A special Sports 5 review examined which national teams have most often met eventual World Cup winners in the tournament’s group stage. Looking back through every World Cup group phase, the report found that 32 different teams have stood in the way of future champions on their path to the trophy.
Two teams share the top spot, Mexico and the Czech Republic, each appearing three times against eventual winners. Mexico, a long-standing World Cup presence and the country that has hosted the tournament the most times, faced Brazil en route to its 1962 title and England four years later, before meeting another future champion again in the previous World Cup, when it lost 2-0 to Argentina.
The Czech Republic is described as a kind of lucky charm for Brazil, which met Czechoslovakia twice on the way to World Cup titles, in 1962 and 1970. Its last encounter with a future champion came in 2006, when it lost 2-0 to Italy in the final group-stage match.
Beyond those two teams, the article says 15 other national teams have faced a future champion in the group stage. Among them, the biggest names are England, France and Italy, all of which have also won the World Cup themselves.
