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List of teams that went undefeated through a FIFA World Cup final or qualifying tournament

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This page lists all association football national teams which managed to remain undefeated in either a FIFA World Cup main tournament, the qualifying process for that tournament, or both.

Fixtures decided by a penalty shootout are counted as draws and not as defeats.[1] The tables only include teams which played at least one match in the particular final or qualifying tournament. They do not include teams which qualified automatically or by walkover, or teams which withdrew or were disqualified without playing any matches.

All but four World Cup winning teams were unbeaten in the finals. The four teams that won the World Cup despite losing a game in the finals were: West Germany in 1954 and again in 1974; Argentina in 1978; and Spain in 2010.

Another part of the teams listed below were eliminated despite not losing any games in the finals, or failed to qualify despite not losing any qualifying games. They exited the competition by various means: withdrawal; inferior points total or goal difference within a group; drawing of lots, away goals, or penalty shootout.

General statistics[edit]

Brazil have remained unbeaten in a total of seven World Cup final tournaments, more than any other team, including all five tournaments where they triumphed as world champions. Italy are a close second with six, and England are third with three. No other nation has achieved this more than twice.

Germany (including West Germany) have had a record eleven unbeaten World Cup qualifying campaigns. In fact the German national team has lost only two World Cup qualifying games in its history: against Portugal in 1985, and against England in 2001.

A number of teams have managed not to record any losses during an entire FIFA World Cup cycle (qualifying and final tournaments).

  • Italy in 1934 and 1998; Brazil in 1958, 1970, 1978 and 1986; West Germany in 1990; Spain in 2002; and France in 2006 all remained unbeaten during both the qualification and the finals (in 1970 Brazil actually did not record any draws either, managing to win every single match en route to the title).
  • Uruguay in 1930; Italy in 1938 and 1990; Brazil in 1962; England in 1966; Mexico in 1986; and France in 1998 all did not have to go through qualifying tournaments, and did not lose any games in the finals (Uruguay in 1930 and Italy in 1938 did not draw any games either).
  • Uruguay in 1950 qualified without playing any matches due to the withdrawal of their opponents, and did not lose any games in the finals.
  • Several teams remained undefeated during a qualifying campaign but nevertheless did not appear in the subsequent final tournament. Each of Morocco and Tunisia has had this fate twice. For others, see the tables below.

Legend to the tables[edit]

Colouring
Golden background: Team was undefeated in the final competition
Pale blue background: Team was undefeated in the qualification cycle
  • The Result column indicates what stage the team reached in the particular final tournament: 1st = champion, 2nd = second place, 3rd = third place, 4th = fourth place, QF = quarterfinals, R16 = round of 16, GS = group stage, GS2 = second group stage out of two, GS1 = first group stage out of two.
  • Other columns: Pld = matches played, W = matches won, D = matches drawn, L = matches lost, GF = goals scored, GA = goals conceded.
  • The Lost to column indicates what opponent progressed at the expense of the team in question.

By tournament[edit]

1930[edit]

Team Final tournament Qualifying procedure How the team was eliminated
Result Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA Lost by Lost to
 Uruguay 1st 4 4 0 0 15 3 qualified automatically

1934[edit]

Team Final tournament Qualifying procedure How the team was eliminated
Result Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA Lost by Lost to
 Italy 1st 5 4 1 0 12 3 1 1 0 0 4 0
 Czechoslovakia 2nd 4 3 0 1 9 6 2 2 0 0 4 1 extra time Italy
 Germany 3rd 4 3 0 1 11 8 1 1 0 0 9 1 regular time Czechoslovakia
 Austria 4th 4 2 0 2 7 7 1 1 0 0 6 1 regular time Italy
 Spain QF 3 1 1 1 4 3 2 2 0 0 11 1 replay Italy
 Hungary QF 2 1 0 1 5 4 2 2 0 0 8 2 regular time Austria
  Switzerland QF 2 1 0 1 5 5 2 1 1 0 4 2 regular time Czechoslovakia
 Sweden QF 2 1 0 1 4 4 2 2 0 0 8 2 regular time Germany
 Netherlands R16 1 0 0 1 2 3 2 2 0 0 9 4 regular time Switzerland
 France R16 1 0 0 1 2 3 1 1 0 0 6 1 extra time Austria
 Egypt R16 1 0 0 1 2 4 2 2 0 0 11 2 regular time Hungary
 United States R16 1 0 0 1 1 7 1 1 0 0 4 2 regular time Italy

1938[edit]

