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Who is the most dominant international team in football history? It’s a question that’s been asked many times over the years, with multiple different answers. Naturally, though, the handful of sides that instantly come to mind are those who’ve won the World Cup.
Some of the tournaments – the very early editions and those with double group stages – meant that often, the best side didn’t end up winning the famous trophy. Most of the time the team who wins the World Cup are the most dominant of their era.
Based on their results in the tournament and the quality of their opposition, here are the 10 most dominant runs by FIFA World Cup winners.
#10 Brazil (1994)
The 1994 World Cup isn’t usually considered one of the classic tournaments. And so, the eventual winners – Carlos Albert Parreira’s Brazil – aren’t that fondly remembered.
However, the side – which featured players like Romario, Bebeto and Cafu – was in actuality a largely dominant one during the competition.
The Selecao opened their campaign with comfortable wins over Russia (2-0) and Cameroon (3-0) to qualify for the knockout stages. This rendered their 1-1 draw with Sweden largely moot.
They didn’t entertain like classic Brazilian sides in the later rounds. Although, their strong defence meant they easily brushed aside the USA and Sweden.
The Netherlands gave them their biggest test in the quarter-finals in an exciting game that Brazil eventually won 3-2.
The final of the tournament saw them draw 0-0 with Italy in perhaps the worst conclusion to any World Cup. Parreira’s side eventually won a penalty shootout to claim the trophy.
Brazil won six of their seven games, scoring eight goals and conceding just three. Although, their 1994 side was essentially a functional one doing enough to get by, often against sub-par opponents. That means they can’t be ranked any higher here.
#9 England (1966)
England were always favoured to win the 1966 tournament. Held on home soil – going in, and in that sense, Alf Ramsey’s side definitely lived up to the hype.
The tournament only featured 16 teams, compared to 32 in the more recent World Cups. As such, they had to play a game less than most of the sides on this list, but their record was still largely exemplary.
Ramsey’s side won five of their six games, with the only outlier being a dull 0-0 draw with Uruguay in their opening match.
Outside of that, Mexico, France and Argentina were all swatted aside thanks to goals from Bobby Charlton, Roger Hunt and Geoff Hurst. In addition to this, the Three Lions kept clean sheets for good measure.
Portugal were the first side to breach their defence, but they still went down 2-1 in the semi-final.
Why aren’t England ranked higher here? Largely because they had to suffer through extra-time in the final before defeating West Germany 4-2 to claim the trophy.
Add in the controversial nature of their third goal in the final, and despite their legendary status, it’s tricky to rank them any higher than ninth.
#8 Argentina (1986)
Argentina’s 1986 World Cup winners are usually remembered as a one-man team, with the legendary Diego Maradona practically dragging them to victory.
In reality, that wasn’t quite the case; Maradona was definitely the standout player. He scored five goals, but La Albiceleste scored a total of 14 across their seven matches and only conceded five.
A 1-1 draw with Italy in their second group stage match was the only black mark on their record. South Korea and Bulgaria were both defeated to send them into the knockout stages. Once there, they defeated Uruguay, England and Belgium to make the final.
Indeed, four of Maradona’s goals came in the quarter-finals and semi-finals. Argentina’s toughest test came in the final.
They defeated West Germany 3-2, scoring the eventual winner in the 83rd minute.
Overall, the incredible performances of Maradona might be the most memorable part of this side’s World Cup victory.
But the truth is that in general, Argentina’s 1986 run was one of the most dominant of all time.
#7 Italy (2006)
Italy’s victory in the 2006 World Cup might be the most underrated in the history of the tournament.
Not only did Marcello Lippi’s side defeat heavyweights Germany and France en route to lifting the famous trophy. But they only conceded two goals throughout their entire run.
And even those goals both came with asterisks of a sort. Cristian Zaccardo scored an own goal against the USA in the group stage, while Zinedine Zidane scored a penalty against them in the final.
Outside of that? The Azzuri were basically perfect. They beat Ghana and the Czech Republic – and drew with the USA – to make the knockout stages.
And from there, they overcame Australia and Ukraine before meeting Germany in the semis and France in the final. So why aren’t they higher in this list?
Well, for a couple of reasons. Firstly, their path to the semis wasn’t the hardest. Ukraine were by far the worst of the quarter-finalists.
And secondly, they required extra-time to beat Germany and penalties to win the final against France.
Their total of 12 goals wasn’t that high either – understandable for a more defensive side, but lessening the feeling of domination too.
#6 West Germany (1990)
The 1990 World Cup might be remembered fondly in England, but overall, it’s not too highly rated. This is largely because its goal per game average of 2.21 is lower than any other edition of the tournament.
Despite this, it’s hard to deny that eventual winners West Germany were a pretty dominant side overall.
They won six of their seven games, drawing their final group stage match against Colombia after they’d already qualified for the knockouts.
They scored 15 goals while conceding just five. With classy star players like Jurgen Klinsmann, Lothar Matthaus and Andreas Brehme amongst their ranks, they were quite comfortably the best side on offer throughout the competition.
Their strength of the opposition was high too. They had a fiendish path to the final, beating the Netherlands, Czechoslovakia and England.
