Top 11 World’s Most Successful National Association Football(Soccer) Teams In History
Association football, also known as soccer is one of the most popular sports in the world. It is a team sport with a spherical ball between two teams and 11 players. This sport is governed by the International Football Federation, also known as FIFA(Féderation Internationale de Football, in French), an organization that is responsible for the World Cup, both for men and women, every four years. This is not about the best teams in form right now, otherwise, there would be different teams, instead of the ones that you’re looking at right now. In my opinion, these the most successful national teams in the sport:
1.Brazil
Brazil is the most successful national FIFA World Cup team, they have won this tournament five times: They won this tournament in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, and 2002. Brazil is the only soccer team that has participated in all of the 18 FIFA World Cups. Brazil is the only South American country to win the World Cup in Europe, in 1958, in Sweden, when they beat the host country in the World Cup Final 5–2. Brazil is also the only South American national team that has won the world cup once in South America(Chile 1962), twice in North America(Mexico 1970; the United States 1994), once in Asia(Korea/Japan 2002). Brazil has won the Copa America(the South American Soccer Championship) seven times; they’ve also been runners up, seven times in this tournament. Brazil has produced some of some of the best soccer players in the world such as Pélé, the best soccer player of all time; Garrincha; Zico; Romario; Ronaldo; Rivaldo; Roberto Carlos, and Neymar. Brazil has won the Olympic Football Tournament home, once, during the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games. Brazil is the second country to retain the World Cup, winning in both 1958 and 1962.The only team that Brazil has never beaten is Norway.
2.Germany
Germany is the second most successful FIFA World Cup team in the world, having won the tournament four times (1954, 1974,1990 and 2014); winning the UEFA European Championship, also known as the Euro three times (1972, 1980, and 1996). Alongside teams like Brazil, France, and Argentina, Germany is among these countries that have won the Confederations Cup and other tournaments approved by FIFA. Germany and Brazil are the two teams that have reached the FIFA World Cup Final more than six times; Germany surpassing Brazil, by making it to their 8th World Cup Final, after beating Brazil 7–1, in Brazil. Germany has always reached the quarterfinals of the World Cup, since 1954. Germany is the only country to reach the World Cup quarterfinals in 16 editions; more so than Brazil, more so than France, more so than Argentina, more so than England, more so than Italy, more so than Hungary, more than the Netherlands and more so than any other team in the world for that matter. Germany is also the only country to reach the World Cup semifinals four times in the row. Germany is the only European country to win the World Cup in the Americas( Brazil 2014); the Only European country to reach the World Cup final (Korea/Japan 2002). With football Clubs like Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Hoffenheim; Moechenglatbachen; Hamburg SV; Hertha Berlin, just to name a few, you wonder why the German Bundesliga is one of the most watched domestic football championships in the world.
3. Italy
Italy has won the FIFA World Cup four times, just like Germany; they won it in 1934, 1938, 1982 and 2006. Between their two first World Cup victories in both 1934 and 1938, Italy won the Central European International Cup, a tournament that existed between 1927 and 1960. Italy has also won the UEFA European Championship in 1968. Italy has four rivalries, against a few football teams such as Brazil, France, Germany, and Spain. Italy is ranked among the best teams in history. The rivalries between Italy and France started in 1910 when they beat France 6–2. Italy has produced some of the most notable footballers in the world, such as Luigi Riva, Gianluigi Buffon, Filippo Inzaghi, Alessandro Del Piero, Roberto Baggio; Paolo Maldini; Mario Balotelli; Favio Cannavaro; Andrea Pirlo; Francesco Totti, and Gianluca Vialli. The Italian football team is in transition, but history has shown that you must never rule them out. Italy is the first country to retain the World Cup, winning in both 1934 and 1938. Italy is also known for having the world’s hardest football league, the Italian Serie A, with participants clubs such as Inter Milan, AC Milan, Napoli AS Roma; Lazio; Juventus, and Florentina — the Italian Serie A is worth watching
4. Argentina
The Albicelestes(The White & Sky Blues), the nickname of the Argentinian National Football Team is the second team from South America to win the COPA America 14 times; they reached their first World Cup Final in 1930, in Uruguay, losing 4–2 to the host country. Argentina won their first World Cup on home soil when they faced the Netherlands in the1978 final, beating the Dutch 3–1. Argentina went on to win the 1986 FIFA World Cup, hosted by Mexico; they defeated West Germany 3–2, the campaigner of that tournament was Diego Maradona, one of the greatest soccer players of all time. Argentina is the second South American team, even the second team from the Americas to reach a World Cup Final in Europe, even though they lost that final by 1–0 against Germany, in 1990; the tournament took place in Italy — the only other team from the Americas who have reached the World Cup Final on European soil is… Brazil. Argentina lost 1–0 to Germany again, in the 2014 World Cup Final, hosted by Brazil. Teams that are rivals of Argentina are Brazil, Uruguay, Germany, and England. Argentina has also won the Olympic Football Tournament twice, in Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008. They’ve won the Confederations Cup in 1992; three years later, they lost 2–0 to the Danes in the final, under same tournament, which was hosted by Saudi Arabia, for the second time. The most prominent soccer player from Argentina is Lionel Messi, who plays in Barcelona — but Argentina has also produced other prominent players like Gabriel Batistuta, Hernan Crespo, Kun Agüero, Angel Labruna, Mario Kempes; Angel Di Maria, Javier Mascherano etc. Just like Brazil, Argentina has never won a match against Norway. River Plate and Boca Juniors are the strongest giants from Buenos Aires and the rest of the country; hatred and violent beating from both clubs are common.
