The greatest soccer nations in the history of the sport, ranked by overall success on the world stage across generations. Rankings take into account World Cup, Confederation, Euro, Copa America, and Olympic finishes, as well as current FIFA ranking, famous countrymen, and national league prowess.
BrazilHardware: 5 World Cups (11 semifinal appearances), 4 Confederations Cups, 8 Copa Americas
Top Club League: Brasileirão
GermanyCurrent FIFA Ranking: 1
Hardware: 4 World Cups (13 semifinal appearances), 3 Euro Cups, 1 Olympic gold medal (East Germany), 1 Confederations Cup
Top Club League: Bundesliga
ItalyCurrent FIFA Ranking: 20
Hardware: 4 World Cups (8 semifinal appearances), 2 Euro Cups, 1 Olympic gold medal
ArgentinaCurrent FIFA Ranking: 1
Hardware: 3 World Cups (6 semifinal appearances), 1 Confederations Cup, 15 Copa Americas, 2 Olympic gold medals
Greatest Players: Lionel Messi,Diego Maradona, Alfredo Di Stéfano (played much of international career for Spain), Mario Kempes, José Manuel Moreno, Adolfo Pedernera, Ángel Labruna, Gabriel Batistuta, Daniel Passarella, Silvio Marzolini, Omar Sívori, Sergio Batista
5) FranceCurrent FIFA Ranking: 7
Hardware: 2 World Cups (7 semifinal appearances), 2 Confederations Cups, 2 Euro Cups, 1 Olympic gold medal
Greatest Players: Kylian Mbappé, Zinedine Zidane, Michel Platini, Thierry Henry, Just Fontaine, Raymond Kopa, Marcel Desailly, Eric Cantona, Robert Jonquet, Frank Ribery, Lilian Thuram
SpainCurrent FIFA Ranking: 8
Hardware: 1 World Cup (2 semifinal appearances), 3 Euro Cups, 1 Olympic gold medal
Greatest Players: Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Emilio Butragueno, Telmo Zarra, Luis Suárez, Amancio, László Kubala, Francisco Gento, Iker Casillas, Ricardo Zamora, David Villa, Carlos Puyol
EnglandCurrent FIFA Ranking: 13
Hardware: 1 World Cup (3 semifinal appearances), 3 Olympic gold medals
UruguayCurrent FIFA Ranking: 17
Hardware: 2 World Cups (5 semifinal appearances), 15 Copa Americas, 2 Olympic gold medals
NetherlandsCurrent FIFA Ranking: 19
Hardware: 1 Euro Cup, 5 World Cup semifinal appearances
Top Club League: Eredivisie
PortugalCurrent FIFA Ranking: 4
Hardware: 1 Euro Cup, 2 World Cup semifinal appearances
Top Club League: Primiera Liga
This is a list about title-wins right? How can it then be, that Uruguay is below Spain and England, when they have 1 World Cup more, alot more continental title-wins (15 times Copa America)and also more Olympic Gold medals than for example Spain????? I must ask – is this a list about victories in the last 25 years or is this a list about all titles, how the list is named? Only because Spain and England are bigger names in football today than Uruguay, doesn’t give them the right, to be on a higher position in this list. And how the heck can England even be on this list with only 1 World Cup and no Euro Cup? The time when England was a great nation in football is a long time ago, would be better, when even english-speaking people would have recognized that in the meantime.
They also are counting the leagues they have. That’s why England and Spain are much higher
Brazil
Italy
Germany
Aregentina
France
England
Uragruay
Spain
Portugal
Netherlands
Uruguay. Por favor, respeto acá. Deletree bien este país …. con una “u”.
Gracias!
Real and fair list, when titles count, must be this here:
1) Brazil (most WM titles with 5)
2) Germany (same number of WM titles than Italy but more Euro Titles)
3) Italy
4) Uruguay (2 WM titles but 15 Copas against 14 Copas of Argentina)
5) Argentina (also 2 WM titles like France but 14 Copas against 2 Euros)
6) France
7) Spain (1 WM like England but 3 Euros)
8) England (3 olympic gold medals don’t count much in this sport, sorry)
9) Netherlands (all the time fantastic players, but have not won much)
10) Portugal
This and only THIS is the true list, when counting only things that are important in football (WM-title/Euro-title/Copa-Title). The olympic gold-medals are nice, but everybody knows that often the countries only play with B-teams there and NOT with the best possible team that they could sent there. Therefore olympic gold is not one of the most important awards here in soccer, unlike to most other sports where a gold-medal is the biggest thing ever that you can win in your kind of sport.
Good, Reasonable & More logical conclusion
How about the quality of the leagues they have. I think that might be part of the equation also.
The quality of the leagues they have? So, the local players + the foreign ones?
Uruguayo detectado, si quieren ponganse primeros ya que esta, jaja.
No. 10 is Croatia, not Portugal. Cro played one final and had one 3rd spot as well. In what world Spain and England are ahead of Uruguay. They have both 1 title and Uru has 2, even though they won first at home with corrupt referres, still.