Team Final tournament Qualifying procedure How the team was eliminated
Result Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA Lost by Lost to
 Italy 1st 4 4 0 0 11 5 qualified automatically
 Hungary 2nd 4 3 0 1 15 5 1 1 0 0 11 1 regular time Italy
 Czechoslovakia QF 3 1 1 1 5 3 2 1 1 0 7 1 replay Brazil
  Switzerland QF 3 1 1 1 5 5 1 1 0 0 2 1 regular time Hungary
 Germany R16 2 0 1 1 3 5 3 3 0 0 11 1 replay Switzerland
 Norway R16 1 0 0 1 1 2 2 1 1 0 6 5 extra time Italy
 Belgium R16 1 0 0 1 1 3 2 1 1 0 4 3 regular time France
 Netherlands R16 1 0 0 1 0 3 2 1 1 0 5 1 extra time Czechoslovakia
 Austria qualified but withdrew 1 1 0 0 2 1 withdrawal Sweden

1950[edit]

Team Final tournament Qualifying procedure How the team was eliminated
Result Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA Lost by Lost to
 Uruguay 1st 4 3 1 0 15 5 qualified by walkover
 Sweden 3rd 5 2 1 2 11 15 2 2 0 0 6 2 points Uruguay
 Spain 4th 6 3 1 2 10 12 2 1 1 0 7 3 points Uruguay
 Yugoslavia GS 3 2 0 1 7 3 5 3 2 0 16 6 points Brazil
  Switzerland GS 3 1 1 1 4 6 2 2 0 0 8 4 points Brazil
 England GS 3 1 0 2 2 2 3 3 0 0 14 3 points Spain
 Mexico GS 3 0 0 3 2 10 4 4 0 0 17 2 points Brazil
 Turkey qualified but withdrew 1 1 0 0 7 0 withdrawal

1954[edit]

Team Final tournament Qualifying procedure How the team was eliminated
Result Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA Lost by Lost to
 West Germany 1st 6 5 0 1 25 14 4 3 1 0 12 3
 Austria 3rd 5 4 0 1 17 12 2 1 1 0 9 1 regular time West Germany
 Brazil QF 3 1 1 1 8 5 4 4 0 0 8 1 regular time Hungary
 England QF 3 1 1 1 8 8 3 3 0 0 11 4 regular time Uruguay
 Yugoslavia QF 3 1 1 1 2 3 4 4 0 0 4 0 regular time West Germany
 Italy GS 3 1 0 2 6 7 2 2 0 0 7 2 play-off Switzerland
 France GS 2 1 0 1 3 3 4 4 0 0 20 4 points Brazil and Yugoslavia
 Belgium GS 2 0 1 1 5 8 4 3 1 0 11 6 points Switzerland
 Mexico GS 2 0 0 2 2 8 4 4 0 0 19 1 points Brazil and Yugoslavia
 Czechoslovakia GS 2 0 0 2 0 7 4 3 1 0 5 1 points Uruguay and Austria
 South Korea GS 2 0 0 2 0 16 2 1 1 0 7 3 points West Germany

1958[edit]

Team Final tournament Qualifying procedure How the team was eliminated
Result Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA Lost by Lost to
 Brazil 1st 6 5 1 0 16 4 2 1 1 0 2 1
 France 3rd 6 4 0 2 23 15 4 3 1 0 19 4 regular time Brazil
 Yugoslavia QF 4 1 2 1 7 7 4 2 2 0 7 2 regular time West Germany
 England GS 4 0 3 1 4 5 4 3 1 0 15 5 play-off Soviet Union
 Austria GS 3 0 1 2 2 7 4 3 1 0 14 3 points Soviet Union
 Mexico GS 3 0 1 2 1 8 6 5 1 0 21 3 points Wales
 Sudan withdrew during qualifying 2 1 1 0 2 1 withdrawal Israel

1962[edit]

Team Final tournament Qualifying procedure How the team was eliminated
Result Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA Lost by Lost to
 Brazil 1st 6 5 1 0 14 5 qualified automatically
 Yugoslavia 4th 6 3 0 3 10 7 4 3 1 0 11 4 regular time Czechoslovakia
 Hungary QF 4 2 1 1 8 3 4 3 1 0 11 5 regular time Czechoslovakia
 Soviet Union QF 4 2 1 1 9 7 4 4 0 0 11 3 regular time Chile
 West Germany QF 4 2 1 1 4 2 4 4 0 0 11 5 regular time Yugoslavia
 England QF 4 1 1 2 5 6 4 3 1 0 16 2 regular time Brazil
 Italy GS 3 1 1 1 3 2 2 2 0 0 10 2 points Chile
 Argentina GS 3 1 1 1 2 3 2 2 0 0 11 3 goal average England
 Spain GS 3 1 0 2 2 3 4 3 1 0 7 4 points Czechoslovakia
 Uruguay GS 3 1 0 2 4 6 2 1 1 0 3 2 points Yugoslavia
 Colombia GS 3 0 1 2 5 11 2 1 1 0 2 1 points Yugoslavia

