World Cup predictions & betting tips

World Cup predictions

World Cup is the world’s premier international tournament, one that draws billions of people to their screens every four years, to see who will lift the trophy this time around.

The tournament’s format has often changed throughout the history, since the first edition of the competition in 1930 in Uruguay. The latest World Cup held in 2026 in the USA, Canada, and Mexico was the first edition with 48 nation participating, with Spain coming out on top.

For many countries, just reaching the final tournament is a huge success, and the qualifying process is often a hard-fought battle even for the best teams in the world.

Our football betting tips today page will also provide in-depth previews for every single World Cup match, including World Cup qualifiers, as well as any other major games taking place around the world.

World Cup past winners

🏆 World Cup winners: 1930 to 2026
Year Winner Runner-up Host
2026 Spain Argentina USA, Mexico, & Canada
2022 Argentina France (pen) Qatar
2018 France Croatia Russia
2014 Germany Argentina Brazil
2010 Spain Netherlands South Africa
2006 Italy France (pen) Germany
2002 Brazil Germany Japan / S. Korea
1998 France Brazil France
1994 Brazil Italy (pen) USA
1990 West Germany Argentina Italy
1986 Argentina West Germany Mexico
1982 Italy West Germany Spain
1978 Argentina Netherlands Argentina
1974 West Germany Netherlands West Germany
1970 Brazil Italy Mexico
1966 England West Germany England
1962 Brazil Czechoslovakia Chile
1958 Brazil Sweden Sweden
1954 West Germany Hungary Switzerland
1950 Uruguay Brazil (final group) Brazil
1938 Italy Hungary France
1934 Italy Czechoslovakia Italy
1930 Uruguay Argentina Uruguay

The 1942 and 1946 tournaments were not held due to the Second World War. The 1950 tournament used a final round-robin rather than a knockout final.

Spain’s second title in USA, Mexico, and Canada, which they secured by beating the defending champions Argentina, is the most recent addition to a list that began with Uruguay winning the first edition in 1930.

No host nation has won the tournament since France in 1998 – a run of seven consecutive editions – and it would take a mighty upset for that to end this summer, despite a record three host nations having the opportunity.

Italy and Brazil are the only nations to have won back-to-back World Cups, with Italy doing so in 1934 and 1938 and Brazil following in 1958 and 1962.

Which teams have won the World Cup?

Most World Cup titles in history
Brazil 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002 5
Germany (incl. West Germany) 1954, 1974, 1990, 2014 4
Italy 1934, 1938, 1982, 2006 4
Argentina 1978, 1986, 2022 3
France 1998, 2018 2
Uruguay 1930, 1950 2
Spain 2010. 2026 2
England 1966 1

Only eight teams have ever got their hands on the most sought-after prize in world football, and seven of them have done so on multiple occasions.

Brazil’s five titles are the most in the history of the competition, yet they have not lifted the trophy since 2002.

Germany and Italy are level on four titles each, though Italy will not be present at the 2026 tournament – they have now missed three consecutive editions (2018, 2022 and 2026), the first former World Cup winner to suffer that grim distinction.

No country from outside Europe or South America has ever won, or even reached, a World Cup final before.

last update: August 2026

Facts about the World Cup FAQ

Uruguay are the first country to win the World Cup, claiming the trophy in 1930 with a 4-2 win against Argentina in the final.

It must be said that La Celeste were playing on home soil and that the competition featured only 13 nations, with France, Belgium, Romania, and Yugoslavia the only European representatives.

Spain are the reigning world champions after they beat the defending champions Argentina  in the 2026 World Cup final.

From World Cup 2026, the number of participating teams has been expanded to 48 teams, which also means that the format was changed.

With that in mind, counting the group stages and the knockout phase, there were a total of 104 games at the 2026 World Cup, a significant increase from 64 matches played during the 2022 World Cup.

The list of nations to lift the World Cup trophy is a short one — Uruguay, Italy, Germany, Brazil, England, Argentina, France, and Spain.

Germany edge out Brazil in terms of finals contested. Die Mannschaft can boast eight final appearances to the Seleçao’s seven. Italy and Argentina are on six, France have played in four finals, and the Netherlands in three.

The Oranje are the country that reached the most finals without ever winning the World Cup. Other nations that played in the final, but never won the trophy are Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Croatia, and Sweden.

More than in any other tournament, retaining the crown is a particularly difficult task at the World Cup, although a few sides have already managed it.

Crowned in 1934 and again in 1938, Italy were the first to pull off the feat. Brazil emulated them in 1958 and 1962.

The first World Cup was held in 1930 in Uruguay and has been played continuously every four years, with the exception of World War II years.

In total, there have been 23 World Cup tournaments.

Europe (UEFA) tops the standings at confederation level, with 13 triumphs to South America’s nine (CONMEBOL).

The other continents have still never had the chance to be crowned world champions, with no country from other continents even reaching the final.

Miroslav Klose held the record for most goals at World Cup tournaments with 16 goals before the 2026 World Cup, when he was overtaken both by Lionel Messi (21 goals) and Kylian Mbappe (22 goals).