5. Uruguay
Uruguay has won over 20 international titles, more than any other country on Earth, for a country, whose population is just around 3 million people. They are the smallest country to ever win the World Cup; they’ve won it twice. Uruguay is the first country in the world to host the World Cup and the first FIFA World Cup occurred in 1930, a tournament, which they won, by beating Argentina 4–2 in the first World Cup Final. During WWII, there was no FIFA World Cup, due to the nature of the war and politics involved in it; WWII ended in 1945 and Brazil hosted the second World Cup occurring in South America since Uruguay did it in 1930. Uruguay went to win their second World Cup in 1950, defeating the — then host country, Brazil 2–1; this is the only moment where two South American teams faced each other in a World Cup final. Uruguay has also won the Olympic Football Tournament, at the Summer Olympics of 1924 and 1928; both championships are recognized by FIFA as World Championships before the creation of the first soccer world cup in 1930. Uruguay is the South American country with the most COPA America(The South American Football/Soccer Championship) titles, they won this tournament 15 times. The funniest part is that South American teams like Chile, Paraguay, Brazil; Argentina; Peru; Colombia, and Ecuador have huge challenges in their style of football when they face Scandinavian countries. The only country, which Uruguay cannot overcome with a win, in the most literal sense is Denmark.
6. France
The French soccer team is nicknamed Les Bleus(The Blues, in English); they are the current World Champions. France won their second World Cup in July 2018, by beating Croatia 4–2 in Russia. France won their first World Cup in 1998, a tournament we hosted; they beat Brazil 3–0, the only European country to defeat Brazil in a World Cup final. France also won UEFA European Championships, both in 1984 and the year 2000 — in 1984, France also won the Olympic Soccer tournament in Los Angeles, where the beat Brazil by 2–0. They also won the Confederations Cup twice, in 2001 and in 2003. France is the first European country to fail at a group stage as the defending champions — when they lost to both Senegal and Denmark in 2002; the World Cup 2002 was co-hosted by Korea and Japan 2002. France played Italy in the 2006 World Cup final, hosted in Germany, which ended 1–1; Italy winning 5–3 on penalties. During that time, there were controversial disruptions between Zidane and Materazzi; it led to Zinedine Zidane who was the captain of the team, to a situation where he was sent off. In the 2010 World Cup, hosted in South Africa, France underperformed and they were eliminated in Group A, which had the host country, South Africa, Uruguay and Mexico. The 2010 World Cup elimination gave the national team negative publicity; many people in France lost interest in the national team. The 2010 World Cup was a disgrace for France; there were huge conflicts between soccer players and the then-former coach Raymond Domenech. France has produced some of the most notable football payers in the world such as Justine Fontaine, Michel Platini, Jean Pierre Papin, Ibrahim Ba; Eric Cantona; Zinedine Zidane; Thierry Henry; Laurant Blanc; Youri Djorkaeff; Kiryan Mbappe; Griezman; Paul Pogba, and Benjamin Pavard. The French domestic football league is called Ligue 1 with participants, such as Paris Saint Germain, Olympic Lyonnais, Olympique de Marseille, AS Monaco, FC Bordeaux — it is one of the strongest leagues in Europe.
