Uruguay, hosts of the inaugural FIFA World Cup, could not have found better occasion to celebrate 100 years of independence. They not only hosted the first edition of the newly-formed tournament, which took place wholly in Uruguayan capital Montevideo, but also went on to win it and make history. The first World Cup featured 13 nations, including nine from South America, as the lengthy journey and the cost of travel prompted many European countries to opt against taking part in the tournament. France, Belgium, Romania and Yugoslavia were Europe's only representatives in the World Cup. The first ever goal in the tournament was registered by France as Lucien Laurent

struck the opener in their 4-1 victory over Mexico. However, their adventure came to an end when they lost 1-0 to Argentina in a bizarre game that saw the referee blow the final whistle six minutes early before calling the players back to finish the game after realizing his mistake. Argentina, Uruguay, the United States and Yugoslavia reached the semi finals. The final game paired Uruguay with Argentina in front of some 100,000 fans at the Centenario Stadium. Argentina surrendered a 2-1 half-time lead to help the hosts claim a 4-2 victory and lift the trophy that was presented by then FIFA president Jules Rimet to Uruguay captain Jose Nazassi.

Egypt became the first African team to participate in the World Cup, making the first of their two appearances in the tournament. However, they were unlucky because the group stage format was replaced with a preliminary knock-out round, leaving them with no chance but to kick off their campaign with a victory over Hungary.

The Pharaohs, playing under the guidance of Scottish coach James McRea, scored two goals through Abdul-Rahman Fawzi but ended up losing 4-2 to bow out of the tournament. Hosts Italy became the first European team to win the World Cup after defeating Czechoslovakia 2-1 after extra time in the final at the Olympic Stadium in Paris.

Benito Mussolini's misinterpreted message seemed to have spurred on the Italian-team players, rather than 'saved their lives'. The fascist leader sent telegrams to the Azzurri squad telling them: 'Win or Die'; a common slogan encouraging the team to bring glory back to Rome. However, the Italians played for their lives and eventually clinched the title in Paris, outclassing Hungary 4-2 in the final. Silvio Piola, the Serie A all-time leading goalscorer, hit a brace in the final to give Italy their second straight title. "I may have let in four goals, but at least I saved their lives," said Hungary keeper Antal Szabo, referring to Mussolini's message.

This tournament witnessed an impressive and unprecedented goal average of 4.67 goals per match, but one game was particularly astounding in France 1938. An 11-goal thriller between Brazil and Poland saw the South American titans take the edge in extra time, thanks to a hat-trick from the competition's top scorer Leonidas. Leonidas, who found the net seven times in three games, replied to another virtuoso display from Poland's Ernest Wilimowski who hit four past the Brazilians. The Brazilian adventure came to an end when manager Ademar Pimenta shockingly decided to 'rest' his marksman in the semi-final against Italy, who won 2-1 in Marseille.

After 12 years of absence because of the World War II, the biggest football event was back. This time staged in Brazil in extraordinary circumstances. In the wake of the six-year war, Axis Powers Germany and Japan were denied participation, even though there was a place for Italy. Turkey and Scotland followed in the footsteps of France and decided to withdraw from the competition, leaving Uruguay and Bolivia to compete against each other in Group 4. The returning showpiece, hosted by Brazil, eventually witnessed the participation of only 13 teams, before the home side lost the title to South American rivals Uruguay in a heartbreaking final.

In front of a record 200,000 spectators at the great Maracana, the Uruguayans came back from behind to snatch the Jules Rimet Trophy and deny Brazil their first title. A significant milestone in Brazil 1950 was the maiden appearance of England, whose debut was anything but impressive. Despite a courageous start marked by a 2-0 win over Chile, the English lost their next two games against war allies USA and Spain to wave goodbye from the group stage but there was one thing left for them to cheer about. One British newspaper reported that England had won 10-1, assuming a misprint in the wires!

Germany, called West Germany at the time, pulled off one of the most memorable World Cup triumphs in 1954 after upsetting absolute favorites Hungary in the final. Winning the Olympics two years earlier and going unbeaten for four years, Hungary had no worries. The central European team boasted some of the finest footballers in the mid 1950s, including scoring sensation Ferenc Puskas. They beat Germany 8-3 in the group stage when the latter team played without their key players. The dismantling of the Germans left no doubts that the Magical Magyars will be crowned champions, but Herberger’s men caused a major upset.

