South American nations at the FIFA World Cup

Best performance of South American countries

Association football is the most popular sport in nearly every South American country, and 9 members of the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) have competed at the sport's biggest event - the men's FIFA World Cup.

Overview

	1930 (13)	1934 (16)	1938 (15)	1950 (13)	1954 (16)	1958 (16)	1962 (16)	1966 (16)	1970 (16)	1974 (16)	1978 (16)	1982 (24)	1986 (24)	1990 (24)	1994 (24)	1998 (32)	2002 (32)	2006 (32)	2010 (32)	2014 (32)	Total
Teams	7	2	1	5	2	3	5	4	3	4	3	4	4	4	4	5	5	4	5	6	80
Top 16	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	4	4	2	4	2	3	5	5	29
Top 12	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	2
Top 8	—	0	1	—	2	1	2	2	3	2	3	—	2	1	1	2	1	2	4	3	32
Top 4	2	0	1	2	1	1	2	0	2	1	2	0	1	1	1	1	1	0	1	2	22
Top 2	2	0	0	2	0	1	1	0	1	0	1	0	1	1	1	1	1	0	0	1	14
1st	1	0	0	1	0	1	1	0	1	0	1	0	1	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	9
2nd	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	1	5
3rd	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3
4th	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	5

Country	Participations	Years	Best result
Brazil	20	1930,1934,2573,1950,1954,1958,1962,1966,1970,1974,1978,1982,1986,1990,220,1998,2002,2006,2010,2014	1st
Argentina	16	1930, 1934, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014	1st
Uruguay	12	1930, 1950, 1954, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1986, 1990, 2002, 2010,2014	1st
Chile	9	1930, 1950, 1962, 1966, 1974, 1982, 1998, 2010,2014	3rd
Paraguay	8	1930, 1950, 1958, 1986, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010	QF
Colombia	5	1962, 1990, 1994, 1998,2014	QF
Peru	4	1930, 1970, 1978, 1982	QF
Bolivia	3	1930, 1950, 1994	R1
Ecuador	3	2002, 2006,2014	R2

World Cup Participation and Results

Legend

• 1st – Champion
• 2nd – Runner-up
•  3rd  – Third Place
• 4th - Fourth place
• QF – Quarterfinals
• R16 – Round of 16 (since 1986: knockout round of 16)
• R2 - Second round (for the 1974, 1978, and 1982 tournaments, which had two group stages)
• GS – Group Stage (in the 1950, 1974, 1978, and 1982 tournaments, which had two group stages, this refers to the first group stage)
• 1S – First Knockout Stage (1934–1938 Single-elimination tournament)
• Q — Qualified for upcoming tournament
•  •  — Did not qualify
•     — Did not enter / Withdrew / Banned
•     — Hosts

Team	1930	1934	1938	1950	1954	1958	1962	1966	1970	1974	1978	1982	1986	1990	1994	1998	2002	2006	2010	2014	2018	2022	Total Appearances	inclusive WC Qual.
Brazil	GS	1S	3rd	2nd	QF	1st	1st	GS	1st	4th	3rd	R2	QF	R16	1st	2nd	1st	QF	QF	4th			20	20
Argentina	2nd	1S				GS	GS	QF	•	R2	1st	R2	1st	2nd	R16	QF	GS	QF	QF	2nd			16	17
Uruguay	1st			1st	4th	•	GS	QF	4th	GS	•	•	R16	R16	•	•	GS	•	4th	R16			12	18
Chile	GS			GS	•	•	3rd	GS	•	GS	•	GS	•	•		R16	•	•	R16	R16			9	17
Paraguay	GS			GS	•	GS	•	•	•	•	•	•	R16	•	•	R16	R16	GS	QF	•			8	18
Colombia						•	GS	•	•	•	•	•	•	R16	GS	GS	•	•	•	QF			5	15
Peru	GS					•	•	•	QF	•	R2	GS	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•			4	16
Bolivia	GS			GS		•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	GS	•	•	•	•	•			3	17
Ecuador							•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	GS	R16	•	GS			3	14
Venezuela								•	•		•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•			0	12
Combined CONMEBOL Appearances	7	2	1	5	2	3	5	4	3	4	3	4	4	4	4	5	5	4	5	6	TBD	TBD	80
inclusive World Cup Qualification	7	2	1	5	4	8	9	10	10	9	10	10	10	10	9	10	10	10	10	10	TBD	TBD		164

Ranking of teams by number of appearances

Team	Appearances	Record streak	Active streak	Debut	Most recent	Best result (* = hosts)
Brazil	20	20	20	1930	2014	Winners (1958, 1962,1970,1994,2002)
Argentina	16	11	11	1930	2014	Winners (1978, 1986)
Uruguay	12	4	2	1930	2014	Winners (1930, 1950)
Chile	9	2	2	1930	2014	3 Place (1962)
Paraguay	8	4	0	1930	2010	Quartefinals (2010)
Colombia	5	3	1	1962	2014	Quarterfinals (2014)
Peru	4	2	0	1930	1978	Quarterfinals {1978}
Bolivia	3	1	0	1930	1994	Round 1
Ecuador	3	2	1	2002	2014	Round 2 {2006}

Tournament standings

Team	Champions	Finals	Semi-finals	Quarter-finals/Top 8	Round of 16	Total matches	Points
Brazil	5	7	11	17	17	104	227
Argentina	2	5	5	10	12	77	140
Uruguay	2	2	5	6	8	51	72
Chile	0	0	1	1	4	33	40
Peru	0	0	0	2	1	15	15
Paraguay	0	0	0	1	4	27	31
Colombia	0	0	0	1	2	18	23
Ecuador	0	0	0	0	1	10	13
Bolivia	0	0	0	0	0	6	1

Summary of performance

This table shows for each world cup the number of countries at the World Cup, the number of entries (#E) from around the world including any rejections and withdrawals, the number of South American entries (#A), how many of those South American entries withdrew (#A-) before/during qualification or were rejected by FIFA, the South American representatives at the World Cup finals, the number of World Cup Qualifiers each South American representative had to play to get to the World Cup (#WCQ), the furthest stage they reached, their results, and their coaches.