1966[edit]

Team Final tournament Qualifying procedure How the team was eliminated
Result Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA Lost by Lost to
 England 1st 6 5 1 0 11 3 qualified automatically
 West Germany 2nd 6 4 1 1 15 6 4 3 1 0 14 2 extra time England
 Argentina QF 4 2 1 1 4 2 4 3 1 0 9 2 regular time England
 Hungary QF 4 2 1 1 8 7 4 3 1 0 8 3 regular time Soviet Union
 Uruguay QF 4 1 2 1 2 5 4 4 0 0 11 2 regular time West Germany
 North Korea QF 4 1 1 2 5 9 2 2 0 0 9 2 regular time Portugal
 Mexico GS 3 0 2 1 1 3 8 6 2 0 20 4 points Uruguay

1970[edit]

Team Final tournament Qualifying procedure How the team was eliminated
Result Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA Lost by Lost to
 Brazil 1st 6 6 0 0 19 7 6 6 0 0 23 2
 Italy 2nd 6 3 2 1 10 8 4 3 1 0 10 3 regular time Brazil
 West Germany 3rd 6 5 0 1 17 10 6 5 1 0 20 3 extra time Italy
 Uruguay 4th 6 2 1 3 4 5 4 3 1 0 5 0 regular time Brazil
 Soviet Union QF 4 2 1 1 6 2 4 3 1 0 8 1 extra time Uruguay
 Israel GS 3 0 2 1 1 3 4 3 1 0 8 1 points Uruguay
 Tunisia did not qualify 5 1 4 0 4 3 lottery Morocco

1974[edit]

Team Final tournament Qualifying procedure How the team was eliminated
Result Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA Lost by Lost to
 Scotland GS1 3 1 2 0 3 1 4 3 0 1 8 3 goal difference Brazil
 Netherlands 2nd 7 5 1 1 15 3 6 4 2 0 24 2 regular time West Germany
 Yugoslavia GS2 6 1 2 3 12 7 5 3 2 0 8 4 points West Germany
 Argentina GS2 6 1 2 3 9 12 4 3 1 0 9 2 points Netherlands
 Italy GS1 3 1 1 1 5 4 6 4 2 0 12 0 goal difference Argentina
 Bulgaria GS1 3 0 2 1 2 5 6 4 2 0 13 3 points Sweden
 Belgium did not qualify 6 4 2 0 12 0 goal difference Netherlands
 Hungary did not qualify 6 2 4 0 12 7 goal difference Sweden and Austria
 Colombia did not qualify 4 1 3 0 3 2 goal difference Uruguay

1978[edit]

Team Final tournament Qualifying procedure How the team was eliminated
Result Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA Lost by Lost to
 Brazil 3rd 7 4 3 0 10 3 6 4 2 0 17 1 goal difference Argentina
 Netherlands 2nd 7 3 2 2 15 10 6 5 1 0 11 3 extra time Argentina
 Poland GS2 6 3 1 2 6 6 6 5 1 0 17 4 points Argentina
 Austria GS2 6 3 0 3 7 10 6 4 2 0 14 2 points Netherlands
 Iran GS1 3 1 0 2 2 8 12 10 2 0 20 3 points Netherlands
 East Germany did not qualify 6 3 3 0 15 4 points Austria
 Morocco did not qualify 2 0 2 0 2 2 penalties Tunisia

1982[edit]

Team Final tournament Qualifying procedure How the team was eliminated
Result Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA Lost by Lost to
 Italy 1st 7 4 3 0 12 6 8 5 2 1 12 5
 England GS2 5 3 2 0 6 1 8 4 1 3 13 8 points West Germany
 Cameroon GS1 3 0 3 0 1 1 8 5 1 2 16 5 goals for Italy
 West Germany 2nd 7 3 2 2 12 10 8 8 0 0 33 3 regular time Italy
 Poland 3rd 7 3 3 1 11 5 4 4 0 0 12 2 regular time Italy
 Brazil GS2 5 4 0 1 15 6 4 4 0 0 11 2 points Italy
 Soviet Union GS2 5 2 2 1 7 4 8 6 2 0 20 2 goal difference Poland
 Peru GS1 3 0 2 1 2 6 4 2 2 0 5 2 points Italy
 Chile GS1 3 0 0 3 3 8 4 3 1 0 6 0 points Austria
 Somalia did not qualify 2 0 2 0 1 1 away goals Niger
 Libya withdrew during qualifying 2 1 1 0 2 1 withdrawal Egypt