In the final, attended by 60,000 fans, Germany came from two goals down to seize gold with a 3-2 win. A German movie called 'the Miracle of Berne' was produced in 2003 to tell story of the sensational competition. En route to the final, Hungary played two breath-taking matches in the tournament. The eventual runners-up and Brazil fight it out in the quarter finals but Puskas and his teammates eventually won 4-2. The match saw three players receive their marching orders for violence. Hungary’s semi-final clash wasn’t less exciting against Uruguay, who also used to be a powerhouse. Hungry won the game 4-2 in another mouth-watering clash.

The 1958 World Cup is a story about that kid who realized a long-held dream and became an idol. At the age of 17, Edison Arantes do Nascimento, known as Pele, inspired Brazil to win the gigantic competition for the first time ever. He was a talented teenager driven by his love of the game and a promise he made eight years ago, and that was enough for him to make history. Nine-year-old Pele saw his father Dondinho, who was a semi-professional footballer, crying his eyes out after Brazil lost the 1950 World Cup final to Uruguay at home. He vowed to let his father celebrate a World Cup triumph by saying: “Don't worry. One day I'll win it.” And Pele lived up to his words.

The Brazilian role model rocked the world with some scintillating performances that saw him score six goals to gift Brazil their first World Cup trophy. The tournament’s revelation was particularly immortalized after hitting a brace against hosts Sweden in the final, to help his side register a 5-2 win. But Pele's story wasn't the only one to remember in 1958 as France’s Juste Fontaine netted 13 goals to become the competition’s top scorer and set a record that has yet to be broken.

Pele's injury in the 1962 World Cup marked the start of a series of unfortunate incidents on the pitch in the first-round games. The Brazilian star, who inspired his side to World Cup triumph four years earlier, scored in the 2-0 opening victory over Mexico but his adventure was prematurely over when he sustained a thigh injury in the second game against Czechoslovakia. The 'Battle of Santiago' followed. Chile hosted the World Cup just two years after it was hit with a massive earthquake. Four venues were ready for the football's most prestigious event, including Santiago's new Estadio Nacional which hosted an ill-tempered game when Chile faced Italy.That match,

which was branded Battle of Santiago, saw referee Ken Aston send off Italy's Giorgio Ferrini and Mario David, the latter being for a neck-high kick aimed at Chile's Leonel Sanchez, who had earlier broken the nose of Italy's Umberto Maschio. "I wasn't refereeing a football match. I was acting as an umpire in military maneuvers," Aston commented. The tournament witnessed more controversy when Brazil managed to field Garrincha, the most outstanding player in the tournament, in their final game against Czechoslovakia despite his sending off in the semi final against Chile. Brazil went on to win their second successive World Cup after defeating Czechoslovakia 3-1.

England won their only World Cup to date when they hosted it in 1966 after a nail-biting and controversial finale against Germany in front of 93,000 spectators at Wembley Stadium. The legitimacy of Geoff Hurst's extra-time goal that helped England to a 4-2 victory is probably still being questioned until now. Hurst, who also scored England's opener, put them 3-2 ahead with a third goal in the 101st minute. His right-footed shot beat the goalkeeper, hit the crossbar and bounced down before Wolfang Weber, who scored Germany's equalizer with one minute remaining before the end of regular time, cleared it.

Swiss referee Gottfried Dienst consulted Soviet linesman Tofik Bakhramov and eventually adjudged the ball to have crossed the line. Hurst completed his hat-trick in the dying seconds to give England a remarkable victory.

Watching the event in color for the first time, football fans around the world were overwhelmed by an extraordinary Brazil side, inspired by the great Pele. The legendary Number 10 helped the Samba Dancers score 19 goals in six games in Mexico to earn the nickname 'The King of Football' in his last World Cup appearance. Some outstanding talents also contributed to the Brazilian circus, most notably Carlos Alberto, Jairzinho, Tostao, Gerson and Rivelino. Pele and Co. wrapped up their wonderful campaign with an emphatic 4-1 victory over Italy at the Azteca to claim the Jules Rimet Trophy for good.

The Mexico showpiece also witnessed some moments of brilliance cemented in history books. And Brazil, as usual, were at the center of everything. A historic save from England's Gordon Banks is regarded as the most famous piece of goalkeeping in World Cup history. Pele was denied another great goal when his infamous dummy on Uruguay keeper Ladislao Mazurkiewicz in the semis ended up as a bad miss for the Brazilian wizard. Finally, Carlos Alberto put the icing in the cake with an absolute scorcher in the final against Italy; one goal regarded as one of the best ever in the game's history.

