Who has won the most FIFA Confederations Cup titles?
- Started as King Fahd Cup in 1992 in Saudi Arabia.
- Became FIFA Confederations Cup in 1997.
- Brazil, France hold multiple titles; notable records by Ronaldinho, Blanco.
Brazils Lazaro celebrates after scoring against Mexico (Getty Images)
The FIFA Confederations Cup is typically used as a precursor tournament for the host nation of an upcoming World Cup to test their facilities and skills against the champions of each of FIFA's continental football confederations in a competitive environment.
In 1992, Saudi Arabia hosted the King Fahd Cup, with four teams competing in knockout football for the inaugural tournament, including Argentina, the Ivory Coast, Saudi Arabia, and the United States. Argentina comfortably defeated Saudi Arabia 3-1 in the final.
For the 1995 edition, six countries participated in the King Fahd Cup, including hosts Saudi Arabia, Denmark, Japan, Argentina, Mexico, and Nigeria, who were divided into two groups of three teams, with the winners of each group progressing to the knockout rounds. Denmark defeated the defending champions Argentina 2-0 in the final.
FIFA took over the tournament in 1997 and officially renamed it the FIFA Confederations Cup, to be held every two years. Saudi Arabia was once again the host nation, with teams from Brazil, Australia, Mexico, Uruguay, the Czech Republic, the United Arab Emirates, and South Africa participating in the competition.
Brazil thrashed Australia 6-0 in the final and became the first country to hold all three FIFA titles simultaneously: the 1994 World Cup, the 1997 Copa America, and the Confederations Cup.
In 1999, Mexico became the first host nation to win the FIFA Confederations Cup after defeating Brazil in a seven-goal thriller by four goals to three in the final.
From 2001 to 2017, except for 2003, the FIFA Confederations Cup was held by the country that would host the World Cup the following year.
France would emulate Brazil's achievement by becoming the second team to secure all three FIFA titles. They won the 1998 World Cup, the 2000 European Championships, and the 2001 Confederations Cup.
France then would become the first country to win back-to-back FIFA Confederations Cup titles after defeating Cameroon 1-0 in the 2003 final.
Brazil reigned supreme in the competition by winning three consecutive FIFA Confederations Cup titles, beating the likes of Argentina 4-1, the United States 3-2, and Spain 3-0 in the 2005, 2009, and 2013 finals.
The 2017 tournament in Russia was the last time the competition took place after the 2021 edition in Qatar was cancelled, with Germany defeating Chile 1–0 in the final to win their first FIFA Confederations Cup.
In its current format, the FIFA Confederations Cup features eight teams, which include the host nation, the reigning FIFA World Cup champion and the winners of the AFC Asian Cup, CAF Africa Cup of Nations, CONCACAF Gold Cup, CONMEBOL Copa America, OFC Men's Nations Cup, and UEFA European Championship. Two groups of four teams each play in a round-robin format, with the top two teams in each group progressing to the semi-finals.
Notable records achieved by individuals at all FIFA Confederations Cup tournaments since its inception:
Two players jointly hold the record for most goals scored at the FIFA Confederations Cup, with Ronaldinho of Brazil and Cuauhtemoc Blanco of Mexico each scoring nine goals.
Brazil's Romario holds the record for scoring the most goals in a single tournament, with seven at the 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup.
Below is the list of the most successful teams to have won the FIFA Confederations Cup.
Teams | No. of Titles |
---|---|
Brazil | 4 |
France | 2 |
Argentina | 1 |
Denmark | 1 |
Germany | 1 |
Mexico | 1 |
Some established nations that have never won the FIFA Confederations Cup include:
- Italy
- Portugal
- Spain
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