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1930 World Cup
- Uruguay (10 July 1930, Montevideo) |
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Seeds were Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay
and the United States (each placed into one of four groups). Only
four European nations travelled to the tournament (Belgium,
France, Romania, and the only one of the quartet to qualify from their
group into the semi-finals, Yugoslavia). Brazil were the only one of the four seeds
not to make the semi-finals. |
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1934 World Cup
- Italy (3 May 1934, Rome) |
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Seeds were Argentina, Austria, Brazil,
Czechoslovakia, Germany, Hungary, Italy and the Netherlands (all
separated in the first round of the knockout competition). Only
two were from outside Europe (the South Americans of Argentina and
Brazil, who were both defeated in the first round, as were the
Netherlands). The holders, Uruguay, boycotted the tournament
because of the poor European attendance in 1930. All four
semi-finalists (Austria, Czechoslovakia, Germany and Italy) had
been seeded. |
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1938 World Cup
- France (5 March 1938, Paris) |
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Seeds were Brazil, Cuba,
Czechoslovakia, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy and Sweden (all
separated in the first round of the knockout competition). Again,
only two were from outside Europe, with Caribbean representatives,
Cuba, making their only appearance at a World Cup finals. Hosts,
France, and Sweden were the other two nations to be seeded for the
first time. Germany were the only seeds not to progress from the
first round into the quarter-finals and for the second successive
tournament, all four semi-finalists (Brazil, Hungary, Italy and
Sweden) had been seeded. |
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1950 World Cup
- Brazil (22 May 1950, Rio de Janeiro) |
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Seeds were Brazil, England, Italy and
Uruguay (each placed into one of four groups); the hosts, the two previous
winners of the competition, and England, who had rejoined FIFA in
1946 and were considered to be among the best in the world. Of the
four seeds, only Brazil and Uruguay qualified from their group
into the final group of four which also included Spain and Sweden,
who finished behind the two South American teams at the end of the
tournament. |
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1954 World Cup
- Switzerland (30 November 1953, Zürich) |
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Seeds were Austria, Brazil,
England, France, Hungary, Italy, Turkey and Uruguay. Two were placed in each of
the four groups and did not have to play each other. Spain were originally named
as seeds for the first time, but they were eliminated by the drawing of lots
after a qualifying play-off draw with Turkey, who inherited their first-time
status as seeds, but failed to qualify for the quarter-finals from their group,
as did France and Italy. The unseeded, West Germany, were surprise winners of
the tournament, coming back from two goals down inside the first eight minutes
of the final to defeat Hungary.
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1958 World Cup
- Sweden (8 February 1958, Stockholm) |
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The four groups were drawn
entirely on geographic seedings so that each contained one team from the United
Kingdom (all four had qualified separately), one from the Americas (South and
Central), one from eastern Europe and one from western Europe. None of the home
nations reached the semi-finals, nor did any of the eastern European teams.
Three of the western European teams (France, Sweden (the hosts) and West Germany
(the holders)) were in the last four, with the other, Austria, failing to
progress to the quarter-finals, but it was Brazil, the only one of the teams
from the Americas to qualify from their group into the last eight, who became
the first to win the World Cup on a foreign continent.
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1962 World Cup
- Chile
(18 January 1962, Santiago) |
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Seeds were Argentina,
Brazil, Chile and Uruguay (each placed into one of four groups), all from South
America. Only two of the four seeds (Brazil (who went on to retain the title)
and hosts, Chile) progressed from their group into the quarter-finals. They were
then joined in the semi-finals by Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia.
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1966 World Cup Qualifying - UEFA
(31 January 1964, Zürich) |
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Seeds were Bulgaria,
Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, USSR, West Germany and
Yugoslavia (each placed into one of nine groups). With the exception of England,
who would qualify automatically as hosts, these were all of the European
qualifiers for the previous tournament. Ironically, it was the two top European
teams from 1962, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia, who were the only seeds who
failed to qualify for the finals from their group.
