How The Favourites Performed At EVERY FIFA World Cup

Brazil are the favorites to win the 2022 World Cup followed by Argentina France Spain and England or at least that is the case at the time of this recording that may well have changed following Brazil's crushing their feet at the hands of Serbia and Saudi Arabia doing Argentina Tuna on the counter-attack just days after I recorded this video nah probably not it's easy to see why Brazil and Argentina were the pre-tournament favorites heading into this world cup despite the fact that no South American national team has lifted the trophy since Brazil did so 20 years ago both teams come into the tournament in outstanding form Brazil unbeaten in 15 games meanwhile Argentina haven't lost any of their last 36 matches dating all the way back to July 2019. both have world-class Talisman coming into this world cup absolutely banging form and in theory at least the conditions in Qatar namely heat and humidity should suit them more than their European counterparts what does it actually mean though is being the favorite to win the World Cup a blessing or a curse does it tell us anything about a team's prospects at the tournament and ultimately how often have the favorites actually gone on to win the FIFA World Cup that's something that I've long been interested to find out but whilst it is easy to find out who the pre-tornment favorites were for the last five or six World Cups it is significantly more challenging to try and find out who the favorites were during the pre-internet age and even more so before gambling on football became commonplace so this video was a challenge to research shall we say but having dipped into the newspaper archives in several countries I think that I can say with some confidence that these were the pre-tornent favorites to win all 21 FIFA World Cups so here they are and let's see how they got on and whether there's anything that we can learn from them 1930 Uruguay winners Uruguay were the clear favorites to win the 1930 World Cup unsurprisingly given that they hosted the inaugural World Cup in no small part because they were consider to be the best team on the planet having won Gold at both the 1924 and 1928 Olympics which had been the precursor to FIFA establishing the World Cup the Uruguay team was flush with talents with the best player in the world at that time Jose Andrade operating at the base of their Midfield and the terrifying combination of Hector Castro and Hector scarone spearheading their forward line Uruguay won their group at a Canta they beat Yugoslavia 6-1 in the semi-final and in their only challenging match they came back from 2-1 down to beat Argentina 4-2 in the final it should be said Europe's leading national teams didn't attend the 1930 World Cup still unconvinced by FIFA's new tournaments and put off by the significant travel costs but none of them other than England at that time could have troubled Uruguay regardless 1934 Austria semi-finals Uruguay boycotted the 1934 World Cup in protest at most European nations having refused to attend their own tournament and that meant that the mantle of favorites passed on to Europe's Most fancied side in 1934. European football's first golden generation Austria kicked off the 1930s with five nil and six nil victories against Germany a six-nil win against Switzerland and an 8-2 demolition of Hungary and they were duly nicknamed The Wonder team Austria's captain and Starman was Matthias Schindler who pioneered the role of the withdrawn forward and was the best player on the planet going into the 1934 World Cup without a group stage Austria beat France in the round of 16 and Hungary in the quarterfinals before they were pitted against the host nation Italy in the semi-finals the 1934 World Cup remains deeply controversial since Italy fascist dictator Benito Mussolini supposedly hand-picked the referees for Italy's matches and met with them before each of his country's games Italy beat Austria one nil in the semis after Austria's goalkeeper was pushed into his own goal in the game's only goal which was allowed to stand and the Italians went on to beat Czechoslovakia in the final in similarly controversial circumstances Austria's Wonder team never got another shot at a World Cup since Germany annexed Austria shortly before the next World Cup in 1938 1938 Italy winners Italy might have been controversial winners in 1934 but there is no doubt that they genuinely had a very good team and much improved heading to the World Cup in France where they were the favorites in 1938. Giuseppe miazza Giovanni Ferrari and Silvio Piola were the three players who made up Italy Center forward and two inside forwards and as three of Europe's finest pre-war footballers all of the absolute peak of their powers they were impossible to contain Italy overcame Norway the host nation France and a brilliant Brazil team that was deprived of their star man due to injury teeing up a final against Hungary which Italy 142 the only team that could have stopped Italy in 1938 was probably Brazil and they may well have done so if leonardas who was the star of That World Cup haddons have been ruled out of what ended up being a take 2-1 win for the Italians 1950 England group stage the 1950 World Cup was the first of the so-called home Nations basically Britain and Ireland agreed to participate in and FIFA said that the top two teams from the 1949-50 British home Championship could qualify automatically Scotland said that they would only compete though if they won the home Championship out of Pride and since they didn't England did England were the only British team Presence at the first post-war World Cup England were the best team in Europe during the 1940s as they proved in multiple games and almost certainly the best team in the world hence why they were the favorites so in the World Cup in Brazil unfortunately for England many of their