1950 FIFA World Cup in the context of "FIFA World Cup hosts"

The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting rights in 2007. It was the second time that Brazil staged the competition, the first being in 1950, and the fifth time that it was held in South America.

31 national teams advanced through qualification competitions to join the host nation in the final tournament (with Bosnia and Herzegovina as the only debutant). A total of 64 matches were played in 12 venues located in as many host cities across Brazil. For the first time at a World Cup finals, match officials used goal-line technology, as well as vanishing spray for free kicks. FIFA Fan Fests in each host city gathered a total of 5 million people, and the country received 1 million visitors from 202 countries. Spain, the defending champions, were eliminated at the group stage. Host nation Brazil, who had won the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, lost to Germany 7–1 in the semi-finals and eventually finished in fourth place.

The 1938 FIFA World Cup was the 3rd edition of the World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams. It was held in France from 4 to 19 June 1938. Italy defended its title in the final, beating Hungary 4–2. Italy's 1934 and 1938 teams hold the distinction of being the only men's national team to win the World Cup multiple times under the same coach, Vittorio Pozzo. It would be the last World Cup until 1950; the 1942 and 1946 World Cups were cancelled due to World War II.

Estádio do Maracanã, officially known as Estádio Jornalista Mário Filho, is an association football stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Located in the Maracanã neighborhood, it is owned by the Rio de Janeiro state government and managed by the clubs Flamengo and Fluminense. It is part of a complex that includes an arena known by the name of Maracanãzinho, which is mostly used for volleyball events.

The stadium was opened in 1950 to host the FIFA World Cup, in which Brazil was beaten 2–1 by Uruguay in the deciding game, in front of a still standing record attendance of 173,850 spectators, on 16 July 1950. The venue has seen attendances of 150,000 or more at 26 occasions and has seen crowds of more than 100,000 as many as 284 times. But as terraced sections have been replaced with seats over time, and after the renovation following the 2016 Summer Olympics and Paralympics, its original capacity has been reduced to the current 73,139, but it remains the largest stadium in Brazil and the third largest in South America after Estadio Monumental in Argentina and Estadio Monumental in Peru. Fluminense and Flamengo still own the all-time club record attendance, with 194,603 spectators supporting its clubs in the world famous Fla–Flu derby in 1963.

The Uruguay national football team (Spanish: Selección de fútbol de Uruguay), nicknamed La Celeste ("The Sky Blue") and Los Charrúas ("The Charrúas"), have represented Uruguay in international men's football since their first international match in 1902 and is administered by the Asociación Uruguaya de Fútbol (English: Uruguayan Football Association), the governing body of football in Uruguay, which is a founding member of CONMEBOL since 1916 and a member of FIFA since 1923. It was also a member of PFC, which was the attempt at a unified confederation of the Americas from 1946 to 1961.Uruguay's home stadium is the Estadio Centenario, and they have been coached by Marcelo Bielsa since 2023.

Considered one of the most successful national teams in international competitions and by FIFA as "football's first global powerhouse," Uruguay has won four world FIFA–organized championships, two Olympic titles and two FIFA World Cups. Their first two senior world titles came at the Olympic tournaments of Paris 1924 and Amsterdam 1928, two events that were directly organized by FIFA as open tournaments that included professionals. In the former, Uruguay beat Switzerland 3–0 in the final, whereas in the latter, Uruguay defeated Argentina 2–1. They then secured a third consecutive title at the inaugural FIFA World Cup in Montevideo, where they beat Argentina 4–2 in the decisive match. Uruguay's fourth title came in 1950 after beating hosts Brazil in the final match 2–1, a match that still holds the record for the highest official attendance for a football match ever (173,850 people at the gate). On account of these achievements, the Uruguayan national team displays four five-pointed stars approved by FIFA on its football crest. Uruguay were unbeaten in world championship matches from the 1924 Olympics until their semi-final loss in the 1954 World Cup marking a 30-year win streak and winning four consecutive world titles in tournaments they participated in, having chosen to opt out of the 1934 and 1938 World Cups. In regional competitions, Uruguay has won the Copa América 15 times, having also won the inaugural edition in 1916, second only to Argentina for the most titles in the tournament's history, with their most recent title in 2011. As of 2025, based on international senior official titles, Uruguay have won the second most major trophies, behind Argentina.

The United States men's national soccer team, simply known as USMNT and officially recognized as USA by FIFA, represents the United States in men's international soccer, which is governed by the United States Soccer Federation founded in 1913. It has been an affiliate member of FIFA since 1914 and a founding affiliate member of CONCACAF since 1961. Regionally, it is an affiliate member of NAFU in the North American Zone. From 1946 to 1961, it was a member of NAFC, the former governing soccer body in North America and a predecessor confederation of CONCACAF, and also a member of PFC, the former unified confederation of the Americas.

The United States has qualified for the FIFA World Cup twelve times, it is one of four CONCACAF teams to have advanced to the knockout stage, finishing in third place in 1930, reaching the quarter-finals in 2002 and also reaching the round of 16 in four editions. Their third place in Uruguay 1930 is the best result by a CONCACAF team in the competition and is the only non-European or South American team to achieve a World Cup podium finish. They returned in 1934 and 1950, defeating England 1–0 in the latter, but did not qualify again until 1990. As host in 1994, the U.S. received an automatic berth and lost to Brazil in the round of 16. They qualified for the next five World Cups, a feat shared with only seven other nations. In 2026, the United States will host the World Cup for the second time. It has qualified for the FIFA Confederations Cup four times, finishing as runners-up in 2009, defeating top ranked European champions Spain 2–0 in the semifinal and losing to Brazil in the final, and also finishing in third place twice.

The 1966 FIFA World Cup was the 8th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in England from 11 to 30 July 1966. England defeated West Germany 4–2 in the final to win their first ever World Cup title. The final was level at 2–2 after 90 minutes and went to extra time, when Geoff Hurst scored two goals to complete his hat-trick, the first to be scored in a men's World Cup final. Portuguese striker Eusébio was the tournament's top scorer, with nine goals clinching the golden boot with three goals more than second placed Helmut Haller. It was the first FIFA World Cup held in the English-speaking world.

England were the fifth nation to win the event, and the third host nation to win after Uruguay in 1930 and Italy in 1934. Two time reigning champions Brazil failed to get past the group stages as they were defeated by Hungary and Portugal. It was the second time that defending champions were eliminated in the group stages after Italy in 1950. This would not occur again until 36 years later. The two debut teams performed well at the competition – North Korea beat Italy 1–0 on the way to reaching the quarter-finals, where they lost to Portugal 5–3 after leading 3–0. Portugal themselves finished third, beating Soviet Union 2–1 in the bronze-match.