Back-to-back World Cup winners: How Argentina can join Brazil, Italy with a rare FIFA men's repeat

Lionel Messi has the chance to write Argentina's name in the World Cup history books. While that line has become incredibly familiar in recent years, the Argentinians are just one match away from becoming the first men's national soccer team to win back-to-back World Cup titles in more than 60 years.

Since the tournament's inception in 1930, only two countries have managed to win consecutive World Cup titles. In 1934 and 1938, Italy became the first team to complete the World Cup double, followed by Brazil in 1958 and 1962.

If Messi can help Argentina successfully break a 64-year streak, the "Little Boy From Rosario" would have a career-best accolade that would set him somehow even further apart from his fellow current-generation players.

Here's the list of teams Argentina will join if it can win its second-straight World Cup trophy.

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Back-to-back World Cup winners

Throughout World Cup history, there have only been two countries that have won back-to-back trophies. The feat has not happened in 64 years.

Here's a look at both of the teams that were able to pull off the incredible feat:

Italy (1934 and 1938)

Italy became the first country to defend its World Cup title after wins in both 1934 and 1938, the second and third ever tournaments.

After narrowly defeating Austria in the quarterfinals, Italy faced Czechoslovakia in the 1934 final. Czechoslovakian Antonin Puc scored the match's first goal at the 71st minute, and Italy had fallen into trouble. Gli Azzurri did not falter despite the pressure, and a Raimundo Orsi goal pushed the game into extra time. Around five minutes in, Angelo Schiavio scored Italy's winner to deliver the country its first-ever World Cup.

While Italy did play some solid teams in the 1938 knockout stages, they did manage to return to the final game they had played in four years prior. This time, Gli Azzurri used their experience to their advantage in scoring the first goal against Hungary. The Hungarians did equalize off Pau Titkos, but Silvio Piola and Gino Colaussi's doubles were enough to lead Italy back to glory via a 4-2 victory in Paris.

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Brazil (1958 and 1962)

After 20 years, it was Brazil's national team to achieve the World Cup double. Entering the 1958 tournament, Brazil was still vying to win its first tournament. The team had fallen just short at the 1950 edition, and it was time to keep pushing.  

A Selecao reached the 1958 tournament's final and faced off against host nation Sweden. This year's final was also particularly notable due to Pele's first-ever World Cup final. Despite the lack of experience, it was far from evident, as the 17-year-old's double feature on the scoresheet helped propel Brazil to a dominant 5-2 victory over the Swedes.

Shortly after, four years removed from their last hoist of the trophy, Brazil earned its spot back in the final after winning by two goals in both of its previous knockout-stage matches. They faced Czechoslovakia, a team that was back in their first final match since losing to Italy in 1934. Again, the Europeans were able to score first against their opponent, but would blow the lead. The Czech joy from Josef Masopust's 15th-minute goal was short-lived after Amardilo was able to equalize for Brazil just two minutes later. Two second-half goals lifted Brazil to their second-straight title, and are still the latest team to pull off the feat.

Consecutive World Cup finalists who lost

On the opposite side of consecutive victories at the World Cup final stands the unfortunate duo that gathered consecutive defeats. Here is a glimpse at the 12-year span that saw two different teams reach consecutive finals, but drop them both.

Netherlands (1974 and 1978)

The Netherlands became the first team in World Cup history to lose consecutive finals. In 1974, the Dutch squad reached their first-ever World Cup final after defeating Brazil 2-0. The Oranje faced off against West Germany in the final, and actually got the scoring started.

In just the third minute of play, Johan Neeskens converted a penalty kick to put the Netherlands up 1-0 early on. The lead stayed until the 26th minute, when West Germany's Paul Breitner equalized from the spot. Just before halftime, Gerhard Muller put the Germans on top, and the 2-1 lead would be how the match ended in Berlin.

During the 1978 campaign, the Netherlands were able to clinch a spot in their second-straight final after defeating Italy 2-1. This year, the Dutch shared the pitch against Argentina in the final. In the 38th minute, Mario Kempes put La Albiceleste on the board first after scoring from the middle of the Netherlands' box. The Oranje finally equalized in the 82nd minute after Dirk Nanninga headed in a seething cross. In stoppage time, the Dutch had a chance to go ahead after Argentina misplayed a ball, but Rob Rensenbrink's shot that got past Ubaldo Fillol hit the post and back into play. The game headed into extra time, when Argentina scored two more goals that put the game out of reach for the Netherlands. It marked the second consecutive year they had lost to the hosts of the World Cup.

West Germany (1982 and 1986)

While West Germany was able to navigate past the Netherlands in the 1974 World Cup final, it too would be subject to consecutive losses down the line. The misfortune started in 1982 when it faced Italy in the final.

Despite an exciting penalty-shootout win over France to reach the World Cup final, West Germany started the game on a downward note. It allowed not one, not two, but three goals to Italy before getting on the scoresheet. In the 83rd minute, Paul Breitner slotted home West Germany's lone goal of the night as it fell 3-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid.

At the 1986 World Cup final, 114,600 people gathered at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City to watch Argentine star Diego Maradona make his second World Cup final appearance against West Germany. La Albiceleste started the match with two goals (Jose Brown, 23' and Jorge Valdano, 56'). Later in the second half, however, West Germany was able to equalize courtesy of Karl-Heinz Rummenigge in the 74th minute and Rudolf Voller in the 81st. Voller's equalizer lit a spark under the Argentines, and the South American side found the winning goal just three minutes later through Jorge Burruchaga, and West Germany had fallen again.

World Cup winners history

While the World Cup has been played since 1930, there have only been eight different winners. Regardless of the result on Sunday, this statistic will stay the same because both Argentina and Spain have already won a World Cup previously.

Here's a glance through history to see which country has won each edition of the World Cup: