Tuesday Top Ten: All-Time Most Successful World Cup Countries

The World Cup came to a close this past Sunday, with France taking home its second star by beating upstart Croatia 4-2.  Meanwhile, in the Third Place game, Belgium achieved its best-ever finish by taking down England, 2-0, for the Red Devils' second win over the Three Lions at this World Cup.

With France's second win, where does that now stack them up against other traditional powerhouses?  I like to quantify things, so that's what I'm going to do to figure out which countries are the ten best ever at the World Cup. 

Here is my completely arbitrary, but not completely unreasonable, point system:

Each World Cup appearance:  1 point

Loss in the Round of 16:  2 points

Loss in the Quarterfinals (or in the second Group Stage for the few World Cups where that was a thing):  4 points

Fourth place finish:  6 points

Third place finish:  8 points

Runner up:  10 points

Championship:  15 points

As you may have guessed, it's pretty top-heavy.  Out of 21 World Cups, there have been only eight countries that have won (if you consider Germany and West Germany the same), and England and Spain are the only two of those countries with only one title.  What's even crazier is that only 13 countries have ever played in the World Cup final:  Argentina, Brazil, Croatia, Czechoslovakia, England, France, Germany/West Germany, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Uruguay.

Anywho, here are the ten all-time most successful countries in World Cup history (note that FIFA considers several present-day countries to the be the successor to prior countries, and I've noted that with slashes):

1.  Germany/West Germany (175 points)

Appearances:  19 (19 points)

Lost in the Round of 16:  1 (2 points)

Lost in the Quarterfinals (or in second Group Stage):  4 (16 points)

Fourth place:  1 (6 points)

Third place:  4 (32 points)

Runner up:  4 (40 points)

Championships:  4 (60 points)

FIFA considers Germany to be the successor for records purposes to West Germany and the prior German national team.  In their combined 19 World Cup appearances, Die Mannschaft have failed to reach the semifinals only six times.  Their eight title game appearances and 13 Top 4 finishes are the most of any country.  This year was the first time in those 19 appearances that Germany failed to advance out of the Group Stage.

2. Brazil (168 points)

Appearances:  21 (21 points)

Lost in the Round of 16:  2 (4 points)

Lost in the Quarterfinals (or in second Group Stage):  5 (20 points)

Fourth place:  2 (12 points)

Third place:  2 (16 points)

Runner up:  2 (20 points)

Championships:  5 (75 points)

This year's quarterfinal loss to Belgium may have prevented Brazil from taking the top spot.  They are the only country to have been to every World Cup, they have won more titles than any other country, and they have finished in the Top 4 in eleven of 21 World Cups.  The last time they failed to advance out of the Group Stage was 1966.

3.  Italy (120 points)

Appearances:  18 (18 points)

Lost in the Round of 16:  2 (4 points)

Lost in the Quarterfinals (or second Group Stage):  1 (4 points)

Fourth place:  1 (6 points)

Third place:  1 (8 points)

Runner up:  2 (20 points)

Championships:  4 (60 points)

The Azzurri have had consistent success throughout the history of the World Cup.  After not entering the first World Cup, they won the next two, won again in 1982, and then won their fourth star in 2006 in the infamous Zidane headbutt game.  And, of course, they could have five titles, were it not for Roberto Baggio's disastrous penalty shoutout miss in the 1994 final against Brazil.  Between 1970 and 2006, Italy finished in the top four at the World Cup in six of the ten World Cups.  Group Stage exits in 2010 and 2014 and the failure to qualify in 2018 have made the last eight years rough for Italian fans, but I'm sure they'll bounce back in 2022.

4.  Argentina (95 points)

Appearances:  17 (17 points)

Lost in the Round of 16:  3 (6 points)

Lost in the Quarterfinals (or second Group Stage):  6 (12 points)

Fourth place:  0 (0 points)

Third place:  0 (0 points)

Runner up:  3 (30 points)

Championships:  2 (30 points)

After a runner-up finish in the inaugural World Cup, things went dark for Argentina for nearly 40 years, until Diego Maradona led La Albiceleste to two World Cup titles and another runner-up finish over a 12-year span.  Lionel Messi has tried to resurrect the team, and got them as far as another runner-up finish at the 2014 World Cup before a disappointing Group Stage this year, where Argentina's 1-1-1 record allowed it to squeak in before bowing out 4-3 in the Round of 16 to eventual champion France.

