More than half of the 2026 World Cup teams had their best participation in the tournament since 2002. Of the 44 countries competing in at least the second World Cup this year, 25 recorded the best result in one of the last six editions.
Only Brazil and Germany had a better performance spread over half a century, with the first title in the 1950s and the last after the turn of the year 2000.
Argentina also maintains a long distribution of results, with the oldest title from 1978 and the most recent from 2022.
With four runner-up finishes, Germany is the team that came second most in the competition. The Netherlands, which came far before and after the 2000s, never won the title.
The country is, together with Argentina, the “runner-up of runners-up”. There are three finals and three runner-up finishes, their best result to date.
The iconic team nicknamed the Dutch Carousel reached two finals, with team stars Johan Cruyff (1974) and Rob Rensenbrink (1974, 1978). Fresher in the memory of Brazilians are Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben, who already took to the field against Brazil and helped the Netherlands reach their third final, in 2010.
Some underdogs were able to dream of the title, such as Croatia, runner-up in 2018, and Morocco, fourth in 2022. That year, Luka Modrić was the star of the Croatian team and won FIFA’s Golden Ball as best player.
Morocco delighted with full-back Achraf Hakimi, who won his second Champions League title with Paris Saint-Germain, midfielder Hakim Ziyech and goalkeeper Yassine Bounou.
In 2026, Hakimi and Bounou return to the field to defend the legacy of the last World Cup, when Morocco was the first African team to reach the semifinals.
In 2002, it was Türkiye and South Korea’s turn to surprise, finishing in respective 3rd and 4th place. At the time, Turkey returned to the World Cup after 68 years. In Brazil’s group, they lost the first game against the Brazilian team 2-1, with goals from Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Hasan Şaş.
They met Brazil again in the semi-final. With Ronaldo’s goal, Turkey lost its place in the final to that year’s champion, but made history by taking 3rd place over South Korea.
4th place was the best World Cup appearance for South Korea, hosts of 2002. One of the team’s stars was striker Ahn Jung-hwan, who scored in decisive moments, in one of them eliminating Italy in the round of 16. He has three goals for the national team, a record in the country, tied with striker Son Heung-mi.
Former defender Hong Myung-bo, current coach of the team, was also on the team that took Korea one step higher in World Cup history.
Among the teams that achieved their best result before the 2000s are the 1958 runner-up, Sweden, and the 1966 champion, England, in addition to Mexico, 6th place in 1986, and Portugal, 3rd place in 1966.
But countries with little tradition in football predominate in this group, such as the United States, Egypt, Austria, Haiti and the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire).
In the year of best performance, in 1966, England won its only World Cup title. In the final, center forward Geoff Hurst scored one of the most controversial goals in the tournament’s history. For decades, the legality of the title-winning goal over Germany has been questioned and the images are among the most reproduced in football history.
Among Argentina’s best campaigns, 1986 was also the stage for one of the most remembered moments of the World Cup. In the final against England, Diego Maradona scored the famous “goal from the hand of God” and “goal of the century”, iconic plays by the Argentine star.
Also unforgettable for Brazilians, Alcides Ghiggia’s goal took Uruguay to its pinnacle in World Cups, with the second title in the 1950 “Maracanazo”.
In the case of four-time champion Germany, the 1954 title is one of the most emblematic. It became known as the “Miracle of Bern”, because the country was the underdog of the championship and won the final against Hungary, a football powerhouse at that time.
But not all World Cup heroes were marked by titles and successes. Players like Emmanuel Sanon, from Haiti, Hassan Rowshan and Ali Parvin, from Iran, were idols for helping their team reach the World Cup, even finishing in last place, in 1974 and 1978, respectively.
Twenty years later, Iran called up one of its greatest scorers, Sardar Azmoun, who almost took the country to the knockout stages. The 1998 World Cup was Iran’s best result, finishing twentieth among 32 teams.
Names like Keisuke Honda (2010), James Rodríguez (2014) and Asamoah Gyan (2010) are also remembered for taking their countries a little further in football history, even without winning the title. In the respective years, Japan (9th), Colombia (5th) and Ghana (7th) finished in the top 10, recording their best placement in World Cup history.
Of the 48 countries participating in this year’s World Cup, four are debutants: Cape Verde, Curaçao, Jordan and Uzbekistan.
