Champions at home: the five hosts that won their World Cup
Uruguay, Italy, England, Argentina and France lifted the Cup as hosts; none has done it since 1998. Can the USA, Mexico or Canada in 2026?
Playing at home has always been seen as an advantage at World Cups, but lifting the trophy as hosts is a feat reserved for a select few. Only five teams have managed it in the tournament's entire history.
The first were Uruguay, who won the inaugural 1930 World Cup in Montevideo (4-2 against Argentina). Four years later, Italy were crowned at home in 1934 (2-1 against Czechoslovakia). And in 1966, England won their only title at Wembley (4-2 against West Germany after extra time).
The list is completed by Argentina, champions in 1978 (3-1 against the Netherlands), and France, who swept Brazil aside in the 1998 final (3-0). Since then, no host has won again: the later champions — Brazil 2002, Italy 2006, Spain 2010, Germany 2014, France 2018 and Argentina 2022 — all did it away from home.
The stat is especially interesting in 2026, the first World Cup with three hosts — the United States, Mexico and Canada — and 48 teams. None of the three has ever won as hosts, and the last time a host lifted the Cup was France, almost three decades ago.
Source: Wikipedia (List of FIFA World Cup finals).