The first Football World Cup was staged in 1930 by Uruguay as they were the Olympic champions at the time and were also celebrating the centenary of their independance.

This World Cup was the only one without qualification - teams were invited. Thirteen teams participated, including only four European teams due to the long and costly three week trip across the Atlantic. The teams were: Argentina, Brazil, France, Belgium, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile, United States, Romania, Mexico, Yugoslavia, Bolivia, Peru

The teams were drawn into four groups. The group winners (Argentina, Yugoslavia, Uruguay, and USA) moved to the semifinals, where Argentina beat the USA and Uruguay beat Yugoslavia, by identical scores (both 6-1). There was no third place match for the only time in World Cup history.

The hosts had built a fantastic Centenario stadium, holding 95,000, in Montevideo for the final, although it was only finished five days after the World Cup had started. There was a pre-final controversy regarding who should provide the match ball. It was decided that the Argentina would provide the ball for the first half, and Uruguay would provide the second half ball. Uruguay became the inaugural champions, after coming from behind in the final to beat Argentina 4-2.

The hosts for 1934 were Mussolini's Italy, but they still had to qualify. The reigning World Cup holders Uruguay declined an invitation to participate as a mark of defiance against the European snub from the previous World Cup in 1930.

The number of participating nations this time more than doubled from the previous tournament in 1930, although only 10 of the 32 nations came from outside the continent of the host nation.

The contest raised a few eyebrows. Players such as Orsi, Monti, and De Maria from Argentina were drafted into the Italian squad after it was found they had dual nationalities. And Mussolini's influence is said to have extended to the choice of referees for Italy's matches.

The preliminary round took the form of a knockout stage, and eight European teams advanced (Austria, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland). Italy squeezed through the semi-final after an initial draw in extra-time with Spain, and a subsequent replay, whilst Czechoslovakia beat Germany 3-1.

Italy became the second World Cup champions at the Del Partiti stadium, beating Czechoslovakia in the final, in extra time, 2-1. On historical reflection it has often been suggested that the championship was no victory for football, but Mussolini no doubt was pleased with the outcome.

The 1938 competition was played in France, much to the dismay of South America where it had been thought the venue would alternate between continents - accordingly Argentina and Uruguay withdrew.

This was the last world cup before World War II. It was the first time that the defending champions (Italy) and the hosts (France) were automatically entered in the competition without needing to qualify. In all, 15 out of 16 qualified teams showed up in France. Austria could not participate because of the "Anschluss" that took place a month after the draw - this allowed Sweden to participate.

A play-off system was used. Five of the first round matches went to extra time, and two of these required a replay. At this stage Brazil beat Poland 6-5 in a robust game. Brazil then beat Czechoslovakia 2-1 after a replay in the second phase. The Brazilians rested their star player Leonidas in the semi-final against Italy and lost. Meanwhile Hungary beat strong teams such as Switzerland (who had themselves beaten a German team enhanced by some Austrian players) and Sweden on their way to the final.

In the final at the Stade Colombes (Paris), Italy proved too strong for Hungary and emerged 4-2 winners, thus retaining their title.

In 1950, after World War II, much of Europe lay in ruins. Brazil presented the only bid to stage the venue.

Several teams who qualified, later withdrew. Germany and Japan, were not allowed to compete as they were effectively under at least partial occupation. Turkey also withdrew. India did likewise as they were not allowed to play barefoot.

England were strong favourites, but lost 1-0 to the USA (500-1 underdogs) in the group stages. This is regarded as one of the greatest upsets in football history.

This is the only world cup which did not have a final in the true sense. There was instead a final group stage, involving all teams who won their individual group stages (Brazil, Spain, Sweden, and Uruguay). The overall winner needed to finish on top of this final group.

Brazil beat Sweden 7-0 and won 6-1 against Spain, and were very firm favourites and soon top of this final grouping. However Uruguay were only one point behind, going into the final match of the group (often referred to as the final itself) between themselves and Brazil. Uruguay came from behind to win 2-1 (in a match which Brazil only needed to draw) and were crowned World Cup winners in front of an estimated 200,000 in the Estádio Maracanã. This is also regarded as quite a major upset in the history of the competition.

The 1954 competition had television coverage and was appropriately played in Switzerland, as this was the 50th anniversary of FIFA and was the home of the governing body.

