Historic Rivalries

The greatest World Cup rivalries of all time, ranked by a composite score that accounts for frequency, competitive balance, knockout-stage encounters, and drama.

#	Rivalry	Score	Meetings	Record	KO	Goals
1.	ArgentinavsNetherlands6×	84	6	1–3–2	4	6–9
2.	FrancevsItaly5×	70	5	1–2–2	4	5–6
3.	BrazilvsItaly5×	70	5	2–1–2	4	9–7
4.	BrazilvsFrance4×	66	4	1–1–2	4	6–7
5.	EnglandvsWest Germany4×	64	4	1–2–1	3	7–6
6.	BrazilvsNetherlands5×	63	5	1–1–3	4	5–10
7.	ArgentinavsFrance4×	57	4	2–1–1	2	9–8
8.	BrazilvsSweden7×	54	7	5–2–0	3	21–8
9.	FrancevsWest Germany3×	54	3	1–1–1	3	9–8
10.	ArgentinavsEngland5×	51	5	1–1–3	3	5–8
11.	BrazilvsGermany2×	51	2	1–0–1	2	3–7
12.	ArgentinavsGermany3×	51	3	0–1–2	3	1–6
13.	BrazilvsCzechoslovakia5×	50	5	3–2–0	3	10–4
14.	ArgentinavsWest Germany4×	50	4	1–1–2	2	4–6
15.	BrazilvsChile4×	49	4	3–1–0	4	12–4
16.	EnglandvsPortugal3×	49	3	1–1–1	2	2–2
17.	BelgiumvsEngland4×	47	4	2–1–1	2	7–5
18.	FrancevsUruguay4×	45	4	1–2–1	1	3–2
19.	FrancevsPoland2×	45	2	1–0–1	2	5–4
20.	ItalyvsWest Germany4×	44	4	2–2–0	2	7–4
21.	BelgiumvsBrazil2×	44	2	1–0–1	2	2–3
22.	West GermanyvsYugoslavia5×	43	5	4–0–1	3	9–2
23.	NetherlandsvsSpain2×	43	2	1–0–1	1	5–2
24.	ArgentinavsUruguay2×	42	2	1–0–1	2	3–4
25.	ArgentinavsBelgium3×	42	3	2–0–1	2	3–1
26.	MoroccovsSpain2×	42	2	0–2–0	1	2–2
27.	GermanyvsSpain3×	40	3	0–2–1	1	2–3
28.	ArgentinavsCroatia3×	40	3	2–0–1	1	4–3
29.	CroatiavsJapan3×	39	3	1–2–0	1	2–1
30.	PortugalvsUruguay2×	39	2	1–0–1	1	3–2

Score = matchFrequency(24) + balance(18) + knockout(25) + prestige(14) + recency(10) + drama(9) · max 100