The Ten Most Successful Soccer Nations

Written by Ben Pogany

Unless you happen to be a frequent tuner-in to Telemundo, you may have missed the thrilling Copa America final that recently took place. In fact, if ESPN coverage is any indicator, it's more than likely you had no idea South America was even crowning a champion this summer. Absent from the final stage were Messi's Argentines and Lucio's Brazilians, as it was scrappy Uruguay once again outdoing themselves en route to a record 15th South American Championship and the seven spot on our list of the most successful soccer nations of all time. Not bad for a country with roughly the same population as Connecticut.

1) Brazil
Current FIFA Ranking: 5

Hardware: 5 World Cups, 3 Confederations Cups, 8 Copa Americas
Top Club League: Brasileirão

Greatest Players: Pele, Ronaldo, Garrincha, Roberto Carlos, Cafu
2) Italy
Current FIFA Ranking: 6
Hardware: 4 World Cups, 1 Euro Cup, 1 Olympic Gold Medal

Top Club League: Serie A

Greatest Players: Paolo Maldini, Paolo Rossi, Giuseppe Meazza, Franco Baresi, Roberto Baggio
3) Germany
Current FIFA Ranking: 3
Hardware: 3 World Cups, 3 Euro Cups, 1 Olympic Gold Medal (East German)
Top Club League: Bundesliga

Greatest Players: Lothar Matthaus, Gerd Muller, Franz Beckenbauer, Jurgen Klinsmann, Rudi Voller
4) Argentina Current
FIFA Ranking: 10
Hardware: 2 World Cups, 1 Confederations Cups, 14 Copa Americas, 2 Olympic Gold Medals
Top Club League: Argentine Primera División

Greatest Players: Diego Maradona, Alfredo di Stefano, Lionel Messi, Mario Kempes, Gabriel Batistuta
5) France
Current FIFA Ranking: 15
Hardware: 1 World Cup, 2 Confederations Cups, 2 Euro Cups, 1 Olympic Gold Medal
Top Club League: Ligue 1

Greatest Players: Zinedine Zidane, Michel Platini, Thierry Henry, Raymond Kopa, Marcel Desailly
6) England
Current FIFA Ranking: 7
Hardware: 1 World Cup, 3 Olympic Gold Medals
Top Club League: Premier League

Greatest Players: Bobby Charlton, Devid Beckham, Jimmy Greaves, Bobby Moore, Gordon Banks
7) Uruguay
Current FIFA Ranking: 4
Hardware: 2 World Cups, 15 Copa Americas, 2 Olympic Gold Medals
Top Club League: Primera División Uruguaya

Greatest Players: Enzo Francescoli, Diego Forlan, Hector Scarone, Jose Nasazzi, Jose Andrade
8) Spain
Current FIFA Ranking: 1
Hardware: 1 World Cup, 2 Euro Cups, 1 Olympic Gold Medal
Top Club League: La Liga

Greatest Players: Raul, Emilio Butragrueno, Telmo Zarra, Luis Suarez, Amancio
9) Netherlands
Current FIFA Ranking: 2
Hardware: 1 Euro Cup
Top Club League: Eredivisie

Greatest Players: Marco van Basten, Ruud Gulli, Johan Cruyff, Ronald Koeman, Dennis Bergkamp
10) Mexico
Current FIFA Ranking: 22
Hardware: 1 Confederations Cup, 9 Gold Cups/CONCACAF Championships
Top Club League: Mexican Primera División

Greatest Players: Hugo Sanchez, Jared Borgetti, Luis de la Fuente, Cuauhtemoc Blanco, Tota