A tournament sparkled by some slick football was sealed by an epic final between Franz Beckenbauer's West Germany and Johan Cruyff's Holland. The memorable Munich contest saw the Dutch take the lead before any German player had touched the ball, thanks to a Johan Neeskens penalty, superbly-earned by Cruyff. However, Helmut Schoen's men somehow managed to contain the Flying Dutchman and win the title after a near-perfect campaign, whose only downside was losing 1-0 to then-neighbors East Germany in Hamburg. The local defeat caused havoc in West Germany, but Der Kaiser and Co. silenced the skeptics by winning the second title for the Mannschaft.

The glamorous final was the best ending of the first tournament that went under the name FIFA World Cup, after Brazil had permanently sealed the Jules Rimet trophy in 1970. Besides that, a new FIFA president was in charge as Brazilian Joao Havelange replaced Englishman Sir Stanley Rous. There was even a change in the format of the competition as a second stage comprising two groups of four replaced the traditional knockout route of quarter-finals and semi-finals.

Argentina were the host country of the 1978 World Cup but its team were tipped to end their campaign on a low note due to the local miserable circumstances at the time. However, they emerged champions against all odds. The competition was preceded by a series of unfortunate events. Due to the security alert, several European teams pondered withdrawal from the competition, out of fear for their own welfare. Holland legend Johan Cruyff refused to be part of his country’s squad participating in the tournament, and the Dutch wizard was sorely missed in the final.

Hosts Argentina beat Holland 3-1 In the final to be crowned champions for the first time. Mario Kempes was highly acclaimed for hitting a brace for the home side. Argentina’s neighbors Brazil settled for the bronze medal, although they didn’t lose a single game. Both teams played out a goalless draw in the group stage. All-in-all the football wasn’t quite enjoyable throughout the 1978 World Cup but it definitely lifted the Argentine people’s spirits, many pundits believe.

Italy’s Paolo Rossi, a notorious player who was accused of being involved in a massive match-fixing scandal, was the hero of the 1982 World Cup. After being suspended, Rossi was called up to the gigantic competition to exceed expectations and lead the Azzurri to their third World Cup title. Italy won the global competition after beating Germany 3-1 in the final and Rossi took the lion’s share of the credit for the triumph, winning the Golden Boot (top scorer) as well as the Golden Ball. The Italy legend’s performances during the early games of the tournament were below-par

but he significantly redeemed himself afterwards. Rossi outclassed the Brazilian stars in a group-three match by bagging a hat-trick to end the game in a 3-2 win. He also scored the opener against Germany in the final. At the time, South American giants Brazil boasted Zico, Socrates, Junior, Falcao and the highly-rated Eder. The 1982 World Cup included 24 teams for the first time after world governing body FIFA decided to increase the participants.

It was all about Diego Maradona, arguably the greatest player of all time. Argentina needed his inspirational and dazzling displays to win the 1986 World Cup in a tournament to remember. The diminutive Maradona, now coach of Argentina, proved too good, too strong and too skilful for opposing defenses. He scored five times and created as many goals to hand his side their second World Cup title. Maradona hit headlines for the right and wrong reasons in Argentina's infamous 3-2 quarter-final victory over England.

He raised his arm to flip the ball past England keeper Peter Shilton, a goal which he called 'the hand of God', before producing a brilliant solo effort to double Argentina's lead few minutes later. Picking the ball up from inside his own half on the right flank, he dribbled past two defenders, swerved past two more and rounded the keeper to score from a tight angle. Maradona also created the precious third goal that gave Argentina a 3-2 victory over Germany in the final and a second world crown.

Egypt returned to Italy for their second World Cup appearance, 56 years after making their maiden one in the same country. The Pharaohs became Africa's first representative in the football's most prestigious event when they featured in the 1934 tournament but have struggled since then. They looked on course for a memorable 1990 campaign when they produced an outstanding display against then European champions Holland in their first game. Although Holland took the lead via a goal from Wim Kieft early in the second half, Egypt appeared the more dangerous side, wasting several chances to level the score. Their efforts paid off with seven minutes remaining when Magdi Abdul-Ghani

converted a disputed penalty to clinch a stunning draw. A dull goalless draw with Ireland kept alive Egypt's chances of progressing to the knockout round for the first time in their history but they lost 1-0 to England to suffer a first-round exit. Africa could still celebrate though, with Cameroon, who stunned holders Argentina with a 1-0 win in their first game, reaching the quarter-finals after some impressive performances before losing to England. In the final, Germany avenged their loss to Argentina in the 1986 final, beating them 1-0 through a late Andreas Brehme penalty.

