Argentina (South America) vs France (Europe)... Who Will Lift the Third Championship Trophy?

8 Countries Among 211 FIFA Members Worldwide Have Won the World Cup
21 World Cups Held in Total... European Countries Won 12 Times, South American Countries 9 Times

French players celebrating a goal in the match against Morocco. Photo by AP·Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Bang Je-il] With France defeating Morocco to advance to the final of the 2022 FIFA Qatar World Cup, the championship will be decided in a battle of pride between South America and Europe. Especially, Argentina and France, who face each other in the final, are expected to engage in a fierce match as winning this World Cup would mark their third World Cup trophy in history, representing the pride of their countries and continents.

On the 15th (Korean time), France secured a 2-0 victory over Morocco in the semifinals of the Qatar World Cup. France will face Argentina, who crushed Croatia 3-0 in the semifinal held the day before, in the final on the 19th at midnight. Until now, World Cup victories have been divided between Europe and South America. In the 21 World Cups held up to the 2018 Russia tournament, European countries have lifted the trophy 12 times, and South American countries 9 times. No country outside Europe and South America has reached the final.

So far, only 8 countries among the 211 FIFA member nations worldwide have experienced World Cup victory. Brazil leads with 5 titles. Germany, including its former West Germany era, and Italy have 4 titles each, Argentina, Uruguay, and France have 2 titles each, and England and Spain have each won once.

Since the 1962 Chile tournament, South American and European countries have alternated in winning the World Cup. Starting with Brazil, the sequence of alternating South American and European champions continued for 44 years until the 2006 Germany tournament in the order of England-Brazil-Germany-Argentina-Italy-Argentina-Germany-Brazil-France-Brazil-Italy.

However, in the 2010 South Africa tournament final, only European countries reached the final, with Spain defeating Germany to win. Since then, European countries have continuously claimed the championship. In the 2014 Brazil tournament, Germany defeated Argentina in the final, and in 2018, France won the trophy by beating Croatia.

The celebration of the Argentina players who advanced to the final after defeating Croatia. Photo by EPA·Yonhap News

The South American countries' appearance in the final is the first in 8 years since Argentina in 2014. However, South America and Europe have faced each other 10 times in World Cup finals, with South America leading with 7 wins and 3 losses.

If Argentina wins the final, it will be the first World Cup victory for a South American country in 20 years since Brazil in 2002. For Argentina, it will be their third World Cup title following their home tournament in 1978 and the Mexico tournament in 1986.

If France wins, Europe will produce the world football champion for the fifth consecutive time. For France, it will be their third World Cup victory, following the tournaments held at home in 1998 and in 2018. Additionally, France will become the third country in history, after Italy (1934, 1938) and Brazil (1958, 1962), to achieve back-to-back World Cup titles.

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