Sixteen teams qualified for the tournament, broken up into four groups of four. In a seeding system the two teams ranked highest in the world standings in each group would not have to play each other. If any game in the group stages ended in a draw, extra time would be played.

In the quaterfinals, the favourites Hungary beat Brazil 4-2 in one of the ugliest matches in football history, which became known as the 'Battle of Berne'. In the bad-tempered and physical second-half, the Hungarian captain and two Brazilian players were sent off. After the match brawls continued and the Brazilian squad scuffled with the Hungarians in the opposition's dressing room. Also, Austria beat the host nation 7-5, in a game that saw the most goals in any world cup.

In the final, Hungary's magical 'Magyars', who were undefeated in 31 games over 4 years, met West Germany. Hungary had previously defeated West-Germany by 8-3 in a group match. However quite amazingly, West Germany beat Hungary 3-2 to win the trophy. The legendary Hungarian team was regarded as one of the best ever, but their destiny was to never win the trophy. They subsequently kept on winning and winning until Russian tanks rolled into Budapest in 1956. Germany regard the final as the 'Miracle of Berne'.

The 1958 world cup was hosted by Sweden and a 17 year Brazilian boy called Pele marked his debut on the world stage.

Sixteen teams qualified in four groups of four, but there was no seeding, and no extra-time in the event of a draw.

Russia appeared for the first time and reached the quarter-finals. Four British teams also played this time around, but only Wales and Northern Ireland made it to the last eight. Fontaine of France scored 13 goals in this competition, and this record still stands today. France lost 2-5 to Brazil in the semi-finals however, but went on to beat West Germany 6-3 for the third place spot.

Sweden showed good performances throughout the matches, but Brazil were even better thanks to the likes of Zito, Didi and Pele. In the final against the hosts, Pele scored two of Brazil's goals in their 5-2 win. The semi-final and final belonged to Pele, and the Cup belonged to Brazil with their star studded team. Brazil's ball control and skills were indeed quite awesome, and a sheer pleasure to watch.

Pele would arguably become football's greatest player ever.

Chile were the hosts for 1962 and new stadiums were built for the event. (Two years earlier on 22nd May 1960, Chile suffered the largest earthquake ever recorded, measuring 9.5 ). The format of the competition was the same as in 1958.

It was expected that Pele would put in a strong effort, but he was injured in the first group game, and did not play for the rest of the tournament.

Some of the games involving Argentina, Italy and Uruguay were a little rough at times, and the Italy-Chile game was especially bad with both teams needing police protection to leave the pitch. Brazil, Czechoslovakia, USSR, Yugoslavia, Hungary, England, West Germany and Chile made it through to the quarter finals.

In the absence of Pele, Brazil's Garrincha became a star with a brilliant performance in a 3-1 win against England. Only 6,000 spectators watched Czechoslovakia beat Yugoslavia 3-1 in one semi-final, which contrasted sharply to the 75,000 who watched Brazil beat the hosts 4-2 in the other match (which saw Garrincha being sent off). Chile finished third.

In the final at Santiago's Estadio Nacional, Brazil successfully defended their title with an impressive 3-1 win against Czechoslovakia. Even without their 1958 star Pele, Brazil proved far too strong for the rest of the world.

England hosted the 1966 event and emerged winners in a controversial final. And a dog named Pickles found the Jules Rimet trophy after it temporarily disappeared.

There were less goals in this year's tournament as teams played more tactically and defensively. Brazil surprisingly failed to get past the group stage, finishing third behind Portugal and Hungary. North Korea progressed along with Russia at the expense of Italy. England, Uruguay, West Germany and Argentina also moved on.

During the quarter-finals Portugal recovered from 0-3 down against North Korea to win 5-3 thanks largely to Eusebio. In the semi finals West Germany beat USSR 2-1, and England beat Portugal by the same score. Portugal finished third.

The final saw West Germany equalise the score 2-2 against England in the 89th minute after a free kick, despite strong claims for hand-ball. In extra time Geoff Hurst's shot hit the crossbar and was controversially deemed to have crossed the line. And in the last seconds Hurst again scored, for England to win 4-2, at a time when many of the crowd had already thought the match had finished.

Her Majesty the Queen presented the Trophy, Geoff Hurst became the only player to score three times in a final, and the England Manager Alf Ramsey became a national hero.