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1966 World Cup - England
(6 January 1966,
London) |
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Seeds were Brazil, England,
Italy and West Germany (each placed into one of four groups). Again, only two of
the four seeds (the eventual finalists, England and West Germany) progressed
from their group into the quarter-finals. They were joined in the last four by
Portugal and the USSR. Unlike the holders, Brazil, two of the other three South
American teams (Argentina and Uruguay) did reach the quarter-finals.
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1968 European Championship Qualifying
(23 February 1966, Zürich) |
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Seeds were England, France,
Hungary, Italy, Portugal, Spain, USSR and West Germany (each placed into one of
eight groups). Only Portugal and West Germany, of the seeds, failed to progress
to the quarter-finals from their group. Yugoslavia, the unseeded conquerors of
West Germany, then beat World Champions, England in the semi-final, before
losing the final, after a replay, to Italy in Rome.
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1970 World Cup Qualifying - UEFA
(1 February 1968, Casablanca) |
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Seeds were Bulgaria, France,
Hungary, Italy, Portugal, Spain, USSR and West Germany (each placed into one of
eight groups). As in 1966, these were the European qualifiers for the previous
tournament, again excluding England, who were now the holders and qualified
automatically for the second successive tournament, but also Switzerland, who
had the worst record of the European teams in 1966, conceding one more goal than
Bulgaria. The folly of continuing with this particular seeding approach was,
perhaps, highlighted by the fact that only half of the seeds (Bulgaria, Italy,
USSR and West Germany) managed to qualify for the finals from their group.
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1970 World Cup
- Mexico (10 January 1970, Mexico City) |
| The four groups were drawn
on geographic seedings, but with the four highest-ranked European
teams, consisting of the 1966 semi-finalists that had qualified
again (England, USSR and West
Germany), plus the European Champions, Italy, all separated from the
other five European qualifiers into their own seeding pot.
Brazil and England, who had won the last three tournaments between
them, were drawn into the same group, as a result, but the eight
quarter-finalists came exclusively from the top European seeding
group and the Americas group (Brazil, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay).
Two from each reached the semi-finals (Brazil, Italy, Uruguay and
West Germany) and one from each made the final (Brazil and Italy). |
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1972 European Championship Qualifying
(20 March 1970, Rome) |
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Seeds appear to have been
Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, England, Italy, USSR, West Germany and
Yugoslavia (each placed into one of eight groups). Of these, only Bulgaria and
Czechoslovakia failed to progress to the quarter-finals from their group.
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1974 World Cup Qualifying - UEFA
(17 July 1971, Düsseldorf) |
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Seeds were Belgium,
Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, England, Italy, Romania, Sweden, USSR and Yugoslavia
(each placed into one of nine groups). Eight of the seeds had qualified for the
1970 World Cup (with Yugoslavia the exception). West Germany were the other
European team represented in Mexico, the previous year, but qualified
automatically as hosts for the upcoming tournament. Persisting with their
approach of rewarding the previous tournament's qualifiers, UEFA saw only four
of their nine seeds progress to the finals (Bulgaria, Italy, Sweden and
Yugoslavia), though the USSR won their group and then refused to travel to Chile
for a play-off which FIFA then awarded to the South Americans.
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1974 World
Cup - West Germany (5 January 1974, Frankfurt) |
| Seeds were Brazil, Italy, Uruguay and
West Germany, the nations that had finished in the top four
positions in 1970. As usual, they were each placed into one of
four groups. This time, however, only two of them progressed into
the new second group stage (Brazil and West Germany). They were
joined in the last four by the Netherlands and Poland, the
unseeded duo taking second and third places, respectively, as the
hosts won the trophy. |
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1976 European Championship Qualifying
(16 January 1974, Paris) |
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Seeds were Belgium, England,
Hungary, Italy, Romania, USSR, West Germany and Yugoslavia (each placed into one
of eight groups). These were the quarter-finalists from the 1972 competition.