Year	Host	Size	#E	#A	#A-	South American finalists	#WCQ	Stage	Results	Coach
1930	Uruguay	13	0	0	0	Argentina	13	F(Runner-up)	won 1-0 France, won 6-3 Mexico, won 3-1 Chile, SF: won 6-1 United States, F:lost 2-4 Uruguay	Francisco Olazar & Juan José Tramutola
						Bolivia	13	R1	lost 0-4 Yugoslavia, lost 0-4 Brazil	Ulises Saucedo
						Brazil	13	R1	lost 1-2 Yugoslavia, won 4-0 Bolivia	Píndaro de Carvalho Rodrigues
						Chile	13	R1	won 3-0 Mexico, won 1-0 France,lost 1-3Argentina	György Orth
						Paraguay	13	R1	lost 0-3 United States, won 1-0 Belgium	José Durand Laguna
						Peru	13	R1	lost 1-3 Romania, lost 0-1 Uruguay	Francisco Bru
						Uruguay	13	F(Winners)	won 1-0 Peru, won 4-0 Romania, SF: won 6-1 Yugoslavia, F:won 4-2 Argentina	Alberto Suppici
1934	Italy	16	32	5	3	Argentina	16	R1	lost 2-3 Sweden	Felipe Pascucci
						Brazil	16	R1	lost 1-3 Spain	Luiz Vinhaes
1938	France	16	34	4	3	Brazil	16	SF	won 6-5(a.e.t.) Poland, QF: won 1-1(a.e.t.)replay match 2-1 Czechoslovakia, SF: lost 1-2 Italy	Adhemar Pimenta
1950	Brazil	15	34	7	3	Bolivia	15	R1	lost 0-8 Uruguay	Mario Pretto
						Brazil	15	F(Runner-up)	won 4-0 Mexico,drew 2-2 Switzerland, won 2-0 Yugoslavia, Final Round: won 7-1 Sweden, won 6-1 Spain, lost 1-2Uruguay	Flávio Costa
						Chile	15	R1	lost 0-2 England, lost 0-2 Spain,won 5-2United States	Arturo Bucciardi
						Paraguay	15	R1	drew 2-2 Sweden, lost 0-2 Italy	Manuel Fleitas Solich
						Uruguay	15	F(Winners)	won 8-0 Bolivia, Final Round: drew 2-2 Spain, won 3-2 Sweden, won 2-1Brazil	Juan López Fontana
1954	Switzerland	16	45	4	1	Brazil	16	QF	won 5-0 Mexico, drew 1-1(a.e.t.)Yugoslavia, QF: lost 2-4Hungary	Zezé Moreira
						Uruguay	16	4 place	won 2-0 Czechoslovakia,won 7-0 Scotland, QF: won 4-2England, SF: lost 2-4(a.e.t.)Hungary, 3-place match: lost 1-3Austria	Juan López Fontana
1958	Sweden	16	55	9	1	Argentina	16	R1	lost 1-3 Germany, won 3-1(Northern Ireland, lost 1-6Czechoslovakia	Guillermo Stábile
						Brazil	16	F(Winners)	won 3-0 Austria,drew 0-0 England, won 2-0 Soviet Union QF: won 1-0Wales, SF: won 5-2France, F: won 5-2Sweden	Vicente Feola
						Paraguay	16	R1	lost 3-7 France, won 3-2 Scotland, drew 3-3 Yugoslavia	Aurelio González
1962	Chile	16	56	7	0	Argentina	16	R1	won 1-0 Bulgaria, lost 1-3(England, drew 0-0(Hungary	Juan Carlos Lorenzo
						Brazil	16	F(Winners)	won 2-0 Mexico,drew 0-0 Czechoslovakia, won 2-1 Spain QF: won 3-1England, SF: won 4-2Chile, F: won 3-1Czechoslovakia	Aymoré Moreira
						Chile	16	3 place	won 3-1 Switzerland, won 2-0 Italy, lost 0-2 Germany QF: won 2-1Soviet Union, SF: lost 2-4Brazil, 3-place match: won 1-0Yugoslavia	Fernando Riera
						Colombia	16	R1	lost 1-2 Uruguay, drew 4-4 Soviet Union, lost 0-5 Yugoslavia	Adolfo Pedernera
						Uruguay	16	R1	won 2-1 Colombia, lost 1-3 Yugoslavia, lost 1-2 Soviet Union	Juan Carlos Corazzo
1966	England	16	74	9	0	Argentina	16	QF	won 2-1 Spain, drew 0-0(Germany, won 2-0(Switzerland QF: lost 0-1England	Juan Carlos Lorenzo
						Brazil	16	R1	won 2-0 Bulgaria,lost 1-3 Hungary, lost 1-3 Portugal	Vicente Feola
						Chile	16	R1	lost 0-2 Italy, drew 1-1 North Korea, lost 1-2 Soviet Union	Luis Alamos
						Uruguay	16	QF	drew 0-0 England, won 2-1 France, drew 0-0 Mexico QF: lost 0-4Germany	Ondino Viera
1970	Mexico	16	75	10	0	Brazil	16	F(Winners)	won 4-1 Czechoslovakia, won 1-0(England, won 3-2(Romania QF: won 4-2Peru, SF: won 3-1Uruguay, F: won 4-1Italy	Mário Zagallo
						Peru	16	QF	won 3-2 Bulgaria,won 3-0 Morocco, lost 1-3 Germany QF: lost 2-4Brazil	Didi
						Uruguay	16	4 place	won 2-0 Israel, drew 0-0 Italy, lost 0-1 Sweden QF: won 1-1(a.e.t.)Soviet Union, SF: lost 2-4Brazil, 3-place match: lost 0-1Germany	Juan Hohberg
1974	West Germany	16	99	9	1	Argentina	16	R2	lost 2-3 Poland, drew 1-1Italy, won 4-1Haiti R2: lost 0-4Netherlands,lost 1-2Brazil,drew 1-1East Germany	Vladislao Cap
						Brazil	16	4 place	drew 0-0 Yugoslavia,drew 0-0 Scotland, won 3-0 Zaire R2: won 1-0East Germany,won 2-1Argentina,lost 0-2Netherlands 3-Place Match : lost 0-1Poland	Mário Zagallo
						Chile	16	R1	lost 0-1 Germany, drew 1-1 East Germany, drew 0-0 Australia	Luis Alamos
						Uruguay	16	R1	lost 0-2 Netherlands, drew 1-1 Bulgaria, lost 0-3 Sweden	Roberto Porta
1978	Argentina	16	107	9	0	Argentina	16	F(Winners)	won 2-1 Hungary, won 2-1France, lost 0-1Italy R2: won 2-0Poland,drew 0-0Brazil,won 6-0Peru F: won 3-1(a.e.t.)Netherlands	César Luis Menotti
						Brazil	16	3 place	drew 1-1 Sweden,drew 0-0 Spain, won 1-0 Austria R2: won 3-0Peru,drew 0-0Argentina,won 3-1Poland 3-Place Match : won 2-1Italy	Cláudio Coutinho
						Peru	16	R2	won 3-1 Scotland,drew 0-0 Netherlands, won 4-1 Iran R2: lost 0-3Brazil,lost 0-1Poland,lost 0-6Argentina	Marcos Calderón
1982	Spain	24	109	9	0	Argentina	16	R2	lost 0-1 Belgium, won 4-1Hungary, won 2-0El Salvador R2: lost 1-2Italy,lost 1-3Brazil	César Luis Menotti
						Brazil	16	R2	won 2-1 Soviet Union,won 4-1 Scotland, won 4-0 New Zealand R2: won 3-1Argentina,lost 2-3Italy	Telê Santana
						Chile	16	R1	lost 0-1 Austria,lost 1-4 Germany, lost 2-3 Algeria	Luis Santibáñez
						Peru	16	R1	drew 0-0 Cameroon,drew 1-1 Italy, lost 1-5 Poland	Tim
1986	Mexico	24	121	10	0	Argentina	16	F(Winners)	won 3-1 South Korea, drew 1-1Italy, won 2-0Bulgaria Round of 16: won 1-0Uruguay QF: won 2-1England SF: won 2-0Belgium F: won 3-2Germany	Carlos Bilardo
						Brazil	16	QF	won 1-0 Spain,won 1-0 Algeria, won 3-0 Northern Ireland Round of 16: won 4-0Poland, QF: lost 1-1(pen.3-4)France	Telê Santana
						Paraguay	16	Round of 16	won 1-0 Iraq,drew 1-1 Mexico, drew 2-2 Mexico Round of 16: lost 0-3England	Cayetano Ré
						Uruguay	16	Round of 16	drew 1-1 Germany,lost 1-6 Denmark, Round of 16: lost 0-1Argentina	Omar Borrás
1990	Italy	24	116	9	0	Argentina	16	F(Runner-up)	lost 0-1 Cameroon, won 2-0Soviet Union, drew 1-1Romania Round of 16: won 1-0Brazil QF: won 0-0(pen. 3-2)Yugoslavia SF: won 1-1(pen.3-2)Italy F: lost 0-1Germany	Carlos Bilardo
						Brazil	16	Round of 16	won 2-1 Sweden,won 1-0 Costa Rica, won 1-0 Scotland Round of 16: lost 0-1Argentina	Sebastião Lazaroni
						Colombia	16	Round of 16	won 2-0 United Arab Emirates,lost 0-1 Yugoslavia, drew 1-1 Germany Round of 16: lost 1-2(a.e.t.)Cameroon	Francisco Maturana
						Uruguay	16	Round of 16	drew 0-0 Spain,lost 1-3 Belgium,won 1-0 South Korea Round of 16: lost 0-2Italy	Óscar Tabárez
1994	USA	24	147	9	1	Argentina	16	Round of 16	won 4-0 Greece, won 2-1Nigeria, lost 0-2Bulgaria Round of 16: lost 2-3Romania	Alfio Basile
						Bolivia	16	R1	lost 0-1 Germany,drew 0-0 South Korea, lost 1-3 Spain	Xabier Azkargorta
						Brazil	16	F(Winners)	won 2-0 Russia,won 3-0 Cameroon, drew 1-1 Sweden Round of 16: won 1-0United States QF: won 3-2Netherlands SF: won 1-0Sweden F: won 0-0(pen.3-2)Italy	Carlos Alberto Parreira
						Colombia	16	R1	lost 1-3 Romania,lost 1-2 United States,won 2-0 Switzerland	Francisco Maturana
1998	France	32	174	9	0	Argentina	32	QF	won 1-0 Japan, won 5-0Jamaica, won 1-0Croatia Round of 16: won 2-2(pen.4-3)England QF: lost 1-2Netherlands	Daniel Passarella
						Brazil	32	F(Runner-up)	won 2-1 Scotland,won 3-0 Morocco, lost 1-2 Norway Round of 16: won 4-1Chile QF: won 3-2Denmark SF: won 1-1(pen.4-2)Netherlands F: lost 0-3)France	Mário Zagallo
						Chile	32	Round of 16	drew 2-2 Italy,drew 1-1 Austria,drew 1-1 Cameroon Round of 16: lost 1-4Brazil	Nelson Acosta
						Colombia	32	R1	lost 0-1 Romania,won 1-0 Tunisia,lost 0-2 England	Hernán Darío Gómez
						Paraguay	32	Round of 16	drew 0-0 Bulgaria, drew 0-0Spain, won 3-1Nigeria Round of 16: lost 0-1(a.e.t)France	Paulo César Carpegiani
2002	South Korea & Japan	32	199	10	0	Argentina	32	R1	won 1-0 Nigeria, lost 0-1England, drew 1-1Sweden	Marcelo Bielsa
						Brazil	32	F(Winners)	won 2-1 Turkey,won 4-0 China, won 5-2 Costa Rica Round of 16: won 2-0Belgium QF: won 2-1England SF: won 1-0)Turkey F: won 2-0)Germany	Luiz Felipe Scolari
						Ecuador	32	R1	lost 0-2 Italy,lost 1-2 Mexico,won 1-0 Croatia	Hernán Darío Gómez
						Paraguay	32	Round of 16	drew 2-2 South Africa,lost 1-3 Spain,won 3-1 Slovenia Round of 16: lost 0-1Germany	Cesare Maldini
						Uruguay	32	R1	lost 1-2 Denmark, drew 0-0France, drew 3-3Senegal	Víctor Púa
2006	Germany	32	197	10	0	Argentina	32	QF	won 2-1 Ivory Coast, won 6-1Serbia and Montenegro, drew 0-0Netherlands Round of 16: won 2-1(a.e.t.)Mexico QF: lost 1-1(pen.2-4)Germany	José Pekerman
						Brazil	32	QF	won 1-0 Croatia,won 2-0 Australia, won 4-1 Japan Round of 16: won 3-0Ghana QF: lost 0-1France	Carlos Alberto Parreira
						Ecuador	32	Round of 16	won 2-0 Poland,won 3-0 Costa Rica,lost 0-3 Germany Round of 16: lost 0-1England	Luis Fernando Suárez
						Paraguay	32	R1	lost 0-1 England,lost 0-1 Sweden,won 2-0 Trinidad and Tobago	Aníbal Ruiz
2010	South Africa	32	205	10	0	Argentina	32	QF	won 1-0 Nigeria, won 4-1South Korea, won 2-0Greece Round of 16: won 3-1Mexico QF: lost 0-4Germany	Diego Maradona
						Brazil	32	QF	won 2-1 North Korea,won 3-1 Ivory Coast, drew 0-0 Portugal Round of 16: won 3-0Chile QF: lost 1-2Netherlands	Dunga
						Chile	32	Round of 16	won 1-0 Honduras,won 1-0 Switzerland,lost 1-2 Spain Round of 16: lost 0-3Brazil	Marcelo Bielsa
						Paraguay	32	QF	drew 1-1 Italy,won 2-0 Slovakia,drew 0-0 New Zealand Round of 16: won 0-0(pen. 5-3)Japan QF: lost 0-1Spain	Gerardo Martino
						Uruguay	32	4 place	drew 0-0 France,won 3-0 South Africa,won 1-0 Mexico Round of 16: won 2-1South Korea QF: won 1-1(pen.4-2)Ghana SF: lost 2-3Netherlands 3-place match: lost 2-3Germany	Oscar Tabárez
2014	Brazil	32	203	9	0	Brazil	32	SF	won 2-1 Croatia, drew 0-0Mexico, won 4-1Cameroon Round of 16: won 2-1(pen.3-2)Chile QF: won 2-1Colombia SF: lost 1-7Germany 3-place match: lost 0-3Netherlands	Luiz Felipe Scolari
						Argentina	32	F	won 2-1 Bosnia and Herzegovina,won 1-0 Iran, won 3-2 Nigeria Round of 16: won 1-0(a.e.t.)Switzerland QF: won 1-0Belgium SF: won 1-0(pen.4-2)Netherlands F: lost 0-1(a.e.t.)Germany	Alejandro Sabella
						Chile	32	Round of 16	won 3-1 Australia,won 2-0 Spain, lost 0-2 Netherlands Round of 16: lost 1-2(pen.2-3)Brazil	Jorge Sampaoli
						Colombia	32	QF	won 3-0 Greece,won 2-1 Ivory Coast, won 4-1 Japan Round of 16: won 2-0Uruguay QF: lost 1-2Brazil	José Pekerman
						Ecuador	32	Round 1	lost 1-2 Switzerland,won 2-1 Honduras, drew 0-0 France	Reinaldo Rueda
						Uruguay	32	Round of 16	lost 1-3 Costa Rica,won 2-1 England, won 1-0 Italy Round of 16: lost 0-2Colombia	Oscar Tabárez

