List of FIFA World Cup opening matches

The FIFA World Cup is an international association football competition established in 1930. It is contested by the men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has taken place every four years, except in 1942 and 1946, when the competition was cancelled due to World War II.

The World Cup opening match is the first of the competition. Opening match regulations have changed many times. Between 1974 and 2002, the defending champions were involved in the opening match. Since 2006, as the defending champions no longer qualify automatically, the opening matches involve the host nations.

List of opening matches

Early years (1930–1970)

Year	Team 1	Final score	Team 2	Venue	Location	Attendance	References	Notes
1930	France	4–1	Mexico	Estadio Pocitos	Montevideo, Uruguay	4,444	Report	Two matches both played at the same time
	United States	3–0	Belgium	Estadio Parque Central	Montevideo, Uruguay	18,346	Report
1934	Italy	7–1	United States	Stadio Nazionale PNF	Rome, Italy	25,000	Report	Eight matches were played at the same time
	Spain	3–1	Brazil	Stadio Luigi Ferraris	Genoa, Italy	21,000	Report
	Austria	3–2	France	Stadio Benito Mussolini	Turin, Italy	16,000	Report
	Hungary	4–2	Egypt	Stadio Giorgio Ascarelli	Naples, Italy	9,000	Report
	Czechoslovakia	2–1	Romania	Stadio Littorio	Trieste, Italy	9,000	Report
	Switzerland	3–2	Netherlands	Stadio San Siro	Milan, Italy	33,000	Report
	Germany	5–2	Belgium	Stadio Giovanni Berta	Florence, Italy	8,000	Report
	Sweden	3–2	Argentina	Stadio Littoriale	Bologna, Italy	14,000	Report
1938	Switzerland	1–1	Germany	Parc des Princes	Paris, France	27,152	Report	First opening match to end in a draw
1950	Brazil	4–0	Mexico	Maracanã Stadium	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	81,649	Report	Brazil was the host country
1954	Brazil	5–0	Mexico	Charmilles Stadium	Geneva, Switzerland	13,470	Report	Four matches were played at the same time
	Yugoslavia	1–0	France	Stade Olympique de la Pontaise	Lausanne, Switzerland	16,000	Report
	Uruguay	2–0	Czechoslovakia	Wankdorf Stadium	Bern, Switzerland	20,500	Report
	Austria	1–0	Scotland	Hardturm Stadium	Zürich, Switzerland	25,000	Report
1958	Sweden	3–0	Mexico	Råsunda Stadium	Solna, Sweden	34,107	Report	Sweden was the host country
1962	Uruguay	2–1	Colombia	Estadio Carlos Dittborn	Arica, Chile	7,908	Report	Four matches were played at the same time
	Chile	3–1	Switzerland	Estadio Nacional	Santiago, Chile	65,006	Report
	Brazil	2–0	Mexico	Estadio Sausalito	Viña del Mar, Chile	10,484	Report
	Argentina	1–0	Bulgaria	Estadio El Teniente	Rancagua, Chile	7,134	Report
1966	England	0–0	Uruguay	Wembley Stadium	London, England	87,148	Report	England was the host country
1970	Mexico	0–0	Soviet Union	Estadio Azteca	Mexico City, Mexico	107,160	Report	Mexico was the host country

Defending champion era (1974–2002)

Year	Defending champion	Final score	Opponent	Venue	Location	Attendance	References	Notes
1974	Brazil	0–0	Yugoslavia	Waldstadion	Frankfurt, West Germany	62,000	Report
1978	West Germany	0–0	Poland	Estadio Monumental	Buenos Aires, Argentina	67,579	Report
1982	Argentina	0–1	Belgium	Camp Nou	Barcelona, Spain	95,000	Report
1986	Italy	1–1	Bulgaria	Estadio Azteca	Mexico City, Mexico	96,000	Report
1990	Argentina	0–1	Cameroon	San Siro	Milan, Italy	73,780	Report
1994	Germany	1–0	Bolivia	Soldier Field	Chicago, United States	63,117	Report
1998	Brazil	2–1	Scotland	Stade de France	Saint-Denis, France	80,000	Report
2002	France	0–1	Senegal	Seoul World Cup Stadium	Seoul, South Korea	62,561	Report

Host country era (2006–)

Year	Host country	Final score	Opponent	Venue	Location	Attendance	References	Notes
2006	Germany	4–2	Costa Rica	FIFA WM Stadion München	Munich, Germany	66,000	Report
2010	South Africa	1–1	Mexico	Soccer City	Johannesburg, South Africa	84,490	Report
2014	Brazil	3–1	Croatia	Arena de São Paulo	São Paulo, Brazil	62,103	Report
2018	Russia	5–0	Saudi Arabia	Luzhniki Stadium	Moscow, Russia	78,011	Report
2022	Qatar	0–2	Ecuador	Al Bayt Stadium	Al Khor, Qatar	67,372	Report
2026	Mexico			Estadio Azteca	Mexico City, Mexico

See also

• List of association football competitions
• List of FIFA Confederations Cup finals
• List of FIFA World Cup finals