Countries that have hosted the Men's World Cup

The world's most prestigious and popular sporting event had humble beginnings in the capital of Uruguay, where 13 countries competed for the honor of being the first World Cup champion. That honor ended up going to the host country, as Uruguay beat Argentina 4-2 in the final to win the title. 

Four years later, the World Cup made its European debut in Italy. For the second time in a row, the host ended up ultimately prevailing as Italy beat Czechoslovakia in extra time to become world champions. 

The tournament stayed in Europe once the next edition rolled around four years later in France. While there were rumors that Italy's World Cup victory in 1934 was tainted due to corruption from the country's fascist regime, Gli Azzurri put those rumors to rest when Vittorio Pozzo's men repeated as World Cup winners. 

Brazil has won five World Cups, but you could make the argument that 1950 was the most important World Cup for the country despite the fact Brazil didn't win. In fact, this was the stage of what for decades would be known as Brazil's greatest failure. Around 200,000 Brazilians watched their team lose to Uruguay when the host country only needed a draw to win the title. Instead, Uruguay ended up taking home its second title, and Brazil had to stew over the failure for years to come. 

The 1954 World Cup was arguably the most exciting one up to that date, as the teams ended up setting all sorts of records when it came to goal scoring. However, the biggest story was the fact that the heavily favored Hungary squad ended up suffering an upset at the hands of West Germany. Hungary's "Golden Team" would never win a World Cup, while West Germany used this stage to emerge as a world power in soccer. 

The World Cup made its Scandinavian debut to end the 1950s, but this World Cup would be remembered for the emergence of one of the game's legends. Pele was just 17 years old, but he captivated all observers with his performances in this competition as he helped turn Brazil's failure in 1950 into a distant memory by finally winning the World Cup.

The big event returned to South America for 1962 as Chile played host to the World Cup. This tournament is not fondly remembered since it was contested in an extremely physical, violent and ill-tempered manner. Pele was one of the "casualties" when he was injured in the second round, but his absence didn't prevent Brazil from winning back-to-back World Cup titles. 

In 1966, "football came home" in more ways than one. England hosted the World Cup in 1966 and made it all the way to its first ever World Cup final, which is where the English met West Germany. The "goal" that won England the title, however, was not without controversy. The ball did not appear to cross the line on said goal, but don't tell that to England fans who still talk about this as if it happened yesterday.

The World Cup made its North American debut in 1970 when Estadio Azteca welcomed the world to Mexico. This tournament ended up serving as a reminder that after a quiet 1966 World Cup, Brazil was still the gold standard of international soccer, lifting a third Jules Rimet Trophy. 

The 1974 World Cup was notable for the creation of a new (and current) World Cup trophy after FIFA decided to permanently award Brazil the Jules Rimet Trophy after winning it three times. The first country to lift the new trophy was the host itself, as West Germany overcame a brilliant Dutch side led by Johan Cruyff in order to win its second World Cup title.  

The 1978 World Cup followed a few trends. A South American team won a World Cup held on South American soil, the hosts ended up winning the the World Cup for the third time in four events and the Dutch finished as runners-up despite playing the most beautiful brand of soccer on display at the entire tournament.

There wouldn't be a third consecutive World Cup with the host lifting the trophy as Spain bowed out during the group stage of the 1982 World Cup. Instead, Italy ended a near 50-year drought by rolling through the likes of Brazil, Argentina and even West Germany in the final to finally win the country's third World Cup title. 

Just 16 years after hosting it for the first time, Mexico got another crack at hosting the World Cup "on short notice" after Colombia had to bow out due to economic reasons. This ended up being remembered as the tournament in which Diego Maradona absolutely laid waste to the competition, using both his "Hand of God" and his divine footwork to carry Argentina to another World Cup victory. 

All of the excitement from 1986 was completely drained from the 1990 edition of the World Cup that was held in Italy. The goals were few and far between, and red cards were a common theme. This resulted in a World Cup final between West Germany and Argentina that would have had people questioning if this really was "The Beautiful Game." Die Mannschaft emerged from the carnage with a third World Cup championship.

Even though the USA broke a 40-year drought between World Cup appearances in the 1990 World Cup, soccer really and truly returned to America's sporting scene when it hosted the 1994 World Cup. It was a huge financial success as NFL and college football stadiums across the country were filled to the brim for soccer, and it ultimately ended with Brazil winning its fourth World Cup title in front of a sold-out crowd at the legendary Rose Bowl. 

For the first time in 50 years, the World Cup returned to France, and the hosts were more than ready to take on the world. With a squad including Zinedine Zidane, Patrick Vieira, Laurent Blanc, Didier Deschamps and a youngster named Thierry Henry, France's famous “ Black, Blanc, Beur” squad sent the French into a frenzy as the hosts beat the heavily favored Brazilians in the final to give France its first go-round as world champion. 

The first World Cup in the 21st century was also the first World Cup to be held in Asia, and the hosts had their enthusiasm and expertise on full display. South Korea's "Red Devils" supporters showed up in full force and served as a strong 12th man, helping push South Korea to the semifinals. However, the end of the tournament had a similar story: Brazil lifted the trophy for a fifth time. 

After making it to the final of the 2002 World Cup, it seemed like it was all set up for Germany to join the list of nations that won the World Cup on home soil. Instead, the Germans ended up bowing out in the semifinals to the eventual winners of the 2006 World Cup: Italy. However, this World Cup final will forever be remembered for Zinedine Zidane getting sent off after sensationally headbutting Marco Materazzi.

Vuvuzelas. That's what will be the enduring legacy of this World Cup: vuvuzelas. The noisemaker resulted in there being a never-ending cacophony of buzzing noises for every single match as Spain made its way to winning it all. That means that for us Americans, Landon Donovan's memorable goal against Algeria was scored with the soundtrack of buzzing vuvuzelas in the background. 

Despite a relatively poor performance in 2010, Brazil went into the 2014 World Cup as a huge favorite. After all, the five-time World Cup winner was now playing as host — what's the worst that could happen? As it turns out, a 7-1 drubbing at the hands of the eventual champion Germany is the worst thing that could have happened. The infamous failure from 1950 seems almost quaint in comparison to this.