7. Spain
For decades and decades, Spain has always been one of the strongest football teams in the World, but in World Cups and sometimes, even the Euro, they’ve chocked. Spain reached the World Cup Semifinals for the first time in 1950; they finished fourth. Spain hosted the 1982 FIFA World Cup, reaching the round of 16. In the 1986 World Cup, hosted by Mexico, Spain reached the quarterfinals - but lost to Belgium. Spain won their first international title when they won the 1964 UEFA European Championship, a tournament they hosted. Spain also reached the European Championship Final in 1984, losing 2–0 to the France that also hosted the same tournament; since 1964, Spain did not win a major tournament for decades, until they won the Soccer Olympic Tournament in 1992, which they hosted and Barcelona was the venue. Spain reached the World Cup quarterfinals in the 1994 World Cup, losing to Italy; in 1998, Spain failed to make it in the group state. In 2002, Spain won their group and made it to the round of 16, where they defeated the Republic of Ireland on penalties and the full ordinary match ended 1–1 on both sides. The Spaniards when to face the co-host South Koreans in the quarterfinals; they lost controversially to South Korea on penalties. In 2006, Spain won their group and made it to the round of 16, where they lost 3–1 to France in, under the World Cup that was hosted by Germany. The revival of Spain began in 2008 when they won their second European Championship when they beat Germany 1–0; they went on to win the World Cup in 2010, hosted in South Africa, where they beat Holland 1–0.Spain is the first European country to win the World Cup outside of Europe.To make matters more interesting, Spain went on to retain the European Championship in 2012, the first European country to do so, by beating Italy 4–0. Spain is the second European country to fail to make it out of a group stage as both World and European Champions when they lost both of their matches in Brazil, during the 2014 World Cup. They lost to the team that they defeated, four years prior…Holland; they also lost to Chile. The Spaniards also qualified for the 2018 World Cup in Russia; they struggled in the group stage but made it to the round of 16, but lost to the host country on penalties. Spain has some of the best football clubs in the world, such as Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Atletic Bilbao; Valencia and so much more.
8. Holland
The Dutch soccer team is known as the Orange (De Oranje in Dutch). The Netherlands is one of the most successful soccer teams in the world that has never won the World Cup. They won the European Championship in 1988; Holland also won bronze in the following Olympic Football Tournament: 1908, 1912 and 1920. In the 1970s, the Netherlands was known for the invention of the total football, applied by Ajax Amsterdam. Holland beat both Argentina and Brazil in the 1974 World Cup, hosted by Germany; they reached the final and lost 2–1 to the host country. They also reached the semifinals of the European Championship of 1976 but lost to Czechoslovakia in the semifinals. In 1978, the Netherlands reached the World Cup final for the second time but lost 3–1 to Argentina who hosted the tournament. From the early to the mid-1980s, the Netherlands had disappointing campaigns in the Euro 1980, World Cup 1982, Euro 1984, and the World Cup 1986. In the 1994 World Cup, hosted by the United States, Holland made it to the quarterfinals but lost 3–2 to Brazil who went to win the tournament later. In 1996, the Netherlands participated in the Euro(the UEFA European Championship), hosted by England — they went to reach the quarterfinals, where they lost to France on penalties. The Golden Generation of the Dutch soccer team played well in the 1998 World Cup; they went on to reach the semifinals — but lost to Brazil 4–2 on penalties, after the match ended 1–1. Holland co-hosted the Euro 2000, but they failed to reach the final, despite a good campaign, they lost to Italy in the semifinals at home. The Dutch did not qualify for the World Cup 2002; they qualified for the 2006 World Cup, but the last 16 against Portugal, which they lost, ended in controversies and fights where many soccer players from both teams received red cards. In 2010, the Netherlands had a successful World Cup, even reaching the final where they lost 1–0 to Spain. Holland reached the semifinals again, in 2014, beating the host country, Brazil for the second World Cup, after beating them four years ago, in the quarterfinals; this time, beating the Brazilians by 3–0 for the third place. Brazil has lost more matches against the Netherlands in World Cup matches than they’ve won; there is an argument that Holland is one of Brazil’s nemesis. Holland did not qualify for the Euro 2016; they didn’t qualify for the World Cup 2018. They are in a transition, but they’re growing quickly: This argument can be made because the Netherlands reached the Nations League semifinals and they are one of the favorites to win the tournament. Some of the notable soccer players from Holland are Johan Cruyff, Mark Van Basten, Ruud Gullit; Frank De Boer; Frank Rijkaard; Edwin Van Der Sar; Dennis Bergkamp; Edgar Davids; Ruud Van Nistelrooy; Patrick Kluivert, Claus Seedorf etc. The most successful football clubs in the Netherlands are Ajax Amsterdam, Feyenoord, and PSV Eindhoven.