Performance at individual World Cups

1930s: The inaugural FIFA World Cup, Uruguay's triumph

The 1930 FIFA World Cup was the inaugural FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football association football teams. It took place in Uruguay from 13 July to 30 July 1930. FIFA, football's international governing body selected Uruguay as host nation as the country would be celebrating the centenary of its first constitution, and the Uruguay national football team had successfully retained their football title at the 1928 Summer Olympics. The first World Cup was the only one without qualification. Seven teams from South America entered the tournament. So many teams from the South America continent never involved in the Fifa World Cup. The 1930 FIFA World Cup Final was contested by the finalists from the 1928 Olympics, Uruguay and Argentina. The final was played at the Estadio Centenario on July 30. The gates were opened at eight o'clock, six hours before kick-off, and at noon the ground was full, the official attendance 93,000. A disagreement overshadowed the build-up to the match as the teams disagreed on who should provide the match ball, forcing FIFA to intervene and decree that the Argentine team would provide the ball for the first half and the Uruguayans would provide their own for the second. The game ended 4-2 to Uruguay (who had trailed 2-1 at half time) who added the title World Cup winners to the mantle of Olympic Champions, as Jules Rimet, president of FIFA, presented the World Cup Trophy, which was later named after him. The game ended 4-2 to Uruguay (who had trailed 2-1 at half time) who added the title World Cup winners to the mantle of Olympic Champions, as Jules Rimet, president of FIFA, presented the World Cup Trophy, which was later named after him.

1934-1938: World Cup without champions, 3rd place for Brazil

As a result, the 1934 FIFA World Cup is the only one in which the reigning champions did not participate. Reigning World Cup holders Uruguay declined to participate, in protest at the refusal of several European countries to travel to South America for the 1930 FIFA World Cup, which Uruguay had hosted in 1930. Participated only Argentina and Brazil. Championship left after the first matches. It's the most unhappy World Cup for South America continent. 1938 FIFA World Cup was the last World Cup to be staged before the outbreak of the Second World War. The decision to hold the second of these, the 1938 FIFA World Cup, in France was controversial, as the American countries had been led to understand that the World Cup would rotate between the two continents. Both Argentina and Uruguay thus boycotted the tournament. Only Brazil participated from South America. Brazilians won 3rd place after victories 4-2 against Sweden.

1950: World Cup in Brazil, second Uruguay's triumph

1950 FIFA World Cup was the fourth FIFA World Cup. This was the only tournament not decided by a one-match final. Argentina, Ecuador, and Peru in South America withdrew after the qualifying draw (in Argentina's case because of a dispute with the (Brazilian Football Association). This meant that Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay qualified from South America by default. The final group stage involved the teams who won their groups: Brazil, Spain, Sweden, and 1930 FIFA World Cup champions Uruguay, who were making their first World Cup appearance since winning the inaugural tournament. The World Cup winner would be the team that managed to finish on top of this group. The final group's six matches were shared between Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. Brazil played all its final group matches at the Estádio do Maracanã in Rio while the games that didn't involve the host nation were played in São Paulo. Brazil won their first two matches with a 7-1 thrashing of Sweden and 6-1 rout of Spain. Eventually, Brazil progressed to the final round, facing Uruguay in the final match of the tournament on July 16, 1950. Brazil only needed a draw to finish top of the group, but Uruguay won the game 2-1, shocking and silencing the hundred thousands who attended the game. This defeat on home soil is a significant event in Brazilian history, being known popularly as the Maracanazo. The official attendance of the game was 199,854, with the actual attendance estimated to be about 210,000.

1954: Postponed dreams

As title holders, Uruguay qualified automatically for the 1954 FIFA World Cup. Only three teams from South America CONMEBOL participated in the qualification. Brazil was the only team to qualify for the main tournament. In the quarterfinals, they lost 2-4 to Hungary, while Uruguay obtained fourth place, losing the 3rd place play-off 3-1 to Austria.

1958-1962: Brazilian domination, 1962 FIFA World Cup in Chile

At the 1958 FIFA World Cup participated threes nations of South America. Austria appeared for the first time since 1934. This would be Paraguay last finals appearance until 1986. The 1958 FIFA World Cup won by Brazil, who beat Sweden 5–2 in the final for their first title. To date, this marks the only occasion that a World Cup staged in Europe was not won by a European team. The Final holds many records in World Cup history. Pelé became the youngest player to play a World Cup Finals, the youngest scorer in a World Cup Final and the youngest player to win a World Cup Winner's Medal. The team of the tournament voted by journalists was five Brazil players: The 1962 FIFA World Cup was held in Chile. This was third FIFA World Cup at the South America. At the 1962 FIFA World Cup participated five nations of South America. The tournament was won Brazil, who claimed their second World Cup title by defeating Czechoslovakia 3–1 in the final, becoming the second team, after Italy in 1938, to successfully defend the World title. Hosts Chile beat Yugoslavia 1–0 to finish third.

