The FIFA World Cup stands as the most watched sporting event in human history. Every four years, billions of people tune in to watch national teams battle for the golden trophy. It unites countries and pauses wars, yet it also breaks hearts with penalty shootouts. You likely remember the goals, but the stories behind the tournament are even more incredible. We will explore thieves, dogs, and historic records. Let’s kick off the journey through football history.
Football World Cup
The first tournament took place in Uruguay in 1930. Surprisingly, many European teams refused to travel because the boat trip across the Atlantic was too long and expensive.
Thieves stole the Jules Rimet trophy in 1966 before the tournament in England. Luckily, a dog named Pickles found the cup wrapped in newspaper under a garden hedge a week later.
Brazil holds the record for the most Football World Cup titles. Impressively, the Seleção has won the tournament five times. Furthermore, they are the only team to compete in every single edition.
India qualified for the 1950 World Cup but eventually withdrew. Contrary to the popular myth about players wanting to play barefoot, they actually pulled out due to travel costs and other priorities.
The 2022 tournament in Qatar was the first winter World Cup. Organizers moved the games to November because the extreme summer heat in the Middle East poses a danger to players and fans.
Just Fontaine scored 13 goals in a single tournament. Remarkably, the French striker achieved this incredible record during the 1958 World Cup in Sweden. No one has beaten it since.
Miroslav Klose is the top scorer in World Cup history. The German striker scored 16 goals across four different tournaments. Thus, he surpassed the Brazilian legend Ronaldo to take the crown.
A referee once gave a player three yellow cards in one match. Confusingly, English referee Graham Poll forgot to send off Croatia’s Josip Šimunić after the second card during a game in 2006.
The “Maracanazo” remains the biggest tragedy in Brazilian sports. In 1950, Uruguay defeated Brazil in the final match at the Maracanã stadium. Consequently, the silence of nearly 200,000 stunned fans was deafening.
Hakan Şükür scored the fastest goal ever recorded in the tournament. The Turkish striker found the net just 11 seconds after kickoff in the third-place match against South Korea in 2002.
Essam El-Hadary played in a World Cup match at the age of 45. The Egyptian goalkeeper set the record for the oldest player ever when he started against Saudi Arabia in 2018.
The 2026 World Cup will feature 48 teams instead of the usual 32. Furthermore, three countries—the United States, Canada, and Mexico—will host the massive event together for the first time.
Pelé remains the youngest player to score in a World Cup final. The Brazilian icon was only 17 years old when he scored two goals against Sweden in 1958.
More than half the planet watched the 2018 World Cup in Russia. FIFA reported that 3.5 billion people tuned in to watch the games. Therefore, it stands as the most popular event on Earth.
The winning team of Football World Cup does not keep the real solid gold trophy. Instead, they receive a gold-plated bronze replica to take home. Meanwhile, FIFA keeps the valuable original securely locked away in Switzerland.