9. England
England is one of the oldest soccer teams in the world, although there are debates about which country invented soccer, it is clear to me that England transformed the sport, which is called football in Britain and most part of the world, a sport also known as association football. The English soccer players represent England major tournaments, with the exception of the Olympic Games, where the football players have to represent the team as Great Britain, together with the other countries that are part of the United Kingdom. Great Britain is the most successful Olympic football team in history, winning three Olympic titles. England first participated in the FIFA World Cup in 1950, during that World Cup, the English failed to make it from the group stage; they were even beaten 1–0 by the United States. England won the World Cup in 1966, a tournament that they hosted; they beat West Germany 4–2. England participated in the 1970 FIFA World Cup, in Mexico; they were the defending champions and they made it to the quarterfinals, where they lost to West Germany, an opponent they defeated four years ago in Wembley Stadium. One of the most famous matches in the history the FIFA World Cup is the quarterfinal match between Argentina and England in the 1986 World Cup, which Mexico hosted for the second time. That match was made famous by the two goals that Diego Maradona scored — Diego Maradona scored one of his two goals against England with a hand, known as “God’s hand”; the match ended 2–1 in favor of Argentina. England qualified for the 1990 FIFA World Cup, hosted by Italy — making it to the semifinals again, but lost to West Germany on penalties; West Germany went on to win the tournament. England did not qualify for the 1994 World Cup; Norway prevented them from doing so. England qualified for the six following World Cup with mixed results; they made it to the semifinals again, for the third time in the Russia 2018 World Cup, losing to Belgium for the third place. England has reached the semifinals of the European Championship twice, both in 1968 and as the host, in 1996; in both tournaments, they were third. England has reached the Nations League semifinals; they are now among the favorites to win the Nations League. England has the best domestic football league in the world, with clubs such as Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal; Tottenham; Leicester — the English Premier League has the highest TV audience in the world, around 4 billion people watch this domestic football league. Some of the most notable soccer players from England are Bobby Charlton, Gordon Banks, Paul Scholes, David Beckham; Garry Lineker; Ian Wright; Bobby Moore; Rio Ferdinand; Stanley Matthews; Michael Owen; Wayne Rooney; Andy Cole, and much more.
10. Hungary
I know what some of you might be thinking; I am not going to be surprised if some of you go bunkers seeing this team on the list. Let’s make something clear, right now, Hungary is not one of the best soccer teams in the world and the Magyars have not qualified for the World Cup since 1986. Since 1972, Hungary has not reached the semifinals of the European Championship, but they qualified for the 2016 European Championship in France, where they led their group and even made it to the round of 16, where they lost 4–0 to Belgium. Having said that, their greatest results in international football cannot be ignored. Hungary had a golden soccer team, which was among the best in the world; they were known for some of their most lethal collective shocks, and they were huge threats against Brazil, England, West Germany, East Germany, France, Argentina, Uruguay, Soviet Russia, Yugoslavia and some other teams that I can mention. To make matters worse, Hungary beat England 7–1; it is one of the worst defeat, suffered by the English, they also beat England again, and this time, 6–3 dozens of decades ago. For starters, Hungary made it to the World Cup final, where they lost to Italy 4–2 in 1938, hosted by France. After WII, the Golden Team, also known as the Mighty Magyars. The Mighty Magyars won over 40 matches, around seven draws; they lost their only match against West Germany in the FIFA World Cup 1954 final, the match ended 3–2 in the favor of West Germany — Hungary almost won that final and the World Cup, but the Germans were lucky to get back into the game and claim the victory. The 1956 Hungarian Uprising, a political event that took place in the country against the invasion of the Soviets had a negative influence on the Hungarian soccer team and the rest of Hungary for that matter; many Hungarians fought, bled and died for wanting the Soviets out of their country. Some Hungarians even left the country and emigrated elsewhere. The key soccer players of this team, who are among the best in history are Ferenc Puskas, Sandor Kocsis, and Zoltan Czibor. Hungary has won three Olympic Football tournaments(1952, 1964, and 1968); they’ve been runners up once(1960), and they have won bronze once as well(1972). Hungary is not as strong as they once were in the 1950s, and soccer in Hungary is going down. On the other hand, Hungary faces a huge problem with the rise of hooliganism; local soccer clubs are poorly managed. Corrupt politicians are also a nuisance to Hungarian football and the Hungarian society as a whole.