1966: Search for the guilty

At the 1966 FIFA World Cup participated four nations of South America. Argentina and Uruguay lost in the quarter-final. Brazil and Chile championship ended in the Group stage. During that controversial game (for more details see Argentina and England football rivalry), Argentina's Antonio Rattín became the first player to be sent off in a senior international football match at Wembley. Rattín at first refused to leave the field and eventually had to be escorted by several policemen. After 30 minutes England scored the only goal of the match. This game is called el robo del siglo (the robbery of the century) in Argentina. It is one of the worst championship by results for the South American nations. The South American protesters claimed that England, also the hosts, had rigged the whole tournament, with the help of West Germany. They particularly complained about the referees. English officials refereed most of Brazil's games. The England-Argentine match was refereed by a German; it was a bad-tempered match and the England manager, Alf Ramsay, described the Argentines afterwards as 'animals'. The West Germany-Uruguay match had a British referee and two Uruguayans were sent off. Strong anti-British feeling showed itself all over South America.

1970: The greatest World Cup team ever

At the 1970 FIFA World Cup participated threes nations of South America. Peru qualified for the first time, having made one previous appearance in the 1930 tournament (which did not require qualification). The 1970 FIFA World Cup won by Brazil, who beat Italy 4–1 in the final. With their third World Cup triumph, Brazil were allowed to keep the Jules Rimet Trophy permanently. In the Semi-Final all-South American match, Brazil managed to defeat Uruguay 3–1, finally gaining revenge for their defeat in the deciding match of the 1950 FIFA World Cup. The Brazilian team, led by Carlos Alberto, and featuring Pelé, Clodoaldo, Gérson, Jairzinho, Rivelino, and Tostão, is often regarded as the greatest World Cup team ever.

1974: New conspiracy theory

At the 1974 FIFA World Cup participated four nations of South America. The 9 teams were divided into 3 groups of 3 teams each, as Brazil qualified automatically as holders. Argentina, Chile, Uruguay also qualified for 1974 FIFA World Cup. Brazil ranked 4th place, Argentina withdraw in the Second Round, Chile, Uruguay in the First Round. Carlos Caszely of Chile became the first player to be sent off with a red card in a FIFA World Cup Opening match. Joao Havelange (former FIFA President from 1974 to 1998) claimed that the 1966 and 1974 World Cups were fixed so that England and Germany would win respectively. "We were the best in the world, and had the same team that had won the World Cup in 1962 in Chile and 1970 in Mexico, but it was planned for the host countries to win.”

1978: The first Argentina World Cup title

The 1978 FIFA World Cup, the 11th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in Argentina. This was fourth FIFA World Cup at the South America. At the 1978 FIFA World Cup participated three nations of South America. Argentina, Brazil, Peru). The 1978 FIFA World Cup was won by Argentina who beat the Netherlands 3–1 after extra time in the final. This win was the first FIFA World Cup Title for Argentina. Controversy surrounded the host, Argentina, as all of their games in the first round kicked off at night, giving the Argentines the advantage of knowing where they stood in the group. This issue would arise again in Spain 1982, which prompted FIFA to change the rules so that the final two group games in subsequent World Cups would be played simultaneously. In 1978 Argentina needed to beat Copa América holders Peru by four clear goals to reach the final ahead of Brazil. They won 6-0 but there were dark rumours that Peru, who had an Argentine-born goalkeeper, had thrown the game. There are several allegations that the government of Argentina struck a deal with the government of Peru that ensured Argentina would proceed to the final. The deal allegedly encompassed delivery of a large grain shipment to Peru by Argentina and the unfreezing of a Peruvian bank account that was held by the Argentine Central Bank. In exchange, the Peruvian team had to allow Argentina to win in their second-round match with a margin that was large enough to go the next round. That margin was four goals. The final, Argentina vs Netherlands, was also controversial, as the Dutch accused the Argentines of using stalling tactics to delay the match. Mario Kempes opened the scoring for the hosts before Dick Nanninga equalized a few minutes from the end. Rob Rensenbrink had a glorious stoppage-time opportunity to win it for the Netherlands but his effort came back off the goal post. Argentina won the final 3–1 after extra time. The Netherlands, because of the controversial game events, refused to attend the post-match ceremonies after the match ended. Brazil took third place from an enterprising Italy side with Nelinho scoring a memorable goal, and were dubbed "moral champions" by coach Cláudio Coutinho, because they did not win the tournament, but did not lose a single match.

1982: The 'Sarrià Stadium Tragedy'

At the 1982 FIFA World Cup participated four nations of South America Argentina, Brazil, Chile), Peru). As of 2010, this was the last time Peru qualified for a FIFA World Cup finals. 1982 FIFA World Cup was a first for Diego Maradona. Defending champions Argentina lost opening match 0-1 to Belgium, but qualified to the second round. Brazil with Zico, Sócrates, Falcão, Éder and fellows, they boasted an offensive firepower that promised a return to the glory days of 1970. They beat the USSR 2–1 thanks to a 20-metre Éder goal two minutes from time, then Scotland and New Zealand with four goals each. Peru and Chile finished fourth in their groups and withdraw from the 1982 FIFA World Cup. In the second round with Brazil, Argentina and Italy, in the opener, Italy prevailed 2–1 over Diego Maradona's side after a game in which Italian defenders Gaetano Scirea and Claudio Gentile proved themselves equal to the task of stopping the Argentine attack. Argentina now needed a win over Brazil on the second day, but lost 3–1 — Argentina only scoring in the last minute. Diego Maradona kicked Brazilian player Joao Batista in the groin and was sent off in the 85th minute. The match Brazil vs Italy was won by Italy 2-3 with Italian striker Paolo Rossi scoring a hat trick. The result eliminated Brazil from the tournament. The result was seen by many as not only a defeat for Brazil, but a defeat of their attacking philosophy by the less talented but more organised Italians. This match has since then been labelled by Brazilian press as the 'Sarrià Stadium Tragedy' (br: A tragédia do Sarriá)

1986: The second Argentina's Word Cup title

Colombia had been originally chosen to host the competition by FIFA but, largely due to economic reasons, was not able to do so and officially resigned in 1982. Mexico was selected as the new host in May 1983. At the 1986 FIFA World Cup participated four nations of South America: Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay. It was won by Argentina (their second title, after also winning in 1978), captained by Diego Maradona who scored the infamous "Hand of God goal", and also a goal voted as "Goal of the Century", in the same quarter-final against England. These were two of the five goals that Maradona scored during the tournament, and he also created another five for his team-mates. Argentina beat West Germany 3–2 in the final at Mexico City's Estadio Azteca.

The first round of the finals began in Group A, where Argentina beat South Korea 3–1, with Diego Maradona playing a major part. Italy and Argentina drew 1–1, Maradona and Alessandro Altobelli scoring. The final set of matches saw Argentina beating Bulgaria 2–0. Paraguay in Group B defeat 1-0 Iraq and twice drawing Mexico and Belgium. Group D saw Brazil start 1-0 against Spain, 1-0 Algeria, 3-0 Northern Ireland. Uruguay qualified in the second round only 2 points and goal difference(-5).

In the rematch of the 1930 FIFA World Cup Final, Argentina just edged out South American champions Uruguay in Puebla thanks to a 42nd-minute strike from Pedro Pasculli. Brazil progressed to the quarter-finals comfortably when they saw off Poland 4–0 while Paraguay lost England 0–3.

In the quarter-finals, three-time world champion Brazil faced France in Guadalajara. Brazil were well on top in the early stages, and Careca put them one up after 18 minutes. Five minutes before half-time, France drew level when Michel Platini scored his 41st goal after converting a cross from Dominique Rocheteau. Brazil had a chance to regain the lead in the second half when Branco was fouled by French keeper Joël Bats in the penalty area. Zico got up to take the kick, but Bats saved Zico's penalty. The match went to extra time, and France had the better of the extra half-hour. No more goals were scored, and so it was time for a penalty shoot-out. Socrates, who had earlier missed an open goal and headed an easy chance straight into the French keeper's arms, failed with the first kick for Brazil. The next six penalties were all converted, and then Platini fired over the bar. Brazil were back on level terms – but not for long. Julio Cesar struck the post with his penalty, and Luis Fernández then scored to put France through 4–3 on penalties.

The quarter-final between Argentina and England was featured two very different goals by Diego Maradona: the first was scored illegally, as he punched the ball into the goal past England goalkeeper Peter Shilton. The referee did not see the handball and the goal was given as valid. After the game, Maradona claimed the goal was scored "A bit with the head of Maradona and another bit with the hand of God"; it became known as the "Hand of God" goal. For his second goal, voted "Goal of the Century" in 2002 on the FIFA website, Maradona dribbled half the length of the field past five English players before scoring. In Argentina, the game was seen as revenge for the Falklands War.