Only half of them (Belgium, USSR, West Germany and Yugoslavia) repeated the feat
of progressing to the quarter-finals again from their group, but it was the
unseeded Czechoslovakia who went on to win the competition on penalties against
the holders and World Champions, West Germany.
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1978 World Cup Qualifying - UEFA
(20 November 1975, Guatemala City) |
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Seeds were Bulgaria, German
Democratic Republic, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Scotland, Sweden, USSR and
Yugoslavia (each placed into one of nine groups). Three of the nine (German
Democratic Republic, Netherlands and Scotland) were seeded for the first time.
For the fourth successive World Cup, these were the European teams that had
qualified for the previous tournament, plus the USSR, who had withdrawn on
political grounds after winning their 1974 qualifying group. With England drawn
into the same group as Italy, it meant that one of the five previous winners was
guaranteed to be absent in Argentina. West Germany, meanwhile, qualified
automatically again, but this time as holders. Four of the nine seeds failed to
win their group and progress to the finals (Bulgaria, German Democratic
Republic, USSR and Yugoslavia).
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1980 European Championship Qualifying
(30 November 1977, Rome) |
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Seeds appear to have been
Belgium, Czechoslovakia, England, Netherlands, USSR, West Germany and Yugoslavia
(each placed into one of seven groups). There were only seven groups because the
remainder of the competition was changed to become an eight-team tournament,
hosted by Italy, who qualified automatically. Of the seeds, only the USSR and
Yugoslavia failed to win their group and progress to the finals. Greece and
Spain were the other qualifiers.
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1978 World
Cup - Argentina (14 January 1978, Buenos Aires) |
| Seeds were Argentina,
Brazil, Netherlands and West Germany (each placed into one of four
groups). Though Poland had beaten Brazil in the 1974 third-place
play-off, it was the South Americans who were seeded ahead of
them. The top three places all went to seeded teams, however, with
Italy finishing fourth, ahead of the defending champions, West
Germany. |
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1982 World Cup Qualifying - UEFA
(14 October 1979, Zürich) |
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Seeds were Czechoslovakia,
England, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Scotland and West Germany (each placed into
one of seven groups). For the first time in five World Cups, the top seedings
were not allocated firstly to those European teams that had qualified for the
previous tournament, with Czechoslovakia and England having each not qualified
since 1970. The other European qualifiers from 1978 were Austria, France,
Hungary and Sweden, who were placed in a second pot (alongside the USSR and
Yugoslavia), whilst fellow 1978 qualifiers, Spain, were hosts and qualified
automatically. With the tournament expanding to 24 teams (14 of which were from
Europe), there were two qualifying places for six of the seven five-team groups,
whilst Poland were lucky enough to be placed in a three-team group with no teams
from the second pot, though only one qualification place (which the Poles took).
All of the top seeds qualified for the finals, apart from the Netherlands, who
had been runners-up in each of the previous two tournaments. Sweden were the
only team in the second pot to fail to qualify.
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1980 European Championship - Italy
(16 January 1980, Rome) |
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Seeds were Italy and West
Germany (one placed into each group). England and the
Netherlands were also seeded to appear in separate groups, but neither qualified
from them. Excluding the
holders, Czechoslovakia, from the seedings resulted in a group containing each
of the first three placings from the 1976 tournament
(Czechoslovakia, Netherlands and West Germany), along with
first-time finalists, Greece. The Czechs did manage to finish third, ahead of
the hosts, Italy, with both top seeds reaching the last four. West
Germany beat Belgium in the final.
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1984 European Championship Qualifying
(8 January 1982, Paris) |
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Seeds were Belgium, England,
Italy, Poland, Spain, West Germany and Yugoslavia (each placed into one of seven
groups). Czechoslovakia, who finished third in 1980, were surprisingly placed in
a second pot, none of which qualified for the finals. France qualified
automatically, as hosts. Only four of the seeds (Belgium, Spain, West Germany
and Yugoslavia) won their group and progressed to the finals. The other
qualifiers were Portugal and Romania from the third pot, and Denmark from the
fourth.