best players wouldn't be at the World Cup the likes of Rach Carter and Tommy Lawton had already played their last games for England meanwhile the first name on the England team sheet and the best defender in World football Neil Franklin told the fa that he wouldn't be traveling to Brazil just weeks before the tournament began because his wife was heavily pregnant he ended up traveling to Colombia instead to sign a lucrative contract in Bogota and kick-starting a controversy that changed the entire course of English football to make matters even worse the fa had allowed England's Starman Stanley Matthews to go on a Goodwill tour of Canada which meant that he would miss England's opening game and the team suffered from let's say upset tummies as soon as they arrived in Rio England beat Chile 2-0 in their first World Cup match but then came their one will defeat to the amateurs of the United States in what Remains the greatest World Cup upset of all time and a one older feat to Spain since England packing in the group stage it was Uruguay who went on to win the World Cup little fancied going into the tournament in what was only actually their second World Cup having boycotted in 34 138 and they won both after England the house Brazil were the second favorites and their defeat in the de facto final against Uruguay caused a period of national shock mourning Despair and anger known as El mariconazo 1954 Hungary runners-up England weren't their favorites anymore heading into the 1954 World Cup having lost 6-3 to Hungary in the so-called match of the century at Wembley Stadium in 1953 followed by a 7-1 humbling in the return like in Budapest in 1954. the match sent shockwaves throughout English football just as Brazil's defeat in 1950 had but it firmly established hungary's golden team as the best team on the planet and as far as most people were concerned the best that had ever played the game there has never been a bigger favorite heading into a World Cup than Hungary in 1954 and for very good reason since not only had they thrashed England twice in the space of a year they were also unbeaten in four years heading to the finals in Switzerland Hungary Justified their favorites tag sure in the group stage beating South Korea 9-0 and West Germany 8-3 followed by 40 wins against both Brazil and Uruguay to better pay final against their group stage opponents West Germany given Hungary had already demolished Germany at the World Cup and were clearly so Superior to everyone else the final was considered by most to be a foregone conclusion but torrential reign in Byrne Germany's new and unique longer studs and an injury to Hungary Starman ference push gash all combined to create a freak football match in which despite taking a tuna lead just eight minutes into the game Hungary went on to lose 3-2 1958 Brazil winners Brazil and Argentina were both much fancied heading into the 1958 World Cup despite the fact that the tournament was held in Europe for a second successive occasion in Sweden to be more precise but whilst the reigning South American Champions Argentina finished deadlust in their group their tournaments ending with a 6-1 defeat to Czechoslovakia the favorites Brazil were even better than anticipated England were the only team to hold them in the group stage but Brazil grew into their tournaments and once a little-known 17 year old by the name of Pele broke into their side there was absolutely no stopping them Pele headed to the finals in Sweden with a knock but he returned to Fitness in time for The Knockout stage scoring Brazil's only goal against Wales in the quarterfinals a hat-trick against France in the semis and a brace against the host in the final the phenomenon of Pele had been born on the biggest stage age and the game would never quite be the same again 1962 Brazil winners Brazil looked even more formidable heading into the 1962 World Cup than they had done in 1958. Pele was now at the peak of his powers although he was still aged only 21 and he assisted the first goal and scored the second as Brazil beat Mexico 2-1 in their opening game but their second group game against Czechoslovakia saw Pele forced off with an injury which would rule him out of the rest of the tournament it was a devastating blow for Brazil who could only manage a null little draw against Czechoslovakia after that setback before coming from behind to beat Spain 2-1 in their final group game and to progress to The Knockout stage in The Knockouts though Brazil's second best player garincha inherited the mantle of being the country's Starman from Palais putting in some of the finest performances that the World Cup has ever seen he backed a brace against both England and the house Chile in the quarter and semi-finals and Brazil went on to beat their group stage opponents Czechoslovakia who Palais had got injured playing against three one in the final no team has since won back-to-back World Cups 1966 Brazil group stage the amates have expected Brazil to have been overwhelming favorites going into the 1966 World Cup having won the last two tournaments and with pelay back at their disposal but there was a sense in which this was a slightly transitional Brazil team who had lost some big characters and players like Nelson Santos and eugia meanwhile gilmar was 35 jalma Santos was 37 and garinsha was already Mouse past his best though only age 32. this was actually the toughest tournament in which to find a definitive answer as to who the favorites were with conflicting reports coming from different countries but the two favorites were undoubtedly Italy and Brazil and bookies in England had odds as low as seven to four four Brazil to win just two weeks before the World Cup began ultimately both of the two favorites suffer the exact same fate regardless as both Italy and Brazil went out in the group stage with one win and two defeats to their name with Italy famously