Highlights

• Vittorio Pozzo is the only manager to win the FIFA World Cup twice, achieving an impressive 2.80 points per match.
• Didier Deschamps ranks second with an average of 2.29 points per match, leading France to victory in 2018.
• Franz Beckenbauer holds the third spot, boasting a win rate of 78% as manager for Germany in the World Cup.

Football worldwide has been one of the most popular sports for nearly a century now and there is one competition, in particular, which garners the most attention and popularity. The World Cup is the biggest tournament in football and every four years the best international teams in the world battle to lift the iconic trophy.

Since its inaugural tournament back in 1930, which Uruguay won after defeating Argentina 4-2 in Montevideo, the iconic international trophy has brought drama, intrigue, heartbreak and joy to the nations competing. Some managers perform better than others on the world's most iconic stage. Here, GiveMeSport ranks the top seven managers in the history of the World Cup and where their PPM (points per match) on average across the tournaments ranks up against each other.

7 Joachim Low (Germany)

Coming in at number seven on this list is former Germany manager Joachim Löw. The German manager was credited with rejuvenating the country after a difficult period in the late 1990s and early 2000s. His first World Cup in charge of Die Mannschaft was the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, where he guided his side to a third-place finish after they fell to a 1-0 defeat to Spain in the Semi-final before beating Uruguay 3-2 in the third-place play-off.

It was the 2014 World Cup in Brazil that cemented Low's legacy as a superb international manager, however, when he guided his side to a famous World Cup win, beating Argentina 1-0 in the final thanks to a late Mario Götze goal. Germany's route to the final at the Maracanã Stadium was even more impressive as they beat Portugal 4-0 in the group stage, defeated France 1-0 in the quarter-final and thumped Brazil 7-1 in the semi-final.

His final tournament in charge of the national team was the 2018 World Cup in Russia, but it was a disappointing performance, to say the least, as his side exited at the group stage after defeats to South Korea and Mexico. Nevertheless, Low will most certainly go down as one of the greats. Throughout his tenure as manager, Low achieved 1.95 points per match on average in the World Cup.

6 Helmut Schon

At number six is former West Germany head coach Helmut Schon, who won the World Cup for Germany in 1974 after he came runner-up in 1966 losing to Sir Alf Ramsey's England at Wembley Stadium. Schon was appointed manager of the national team in 1964 and was another revolutionary figure for Germany after decades of being out in the wilderness as an international team.

Across the four World Cups he managed for Germany, he reached the final on two occasions (winning once) and guided his side to a third-place play-off victory in 1970. Schon was later credited for the development of iconic centre-back Franz Beckenbauer as well as giving chances to Gerd Müller, Wolfgang Overath, Jupp Heynckes and the goalkeeper Sepp Maier, who was injured for the final against England.

Schon consistently guided Germany to the latter stages of every World Cup competition he was a part of and later won the European Championships in 1972 and has to go down as one of the best international managers ever. Schon's points per match average was very impressive for Germany, standing at 2.10 points per match across the four World Cups he was involved in.

5 Mario Zagallo

At number five is former Brazil coach Mario Zagallo. Zagallo, as a player, had a superb record in the competition, which included two victories for Brazil, but as a manager, he was also superb, guiding Brazil to tournament victory in the 1970 World Cup. Zagallo brought tactical discipline to his national team but without stifling the attacking talent, with the likes of Pele and Jairzinho excelling for the South American side.

“To lead my country to a victory in the World Cup, and to play the football we did … That was such an honour, such a privilege," Zagallo told The Guardian. As well as this, Zagallo, after leaving his role as manager after the 1974 World Cup before returning to the Brazil national team, guided his side to another final in 1998. This time they faced France but were handsomely beaten 3-0.

To take such a long break from international football and then come back into the pressure cooker of an environment that is the World Cup is some feat from Zagallo, who passed away at the age of 93.

4 Carlos Bilardo

Number four on our list is Carlos Bilardo, who managed Argentina and reached two World Cup finals for the South American side. With Diego Maradona being a key man for Argentina, they beat Germany in the final of the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico. With an attendance of 114,000 people, Maradona played the key pass to Jorge Burruchaga to win the iconic tournament for Argentina and Bilardo's tactics were key in that superb run to the final.

