The FIFA World Cup is set to kick off later this November as football fans all across the world start to get optimistic about their favourite country’s chances of winning the biggest prize in football.
Qatar will be the hosts of the World Cup for the first time in history with big-name players such as Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar Jr. hoping to showcase what they are capable of in the Middle East. This is also the first time the FIFA World Cup is being hosted in the winter months, with the tournament kicking off on 20 November 2022 and concluding with the final on 18 December 2022.
With so much anticipation and hype surrounding the tournament, let’s take a look at the six nations to have hosted the World Cup the most in football history.
1. Mexico – Two-time Hosts
Mexico has hosted the FIFA World Cup two times in its history. The reason why they are in the top spot is that the nation is soon about to co-host the 2026 World Cup with the United States of America and Canada. Hence, Mexico will become the first-ever three-time hosts of the World Cup in four years’ time.
2. Brazil – Two-time Hosts
The South American nation has won the World Cup five times and has hosted the competition two times in 1950 and 2014. Brazil finished as the runners-up in the former and secured a fourth-place finish in the latter.
3. Italy – Two-time Hosts
The European nation entertained the 1934 FIFA World Cup and the 1990 FIFA World Cup. The Italians won the competition in 1934 but could only manage a third-place finish in the 1990 edition of the tournament.
4. France – Two-time Hosts
France has played hosts in the World Cup two times before in 1938 and 1998. They could only reach the quarterfinals in the 1938 edition but famously became the world champions when they hosted the tournament in 1998.
5. Argentina – One-Time Host
Argentina has hosted the World Cup once before in 1978 when they won the competition for the first time ever.
6. Uruguay – One-Time Host
The South American country hosted the first ever World Cup in 1930 and became the champions of that tournament. However, Uruguay are yet to host the competition again despite waiting for more than 90 years.
The other nations to have played one-time hosts in the FIFA World Cup are England, Chile, Germany, Japan, South Africa, South Korea, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United States, Uruguay, West Germany and will now soon be, Qatar.