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1982
World Cup
- Spain
(16 January 1982, Madrid) |
| Seeds were
Argentina, Brazil, England, Italy, Spain and West Germany (each
placed into one of six groups). With the Netherlands being the
only one of the top four finishers in the 1978 tournament not to
qualify, the organising committee were able to place all five
former winners of the competition into seeding positions, with the
hosts. Though it was England's first tournament since 1970, it was
an opportunity for their fans to be secured in one location for
the group stage (Bilbao) to limit the potential for trouble.
Argentina, Italy and Spain all finished runners-up in their group
which strangely meant that all six seeds were condensed into two
of the four three-team second-round groups, with four of them thus
guaranteed not to make the semi-finals. The unseeded, France and
Poland came through the other two groups, but it was Italy and
West Germany who prevailed through to the final. |
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1986 World Cup Qualifying - UEFA
(7 December 1983, Zürich) |
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Seeds were Austria, England,
France, Poland, Spain, USSR and West Germany (each placed into one of seven
groups). With the exception of holders, Italy, who qualified automatically,
these were the top-ranked European teams in the 1982 tournament. Two other
nations (Belgium and Northern Ireland) had also reached the second group stage,
and were placed in a second pot, as were the other four qualifiers that had
exited in the first group stage. With the runners-up in each group also either
qualifying directly for the finals or going into a play-off, Austria were the
only seeds to fail to make it to the finals. No teams from the third pot
qualified, but Bulgaria and Portugal from the fourth, did.
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1984 European Championship - France
(10 January 1984, Paris) |
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Seeds were France and West
Germany (one placed into each group). With the hosts and holders given top
billing, Spain and Yugoslavia were also seeded to appear in separate groups.
Belgium had reached the final in 1980, but failed to make the seedings (or the
semi-finals from their group). Only two of the seeds (France and Spain) did
reach the semi-finals, along with Denmark and Portugal (who had both previously
qualified from low seeding pots), but it was the seeds who contested the final.
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1986
World Cup - Mexico (15 December 1985, Mexico City) |
| Seeds were
Brazil, France, Italy, Mexico, Poland and West Germany (each
placed into one of six groups). These were the five top placings
from the 1982 tournament, plus the hosts. Two of the seeds (Italy,
the holders, and Poland) failed to make it to the quarter-finals,
as they were knocked out by other seeds in the second round
(France and Brazil, respectively). In a similar situation to the
previous tournament, the four remaining seeds were then paired
with each other, and then the remaining two (France and West
Germany) met up in the semi-final for the second successive World
Cup. This left the way clear for two unseeded teams, Argentina and
Belgium, to contest the other semi-final, and it was Argentina who
went on to inflict West Germany's second successive final defeat. |
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1988 European Championship Qualifying
(14 February 1986, Frankfurt) |
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Seeds were Belgium, Denmark,
England, France, Netherlands, Portugal and Spain (each placed into one of seven
groups). West Germany qualified automatically, as hosts. Again, only four of the
seeds (Denmark, England, Netherlands and Spain) won their group and progressed
to the finals. The other qualifiers were USSR from the second pot, the Republic
of Ireland from the third, and World Champions, Italy, who had been inexplicably
demoted to the fourth seeding pot.
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1990 World Cup Qualifying - UEFA
(12 December 1987, Zürich) |
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Seeds were Belgium, Denmark,
England, France, Spain, USSR and West Germany (each placed into one of seven
groups). Once again, these were the top-ranked European teams in the previous
tournament. Italy, again, qualified automatically, this time as hosts. Two other
nations (Bulgaria and Poland) had also reached the last 16 in 1986, and were
placed in a second pot. Five of the seven seeds qualified from their group.