In the other semi-final, Maradona struck twice in the second half as Argentina beat Belgium 2–0.

Jose Brown put Argentina one up midway through the first half of the final, and when Jorge Valdano scored a second for the South Americans in the 55th minute, Argentina looked to be strolling to victory. West Germany then staged a spirited comeback. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge pulled one back in the 74th minute, and six minutes later Rudi Völler hit the equaliser. With seven minutes remaining, a pass from Maradona gave Jorge Burruchaga the chance to score the winner for Argentina. Eight years on from their home triumph, Argentina regained the world title and 30 million people in Argentina celebrated in the streets after the final victory. Maradona was the Golden Ball winner as the best player of the tournament.

1990: Chile incident, Argentina reaches Final

At the 1990 FIFA World Cup participated four nations of South America: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Uruguay. One of the most bizarre incidents in World Cup history occurred on 3 September 1989. During the Brazil vs Chile CONMEBOL qualifying match in Rio de Janeiro. Chile needed victory to retain any hope of qualification, but trailed 0–1 to Brazil. Around twenty minutes into the second half, Chilean goalkeeper Roberto "Cóndor" Rojas fell to the pitch with an apparent injury to his forehead. A firework, thrown from the stands by a Brazilian fan named Rosemary de Mello, was smouldering about a yard away. After carrying Rojas off the pitch, the Chilean players and coaches refused to return claiming conditions were not safe, and the match went unfinished. After studying video footage of the match showing that the firework had not made contact with Rojas, FIFA awarded Brazil a 2–0 win, eliminating Chile from the 1990 World Cup. As punishment, Chile were barred from the qualifying process for the 1994 FIFA World Cup, and Rojas was banned for life (subsequently lifted in 2001).

Argentina lost first game 0-1 against Cameroon, defeat USSR 2-0, drew 1-1 Romania and finished third in group as one of the best third-placed teams. Brazil took maximum points from the group(against 2-1 Sweden, 1-0 Costa Rica, 1-0 Scotland. Colombia and Uruguay also qualified to the second round.

The all-South American game in the second round was won for Argentina by a goal from Claudio Caniggia with ten minutes remaining after a run through the Brazilian defence by Diego Maradona and an outstanding performance from their goalkeeper Sergio Goycochea. Uruguay 0–2 lost Italy. Colombia 1-2(a.e.t.) lost Cameroon.

Argentina reached the semi-finals after a goalless stalemate and winning the penalty shoot-out 3–2, despite Maradona having his penalty saved. A second Argentine miss (by Pedro Troglio) looked to have eliminated them until goalkeeper Sergio Goycochea – playing because first choice Nery Pumpido broke his leg during the group stage – rescued his side by stopping the Yugoslavs' final two spotkicks.

The first semi-final pitted the host nation, Italy, against the world champion, Argentina. 'Totò' Schillaci scored to put Italy ahead in the 17th minute, but Claudio Caniggia equalised midway through the second half, There were no further goals, but a series of serious fouls saw five yellow cards and a red issued, largely to Argentina: the game went to a shootout which Argentina won 4–3, after Roberto Donadoni and Aldo Serena both had their kicks saved by Sergio Goycochea. Argentina's decisive penalty had been converted by Diego Maradona, who, playing in his club "home city" of Naples, had urged locals to support him rather than their homeland, creating a more muted atmosphere than Italy's previous games in Rome.

The final between West Germany and Argentina has been cited as the most cynical and lowest quality of all World Cup Finals. In the 65th minute, Argentina's Pedro Monzon was sent off for a foul on Jürgen Klinsmann, the first player ever to be sent off in a World Cup Final.

Argentina, weakened by suspension and injury, offered little attacking threat throughout a contest dominated by the West Germans, who struggled to create many clear goalscoring opportunities. The only goal of the contest arrived in the 84th minute when Mexican referee Edgardo Codesal awarded a penalty to West Germany, after a foul on Rudi Völler by Roberto Sensini. Andreas Brehme, who later said there was no foul, converted the spot kick to settle the contest. In the closing moments, Argentina were reduced to nine after Gustavo Dezotti received the second red card of the game when he hauled Jürgen Kohler to the ground during a stoppage in play. The 1–0 scoreline provided another first: Argentina were the first team to fail to score in a World Cup Final.

1994: Bolivia returns to the World Cup, Colombian tragedy, The fourth Brazil Word Cup title

At the 1994 FIFA World Cup participated four nations of South America: Argentina, Brazil, Colambia, Bolivia. Chile could not take part in qualification as it was still banned by FIFA. Bolivia qualified for the first time since 1950 FIFA World Cup. The tournament saw the end of Diego Maradona's World Cup career, having played in the 1982, the 1986 — where he led Argentina to the World Cup title — and the 1990 World Cups, where he led them to the final. Maradona was expelled from the tournament after he failed a drug test which uncovered ephedrine, a weight loss drug, in his blood. Colombia, despite high expectations due to their style and impressive qualifying campaign, disappointed in the tournament, failed to advance from the round robin. The team was supposedly dogged by influence from betting syndicates and drug cartels, with coach Francisco Maturana receiving death threats over squad selection. Defender Andrés Escobar was a tragic figure of this tournament, as in the group stage match against the United States national team, he scored an own goal which eliminated his team 2–1. Escobar was shot to death outside a bar in a Medellín suburb only ten days after the match, apparently in retaliation for the own goal.

Colombia finished top of their qualifying group without having lost a match, which included a historic 5–0 win over Argentina in Buenos Aires. Expectations of the team were high, some even naming them as favourites to win the tournament. The match in group A between Colombia and Romania was the first game for either side in the group phase. Colombia lost 1-3 Romania. The team went into their second group game against the United States knowing they had to win to have any chance of progressing. On the 35th minute Andrés Escobar attempted to cut out a cross but accidentally deflected the ball into his own net. Earnie Stewart took the US two goals in front after scoring in the 56th minute. Valencia scored a consolation goal for Colombia in the closing minutes of the match. They did win their final group match 2–0 over Switzerland, but it was not enough to help them progress. In group B Brazil won over Russia, Cameroon also one draw against Sweden and qualified Round of 16. Bolivia draw 0-0 against South Korea, lost 0-1 opening match Germany, 1-3 Spain. In the next stage did not qualified. Argentina collected a maximum of six points from their opening two matches after beating Greece 4–0 in Foxboro before coming from behind to overcome the feisty Nigerians 2–1 on the same field four days later, yet still only finished third, since lost 0-2 Bulgaria.

Argentina, who were shorn of Diego Maradona who was thrown out of the tournament for taking drugs faced in round 2 Romania. Romanian scores twice in the first twenty minutes. In between, Gabriel Batistuta scored a penalty, but after half-time Romania netted a superb third on the counterattack, with Hagi beating goalkeeper Luis Islas. Abel Balbo pulled one back, but Romania held on for a shock win. Brazil in round of 16 defeat 1–0 hosting nations United States. Brazil would normally win easily, but United States were playing at home, in their National Day. Leonardo was sent off immediately, which increased Brazil's uncertainty. Later, Leonardo declared that he acted by instinct, without any intention to harm. Brazil won that match thanks to the usual: Aldair and Márcio Santos effective in the defense, Romário and Bebeto effective in the attack. Bebeto scored the sole goal at 28 minutes of second half.

In quarter-final Brazil won against Netherlands. In the second Brazilian goal, Romário was clearly off side, but he pretended he had not seen the ball, the referee considered that Romário was not participating of that play, and Bebeto scored. The match was an easy 2-0 for Brazil, but in ten minutes Netherlands scored two goals. Then, in a long free kick, Branco scored. Branco was a veteran, who had participated of the cups in 1986 and 1990, who was much admired by the Brazilians for his braveness. FIFA considered this Brazil - Netherlands to be a classic match.

Brazil won the semi-final against Sweden by 1-0, after Jonas Thern had been sent off with a red card Romário scored the only goal of the game in the 80th minute.

Brazil and Italy played the final of the 1994 FIFA World Cup. This time, not even Romário could help Brazil win. For the first time in the History of World Cups, a final ends in 0-0, and must be decided in penalty kicks. This happened because both Brazil and Italy had a scheme which privileged first the defense, and, luck allowing, the attack. Brazil won in the penalties. The Italians missed three of four kicks. Brazil was four times champion. The trophy was handed to captain Dunga from the hands of the vice-president Al Gore. Brazil's Romário, with five goals, won the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player. Brazilians refer to this cup as the Cup that Romário won for Brazil.