5.  France (87 points)

Appearances:  15 (15 points)

Lost in the Round of 16:  1 (2 points)

Lost in the Quarterfinals (or second Group Stage):  2 (8 points)

Fourth place:  1 (6 points)

Third place:  2 (16 points)

Runner up:  1 (10 points)

Championships:  2 (30 points)

Les Bleus dominated this World Cup on their way to their second star, with 6 wins, 1 draw, no losses, and a 14-6 goal differential.  Since 1982, France has two titles, a runner-up finish, and a third and fourth place finish.  What's crazy is that their 1998 title came after failing to qualify for the previous two World Cups -- the only nation to have ever won the World Cup after failing to qualify for the prior two World Cups.  (Note:  Uruguay won the World Cup in 1950 after failing to participate in the prior two World Cups, but it qualified for at least one of them and refused to participate.)

6.  Uruguay (75 points)

Appearances:  13 (13 points)

Lost in the Round of 16:  3 (6 points)

Lost in the Quarterfinals (or second Group Stage):  2 (8 points)

Fourth place:  3 (18 points)

Third place:  0 (0 points)

Runner up:  0 (0 points)

Championships:  2 (30 points)

La Celeste won two out of the first four World Cups and notched two Fourth Place finishes in 1954 and 1970, and then went on a 40-year drought before their next podium finish (a Fourth Place finish in 2010).  They have now made it out of the Group Stage for three consecutive World Cups -- the best run in the team's history.

7.  England (74 points)

Appearances:  15 (15 points)

Lost in the Round of 16:  2 (4 points)

Lost in the Quarterfinals (or second Group Stage):  7 (28 points)

Fourth place:  2 (12 points)

Third place:  0 (points)

Runner up:  0 (0 points)

Championships:  1 (15 points)

The Three Lions breathed life back into the normally pessimistic English fan base with a Fourth Place finish at this year's World Cup.  Generally, though, England is consistently okay -- above average, but not great.  Their championship in 1966 on home soil seems to be an anomaly, but at the same time, they generally make it out of Group Stage before bowing out in the Round of 16 or quarterfinals, mixed in with the occasional jaunt beyond that every 24 to 28 years.

8.  Netherlands (66 points)

Appearances:  10 (10 points)

Lost in the Round of 16:  4 (8 points)

Lost in the Quarterfinals (or second Group Stage):  1 (4 points)

Fourth place:  1 (6 points)

Third place:  1 (8 points)

Runner up:  3 (30 points)

Championships:  0 (0 points)

The Clockwork Orange always seems to be a bridesmaid, but never a bride, having captured five Top 4 finishes since 1974, but never a title.  It was a shock when they didn't qualify for this year's World Cup, especially given the fact that they were 3rd in 2014 and 2nd in 2010.  That seems to be their MO, however:  do well for a few World Cups in a row, fail to qualify, repeat.

9.  Spain (62 points)

Appearances:  15 (15 points)

Lost in the Round of 16:  3 (6 points)

Lost in the Quarterfinals (or second Group Stage):  5 (20 points)

Fourth place:  1 (6 points)

Third place:  0 (0 points)

Runner up:  0 (0 points)

Championships:  1 (15 points)

With the exception of their 2010 title, Spain is always good, but not great.  The Roja have qualified for the last eleven World Cups, but only made it past the quarterfinals once in that time (2010).  This year's Round of 16 loss to Russia was certainly an unexpected blow for a team that is looking to establish itself as a more consistent contender on the world stage.

10.  Sweden (60 points)

Appearances:  12 (12 points)

Lost in the Round of 16:  2 (4 points)

Lost in the Quarterfinals (or second Group Stage):  3 (12 points)

Fourth place:  1 (6 points)

Third place:  2 (16 points)

Runner up:  1 (10 points)

Championships:  0 (0 points)

The Blue-Yellow are kind of the surprise on this list, to me anyway.  They were very solid back in the first several World Cups, garnering three Top 4 finishes between 1938 and 1958.  Then, they finished 3rd in 1994.  In recent years, they haven't been as fantastic.  This year's appearance in the World Cup was the first since 2006.  Granted, Sweden advanced to the quarters this year, so it was a triumphant return.

Honorable mention (the next ten):  Belgium (47 points); Serbia/Serbia and Montenegro/Yugoslavia (42 points); Hungary (41 points); Russia/USSR (39 points); Mexico (38 points); Czech Republic/Czechoslovakia (37 points); Poland (32 points); Switzerland (31 points); USA (30 points); Austria (29 points)