The 1970 World Cup in Mexico is often regarded as the best ever. The competition format remained the same as in 1966 (ie. 16 teams qualified, divided into four groups of four; and the two top teams in each group would advance to the quarterfinals). The qualification stages had led to a spat between Honduras and El Salvador. West Germany, England, Mexico, Brazil, Uruguay, Italy, Peru and the USSR made it to the quarter finals.

The greatest match of the tournament was the semifinal between Italy and West Germany. Germany equalised the score 1-1 in the 90th minute. During extra time the lead changed twice before Italy emerged as 4-3 winners. Germany's Franz Beckenbauer had played with a sling and a broken clavicle after a bad foul.

In the final, the skillful Brazilians overcame the tactical and physical Italians 4-1 in another memorable match.

The striker of the tournament was West Germany's Gerd Müller with 10 goals, whilst Brazil's Jairzinho scored at least one goal in each of Brazil's six games. Pele was truly inspirational throughout.

This was Pele's third and final World Cup victory, and Brazilian coach Mario Zagallo was the first footballer to become World champion as a player (1958, 1962) and as a coach. Brazil kept the Jules Rimet trophy, since they had now won the competition a total of three times. The Cup was subsequently stolen, never to be recovered.

The 1974 tournament marked the introduction of the current trophy, the FIFA World Cup. The previous trophy, the Jules Rimet Trophy, was awarded permanently to Brazil after their third triumph (in 1970).

The quarterfinals differed for this competition, in that the eight teams were split into two groups of four; the winners of each group played each other in the finals, and the second place finishers in the third place match.

Players with long hair, and with some sporting beards, were also a characteristic of the 1974 contest.

The Dutch made a name for themselves as a 'total football' side with skillful players such as Johan Cruyff.

The first round saw East and West Germany playing each other in the same group, but East Germany failed to go beyond the second round.

In the final West Germany, led by Franz Beckenbauer and Gerd Müller, managed to beat the gifted Dutch team 2-1, but the latter team won many fans with their passing football. Poland beat Brazil 1-0 to win the third place spot, and Poland's Grzegorz Lato was the tournament's leading scorer with seven goals.

Argentina was a slightly controversial selection for 1978, as there had been a military coup there two years earlier. FIFA wished to continue alternating the venue between Europe and South America, but several countries (especially the Netherlands) were worried about the economical and political situation in Argentina. However in the end all qualified teams did attend, although the Netherlands star Johan Cruyff did not appear. England had failed to qualify for 1978. The format of the competition was the same as in 1974. The hosts Argentina won the final.

Italy, West Germany, Netherlands, Peru, Brazil, Argentina, Austria, and Poland made it to the second round. Scotland had a memorable first round game against the Netherlands but the 3-2 win was not sufficient for them to proceed.

There was some controvesy surrounding Argentina's last second round match against Peru. Argentina, who had only scored six goals thus far in the competition, needed to win by four goals to reach the final on goal difference (instead of Brazil). In addition, Peru had only conceded six goals upto this point, and their goalkeeper Ramon Quiroga was born in Argentina. To many people's surprise Argentina emerged 6-0 winners.

Brazil beat Italy 2-1 for third place. In the final Argentina beat the Netherlands 3-1 after extra-time. This was the second consecutive time that the Netherlands had lost to a host nation in the final.

Italy won the 1982 tournament in Spain, but many people felt Brazil and France played the best football. In this competition, 24 teams qualified and accordingly the first round had six groups each with four teams. The two top teams in each group advanced to the second round, which consisted of four groups each with three teams. The winners of each second round group advanced to the semi-finals. This format was never repeated in subsequent world cups.

There was a highly controversial match at the end of the first round, between West Germany and Austria. If the match finished 1-0 in favour of West Germany, then both teams would qualify at the expense of Algeria. The result indeed ended at 1-0 and for most of the match both teams did not seem to try and merely just kicked the ball around. As a result, in 1986 the rules were changed so that the final two group matches were played at the exact same time.

The semifinal between West Germany and France was a memorable game. The score was 1-1 after normal time, and the Germans fought back to equalise 3-3 after extra time. West German won the penalty shootout 5-4. At one stage the French player Patrick Battiston was left unconsious after a bad foul by German goalkeeper Harald Schumacher, but the latter escaped a red card.

