Top 5 Most Successful Football National Teams
The most successful football national teams of all time!
Who are the best national football teams of all time? Which countries have had the most success on the international stage?
Messi got the trophy he so wanted and deserved; the 2022 World Cup
With the 2022 Qatar World Cup done and dusted, The Sporting Blog takes a look at the most decorated national teams in the history of football.
Every nation that was involved fought tooth and nail to bring home one of the most, if not the most, sought-after trophy in the world.
Players will tell you that lifting some of these trophies were the best moments of their lives, let alone the biggest accomplishments of their career.
This list discusses the most successful national teams in the history of world football (excluding Olympic honours).
Some teams in the list you may expect, but some may surprise you! Let’s get straight to it - these are the most successful national teams in football history.
Italy – 6 trophies
With four FIFA World Cup titles and two European Championships to their name, Italy comes in at fifth place in the list of most successful national teams.
Their most recent honour came in 2020 when they pushed past Turkey, Wales and Switzerland in Group A, before taking on Austria, Belgium and Spain, defeating England in the final on penalties.
Heartbreak for the English but delight for the Azzurri.
Winning the World Cup on four occasions (1934, 1938, 1982 and 2006), they are seen as one of the most successful national teams in football history.
However, they are not good enough to be further up this list!
Italy’s status on the world stage is not exactly a surprise, with the class and calibre of player throughout the nation’s history helping them deliver on some of the biggest occasions.
Gianluigi Buffon, Paolo Maldini, Andrea Pirlo, Alessandro Del Piero and Filippo Inzaghi. The list is endless.
However, times have been tough for the Italians recently in football terms.
Italy missed out on qualification for the second time in two years, having missed out on the 2018 World Cup competition in Russia – the first time since 1958.
Italians will once again be watching from the sofa as teams battle it out in Qatar.
Germany – 8 trophies
Just ahead of Italy in the rankings are Germany.
Like the Azzurri, Germany have held the World Cup trophy four times (1954, 1974, 1990 and 2014).
However, they have had multiple opportunities to up that number, making the final three more times, including the famous loss to England in 1966.
Their eighth, and final, trophy is the FIFA Confederations Cup – a tournament contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships, along with the World Cup holders and the host nation.
This was abolished in 2017, meaning Germany are the eternal holders of the competition.
The accomplishments of individual players have often led to Germany’s dominance on the world stage being overlooked, however.
With Lothar Matthäus (Germany’s most capped player), Miroslav Klose (Germany’s all-time top scorer), Bastian Schweinsteiger, Philipp Lahm, Jürgen Klinsmann, Gerd Müller and Michael Ballack all huge names in Germany’s history, it is easy to see why the focus has been drawn away from the nation’s accomplishments.
The eight trophies stated above include wins from West Germany and Germany, with East and West teams only unifying in 1990.
This could also be another reason why football fans are unaware of the country’s success.
Since then, the national team has continued its success, winning two World Cups and one European Championship.
Germany’s most impressive victory in recent times is the 2014 World Cup.
This included the semi-final capitulation of Brazil in a 7-1 victory, seeing Brazil bow out of their own World Cup.
Germany would go onto beat Argentina in the final, with Mario Götze scoring one of the most famous goals in history.
Uruguay – 17 trophies
Uruguay have forever been a constant threat to some of the bigger names in international football.
The country’s history speaks for itself on football’s biggest stage, having won the World Cup in 1930 and 1950.
However, the South American nation has struggled to make any major impact in the competition recently, apart from their fourth-place finish in 2010.
Uruguay hosted the first ever World Cup in 1930, eventually winning the competition in their own backyard.
However, with only one World Cup trophy lift since, Uruguay’s success has mainly come in the Copa America, which will be a reoccurring theme for the next two nations.
Out of the nation’s 17 honours, 15 have been won at the South American Championships, with the most recent in 2011, beating Paraguay 3-0 in the final.
With some of the names linked to Uruguay, it is hardly surprising that the nation has had so much success in football.
Luis Suarez, Edinson Cavani, Enzo Francescoli, Diego Forlan, Diego Godin and Fernando Muslera, the list goes on.
In terms of the World Cup, Uruguay are a sleeping giant, and very much a dark horse in Qatar this year.
Anyone anywhere will know of the name Maradona.
Praised as one of the greatest players to grace the sport, the little Argentinian has many memorable moments, which have aided Argentina’s rise to second in this list.
From the Hand of God to a slaloming run and finish from the halfway line against England in 1986, the magician was a very special player: one of many for Argentina over the years.
“Diego, for all Argentinians, is God. And he always will be" - Carlos Tevez
Brazil – 20 trophies
Despite having one fewer trophy in their cabinet, Brazil have a total of five World Cup victories.
But does quality trump quantity?
The nation won the World Cup in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002, with nine Copa America titles, four Confederations Cups, and two Panamerican Championships on top of those five prestigious World Cups.
When Brazil’s list of best players includes the likes of Pele, Neymar, Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Roberto Carlos and Ronaldinho, any place under first would be a disappointment.
With the calibre of players over the years, it should be no shock to learn that Brazil are the only country to have qualified for every World Cup and they have recorded the most goals of all time.
Brazil’s beautiful style of play comes right from the favelas of Brazil, where the young kids with dreams of one day playing for the national team develop their skills in the streets or in cages.
Brazilians live and breathe football.
Ranked first in the FIFA world rankings, Brazil are another team that could add to their tally of trophies at this year's World Cup, and they are long overdue another World Cup victory.
Following the infamous 7-1 loss to Germany during the 2014 World Cup on home soil, and the under-performance four years ago in Russia, fans will be hoping to see much more from their national team this year!
Argentina – 22 trophies
Who do you think of when Argentina are mentioned? Lionel Messi? Diego Maradona? Javier Zanetti? Gabriel Batistuta?
Throughout history, Argentina has had some of the best footballers play for their national team.
With three World Cup titles, 15 Copa America victories, one Panamerican Championship, one FIFA Confederations Cup, and twi CONMEBOL – UEFA Cup of Champions – they stand alone at the top of the list.
Argentina’s success has been much more recent than that of Uruguay, having won the World Cup last in 1986, and claiming the 2021 Copa America with a 1-0 victory over Brazil, before winning the World Cup in Qatar in 2023.
With Lionel Messi on your team, anything is possible. Could we finally see either Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo lift that elusive World Cup trophy this year? Yes, is the answer, we DID.