1986[edit]

Team Final tournament Qualifying procedure How the team was eliminated
Result Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA Lost by Lost to
 Brazil QF 5 4 1 0 10 1 4 2 2 0 6 2 penalties France
 Argentina 1st 7 6 1 0 14 5 6 4 1 1 12 6
 Mexico QF 5 3 2 0 6 2 qualified automatically penalties West Germany
 England QF 5 2 1 2 7 3 8 4 4 0 21 2 regular time Argentina
 Algeria GS 3 0 1 2 1 5 6 5 1 0 13 3 points Spain
 Canada GS 3 0 0 3 0 5 8 5 3 0 11 4 points France
 Tanzania did not qualify 2 0 2 0 1 1 away goals Sudan

1990[edit]

Team Final tournament Qualifying procedure How the team was eliminated
Result Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA Lost by Lost to
 West Germany 1st 7 5 2 0 15 5 6 3 3 0 13 3
 Italy 3rd 7 6 1 0 10 2 qualified automatically penalties Argentina
 England 4th 7 3 3 1 8 6 6 3 3 0 10 0 penalties West Germany
 Yugoslavia QF 5 3 1 1 8 6 8 6 2 0 16 6 penalties Argentina
 Brazil R16 4 3 0 1 4 2 4 3 1 0 13 1 regular time Argentina
 Belgium R16 4 2 0 2 6 4 8 4 4 0 15 5 extra time England
 Netherlands R16 4 0 3 1 3 4 6 4 2 0 8 2 regular time West Germany
 Sweden GS 3 0 0 3 3 6 6 4 2 0 9 3 points Costa Rica
 South Korea GS 3 0 0 3 1 6 11 9 2 0 30 1 points Uruguay
 Honduras did not qualify 2 0 2 0 1 1 away goals Trinidad and Tobago

1994[edit]

Team Final tournament Qualifying procedure How the team was eliminated
Result Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA Lost by Lost to
 Brazil 1st 7 5 2 0 11 3 8 5 2 1 20 4
 Saudi Arabia R16 4 2 0 2 5 6 11 6 5 0 28 7 regular time Sweden
 Colombia GS 3 1 0 2 4 5 6 4 2 0 13 2 points United States
 Greece GS 3 0 0 3 0 10 8 6 2 0 10 2 points Bulgaria and Argentina
 Tunisia did not qualify 6 3 3 0 14 2 points Morocco
 Syria did not qualify 6 3 3 0 14 4 goal difference Iran

1998[edit]

Team Final tournament Qualifying procedure How the team was eliminated
Result Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA Lost by Lost to
 Italy QF 5 3 2 0 8 3 10 6 4 0 13 2 penalties France
 France 1st 7 6 1 0 15 2 qualified automatically
 Belgium GS 3 0 3 0 3 3 10 7 1 2 23 13 points Mexico
 Germany QF 5 3 1 1 8 6 10 6 4 0 23 9 regular time Croatia
 Romania R16 4 2 1 1 4 3 10 9 1 0 37 4 regular time Croatia
 Norway R16 4 1 2 1 5 5 8 6 2 0 21 2 regular time Italy
 Spain GS 3 1 1 1 8 4 10 8 2 0 26 6 points Paraguay
 Morocco GS 3 1 1 1 5 5 6 5 1 0 14 2 points Norway
 Cameroon GS 3 0 2 1 2 5 6 4 2 0 10 4 points Chile
 Tunisia GS 3 0 1 2 1 4 8 7 1 0 15 2 points England
 Australia did not qualify 8 6 2 0 34 5 away goals Iran
 Angola did not qualify 8 4 4 0 12 5 points Cameroon
 Saint Kitts and Nevis did not qualify 4 2 2 0 8 3 away goals Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
 Burundi withdrew during qualifying 2 2 0 0 2 0 withdrawal Sierra Leone

2002[edit]