losing one doll to North Korea in their final group game Who progressed ahead of them it was a World Cup that was marred by some hard and sometimes vicious tackles and Palais was repeatedly targeted picking up a second successive injury in Brazil's opener which Alba ended their World Cup aspirations 1970 Brazil winners their group stay Jack said in 66 did nothing to alter the fact that Brazil were big favorites so in the 1970 World Cup in Mexico a tag that proved to be very much justified in the first World Cup to be broadcasting color Brazil lit up television screens across the globe with their tremendous and extremely colorful attacking football the transition period had successfully been completed were the likes of rivolino tostau and Carlos Alberto having freshened up the Brazil squad and this time pelay wouldn't get injured Brazil won their third world cup in only four tournaments without breaking a sweat beating Peru 4-2 in the quarters Uruguay 3-1 in the semis and a formidable Italy team 4-1 in the final 1974 West Germany winners the combination of West Germany's success at Euro 1972 And the fact that they were the hosts of the 1974 World Cup combined to make them favorites to win the tournament on home soil narrowly ahead of the Netherlands Italy and Brazil at a world cup with no predicted runaway winners with Franz beckenbauer and Gad Muller both at the peak of their powers age 28 Germany would never get a better shot at winning their second world cup and they didn't disappoint they finished second in their group behind their neighbors East Germany who beat them in the only meeting between the two national teams but they turned on their style in the second group stage to set up a final against their great Rivals than Netherlands it was the two best teams at the tournament and in all of world football and despite the Dutch taking the lead in the first minute after Johann crave was brought down in the penalty area West Germany fought back just as they have done in 1954 to win their game 2-1 1978 West Germany second round the deeply controversial 1978 World Cup was another without a clear favorite but the holders West Germany were just about the most fancied side with the Netherlands Brazil and Argentina all not far behind them all four made it through to the second round but failure to win any of their second round fixtures saw West Germany eliminated meanwhile Brazil progressed to the third place playoff and Argentina and the Netherlands met in the final the final was as controversial as every other aspect of this world cup with Argentina running out 3-1 winners in extra time in a game that still keeps Dutch football fans of a certain vintage up at night 1982 Brazil second round no one was quite sure what to expect heading into their 1982 World Cup in Spain at least as far as I could tell from the archives other than the fact that El Salvador Kuwait and New Zealand would struggle El Salvador did lose all three games including a record-breaking 10-1 defeat to Hungary as did New Zealand but Q8 defying all expectations won a solitary Point against Czechoslovakia they still finished bottom of their group the favorites Brazil were undoubtedly the best team to watch at the 1982 World Cup earning a spot in everyone's hearts with their free-flowing yoga Benito style football but not a place in the final following the Feats of Italy in the second group stage Italy went on to win the tournament beating West Germany who were the second favorites pre-tournament behind Brazil 3-1 in the final 1986 Brazil quarterfinal if there is one takeaway from this video other than how the favorites have historically performed at the World Cup it is just that Brazil are very often the favorites they were yet again in 1986 just ahead of France who won Euro 1984 and Hungary who comfortably beat Brazil 3-0 in their last game before the World Cup began leading to a lot of people fancying them those predictions were made to look rather foolish as Hungary lost their opening game 6-0 against the USSR and went out in the group stage meanwhile France and Brazil met in the quarterfinals with France winning 4-3 on penalties going into the 1986 World Cup there was a first debate about who the greatest number 10 and indeed the greatest player in all of world football was between zico platini and Maradona by the end of the world cup as LDA ego held the trophy Aloft in front of at least 115 000 people at the estadio Azteca no one was left in any doubt anymore 1990 Italy semi-finals once again there was no standout favorite going into Italia 90 but the host Advantage is a well observed phenomenon and that just about gave Italy The Edge ahead of West Germany Brazil and most notably the Netherlands who won Euro 88 and had a squad boasting the likes of Frank reichgard Ronald Kuhlman rude hollett and Marco van basten the hosts made it through to the semi-finals where they lost on penalties to Argentina Brazil were also knocked out by Argentina but at the round of 16 stage the Netherlands lost two ones at Germany in the round of 16 and the Germans went all the way beating England on penalties in the semis before toppling Diego Armando maradona's Argentina side in the final 19 94 Germany and Brazil tied quarter-finals and winners one of the two World Cups where it is quite frankly impossible to say that there was any definitive favorites opinion was firmly split between the holders Germany and Brazil heading into the 1994 World Cup in the United States and almost all of The Bookies offer identical odds for the two of them whilst experts and punters couldn't split them there was a great deal to split them at the tournament itself Brazil inspired by The Genius of Romario won their fourth world cup beating Italy on penalties in the final meanwhile Germany mounted a disappointing World Cup defense beating Belgium 3-2 in the round of 16 but losing 2-1 to Bulgaria in the