World Cup history
The World Cup Through the FIFA Museum Stickers
Last updated: May 24, 2026
The Panini WM 2026 album includes 11 FIFA Museum stickers ( FWC9 through FWC19) that celebrate selected past tournament winners. They are arranged chronologically in the album. Each is a foil, and together they form one of the most thematically rewarding sections to complete. This page tells the story behind each entry.
How the museum series fits in the album
The 11 stickers sit immediately after the tournament opening panel and before the host country foils. They are not the complete list of past champions; Panini selected eleven milestone tournaments that span the breadth of World Cup history. The result is a compressed visual history of football that reaches from the inter-war period to the modern era.
You can isolate the entire museum series in the checklist by filtering on the "FIFA Museum" category. They all carry the Foil rarity, which means a clean foil-focused trade list, like the one in the foil guide, will surface them efficiently.
The eleven tournaments
1934 — Italy (FWC9, hosted by Italy)
Italy hosted and won the second-ever World Cup, defeating Czechoslovakia 2-1 in extra time at the Stadio Nazionale PNF in Rome. Goalkeeper Gianpiero Combi captained the Azzurri to victory. The 1934 tournament was the first to require a qualification process, and 32 teams competed for 16 final places.
1950 — Uruguay (FWC10, hosted by Brazil)
Uruguay won the deciding match 2-1 against host Brazil at the Maracanã in front of around 200,000 spectators. The result, known as the Maracanazo, is one of the most famous upsets in football history. The 1950 World Cup used a final round-robin instead of a knockout final.
1954 — West Germany (FWC11, hosted by Switzerland)
West Germany beat heavily-favoured Hungary 3-2 in the Bern final, an outcome often referred to as the Miracle of Bern. Fritz Walter captained the side and Helmut Rahn scored the winning goal six minutes from time. The tournament also saw the highest goals-per-game average ever recorded.
1962 — Brazil (FWC12, hosted by Chile)
Brazil retained the trophy without Pelé for most of the tournament after he was injured in the second match. Garrincha carried the team through the knockout rounds, scoring twice in the quarter-final against England. The 3-1 final win over Czechoslovakia in Santiago confirmed Brazil's second consecutive title.
1974 — West Germany (FWC13, hosted by West Germany)
West Germany beat the Netherlands 2-1 in the Munich final, defeating Johan Cruyff's Total Football side with a counter-attacking masterclass orchestrated by Franz Beckenbauer and Gerd Müller. The tournament was the first to feature the new FIFA World Cup Trophy, designed after the original Jules Rimet Trophy was retired with Brazil.
1986 — Argentina (FWC14, hosted by Mexico)
Diego Maradona produced one of the greatest individual tournaments in football history, including both the Hand of God and Goal of the Century against England. Argentina beat West Germany 3-2 in the final at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, the same venue that will host the opening match in 2026.
1994 — Brazil (FWC15, hosted by United States)
Brazil won their fourth title after a goalless draw with Italy in the Pasadena final, prevailing in the first World Cup final to be decided by a penalty shoot-out. Romário won the Golden Ball, and the United States set tournament attendance records that still stand. The 1994 hosting also planted the long-term foundations for the 2026 return.
2002 — Brazil (FWC16, hosted by South Korea / Japan)
Brazil won their fifth and most recent title with a 2-0 victory over Germany in Yokohama. Ronaldo scored both goals and finished as the tournament's top scorer. The 2002 World Cup was the first to be co-hosted, a structure that returns in 2026 with three host nations.
2006 — Italy (FWC17, hosted by Germany)
Italy beat France on penalties in the Berlin final after a 1-1 draw. Marco Materazzi's equaliser and Fabio Grosso's decisive spot-kick brought Italy a fourth title. The tournament is also remembered for Zinedine Zidane's headbutt and the resulting red card in the final.
2014 — Germany (FWC18, hosted by Brazil)
Germany defeated Argentina 1-0 in the Maracanã final, with Mario Götze scoring the only goal in extra time. The tournament is also remembered for Germany's 7-1 semi-final win over hosts Brazil and for Miroslav Klose becoming the all-time leading World Cup scorer.
2022 — Argentina (FWC19, hosted by Qatar)
Argentina beat France in a 3-3 final decided on penalties at Lusail Stadium, the highest-scoring final since 1966. Lionel Messi won the Golden Ball and lifted his first World Cup trophy. The tournament was the first held in the Northern Hemisphere winter and the first staged in the Middle East.
The 2026 tournament in context
The 2026 tournament expands the World Cup to 48 teams and spreads matches across 16 cities in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. The FIFA Museum stickers, viewed together, highlight several precedents that 2026 builds on:
- 1994— the United States hosted a record-attendance tournament that laid the commercial foundations for the 2026 return.
- 2002— the first co-hosted World Cup (South Korea / Japan) demonstrated that a multi-nation format could run successfully at scale.
- 1986— Mexico hosted at the Estadio Azteca, the venue that will reopen the 2026 tournament with the opening match.
- 1934— the second World Cup established the qualification model that has since selected every participating nation.
How collectors use the museum series
Most communities trade museum stickers as a single mini-set. Once you own three or four, completing the remaining seven or eight becomes a high-priority target because the visual payoff (a full row of foils in the album) is so strong. Two practical tips help:
- Trade museum-for-museum where possible. The scarcity profile is similar across the eleven entries, so one-for-one swaps usually feel fair to both parties.
- Photograph the FIFA Museum row first when you complete it. Many collectors share their finished row online as a milestone, and the resulting visibility often unlocks help with other rare foils.
Continue exploring
For a broader strategy that integrates the FIFA Museum chase with the rest of the album, read the album completion guide. To time the foil push correctly, see the foil stickers guide. And for the cultural context behind the three host countries that will open the 2026 tournament, read the host cities guide.