Notes

Except for the 1930 and 1950 tournaments, the final match determined first and second place and the third place match determined third and fourth place.  Rankings beyond those determined by final and third place matches are unofficial and are based on, in order,  stage of the competition reached, points earned, goal difference and number of goals scored.  In 1930, no third place match was held.  In 1950, the championship was conducted through group play rather than semi-final and final matches, and the first four places were determined by points earned in this "final pool" of four teams. To and including the 1990 final tournament, two points were awarded for a win and one for a draw.  In the 1994 and later tournaments, a win earned three points and a draw one.  Matches ending with the score level after extra time are recorded as draws under accepted custom.  The ensuing penalty kicks contest determines only which team advances to the competition's next stage, not the result of the match.

World Cup Final Tournament Ranking by Merit 1930-2022
Rank	Team	First	Second	Third	Fourth	Finalist	Semi-finalist
1	Brazil	5	2	2	2	7	11
2	Germany/ West Germany	4	4	4	1	8	13
3	Italy	4	2	1	1	6	8
4	Argentina	3	3	0	0	6	6
5	France	2	1	3	1	3	6
6	Uruguay	2	0	0	3	2	5
7	England	1	0	0	2	1	3
8	Spain	1	0	0	1	0	2
9	Netherlands	0	3	1	1	3	5
10=	Czechoslovakia	0	2	0	0	2	2
	Hungary	0	2	0	0	2	2
12	Sweden	0	1	2	1	1	4
13	Croatia	0	1	1	0	1	2
14	Poland	0	0	2	0	0	2
15=	Austria	0	0	1	1	0	2
	Belgium	0	0	1	1	0	2
	Yugoslavia	0	0	1	1	0	2
18=	United States	0	0	1	0	0	1
	Chile	0	0	1	0	0	1
	Portugal	0	0	1	0	0	1
	Croatia	0	0	1	0	0	1
	Turkey	0	0	1	0	0	1
23=	USSR	0	0	0	1	0	1
	Bulgaria	0	0	0	1	0	1
	Korea Republic	0	0	0	1	0	1
	Morocco	0	0	0	1	0	1

Because no official third place match was held at the 1930 tournament in Uruguay, we have credited both the beaten semi-finalists, the U.S.A. and Yugoslavia, with a third place finish in that competition (which explains why the table lists 17 third placers and only 15 fourth placers in the 16 final tournaments).There were no semi-final and final matches at the 1950 tournament in Brazil because the championship was decided by group play between the four teams that survived the first round of the competition--Uruguay, Brazil, Sweden and Spain.  We have counted these teams' participation in this "final pool" as a semi-final appearance, and, since the last match between Uruguay and Brazil, the teams that finished first and second in the final pool, was tantamount to a final match, we have counted that match as a final match appearance. 

Notes

The points totals have been calculated on the basis of two points for a win and one for a draw, the practice to and including the 1990 tournament, rather than three points for a win and one point for a draw, the practice in World Cup tournaments since 1994.  Again, matches ending with the score level after extra time are recorded as draws under accepted custom since the ensuing penalty kicks contest determines only which team advances to the competition's next stage, not the result of the match.

Where teams have the same number of points, we have given the higher ranking to, in order, the team that has played the fewer matches, the team with the higher number of wins, the team with the better goal difference, the team with the more goals scored, then those with the least goals conceded.

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PY/CG