1998: Brazil way too weak in the final

At the 1998 FIFA World Cup participated five nations of South America: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay. Paraguay qualified for the first time since 1986. After Brazil beat Scotland and Marocco while Norway drew with Morocco and Scotland, Brazil had qualified as group winners with a game to spare. Chile conceded equalisers in all their games, but their three draws were enough for them to qualify in second place and advance with a record-low three points. Paraguay drew their first two games 0-0 and beat 3-1 Nigeria qualified in second place. After two games in group England and Colombia were level on points before they played each other in their final group game. Colombia lost the match 0-2 and withdraw. Argentina qualified with a match to spare after they beat Japan and Jamaica with Gabriel Batistuta scoring in both games. Argentina then beat Croatia to take first place.

Chile in the Round of 16 play against South American rivals Brazil at the Parc des Princes in Paris. César Sampaio scored twice early on, and a Ronaldo penalty made it 3–0 before half-time. Chile kept fighting, and Salas got his fourth goal of the competition, heading in a rebound after Claudio Taffarel had saved a shot from Zamorano, but Ronaldo scored again quickly and Chile were out of the tournament. Argentina - England round of 16 match stayed 2-2 until the end of extra time. In the ensuing penalty shoot-out that decided the game, Argentina won 4-3 after two English kicks were saved by their goalkeeper Carlos Roa. Paraguay lost France. France only scored through Laurent Blanc in the 114th minute, during the second half of overtime (making it the first golden goal scored in a World Cup). Argentina in the quarter-final 1-2 lost Netherlands an 89th minute. Moments after Argentine playmaker Ariel Ortega was sent off for head-butting Dutch goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar, evening the teams at 10 men a side, Dutch captain Frank de Boer launched a 60-yard pass directly to the right foot of Bergkamp in the right side of the penalty area. With his first touch, the striker known as "The Iceman" cut back to his left past defender Roberto Ayala. With his second touch, Bergkamp tucked a hard shot over keeper Carlos Roa into the top left corner. In other quarter-final Denmark put up much more of a battle than many thought possible, but in the end, using two goals by Rivaldo, defending World Cup holder Brazil pulled out a 3-2 decision in a quarterfinal match today at La Beaujoire Stadium. In the 60th minute, Rivaldo netted the final and deciding goal, finding the low right corner from 20 yards.

Semi- final: Brazil - Netherlands. Ronaldo scored in the 46th minute for Brazil, and Patrick Kluivert equalized for the Dutch in the 87th minute. A surprisingly tame match was tied 1-1 after 120 minutes. Goalkeeper Claudio Taffarel made two diving saves as Brazil defeated The Netherlands 4-2 on penalty kicks.

The final was contested by Brazil, who were the defending champions having won the previous FIFA World Cup four years earlier in 1994, and the host nation France, who had reached the final of the tournament for the first time. France won the match 3–0 to claim the World Cup for the first time, with the timing of the match two days before Bastille Day adding to the significance of the victory. Zinedine Zidane, who was named man of the match, scored twice before half-time and Emmanuel Petit added a third goal in the last minute. The match had an attendance in the region of 75,000. The match also saw speculation on the condition of the Brazilian striker Ronaldo, who suffered a convulsive fit on the eve of the match. After initially being left out of the team sheet, in spite of his physical state, it was announced just 72 minutes before kick-off that he was going to play. In the match, he sustained an injury in a clash with French goalkeeper Fabien Barthez. Although it was believed that the decision to play Ronaldo had backfired, it was understandable as the player had been a crucial member of the side throughout the tournament, having scored four goals and created three more. They also inflicted the heaviest defeat on Brazil since 1930.

2002: Ecuador debut, The fifth Brazil Word Cup title

At the 2002 FIFA World Cup participated five nations of South America: Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay. Ecuador qualified first time for the final tournament. Paraguay first match in group tied South Africa 2–2 (goals: Roque Santa Cruz and Francisco Arce), lost to Spain in the second game (1–3) and finally defeated Slovenia (3–1; goals Nelson Cuevas, twice, and Jorge Luis Campos) to qualify for the second round. The Brazilian team started the 2002 World Cup with a 2–1 against Turkey, 4-0 China PR, 5-2 Costa Rica and qualified from the group stage. Argentina first match in group won 1-0 Nigeria, second game loss 0-1 to Nigeria. Like favourites France, second favourites Argentina were eliminated following a 1-1 draw to Sweden in their third game. Ecuador were drawn in Group G with Italy, Mexico and Croatia. Ecuador were knocked out at the group stage, they achieved a 1–0 victory over Croatia, who had come third at the previous edition of the World Cup, lost 0-2 Italy, 1-2 Mexico. Uruguay, as dark horses of the group, never really got going, their high point being a goalless draw with a sub-par France side. However, they did manage to put three goals past Senegal in a high-scoring draw, but their loss to Denmark in their opening game had dashed any hopes they may have had of qualifying for the Round of 16.

In the second round Germany ended Paraguay's dreams in the World Cup with an 88-minute goal. Brazil won 2-0 Belgium. To the surprise of the Brazilians themselves, referee Peter Prendergast disallowed Belgian goal by Marc Wilmots that would have given Belgium a 1–0 lead. Brazilian coach Luiz Felipe Scolari declared after the tournament that the match against Belgium had been the hardest for Brazil to win.

Against England in the quarter finals, Brazil won 2–1. Brazil's Ronaldinho caught out England goalkeeper David Seaman with a lobbed free kick from 42 yards to send Brazil into the semis. Ronaldinho also assisted teammate Rivaldo for their first goal, but was sent off for stamping on the right ankle of England's Danny Mills.

The semifinal was against Turkey, which Brazil had faced in their group. Again, this match was difficult, as Brazil won 1–0 with a goal by Ronaldo. Rivaldo had scored one goal in all five games up to this one but did not manage to hit the target in the sixth. He had seemed all set to repeat Jairzinho´s great achievement in 1970 when he scored in every game of the World Cup.

The final was between two of the most successful teams in the competition's history: Germany and Brazil. Incredibly, the teams had never played each other in the World Cup before, besides a match between Brazil and East Germany in the 1974 FIFA World Cup. German goalkeeper Oliver Kahn had been the tournament's best keeper, but was not able to maintain his post unscathed in this match, as Ronaldo vanquished his France '98 demons by scoring both goals in the Brazilian 2–0 triumph. Ronaldo also won the Golden Shoe as the tournament's leading scorer, though Kahn won the Golden Ball as the most outstanding player. This match also marked Brazilian captain Cafu's third appearance in a World Cup Final, a feat that has yet to be accomplished by any other player in the history of the tournament. The title marked Brazil's fifth World Cup championship, which is more than any other nation has achieved, also being the first team to win all seven of their games without any extra time or penalty kicks.

2006: Ecuador reaches the Round of 16, Argentina and Brazil early finishes World Cup

At the 2006 FIFA World Cup participated fourth nations of South America: Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Paraguay. Ecuador were drawn into Group A with the hosts, Poland, and Costa Rica. Wins over Poland and Costa Rica earned La Tri qualification to the knockout stages for the first time. In 2006, Paraguay qualified for its third World Cup in a row. This time, two early defeats against England and Sweden (both 0–1) sent the team home early. The only consolation was defeating Trinidad and Tobago during the last and final group game by 2–0. Argentina qualified from Group C with a game remaining, Argentina topping the group on goal difference having hammered Serbia and Montenegro 6–0 and beating Côte d'Ivoire 2–1. The Brazilians won all three games to qualify first in the group. Despite winning the first 2 games against Croatia (1–0) and Australia (2–0), Brazil didn't seem to work as expected and struggled to beat the opponents' defense. In the third game, manager Parreira tried a new squad with five former reserve players, including Robinho, and Cicinho. The changes were successful, as the team put on a comfortable 4–1 win against Japan.

At round of 16 Argentina struggled to get past Mexico 2-1 until a Maxi Rodríguez goal in extra time put the Albiceleste in the quarter-finals. Ecuador lost 0–1 England thanks to a David Beckham free kick. During the second round, Brazil defeated Ghana 3–0, in a game which included Ronaldo's record 15th World Cup goal.

Quarter-final Germany and Argentina ended 1–1 after extra time; the hosts edged out the Argentines 4–2 on penalties to go through to the semifinals (this was the first time Argentina had lost a World Cup penalty shootout: up until this match, both Argentina and Germany had participated in three penalty shootouts, winning all of them). Argentina scored first to grab a 0–1 lead. However, Michael Ballack's cross, flicked on by Tim Borowski, allowed Klose to head in the equalizer with 10 minutes to spare. During the subsequent penalty shootout, goalkeeper Jens Lehmann saved two shots while his teammates all converted their shots to win the shootout 4–2. Brazil were eliminated in the quarterfinals against France by a score of 1–0. France was led by a rejuvenated Zinédine Zidane and by a strong defence which kept the Brazilian strikers under check for the duration of the game. Perhaps partially due to their uncommon formation, Brazil was shut out, attempting just one shot at French goalkeeper Fabien Barthez. The game was also notable for being the first time that the Brazil team had been shut out in 3 consecutive matches against France, now has a 2–1–1 all-time record in 1986, 1998 and 2006 in World Cup matches. After elimination to France, the Brazil team was largely criticized by the press and the fans. The media circulated images of the left wingback Roberto Carlos tying his shoes while Henry ran unmarked to score the winning goal. The sporting legend Pelé blamed coach Parreira and Ronaldinho for the team's early elimination.