Denmark finished runners-up, but unluckily missed out because they had won a
point less than the other second-placed teams (England and West Germany) in the
two other four-team groups. France also failed to qualify. Remarkably, five
teams from the third pot qualified, with three winning their group (Romania,
Sweden and Yugoslavia). Austria and Czechoslovakia were the other two. Only two
(Netherlands and Scotland) qualified from the second pot and the Republic of
Ireland were the sole representatives from the fourth pot, reaching the finals
for the first time.
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1988 European Championship - West
Germany
(12 January 1988, Düsseldorf) |
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Seeds were England and West
Germany (one placed into each group). Italy and the Netherlands were also seeded
to appear in separate groups. Like Belgium in the 1984 finals draw, Spain had
reached the final of the previous tournament, but failed to make the seedings
(or the semi-finals from their group). England failed to win a point, but the
other three seeds all progressed to the semi-finals from their group, where
Italy and West Germany were beaten, leaving the Netherlands to beat the unseeded
USSR in the final.
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1990
World Cup - Italy (9 December 1989, Rome) |
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Seeds were Argentina,
Belgium, Brazil, England, Italy and West Germany (each placed into one of
six groups). These were determined from performances at the two previous
World Cups, though England's inclusion at the expense of Spain was almost
certainly also influenced, as in 1982, by the opportunity to base their fans
at a single location for the group stage, in this case, remotely, on the
island of Sardinia. Although Belgium and Brazil were eliminated by fellow
seeds (England and Argentina, respectively) in the second round, the
semi-finalists were the four remaining seeds. West Germany gained revenge
for their 1986 final defeat by beating Argentina to lift their third title.
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1992 European Championship Qualifying
(2 February 1990, Stockholm) |
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Seeds were England, Germany,
Italy, Netherlands, Romania, Spain and Yugoslavia (each placed into one of seven
groups). Sweden qualified automatically, as hosts. Yet again, only four of the
seeds (England, Germany, Netherlands and Yugoslavia) won their group, but
Yugoslavia were disqualified due to the wars in the country and they were
replaced by Denmark, who had finished runners-up to them in their group. The
other qualifiers were Scotland and the USSR from the second pot, and France from
the third.
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1994 World Cup Qualifying - UEFA
(8 December 1991, New York) |
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Seeds were Belgium, England,
France, Italy, Russia and Spain (each placed into one of six groups). These were
the only European teams to have qualified for each of the three previous
tournaments, plus Germany, who qualified automatically, as holders. Russia took
over the place originally allocated to the USSR which was dissolved as a nation,
a few weeks after the draw. Four of the seeds qualified from their group, with
England and France missing out. The fourth seeding pot produced four surprise
qualifiers, in Bulgaria, Greece, Norway and Switzerland.
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1992 European Championship - Sweden
(17 January 1992, Gothenburg) |
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Seeds were Netherlands and
Sweden (placed into separate groups). Unlike the three previous tournaments,
there were no other seeds to be separated. Both seeds (the holders and hosts)
won their group, but lost in the semi-finals. Less than two weeks before the
tournament, Yugoslavia were forced out due to the wars in the country and
Denmark took their place. Astonishingly, it was the Danes who went on to win the
title, beating World Champions, Germany in the final.
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1994 World
Cup - United States (19 December 1993, Las Vegas) |
| Seeds were Argentina,
Belgium, Brazil, Germany, Italy and the United States (each placed
into one of six groups). Apart from the hosts, the seeds were
decided by performances at the last three World Cups, the only
previous tournaments to involve 24 teams. FIFA's new ranking
system was not used as it had only been in operation for less than
a year. If the previous month's rankings had been used,
Netherlands (2) and Norway (5) would have been seeded ahead of
Argentina (9=) and Belgium (22). Three of the seeds were
eliminated in the second round (Argentina, Belgium and the United
States) but Brazil and Italy progressed to the final. The unseeded
pair of Sweden and Bulgaria finished third and fourth,
respectively. |
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