Top Ten World Cup Teams

I watched the "aging Pele" score four goals and add five assists. He made Jairzinho a world-class striker with his playmaking. Jairzinho scored seven goals in 1970.

With Gerson in midfield and Carlos Alberto on defense, this was a truly great team. To be fair to Italy, they must have been exhausted after a close extra-time win over a tough West German team that had Gerd Muller on it, but I think that even with extra rest (a week instead of four days), they might not have done much better.

There isn't a close number two. Pele was at the end of his career, but he was still dominant. They easily beat Italy 4-1 in the finals. Jairzinho scored seven goals. They could play any team and wouldn't be beaten once.

Only one country has that passion to play perfect football, and that's England.

Messi is the best we have seen, and I think that Argentina is a very versatile team with a great frontline, midfield, and defense.

Think about some of the greatest soccer teams in World Cup history: Brazil, Germany, and Argentina. Italy 1982 beat them all. They defeated defending champs Argentina, the favorites of the tournament Brazil, and Germany in the final.

The 1998 French team was the best in soccer history. The team included stars such as Fabien Barthez, Lilian Thuram, Marcel Desailly, Laurent Blanc, Patrick Vieira, Youri Djorkaeff, Thierry Henry, and the great Zinedine Zidane. To this day, their 7.5:1 goals scored to goals allowed average is the greatest of any champion.

They also played beautifully in every game, leaving no question of luck. Finally, they proved their superiority by doubling up with a Euro two years later.

Perhaps the best team ever. Except for maybe the Spain team that took Euro 2012.

Having won two consecutive Olympic gold medals and with two-time Copa America MVP Jose Nasazzi leading the team, they would have given any team trouble. They had a variety of strikers and two of the best defenders of all time (including Andrade, another great defender).

A tough nut to crack for even the greatest modern teams, they were a true powerhouse for many years, better than Argentina (1930's World Cup finalist with the great Stabile as a striker). They came back after being down at halftime to win convincingly.

Hector Castro - Uruguay 4 Argentina 2, World Cup final, 1930. The center-forward scored in the last minute in Montevideo to confirm the hosts as the first-ever world champions.

When Uruguay met Brazil in the last match, the hosts needed only a draw to win the World Cup. They had beaten Sweden 7-1 and Spain 6-1 in their two earlier games in the group and were favorites. Uruguay had drawn against Spain and beaten Sweden by a single goal.

A world record 200,000 spectators watched the game and couldn't believe the outcome. Uruguay stunned the crowd and won 2-1 after coming from behind.

With a 2-1 victory over Brazil, Uruguay won the title for the second time in the history of the FIFA World Cup, 20 years after their initial success in Montevideo. The term "Maracanazo" (roughly translated as "The Maracana Blow") has come to be used in reference to this game.

Only two goals conceded (one own goal, one on a dubious penalty call). So many different goal scorers, they played like a true team and not as individual stars. After the final, the Azzurri had completed 25 consecutive undefeated games.

The Italian 2006 team was really superb. Team lineup and defense were extraordinary, and they played like world champions.

Surrendered only two goals during the entire World Cup. One in the final game and an own goal in group play.

They played the most entertaining games in the tournament. Gunes was a smart coach.

This was a team growing in confidence. Remember that for a time, they pushed Brazil in the group game and perhaps should have gotten a draw there.

They definitely would have beaten Ukraine in the quarters and then from there, who knows? The World Cup, as always, favors the big teams at the expense of those still making their way. The penalty given against them was one of the most disgraceful calls of the tournament!

Should have won. Lost semifinal on a bad penalty call and were outplaying France until then.

This team had the best players, according to Pele.