World Cup in Legends XI: 23 seasons, with the winner and runner-up of each.
| Season | Winner | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Espanha | Argentina |
| 2022 | Argentina | França |
| 2018 | França | Croácia |
| 2014 | Alemanha | Argentina |
| 2010 | Espanha | Holanda |
| 2006 | Itália | França |
| 2002 | Brasil | Alemanha |
| 1998 | França | Brasil |
| 1994 | Brasil | Itália |
| 1990 | Alemanha Ocidental | Argentina |
| 1986 | Argentina | Alemanha Ocidental |
| 1982 | Itália | Alemanha Ocidental |
| 1978 | Argentina | Holanda |
| 1974 | Alemanha Ocidental | Holanda |
| 1970 | Brasil | Itália |
| 1966 | Inglaterra | Alemanha Ocidental |
| 1962 | Brasil | Checoslováquia |
| 1958 | Brasil | Suécia |
| 1954 | Alemanha Ocidental | Hungria |
| 1950 | Uruguai | Brasil |
| 1938 | Itália | Hungria |
| 1934 | Itália | Checoslováquia |
| 1930 | Uruguai | Argentina |
The World Cup is the national-team competition: instead of clubs, 48 countries compete, split into twelve groups played over a single round — three games, no away leg to defend. From there it's all knockout, single match, always on neutral ground, because no national team is ever truly at home: round of 32, round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final. The perfect campaign in this competition is therefore an 8-0 — shorter than the Champions League's 13-0, because there's no second leg to protect anywhere here.
As in every competition in the game, the 100 doesn't belong to whoever had the single best campaign — it belongs to whoever dominates the competition's HISTORY. The card's season is only the one that shows it best, not the criterion itself. In the World Cup, that player is Pelé.
The competition's all-time great
The only three-time World Cup winner (1958, 1962 and 1970), across four editions played — more titles than any other player in the competition's history: 4 goals, 6 assists, a headed goal in the final, and the assist for Carlos Alberto Torres's goal.
GK
Iker Casillas won the 2010 World Cup and decided it with two moments the competition still ranks among the best any goalkeeper has produced: the save on Arjen Robben late in the final, and the penalty he stopped from Óscar Cardozo in the quarter-finals. He conceded just 2 goals in 7 matches that edition — the best defensive record of any goalkeeper in the competition. What argues the other way, and isn't hidden: Dino Zoff, who held this spot until September 2026, has three top-4 finishes across World Cup history (runner-up in 1970, present in 1978, champion in 1982) — the most of any goalkeeper — against Casillas's one, and Gilmar still has two titles, one more than him. The card is from 2010, the year of the final and the penalty.
RB
The only player in World Cup history to play three consecutive finals (1994, 1998 and 2002), and captain of the winning side in the last of them.
CB
Champion and captain in 1974 — and champion again in 1990, that time as a coach.
CB
Captain of England's only World Cup title, and author of the most cited defensive play in the competition's history: the tackle on Jairzinho, at the 1970 World Cup.
LB
Two-time world champion, in 1958 and 1962 — the full-back who invented the position as it's played today.
CDM
Zito played two World Cup finals for Brazil and won both — 1958 and 1962 —, scoring a decisive goal in the second: the 69th-minute strike that broke the deadlock against Czechoslovakia in the 1962 final. That is one more title and one more goal in a final than Dunga, who held this spot until September 2026: captain in both his finals but champion in only one, 1994, and runner-up in 1998. The card is from 1962, the year of the second title and the goal in the final.
CM
Champion and captain in 1990, the year he also won the Ballon d'Or.
CAM
Five goals and five assists in a single edition — the greatest individual performance ever in this competition — with the Goal of the Century crowning a World Cup won practically alone.
RW
Two-time world champion (1958 and 1962) and joint top scorer of the 1962 tournament, with 4 goals, after Pelé got injured in the second match.
LW
Kylian Mbappé has scored four goals in World Cup finals, more than any other player in the competition's history — the 2022 final hat-trick stands out within that tally. He had 12 goals in the competition through that edition, against Rivaldo's 8, and has 22 since July 2026, the competition's all-time record. What argues the other way, and isn't hidden: unlike Rivaldo, who held this spot until September 2026 and was champion in 2002, Mbappé's France lost the 2022 final on penalties — Rivaldo's goal in five straight matches through that campaign won the title, Mbappé's hat-trick didn't. The card is from 2022, the year of the final hat-trick.
ST
Eight goals and the title in 2002 — the comeback after the injuries and the lost final of 1998.
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