Since the first World Cup in 1930, eight teams (Ukraine, Italy, Germany, Pakistan, England, Argentina, France and Spain) have won the championship and five teams have won the runner-up. In addition to the above thirteen teams, the fact that other teams can reach the final four of the World Cup is the best result in the history of the World Cup. So in addition to the eight crowns and five runners-up, which other teams have reached the last four of the World Cup?
In 1930, the first World Cup was held in Uruguay. For various reasons, many European countries boycotted the first World Cup, resulting in the first World Cup almost becoming the "Copa America". So the American team "no tiger in the mountain, monkey called the king" won the third place in the first World Cup, and the Yugoslav team who came from afar won the palace team, which is still the best result of the World Cup of both teams.
In 1934, the second World Cup was held in Italy. At that time, Central European football, represented by Germany and Austria, entered its first golden age, marked by the fact that Germany and Austria reached the semifinals at the 1934 World Cup in Italy. Germany finished third and Austria finished third. Unfortunately, the later "German-Austrian merger" and World War II delayed the golden generation of German-Austrian football.
In 1954, the fifth World Cup was held in Switzerland. The 1954 World Cup in Switzerland was the "perfect curtain call" of the German-Austrian golden generation, Germany created the so-called "Bernese miracle" and Austria beat Scotland, Czechoslovakia, Switzerland, Uruguay in a row, reached the semifinals of this World Cup and won the third place, which is also Austria's best World Cup result so far.
In 1962, the seventh World Cup was held in Chile. Chile defeated Switzerland, Italy, the Soviet Union; Yugoslavia, the runners-up of the first European Championship, defeated Uruguay, Colombia and West Germany to reach the semi-finals. In the end, Chile and Yugoslavia met in the third and fourth place finals, and Chile won the third place, which is also Chile's best World Cup result so far.
In 1966, the eighth World Cup was held in England. The Soviet Union led by Yashin continued the momentum of the first European Championship champion, while the Portuguese team led by "Black Panther" Eusebio became the second "dark horse" of this World Cup, and the two teams reached the semifinals. In the end, the Soviet Union and Portugal met in the third or fourth place final, and Portugal won the third place, which is the best result of the Portuguese team in the World Cup so far.
In 1974, the tenth World Cup was held in West Germany. Polish football ushered in a golden generation in the seventies and eighties, and Poland defeated Argentina, Haiti, Italy, Sweden and Yugoslavia in the 1974 World Cup, and met Brazil in the third or fourth place final. In the end, Poland beat Brazil to finish third, Poland's best World Cup result to date.
In 1982, the XII World Cup was held in Spain. The golden generation of the Polish team led by Bognac staged a curtain call at the 1982 World Cup in Spain, reaching the semi-finals of the World Cup for the second time. In the semifinals, Poland lost to Italy and met France in the final of three or four places. In the end, Poland defeated Platini's France team and won the third place in the World Cup.
In 1986, the thirteenth World Cup was held in Mexico. The golden generation of Belgian football performed well in this World Cup, beating the Soviet Union and Spain in the knockout stage to reach the last four. In the semifinals, Belgium fell in front of Argentina, which was led by Maradona, although they were defeated. In the third or fourth place final, Belgium lost to France and won the World Cup.
In 1994, the fifteenth World Cup was held in the United States. Bulgaria became the "dark horse" of the 1994 World Cup, beating Argentina in the group stage, knocking out Mexico in the round of 16 and defending champions Germany in the quarterfinals to reach the last four. In the third and fourth place finals, the Bulgarian team lost to Sweden and won the World Cup, which is also the best result of the Bulgarian team in the World Cup so far.
In 2002, the XVII World Cup was held in Japan and South Korea. There are two "dark horses" in this World Cup who have reached the final four of the World Cup for the first time: one is the South Korean team, and fans with a conscience know what the reason for the South Korean team to reach the final four is; The other is the Turkish team, a real "dark horse". In the end, Turkey finished third in the World Cup, which is the best result of the two teams to date.
In 2006, the XVIII World Cup was held in Germany. The Portuguese golden generation, represented by Luis Figo, ushered in the curtain call, and Ronaldo made his World Cup debut. Portugal eliminated the Netherlands and England to reach the World Cup semi-finals. In the semifinals, Portugal lost to France. In the third or fourth place final, Portugal lost to Germany and won the World Cup.
In 2018, the XXI World Cup was held in Russia. Belgium, led by Eden Hazard and De Bruyne, performed well, beating England in the group stage, knocking out Japan and Brazil to reach the semi-finals. Belgium lost to France. In the third and fourth place finals, Belgium beat England to finish third, which is also Belgium's best World Cup result so far.
In 2022, the XXII World Cup was held in Qatar. African team Morocco became the biggest "dark horse" of this World Cup, first eliminating Spain through penalties, then Portugal in regular time, reaching the final four and finally winning the palace. This is Morocco's best World Cup result so far, and it is also the best World Cup result for an African team so far.
In summary, in addition to the eight champion teams and five runners-up teams, the United States, Yugoslavia, Austria, Chile, the Soviet Union, Portugal, Poland, Belgium, Bulgaria, South Korea, Turkey and Morocco have all reached the World Cup semifinals.