8 teams eye World Cup history
As the Fifa World Cup in Qatar reaches the semi-final stage, The Nation looks back at the history of the tournament for clues on who will be crowned champions in 2022.
The first World Cup was hosted 92 years ago in 1930 by Uruguay, who also won the inaugural tournament – and added a second title in 1950. But their hat-trick bid this year ended in the group stage.
After a break for World War II, the World Cup was held every four years in a different country until Qatar was controversially picked as the first Middle East host.
The World Cup has been held 22 times but only eight countries have won the title.
The most successful is Brazil with five World Cup wins in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, and 2002.
Next come European giants Italy and Germany with four titles each.
Italy won in 1934, 1938, 1982, and 2006 while Germany were crowned in 1954, 1974, 1990 and 2014.
Uruguay, Argentina and France have each won two World Cups. France are the reigning champions.
England and Spain have won one each.
Europe has produced five champions while South America has produced three.