Staged in a country where football is only a secondary sport, USA 94 turned out to be one of the most entertaining World Cup finals of all time. This was vindicated by a record attendance of 3,587,538 spectators and an average of 69,000 per game, not to mention the plethora of sublime strikes. The likes of Romario and Roberto Baggio entered the FIFA hall of fame with a terrific campaign but another World Cup legend saw his career shattered in shame. Argentina prodigy Diego Maradona was expelled from the tournament after failing a drug test, meaning the virtual end of one of the game's greats. More drama followed when Colombia defender Andres Escobar was shot dead in his homeland, largely due to his own goal in the defeat to USA.

The USA edition also witnessed the first World Cup title to be won on penalties. In a repeat of the Mexico 1970 final, Italy this time managed to keep lethal partners Romario and Bebeto under wraps and avoid another heavy defeat to the Brazilians as the match ended goalless. However, the Azzurri missed out on a third trophy after an agonizing shootout defeat. Of all people it was Roberto Baggio, Italy's star of the tournament, who missed the decisive spot kick to hand Brazil their fourth crown in Los Angeles.

'Merci Zizou' was the word that spread all over France on the 12th of July 1998 as Les Bleus clinched their first World Cup crown on home soil. It was the Algerian-born Zinedine Zidane who had his name chanted all night long at the Champs Elysees after he blasted France to victory over the mighty Brazil. Zidane turned from zero to hero in the space of three weeks, following an ill-fated start to the tournament marred by a silly red card against Saudi Arabia. But it didn’t matter at the end as Zizou returned to down Brazil with two memorable headers in Paris, before being named the world's best player by the end of the year.

The midfield wizard was assisted by a number of expatriate stars like Marcel Desailly, Patrick Vieira, Youri Djorkaeff and semi-final hero Lillian Thuram. The final between France and Brazil was preceded by news that the Selecao star man Ronaldo has been suffering severe illness before the match. What's more, a rumor spread inside the Brazil-team hotel claiming that the then-Inter striker had lost his life. Surprisingly, Ronaldo was included in the starting line-up against France but only looked a shadow of the man who steered Brazil to the Paris final. Ronaldo's father said later that Robert Carlos saved his son's life that day.

Korea and Japan hosted the tournament of surprises. Heavyweights failed to go past the group stage, unfancied sides rejoiced in praiseworthy campaigns and Brazil legend Ronaldo resurrected his career and led his country to glory. Ronaldo roared back to form after four consecutive years of suffering from severe cruciate ligament problems. He was named the competition’s top scorer with an eight-goal tally and helped the South Americans to a fifth World Cup title, despite their lackluster form during the qualifying stage.

Conversely, title holders France was stunned by a huge disappointment after losing twice and drawing once in the group stage to pitifully bow out without scoring a single goal. France great Zinedine Zidane was injured at the time, which abysmally affected Les Bleus. He only featured in the 2-0 loss to Denmark and wasn’t anywhere near his best. Argentina were widely expected to reach advanced stages of the competition, but they were also ousted from the tournament’s first round after producing unconvincing displays. On the other hand, Turkey amazed the world with consistent displays. They unexpectedly won the bronze medal after defeating hosts South Korea 3-2 in the third-place match.

France legend Zinedine Zidane came too close to ending his glittering career in the best possible way by leading his country to a second World Cup trophy. However, Les Bleus missed out on the triumph and Zidane marred what could have been his special night by assaulting Italy’s Marco Materazzi. Before the 2006 competition, Zidane announced that he would retire from professional football when he was nearly 34, even though he was quite fit. Zidane had a slow start, failing to pull the strings in France's first two games against Switzerland and Korea, as the 1998 champions settled for two draws. Sadly, he missed the final group game against Togo after collecting two yellow cards.

But Zizou staged scintillating performances in the knock-out stages, leading France past Spain, Brazil and then Portugal respectively, scoring or assisting his team-mates to score in every game towards the final, where the unthinkable happened. The score line was 1-1 in the final between Italy and France when Zidane snapped and head-butted Materazzi in the chest to knock him down. Consequently, the France legend was dismissed in the extra time and Italy, who were rocked by a match-fixing scandal in the Serie A before the tournament, were crowned champions after a penalty shootout.