2010: Uruguay's fourth place, Paraguay's best ever performance

At the 2010 FIFA World Cup participated five nations of South America: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay. Chile were at the Finals tournament for the first time since the 1998 competition. The South American teams performed strongly, with all five advancing to the knockout stages (four as group winners). In group A despite a red card being given to Uruguay substitute Nicolas Lodeiro in the second half, Uruguay were able to hold a "lacklustre" France to a 0–0 draw. Won 3-0 against South Africa and 1-0 against Mexico. The group winners, Uruguay, advanced to face the runners-up from Group B, Korea Republic. In group B Argentina won all the matches. As group winners, Argentina advanced to face Mexico in Round of 16. Paraguay topped the group F with five points and advanced to face Japan, the runners-up in Group E. Twice Paraguay played a draw and won 2-0 against Slovakia. As winners of the group G, Brazil advanced to play against Chile – runners-up in Group H – in the Round of 16. Brazil won 2-1 against DPR, 3-1 Côte d'Ivoire and draw 0-0 with Portugal. Chile, as group runners-up, faced Brazil, the winners of Group G. Chile won 1-0 against Honduras, 1-0 Switzerland and lost 1-2 Spain.

Uruguay vs the South Korea was the first match in the Round of 16. Uruguay won the match 2–1. Uruguay's two goals came from Luis Suárez, the second of which broke a 1–1 deadlock in the 80th minute. Suárez's first was scored when Diego Forlán made a low cross from the left that was not dealt with by the Korean defence, leaving Suárez to score at the back post. Uruguay subsequently adopted a defensive posture and Korea had more chances to score. Suarez's goal was regarded as one of the tournament's best. Argentina vs Mexico met at Soccer City. Argentina won the match 3–1 for a place in the quarter-finals against Germany. The match was overshadowed by a refereeing error that allowed Argentina's opening goal. Carlos Tevez headed the ball into the net from a Lionel Messi pass in the 25th minute, but replays showed there were no players between Tevez and the goal, rendering his goal clearly offside. Replays of the goal were shown in the stadium but the decision to award the goal was not overturned. Tevez said he knew that the goal was offside, but chose not to say anything. Argentina's second goal came from a defensive error from Ricardo Osorio as a poor pass out of defence was snatched by Gonzalo Higuaín to round the keeper and score. After half-time, Tevez scored his second goal of the match to give Argentina a three-goal lead, with a long range shot that found the top corner of the Mexican goal. Javier Hernández scored for Mexico in the 71st minute but it turned out to be no more than a consolation goal, as Argentina held on to win 3–1. Brazil in the Round of 16 soundly defeated Chile 3–0 to progress to a quarter-final match against the Netherlands. Brazil's first goal came from a corner kick taken by Maicon in the 34th minute, with Juan heading the ball into the goal without being marked. Brazil had doubled its lead within five minutes after a free-flowing passing movement involving Robinho and Kaká that teed up Luís Fabiano to score after taking the ball around the Chilean goalkeeper. Robinho himself sealed victory for Brazil in the second half, scoring following a long run with the ball by Ramires. Paraguay and Japan met at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium. The match was decided by a penalty shootout after the score was locked at 0–0 for 120 minutes. Paraguay won the shootout and progressed to its first ever World Cup quarter-final. The match was a generally unexciting affair, as Japan adopted a defensive posture while Paraguay itself maintained a solid defence. The first half produced the occasional chance on goal with Lucas Barrios having a shot saved shortly before a long distance shot from Daisuke Matsui hit the crossbar of Paraguay's goal. The second half was similar, with either side producing occasional chances to score rather than periods of dominance. The result of the deadlock was extra time, which continued goalless. A penalty shootout ensued, in which Yuichi Komano missed a spot kick for Japan. Paraguay scored all five of its penalties, clinching the win and passage to the quarter-finals.

The Netherlands versus Brazil was the first quarter-final match. The Netherlands won 2–1 after recovering from a 1–0 deficit, knocking the five-time world champions Brazil out of the tournament. Brazil's coach Dunga confirmed after the match that he would be leaving the position upon the expiry of his contract, admitting responsibility for Brazil's defeat. Uruguay and Ghana met at Soccer City for a place in the semi-final against the Netherlands. It was the first time that the teams had ever played each other in a senior competitive football match. After a dramatic 120 minutes of play (including extra time) that finished 1–1, Uruguay won in a penalty shoot-out 4–2. Uruguay dominated the early periods of the match, but suffered an injury to captain Diego Lugano in the first half. Just before half-time, Ghana took the lead when Sulley Muntari was allowed time on the ball by Uruguay, and took advantage by scoring with a shot from 40 yards. After half-time, Diego Forlán pulled Uruguay level with a free kick from the left side of the field that went over the head of Ghana's goalkeeper Richard Kingson. While both teams had chances to win, the match proceeded to extra time as the scores remained level. Late in extra time, Ghana sent a free kick into the box; Luis Suárez blocked Stephen Appiah's shot on the goal line. On the rebound, Dominic Adiyiah's header was heading into the goal, but Suárez blocked the shot with his hands to save what would have been the extra-time winner and he was dismissed. Asamoah Gyan missed the ensuing penalty kick off the crossbar and Suárez celebrated the miss. In the shootout, Gyan converted his penalty, as did everybody else until the 4th round of penalty kicks when Adiyiah's penalty was saved by Uruguayan goalkeeper Fernando Muslera. Uruguay's Maxi Pereira then hit his penalty kick over the bar. Muslera saved Captain John Mensah's, and Ghana's fifth, penalty. Sebastián Abreu converted Uruguay's fifth spot kick by lightly chipping it Panenka-style to win the match. After the game, Suárez said, "I made the save of the tournament," and, referring to the infamous handball goal scored by Diego Maradona in the 1986 World Cup, claimed that "The 'Hand of God' now belongs to me." Suárez claimed he had no alternative and was acting out of instinct. Forlán agreed that Suárez saved the game, "Suárez this time, instead of scoring goals, he saved one, I think he saved the game. In other Quarter-final Germany thrashed Argentina 4–0. The 4–0 defeat was Argentina's biggest loss at a World Cup since 1974. Spain defeated Paraguay 1–0. The first half of the match finished goalless, although both sides had chances to score and Paraguay's Nelson Valdez had a goal ruled out as offside. The match suddenly became eventful in the second half due to a string of penalty kicks. First, Óscar Cardozo was pulled down by Gerard Piqué in Spain's penalty area and Paraguay was awarded a penalty. Cardozo took the penalty himself but it was saved by Spain's goalkeeper Iker Casillas. Spain soon after launched an attack at the other end of the field, in which David Villa was ruled by the referee to have been brought down by Antolín Alcaraz. Xabi Alonso stepped up to take the penalty kick and seemed to have scored, only for the referee to order it be retaken because of encroachment by a Spanish player into the penalty area before the kick was taken. Xabi Alonso's retake was saved by Paraguayan goalkeeper Justo Villar. As a result, the score remained 0–0 after the three penalty kicks. However, Spain ultimately managed to take the lead in the 82nd minute: David Villa collected a rebounded shot off the post from Pedro, to score himself off the post. The goal turned out to be the winner for Spain.

Uruguay played the Netherlands in the first semi-final. The Netherlands won the match 3–2. Uruguay adopted a defensive posture early in the match, but were only able to hold their opponents scoreless for 18 minutes, when Dutch captain Giovanni van Bronckhorst scored from 35 yards into the top right corner of the goal. However, the Netherlands were unable to capitalise on their lead, as Diego Forlán equalised in the 41st minute (1-1) when his shot from 25 yards hit squarely in the middle of the goal was misjudged by goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg who missed it by millimeters. The Netherlands took lead quickly, though, as a pass from van der Vaart reached Sneijder who dished it into the side of the goal as Muslera dived and missed it by inches. Then, three minutes later, Kuyt crossed to Robben who headed it into the goal as Muslera just stood there hopelessly to make it 3-1. The Netherlands suffered a late scare when Maxi Pereira, who failed a penalty against Ghana, scored in stoppage time from a freekick; however, the score remained 3–2 despite desperate Uruguayan attempts to equalise.

