List of World Cup winning coaches: Every manager to win the trophy by year

Winning a FIFA World Cup doesn’t just cement a place in history for the players — it does the same for the manager standing on the touchline. Across nearly a century of the tournament, only a select group of coaches have managed to lift the sport’s biggest prize.

The list begins in 1930, when Uruguay’s Alberto Suppici guided the hosts to the inaugural title at Estadio Centenario in Montevideo. Since then, the trophy has been passed between coaches from Europe and South America, mirroring the same two continents that have produced every World Cup-winning nation.

A handful of names appear more than once on the list. Vittorio Pozzo remains the only manager to win back-to-back titles in World Cup history, leading Italy to glory in both 1934 and 1938.

Mario Zagallo also holds a unique distinction, having won the World Cup as a player with Brazil in 1958 and 1962 before doing it again as head coach in 1970. Didier Deschamps matched that same feat with France, winning the title as captain in 1998 before leading Les Bleus to the title again as head coach in 2018.

Didier Deschamps, Manager of France celebrates with the World Cup trophy in 2018. (Getty Images)

More recently, Lionel Scaloni joined this list of champions, guiding Argentina to their third star in 2022 behind the brilliance of Lionel Messi, in what remains the most recent World Cup title before the current 2026 tournament.

see also

Full list of 2026 World Cup coaches and highest-paid managers

Complete list of World Cup winning coaches