11. Portugal
Portugal participated in their first FIFA World Cup in 1966, which England hosted. During that time, they had one of the greatest soccer players of all times, Eusebio Ferreira who was also nicknamed the Black Panther or the Black Pearl. One of his famous moments was when Portugal faced North Korea in the quarterfinals of 1966; the Portuguese were 3–0 down against the North Koreans who eliminated Italy, by beating them 1–0 in the last 16. However, Eusebio and company had other ideas, despite Portugal being 3–0 down against a very strong North Korean team, they succeeded by turning things around and beating North Korea 5–3; Eusebio scored four goals in that match. Portugal went on to reach the semifinals, where they lost 2–1 to the hosts, England who went on to become the eventual champions. Portugal won the third place by beating Soviet Russia 2–1. Portugal qualified for the 1984 European Championship, and they went on to the semifinals, where they lost to one of their nemesis: the hosts, France who went on to win the tournament. Portugal also qualified for the 1986 World Cup — but failed to make it out of the group stage. Portugal didn’t qualify for the 1988 European Championship; they didn’t qualify for the 1992 European Championship, the Seleçao (the nickname of the Portuguese soccer team) failed to qualify for the World Cup between 1990 and 1998, but they had a golden generation of soccer players such as Luis Figo, Rui Costa, Nuno Gomes, Pauletta; Paulo Benito, and the rest of that team helped the country qualify for the Euro 2000. During that tournament, Portugal led their group and reached both the quarterfinals, where they beat Turkey and the semifinals where they lost to the then-world champions, France, the eventual European Champions of that tournament. Portugal qualified for the World Cup in 2002, for the first time, in 16 years and they failed to make out of the group stage due to their losses against the U.S. and one of the tournament’s co-hosts, South Korea. In 2004, Portugal hosted the European Championship, they even went on the final, and lost surprisingly to Greece, by 1–0, under the emergence of Cristiano Ronaldo. In the 2006 World Cup, in Germany, Portugal was one of the participants; they beat Angola 1–0; they beat Iran 2–0, and they beat Mexico 2–1. Portugal qualified for the second round(the last 16) and beat Holland by 1–0. The Portuguese reached the semifinals, where they faced their nemesis, France again; they lost 1–0, and they went on to lose 3–1 to Germany for the third place. They also participated in the World Cup 2010, in South Africa — they made it to the round of 16, where they lost to their neighbor and arch-rival, Spain 1–0, who went on to become the eventual world champions. In 2012, Portugal qualified for the Euro, co-hosted by Austria and Switzerland. They were in the same group with Holland, Germany, and Denmark. They lost 1–0 to Germany, they beat Denmark 3–2, and they beat the Netherlands 2–1. Portugal went on to face Spain in the quarterfinals and the match ended 0–0, but someone had to win; the then-defending world champions, Spain won on 4–2 on penalties. Spain went on to defend their European Championship title, winning it for the third time. In 2014, Portugal was in the same group with Germany again; they lost again, they were also in the same group with the U.S. and Ghana. Both Portugal and Ghana were eliminated in the group stage and we now know what the Germans did at the 2014 World Cup. In the Euro 2016, Portugal was in the same group with Austria, Hungary, and Iceland. The Portuguese went on to win 1–0 against Croatia in the round of 16; they beat Poland in the quarterfinals, on penalties. Portugal went on to beat Wales 3–1 in the semifinals; they went on to beat their nemesis, the hosts, France by 1–0, winning their first international tournament on the senior levels. Portugal, the defending European Champions participated in the World Cup 2018, in Russia, where they didn’t make it past the last 16, losing 2–1 to Uruguay. Portugal is the host of the UEFA Nations League finals; they’re going to face the Swiss for a place in the final; in case of a win, they will either face England or Holland and in case of a loss, Portugal will have to pay for the third place where they could face one of the two other semifinalists. Cristiano Ronaldo has won the Ballon d’Or five times; his rival for this title is the Argentine, Lionel Messi who plays in Barcelona. Other quality players from the current Portuguese soccer team include Ricardo Quaresma, Nani, Joao Moutinho, Fabio Coentrao; Renato Sanchez; Pepe; William Carvalho; Luis Neto, etc. Portugal has some of the most successful football clubs in the world, we’re talking about clubs, such as Sporting Lisboa, FC Porto, and Benfica.