quarterfinals 1998 Brazil runners-up Brazil were viewed as the top dogs heading into the 1998 World Cup in France narrowly ahead of the hosts and Germany once again and for good reason Romario missed out on the Brazil squad for injury but in the form of a 21 year old Ronaldo Brazil had the best footballer on the planet and a freak the likes of which the world haven't seen probably since Palais Brazil found the tournament hard going but nonetheless made it all the way through to the final defeated by Norway in the group stage they beat Denmark 3-2 in the quarterfinal and required penalties to get past the Netherlands in the semis teeing up a clash against the hosts in the final on the day of the game the tournament Starman Ronaldo suffered a convulsive fit and though he insisted on still playing he was barely involved in the game France ran out as comfortable three null winners to claim their first World Cup crown 2002 Argentina and France tied group stage for both of them the second and last World Cup with no definitive pre-tournament favorites France were understandably fancied ahead of the finals in Japan and South Korea having won both the most recent euros and the most recent World Cup and indeed the confederations cup with those squads still largely intact meanwhile Argentina hadn't lost a game of football in two years incredibly both teams were still dumped out in the group stage France lost Zinedine Zidane to injury just days before the tournament began and were stunned by a Senegal side making their World Cup debuts in their opening game meanwhile England ended Argentina's two-year unbeaten run and a waddle draw with Sweden sent them packing in the group stage at a rare World Cup in which they weren't the pre-tournament favorites Brazil went on to win the World Cup quite comfortably their toughest challenge coming against England in the quarters 2006 Brazil quarterfinals back to being favorites Brazil still had a dizzying rare talent in 2006 but they look to be a bit of a tribute act to that 2002 team they bruised through the group stage and Ghana in the round of 16 but up against formidable opposition for the first time in the form of France they floundered and lost one nil in the quarterfinals courtesy of a Thierry Henry winner and a Zinedine Zidane masterclass Italy went on to win the tournament beating France on penalties in the Final 2010 Spain winners Spain have only ever once been favorites to win the FIFA World Cup in 2010 and they didn't disappoint by far the best national team on the planet at the time and one of the finest of all time Spain actually lost that opening game 1-0 against Switzerland but normal service was soon resumed Spain scored the fewest goals of any World Cup winners in that tournament but they didn't concede a single goal in the entire knockout stage passing Portugal Paraguay Germany and the Netherlands to death so when their first and only World Cup 2014 Brazil semi-finals even a subpar Brazil team was still considered the favorites to win the 2014 World Cup on home soil with Spain not far behind them massively Reliant Santiago's silver at the back and Neymar to provide their attacking impetus and goal threat Brazil never looked entirely convincing but they crawled through games against Chile and Colombia requiring penalties in the round of 16 in order to reach the semis but without their two best players Silva and Neymar Brazil were absolutely torn to shreds in the World Cup's most infamous humiliation Germany puts seven goals past the hapless hosts on route to winning the World Cup meanwhile Spain actually did even worse going out in the group stage 2018 Brazil quarterfinals a seven one defeat in 2014 was not enough to prevent Brazil from still being slight favorites in Russia but again they failed to live up to expectations they drew their opener against Switzerland and needed injury time to see off Costa Rica before putting in a much more convincing display against Mexico in the round of 16. there was little to split Belgium and Brazil in the quarterfinals but the Europeans ran out 2-1 winners in the end thanks to a brilliant goal by Kevin De bruyne and Brazil most likely would have lost to France in the semis regardless even if they had progressed 2022 Brazil so be confirmed of course we don't yet know who will win the 2022 FIFA World Cup but Brazil are the favorites once again it is the 12th time that Brazil have been the pre-tournament favorites to win a World Cup which is more than half of all World Cups it might seem impressive the Brazil have won a record five World Cups but in relation to the number of times that they have been backed to win it pre-tournaments you could actually describe them as major Underachievers in total the pre-tournament favorites have won eight out of a possible 21 FIFA World Cups if you include 1994 when Germany and Brazil were joint favorites and Brazil went on to be the winners only twice have their favorites gone on to be losing finalists Thrice they have gone out in the semis four times in the quarters and Thrice they have majorly disappointed going out in the group stage that is it for today's video thank you all very much as ever for watching let me know whether you think that the favorites will win this world cup hit the like button if you enjoyed it again as I say let me know your thoughts in the comments and feel free to subscribe and turn on notifications it goes without saying to hide CC sounds you can also find me personally on both Twitter and on Instagram via the username at hitc7s on both should you wish to do so

Channel: HITC Sevens

Views: 248,067

Keywords: HITC Sevens, Football, Soccer, World Cup, Favourites, FIFA World Cup, 2022 World Cup, 2022, Brazil, Spain, Germany, France, Italy, England, Uruguay, FIFA, 2006 World Cup, 2010 World Cup, Argentina, Performed, Every

Id: TaPwJ32VZFc

Length: 25min 56sec (1556 seconds)

Published: Mon Nov 28 2022