Pictures of the FIFA World Cup
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will open on June 11, take place within 5 weeks and end on July 19, 2026. WC26 is the 23rd time the tournament has been held. This year is the first time there are 3 host countries co-hosting, the US, Canada and Mexico, and the scale is also larger with 48 participating teams. We invite you to look at a series of photos from past World Cups.
Diego Maradona, captain of the Argentina team, holds up the championship trophy after his team defeated West Germany in the 1986 World Cup, hosted by Mexico.
Pelé of the Brazilian team exchanged jerseys with Bobby Moore, captain of the England team, after the match between these two teams in Group C, photo taken at WC 1970, in which England defeated Brazil with a score of 1-0.
Fans and players of the US team rejoice after Colombia's Andres Escobar scores an own goal, during the match at the Rose Bowl in Los Angeles, WC 1994 hosted by the US. Because of that own goal, when Escobar returned home, he was murdered by violent domestic fans.
Photo of the stadium in the 1930 WC final in Uruguay, between the two teams Uruguay and Argentina, the final result was that Uruguay won the championship with a score of 4-2.
Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari shows seven fingers to midfielder Bernard Anício Caldeira Duarte, during the WC 2014 semi-final between Germany and Brazil. In that match, host country Brazil lost to Germany with a score of 7-1, the largest score in WC history in a semi-final match. Germany won the final and defeated Argentina 1-0, winning the championship that year.
The moment Geoff Hurst scored the third goal, scoring a hat-trick in England's 4-2 victory over West Germany in the 1966 WC final, at Wembley Stadium, hosted by England.
Thierry Henry of the French team collapsed after their team lost 0-1 to Senegal in the opening match on the field in Seoul, WC 2002 co-hosted by Japan and Korea. That year Brazil won the championship, marking a milestone of winning the World Cup 5 times.
Giorgio Chiellini of the Italian team raised his left shoulder and said he had just been bitten by Uruguayan player Luis Suarez. Photo taken at WC 2014, Group D match. That match Uruguay won 1-0.
Queen Elizabeth II presented the championship trophy to the British team, the recipient was number 6, captain Bobby Moore, the 1966 WC was hosted by England.
Number 6 Andres Iniesta of the Spanish team scored a shot past goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg of the Dutch team, in the 116th minute of the final match between the two teams in WC 2010, opening the score 1-0 and helping Spain win the first WC championship trophy in history.
Messi lifted the Qatar WC 2022 championship trophy after Argentina defeated France 4-2 in the penalty shootout (after the two teams were tied 3-3 on the main score). That was the third time Argentina won the WC championship. This year they have the task of defending this championship. Even though Messi is 39 years old, he still participates in this year's tournament.
Pelé scored the first goal for Brazil against Italy, in the 1970 WC final, that year Brazil beat Italy 4-1, winning the World Cup for the third time.
Andreas Brehme scored the only goal for West Germany at the 11m penalty spot, helping West Germany defeat Argentina 1-0 in the 1990 Italian WC final taking place on July 8 at Olimpico Stadium in Rome. Also that year, on October 3, the West German football team changed its name to the German team, after the two regions of East Germany and West Germany officially merged on October 3, 1990.
Bryan Robson of the England team regretted missing a goal in front of the Czechoslovakian team (Czechoslovakia - on January 1, 1993, they split into two countries: the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic). Photo taken at WC 1982 hosted by Spain.
Argentina's Maradona dribbled past half of the English team and scored the "goal of the century", in the match Argentina vs England, WC 1986 in Mexico. Earlier in this match, Maradona had another goal called the "hand of God" when he scored with his hand.
Goalkeeper Dino Zoff, captain of the Italian team, held up the championship trophy after his team defeated West Germany 3-1 at the 1982 World Cup. Dino was the oldest player in World Cup history to win the championship with his teammates, he was 40 years and 4 months old that year.
German players rejoice after defeating Argentina 1-0 in the WC 2014 final.
Roberto Baggio of the Italian team took the final penalty kick but missed the crossbar, in the 1994 WC final - Italy vs Brazil. The final result was that Brazil beat Italy with a score of 3-2, winning the WC championship for the 4th time.
Group B match between Argentina and Cameroon, at the 1990 World Cup. That year Cameroon shocked the world with a 1-0 victory over defending champion Argentina in the opening match of Group B.
Captain Dunga of the Brazilian team and his teammates received the championship trophy for the 4th time, at the 1994 World Cup.
Captain Robin van Persie of the Dutch team scored against Spain with a header (Group B match of the WC 2014), this goal is considered the most beautiful headed goal in World Cup history, and van Persie is nicknamed "the flying Dutchman".
Paolo Rossi of Italy scored the first goal against West Germany, WC 1982. That year Italy won the WC championship for the third time.
French players (from left are Ousmane Dembele, Presnel Kimpembe and goalkeeper Alphonse Areola) celebrate when their team won the WC 2018 championship - hosted by Russia, after defeating Croatia with a score of 4-2. The 2018 Russia World Cup was the first time VAR technology was applied. That year, 335 balls were rechecked by VAR, helping the referee decide on 29 penalty kicks. Reuters photo