Team Final tournament Qualifying procedure How the team was eliminated
Result Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA Lost by Lost to
 Spain QF 5 3 2 0 10 5 8 6 2 0 21 4 penalties South Korea
 Brazil 1st 7 7 0 0 18 4 18 9 3 6 31 17
 Republic of Ireland R16 4 1 3 0 6 3 12 8 3 1 25 6 penalties Spain
 Denmark R16 4 2 1 1 5 5 10 6 4 0 22 6 regular time England
 Sweden R16 4 1 2 1 5 5 10 8 2 0 20 3 golden goal Senegal
 Italy R16 4 1 1 2 5 5 8 6 2 0 16 3 golden goal South Korea
 South Africa GS 3 1 1 1 5 5 8 7 1 0 13 3 goals scored Paraguay
 Portugal GS 3 1 0 2 6 4 10 7 3 0 33 7 points United States
 Croatia GS 3 1 0 2 2 3 8 5 3 0 15 2 points Italy
 Tunisia GS 3 0 1 2 1 5 10 8 2 0 28 5 points Belgium
 Slovenia GS 3 0 0 3 2 7 12 6 6 0 20 11 points Paraguay
 Kazakhstan did not qualify 6 4 2 0 20 2 goal difference Iraq
 Bermuda did not qualify 4 2 2 0 15 2 away goals Antigua and Barbuda

2006[edit]

Team Final tournament Qualifying procedure How the team was eliminated
Result Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA Lost by Lost to
 France 2nd 7 4 3 0 9 3 10 5 5 0 14 2 penalties Italy
 Italy 1st 7 5 2 0 12 2 10 7 2 1 17 8
 Argentina QF 5 3 2 0 11 3 18 10 4 4 29 17 penalties Germany
 England QF 5 3 2 0 6 2 10 8 1 1 17 5 penalties Portugal
  Switzerland R16 4 2 2 0 4 0 12 5 6 1 22 11 penalties Ukraine
 Portugal 4th 7 4 1 2 7 5 12 9 3 0 35 5 regular time France
 Spain R16 4 3 0 1 9 4 12 6 6 0 25 5 regular time France
 Netherlands R16 4 2 1 1 3 2 12 10 2 0 27 3 regular time Portugal
 Croatia GS 3 0 2 1 2 3 10 7 3 0 21 5 points Australia
 Saudi Arabia GS 3 0 1 2 2 7 12 10 2 0 24 2 points Ukraine
 Serbia and Montenegro GS 3 0 0 3 2 10 10 6 4 0 16 1 points Netherlands
 Morocco did not qualify 10 5 5 0 17 7 points Tunisia
 Israel did not qualify 10 4 6 0 15 10 goal difference Switzerland
 Cuba did not qualify 4 2 2 0 8 4 away goals Costa Rica

2010[edit]

Team Final tournament Qualifying procedure How the team was eliminated
Result Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA Lost by Lost to
 New Zealand GS 3 0 3 0 2 2 8 6 1 1 15 5 points Slovakia
 Spain 1st 7 6 0 1 8 2 10 10 0 0 28 5
 Netherlands 2nd 7 6 0 1 12 6 8 8 0 0 17 2 extra time Spain
 Germany 3rd 7 5 0 2 16 5 10 8 2 0 26 5 regular time Spain
 South Korea R16 4 1 1 2 6 8 14 7 7 0 22 7 regular time Uruguay
 Ivory Coast GS 3 1 1 1 4 3 12 8 4 0 29 6 points Portugal
 Italy GS 3 0 2 1 4 5 10 7 3 0 18 7 points Slovakia
 Nigeria GS 3 0 1 2 3 5 12 9 3 0 20 5 points South Korea
 British Virgin Islands did not qualify 2 0 2 0 3 3 away goals Bahamas

2014[edit]

Team Final tournament Qualifying procedure How the team was eliminated
Result Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA Lost by Lost to
 Netherlands to be determined 10 9 1 0 34 5 TBD TBD
 Germany to be determined 10 9 1 0 36 10 TBD TBD
 Belgium to be determined 10 8 2 0 18 4 TBD TBD
  Switzerland to be determined 10 7 3 0 17 6 TBD TBD
 Nigeria to be determined 8 5 3 0 11 4 TBD TBD
 Ivory Coast GS 3 1 0 2 4 5 8 5 3 0 19 7 points Greece
 Italy GS 3 1 0 2 2 3 10 6 4 0 19 9 points Uruguay
 Spain GS 3 1 0 2 4 7 8 6 2 0 14 3 points Chile
 England GS 3 0 1 2 2 4 10 6 4 0 31 4 points Uruguay
 Bahamas withdrew during qualifying 2 2 0 0 10 0 withdrawal

References[edit]

  1. Laws of the game 2014/2015, p. 137: "The kicks from the penalty mark are not part of the match"

External links[edit]


This article "List of teams that went undefeated through a FIFA World Cup final or qualifying tournament" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.