That was after facing another quarter-finalist – Yugoslavia – in the group stage.
Overall, West Germany’s 1990 side were an exceptional one, even if the tournament they dominated wasn’t exceptional in itself.
#5 France (2018)
The 2018 World Cup was undoubtedly one of the most exciting of all time. But it was also one of the deepest international tournaments in recent memory, with plenty of standout sides.
Didier Deschamps’ France eventually won the famous trophy, overcoming Croatia 4-2 in the final, but how dominant were they?
Well, Les Bleus won the majority of their games comfortably. Their run to victory consisted of six wins and a single draw, with 14 goals scored and six conceded.
That draw – a 0-0 stalemate with Denmark in their final group stage game – can also be largely disregarded. Deschamps’ side had already qualified for the knockout stages by then.
Even in those knockout matches, nobody really tested France, either. They beat Argentina 4-3 but in reality, could’ve won more handily (Argentina’s final goal came in added time). France also brushed aside both Uruguay and Belgium.
Even in the final, Croatia’s second goal came purely from a mistake from goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.
However, it’s also true to say that it never felt like Deschamps’ side pushed things to the limit. Sure, Kylian Mbappe was arguably the tournament’s most outstanding player.
But France never really seemed to leave second gear, even when winning. If they’d beaten sides more heavily, they could’ve been considered for a higher place on this list.
#4 Germany (2014)
The 2014 World Cup was proclaimed as possibly the best ever at the time, and it hasn’t held up quite that well years down the line.
However, eventual winners Germany remain unarguably one of the most dominant sides in the history of the competition.
They opened their campaign with a 4-0 thrashing of a strong Portugal side, and never looked back from there.
A 2-2 draw with Ghana was followed by a 1-0 win over the USA. And in the knockouts, Die Mannschaft overcame tough matches with Algeria and France to set up a semi-final showdown with hosts Brazil.
And in a result that remains jaw-dropping today, Joachim Low’s side destroyed the Selecao 7-1 before edging out Argentina in the final.
Germany scored a tremendous 18 goals during the tournament – Thomas Muller being their top scorer with five – while only conceding four.
And while both Algeria and Argentina took them to extra time, it’s hard to dispute their overall dominance over what was an extremely tough field overall.
#3 France (1998)
The 1998 World Cup was perhaps the deepest ever in terms of the overall strength of the sides involved. And so, the eventual winners were always going to receive a lot of credits.
Aime Jacquet’s France though were somehow able to get through the tournament by winning all seven of their games.
Although, they were taken to extra time on two occasions and relied on a penalty shootout to escape the quarter-finals.
Their group stage path was relatively comfortable. They defeated a pair of minnows in South Africa and Saudi Arabia. This came before they defeated a solid but unspectacular Denmark side, scoring 9 goals while conceding just one.
When they reached the knockout stages, however, things got a lot tougher. Paraguay, Italy, Croatia and Brazil all fell to Jacquet’s side, with Les Bleus scoring another six goals.
Fascinatingly, this was a complete team effort; their 15 goals were scored by nine different players.
Overall, France didn’t whitewash the opposition in 1998. But, they were able to get through arguably the toughest tournament of them all – making them a tremendously dominant side.
#2 Brazil (1970)
Brazil’s World Cup-winning side of 1970 are often considered to be the greatest international side of all time, and the statistics generally back them up.
They were blessed with the talents of Pele, Rivellino, Jairzinho and Tostao amongst others. And, the Selecao basically blew away every other side in front of them.
They won all six of their games in the tournament, overcoming Czechoslovakia, England and Romania in the group stage. This came before they defeated Peru, Uruguay and Italy in the knockout stages to capture the famous Jules Rimet trophy for the third time.
Most impressively? Brazil scored 19 goals during the tournament – the most of any World Cup-winning side.
And, they only scored less than three goals on one occasion - their 1-0 victory over the winners of the previous edition, England.
The only thing keeping them off the top spot here? Their somewhat questionable defence. The win over England was Brazil’s only clean sheet during the tournament, and their record of seven goals conceded is the worst of any side on this list.
But how do you argue with 19 goals scored?
#1 Brazil (2002)
Brazil’s 2002 World Cup winners are not remembered as fondly as their 1970 counterparts, but perhaps that’s unfair.
It’s hard to dispute Luis Felipe Scolari’s side as the most dominant World Cup side of all time. This is evidenced by a look at the statistics and the way in which they conquered the field of their tournament.
The Selecao played seven games during the tournament and won all of them, never needing extra time or a penalty shoot-out. Along the way, they scored 18 goals, just one fewer than Brazil’s 1970 side.
Also, they conceded just four, showing that they had a strong defence to go along with their venomous attacking prowess.
Scolari’s side won a relatively weak group, defeating Turkey, China and Costa Rica. But their path through the knockout stages was much trickier.
They overcame Belgium, England, Turkey (again) and finally Germany, with only the Turks conceding less than two goals.
The great Ronaldo scored eight of Brazil’s 18 goals, but equally impressive were Rivaldo, Ronaldinho and Roberto Carlos.
The Selecao of 2002 may not be the greatest international side of all time outright. But based on the way in which they stormed to their fifth World Cup victory, they’re almost certainly the most dominant.