Italy beat West Germany 3-1 in the final. This was Italy's third title.

The 1986 competition was held in Mexico, after Columbia declined for financial reasons. It was the tournament of Diego Maradona who was at the peak of his form and led Argentina to the title.

The second round stage format for this tournament was a knockout competition between the six group winners, the six second place positions and the four best third places.

Canada and Iraq made their first ever Cup appearences, and The Portuguese team went on strike at one stage.

The name everyone remembers is Maradona and his influence was stunning. His most memorable game was perhaps the quarter final against England, in which he scored both goals in Argentina's 2-1 win. One goal was due to 'the hand of God' (in which the referee failed to notice the use of Maradona's hand). The second goal is often regarded as the goal of the century; he dribbled through almost the complete English half and most of the team to score.

Meanwhile Germany again beat France in a second successive semi-final, and again lost in a successive final, with Maradona's Argentina winning 3-2.

Maradona's skills will never be forgotten.

The format of the 1990 world cup in Italy remained the same as in 1986. This year's event was not regarded very highly and some of the teams were somewhat cynical. There were few goals, a lot of defensive play, and 16 red cards. Italy were favourites, and Brazil and Argentina had high hopes, but West Germany emerged as winners.

Argentina, Yugoslavia, Italy, Republic of Ireland, England, Cameroon, West Germany and Czechoslovakia made it to the quarterfinals. Cameroon were the surprise team but lost to England 2-3 after extra time. Both semi-finals were decided on penalties, with Argentina beating Italy, and West Germany beating England.

Italy beat England 2-1 for the third place spot.

West Germany won the final against Argentina 1-0.

Thus German team manager Franz Beckenbauer became the second footballer, after Mario Zagallo of Brazil, to become World Champion as a player (in 1974) and as team manager.

The decision to hold the 1994 event in the USA was something new and surprised a few people. It broke the tradition of alternating between Europe and South America, but in fact the attendance was actually a rousing success. The format was the same as in 1990 but now three points were awarded for a win, instead of two points.

Saudi Arabia, Greece and Nigeria played in the world cup for the first time. And also for the first time there was no British team playing.

Brazil became the first country to win the world cup four times.

Germany, Belgium, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Romania, Mexico, Bulgaria, Italy, Nigeria, USA, Brazil, Netherlands, and Republic of Ireland were the teams in the round of sixteen, where Brazil edged the the USA hosting nation 1-0. Brazil and Italy won the semi-finals, and Sweden claimed third place position against Bulgaria.

In the final Brazil beat Italy 3-2 on a penalty shootout, the match having finished 0-0 after extra time. This was the first time a penalty shootout had to decide a winner in the final.

The 1998 Football World Cup was held in France, as decided by FIFA in July 1992. The number of teams at this stage was expanded from 24 to 32 (divided into eight groups of four). The eight group winners and eight second place finishers would qualify for the knockout phase.

This tournament saw the countries Croatia, Jamaica, Japan and South Africa appear for the first time.

Croatia were the surprise of the tournament by reaching the semifinals. The upset Germany 3-0 in the quaterfinals and beat the Netherlands 2-1 in the third-pace match. And Croatian Davor Suker was the competition's highest scorer with six goals.

Brazil were the firm favourites and made it to the final (even though they lost to Norway in the group stages). However they faced a strong French side and lost 3-0 after French star Zinedine Zidane, who earlier in the tournament was suspended for two matches, came through in the end, and scored twice against Brazil.

The 17th world cup tournament was the first time it was held jointly by two countries (South Korea and Japan). Accordingly it was also the first time that three countries (the two co-hosts and 1998 winners France) received automatic qualification. And it was a first for being held outside of the Americas and Europe. China, Ecuador, Senegal, and Slovenia made first time appearances. All in all a lot of firsts.

Co-hosts South Korea, with very strong local support from the whole nation, became the first Asian country to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup, having defeated Spain and Italy during the knockout stages. Co-hosts Japan reached the second round of the tournament.

Fancied teams such as France, Argentina and Portugal did not make it past the first round.

In the final, Brazil (who struggled to even qualify) beat Germany 2-0, for a record fifth title. Ronaldo scored both goals and won the Golden Boot with a total of eight goals.