However, Germany had their revenge four years later when they beat Bilardo's side 1-0 in the 1990 World Cup final. Unlike the other managers on this list, Bilardo had a low win percentage for Argentina across all competitions at just 35%, but in the World Cup competitions, Bilardo's win rate jumped to 71%. Bilardo joins an illustrious list of managers who have won the World Cup and reached the final, and he deserves a spot on our list.

3 Franz Beckenbauer

At number three is another manager who has reached the final of the FIFA World Cup twice for West Germany and that is Franz Beckenbauer. The former defender guided his national team to victory in 1990, beating Argentina 1-0 in the final. Die Mannschaft also beat England in the semi-final and the Netherlands in the knockout stages.

This victory in 1990 came four years after Beckenbauer had guided Germany to a final at the 1986 World Cup, his side suffered a 3-2 defeat to Maradona's Argentina, but the German exacted his revenge on the South American side. Beckenbauer, one of the greatest defenders in the history of football, managed 66 games for Germany but won just 36 of those games.

Despite this, his record in the World Cup for Germany was much more impressive, with Beckenbauer's win rate for the iconic competition coming in at a very strong 78%.

2 Didier Deschamps

Coming in at number two is the current France manager, Didier Deschamps. Deschamps simply has to go down as one of the greatest international managers ever with his longevity, as well as his consistency in the World Cup a big factor. The former midfielder was appointed manager of Les Blues back in the summer of 2012 and took charge of his first World Cup in 2014.

It was a mixed bag for France as they were eliminated at the quarter-final stage by Germany thanks to a Mats Hummels header. However, it was the 2018 and 2022 World Cups that have to cement his place as an iconic international manager. In the World Cup in Russia, Deschamps, inspired by superb performances from Kylian Mbappe, Paul Pogba and N'Golo Kante, guided his side to glory, beating Croatia 4-2 in the Final after coming through tough tests against Argentina (4-3 win) and Belgium (1-0 win).

In the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, France reached the final of the competition again before losing on penalties to Argentina after an enthralling final against the South American side. Similar to the other managers on this list, Deschamps has been very consistent in the World Cup and is surely set to take charge for his fourth World Cup competition in the 2026 tournament in North America.

As well as Deschamps' World Cup success, the French boss has a good record in the European Championships too and was perhaps a tad unfortunate to not win the competition during the tournament in 2016, where they lost 1-0 to Portugal in the final after extra time.

Across his three World Cup tournaments as manager of the French national team, Deschamps accumulated 2.28 points per match on average, which is a very impressive statistic.

1 Vittorio Pozzo

Coming in at number one is Vittorio Pozzo who remains the only manager in the history of the FIFA World Cup who has won the competition twice. Pozzo may well not be a household name when it comes to iconic figures from the tournament's 94-year history, but he really should be.

Unlike some of the other names who have excelled as a manager in the World Cup, Pozzo did not have a glittering playing career as he featured for Swiss side Grasshoppers and helped to form Italian side Torino before hanging up his boots at the age of 24. Pozzo guided Italy, who were certainly not considered the footballing powerhouses that they are nowadays, to World Cup glory in 1934, beating Czechoslovakia 2-1 in the final.

Having only played their first international match in 1912, just over two decades later, Italy were lifting the World Cup trophy for the first time and then, just four years later, Pozzo and his team would incredibly repeat the trick. This run to the final for Italy was arguably more difficult for Pozzo and his team this time around as they had to defeat Norway, the hosts France and Brazil on their way to the final against Hungary.

In that final at the Stade Olympique de Colombes stadium, which is located in Paris, Italy beat Hungary 4–2 thanks to two goals from Silvio Piola on their way to a famous victory in front of 45,000 fans in Paris. Pozzo only managed nine games for the Italian national team but won eight of them, with their only draw coming against Spain in the quarter-final before they won the replay 1-0.

Pozzo may well not be a household name in international management, but the Italian remains the only boss in history to win the World Cup on two occasions in consecutive tournaments.

Statistics used courtesy of Transfermarkt.