Third place play-off. Germany defeated Uruguay by 3–2. Bastian Schweinsteiger managed to take a shot towards the goal, which Muslera rebounded towards Thomas Müller who scored. Uruguay forced their way back into the game after Luis Suárez's pass put Edinson Cavani through on the left and he slid low into the far corner to put them on level terms after 28 minutes. Diego Forlán then put them ahead in the second half with a beautiful backheel kick from the edge of the penalty box while goalkeeper Hans-Jörg Butt just stood there hopelessly after 51 minutes. Marcell Jansen then scored on 56 minutes after Muslera came for Jérôme Boateng's cross but missed it right in front of Jansen allowing him to head into an empty net. Mesut Ozil took a corner in the 82nd minute, which reached a German player, bounced off him and went up to Khedira's head, who headed it in. Uruguay almost forced extra time when Forlán curled a 92nd-minute free-kick onto the bar, but Germany held on to win the match. After the game, Uruguay coach Óscar Tabárez insisted that his side did not deserve to be on the losing side, "We achieved an equal game against a real power, we could have won because in the game [they] were not superior to us, "We're not that far away [from Germany's level], the route has been marked, we must learn from this".

2014: Drama for Brazil on home soil as Colombia shine and Argentina reach the final

The 2014 FIFA World Cup marked the fifth time the World Cup was hosted by a South American nation, with Brazil staging the tournament for the second time (the first time being in 1950). Besides the hosts, 5 CONMEBOL teams managed to qualify. Argentina, Colombia, Chile and Ecuador qualified directly via the qualification tournament, while Uruguay also qualified by beating Jordan in the inter-continental play-offs. FIFA appointed Rio de Janeiro, Brasília, Belo Horizonte, São Paulo, Salvador, Fortaleza, Recife, Porto Alegre, Curitiba, Natal, Cuiabá and Manaus as host cities, with the final being played at the iconic Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro. Brazil, victorious in the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, were pre-tournament favourites, together with world champions Spain, Germany and their arch-rivals Argentina.

The months before the tournament were overshadowed by massive protests among many Brazilians, who accused Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff and her government of setting questionable priorities by pouring loads of money into the World Cup, while things like healthcare and education were considered more important and in more urgent need of financial aid by many. They also stated both the Brazilian government and the FIFA were corrupt and didn't take the people's wishes into account. The protests were supported by many, including Brazilian legendary footballer Romário. Further anger was caused by the fact that several workers died while working on the construction sites of the new stadiums, especially in São Paulo and Manaus. The construction of many stadiums was delayed, and the Arena da Baixada in Curitiba was almost taken out of the tournament. Some stadiums remained unfinished when the competition started.

The group stage kicked off on 12 June 2014, with Brazil taking on Croatia in São Paulo. The opening goal of the tournament was an own goal by Brazilian defender Marcelo, who became the first Brazilian ever to score an own goal at the FIFA World Cup. However, Brazil managed to turn the game around and eventually won 3-1. Brazil's second goal, scored by poster boy Neymar, was a doubtful penalty kick which eventually led to the exclusion of Japanese referee Yuichi Nishimura from the tournament. In their following group game, Brazil suffered a minor setback when they drew 0-0 against Mexico in Fortaleza, but they restored their supremacy with a resounding 4-1 victory over Cameroon in Brasília and ended top of the table in Group A.

In Group B, Chile faced world champions Spain, the Netherlands, 2010 runners-up, and Asian minnows Australia, whom they managed to defeat 3-1 in their opening game in Cuiabá. The Chileans then managed to knock out the title holders in Rio de Janeiro, winning 2-0 by goals from Eduardo Vargas and Charles Aránguiz, only to go down by the same score in their final group match in São Paulo against the Netherlands, thus ending second in their group and going through to the round of 16.

Group C saw outsiders Colombia, who missed top striker Radamel Falcao due to an injury, take on Greece, Japan and Côte d'Ivoire. Los Cafeteros eased through their group, defeating the Europeans 3-0 in Belo Horizonte, the Africans 2-1 in Brasília and the Asians 4-1 in Cuiabá, with James Rodríguez emerging as a bit of a star by scoring in all their games.

In Group D, Uruguay, who ended third in South Africa, started off with a shock as they failed to overcome an offensive second half strategy by minnows Costa Rica and eventually went down 3-1 in Fortaleza and ended the game with 10 men. Uruguay's star player Luis Suárez was unable to play during that game due to an injury, but he returned in their second group match in São Paulo against England and immediately became his country's hero as he scored twice to give Uruguay a 2-1 victory. However, in Uruguay's final group game in Natal, Suárez once again was the target of great controversy as he allegedly bit Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini. Although the referee missed the incident, FIFA later decided to give Suárez a nine-month ban from all football matches, making him ineligible to compete in the rest of the tournament. Uruguay did manage to progress to the round of 16, though, as Italian midfielder Claudio Marchisio received a red card and Diego Godín headed home Uruguay's only goal in the 81st minute.

Ecuador became the only CONMEBOL nation not to reach the knockout stage. In Group E, La Tricolor suffered a late 2-1 defeat against Switzerland in Brasília, before beating Honduras by the same score in Curitiba. Their 0-0 draw against France at the Maracanã was not enough to go through. All 3 Ecuadorian goals were scored by striker Enner Valencia.

Argentina found themselves on enemy soil in Brazil, and failed to impress in Group F, although they eventually managed to win all 3 of their matches narrowly. Star striker Lionel Messi became Argentina's hero in the group phase, scoring 4 of Argentina's 6 goals. A 2-1 win over debutants Bosnia and Herzegovina in Rio de Janeiro was followed by a last-gasp 1-0 victory over Iran in Belo Horizonte, with Messi scoring to clinch an undeserved victory over the Asian hopefuls. Their group stage campaign ended with a tight 3-2 victory over African champions Nigeria, with Messi scoring twice, and La Albiceleste progressed to the knockout phase with 9 points out of 9.

The Round of 16 featured two all-South American encounters, with hosts Brazil taking on Chile in Belo Horizonte and Colombia facing Uruguay in Rio de Janeiro the same day. The Brazilians started off very well against Jorge Sampaoli's Chile, with David Luiz scoring an early goal for the hosts. However, Chile soon regained their strength and Alexis Sánchez scored a well-deserved equaliser. The game went into extra time, and both Hulk and Mauricio Pinilla were close to giving their teams the lead, but in the end a penalty shootout proved unavoidable. The shootout was won by Brazil, and the Seleção went into the quarter finals at La Roja's expense.

That night in the Maracanã, Colombia were victorious over Uruguay. James Rodríguez scored twice, once in both halfs, to end Uruguayan hopes. Rodríguez's first goal was later elected the goal of the tournament. Colombia's win marked the first time in history the country made it to the Quarter Finals of the World Cup.

The other South American team that reached the Round of 16, Argentina, played three days later and needed extra time against Switzerland to secure a win in São Paulo, with their only goal being scored by Ángel Di María, in the 118th minute.

In the Quarter Finals, another South American match was played when Brazil met Colombia in Fortaleza. Brazil claimed a 2-0 lead after 70 minutes, after both their central defenders, captain Thiago Silva and Luiz, found the net. The lead could not be undone by the Colombians, even though James Rodríguez scored from the penalty spot in the 80th minute. The game didn't end in joy for the Brazilians, though, as top striker Neymar was ruled out for the rest of the tournament with a back injury and captain Thiago Silva was suspended. Rodríguez's strike was his sixth of the tournament, and he eventually became the top scorer of the 2014 World Cup.

Argentina, the only other CONMEBOL representative left, also reached the semi-finals by beating Belgium 1-0 in Brasília. An early strike from Gonzalo Higuaín was enough for the victory, and Alejandro Sabella's team steered through. A final between Brazil and Argentina didn't seem unlikely.

However, in the semi-finals, things went horribly wrong for the hosts. In a thrilling encounter against the Germans, Brazil equalled their record worst-ever defeat as they went down 7-1 in Belo Horizonte, causing national tragedy and sorrow throughout Brazil. The game is known as the Mineirazo, and will be remembered as a football match that stunned the world. Felipe Scolari's team suffered the worst-ever defeat in a World Cup semi-final and ended the tournament with a negative goal difference. The Brazilian fairytale was over.

Argentina did manage to reach the final, as they proved themselves the better side in a thrilling penalty shootout against the Netherlands in São Paulo. Sergio Romero stopped two penalties and became Argentina's hero.

In the third place playoff in Brasília, Brazil was unable to recover from the shock demolition days earlier, and they lost 3-0 to a rampant Dutch side.

The final was played on July 13 in Rio de Janeiro, between Germany and Argentina. Both teams had good chances, and referee Roberto Rosetti was criticized for not sending German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer off, but neither of the teams managed to score a goal. The decision finally fell against Argentina, as German substitute Mario Götze netted home a winner in the 113th minute. It marked the third world cup in a row Argentina lost to the Germans, as they fell short again and ended as runners-up. Lionel Messi was awarded the Golden Ball for best player of the tournament, a decision that was highly criticized. Brazil's total nightmare - a world cup title for their arch rivals in their country, remained a nightmare.

Germany were the first European team to claim the world title in the Americas.

External links

• FIFA Fact Sheet: History of the FIFA World Cup (TM) Preliminary Competition (by year) (44 page PDF document)