup was played in France. The World Cup was expanded to include up to 32 teams in the finals. It was also one of the few World Cups to include the Golden Goal, which FIFA later scrapped. The Golden Goal handed victory to the first team that scored in the extra-time period. The first Golden Goal scored was France’s winner against Paraguay. France won the FIFA World Cup for the first time thanks to two Zidane goals in the final, which ensured a 3–0 victory.

Germany was selected to host the 2006 FIFA World Cup. In this World Cup, Italy and France made it to the final after defeating Germany and Portugal in the semi-finals. The final itself ended 1–1 and went to a penalty shootout, which Italy won. It was the fourth time they had won the trophy.

That was the most recent FIFA World Cup strictly in Europe (excluding Russia, which technically was on two continents). Since 1994, FIFA has generally favoured World Cups beyond Europe. It seems fewer future World Cups will likely be played within Europe. The next World Cup will be in the USA, Canada, and Mexico.

This article of mine was previously submitted to Medium.com, where you can read it here.