In total, over 100 individuals have managed a team in at least one match in the World Cup. Even Pellerud is the manager who has taken part in the most editions of the tournament, five from 1991 to 2015. Pellerud also holds the records for both most matches managed (25) and most matches won (16).[1]
Eight managers have won the World Cup, with Jill Ellis being the only one to do so twice, in 2015 and 2019 with United States.[2] The first person who had the roles of both a player and a manager in the tournament is April Heinrichs, who played for United States in 1991 and then coached them in 2003.[3]
The youngest manager to appear in the competition is Vanessa Arauz, who managed Ecuador at age 26 in 2015, while the oldest is Mai Đức Chung, who was in charge of Vietnam at age 72 in 2023.[4]
While many of the participating nations have on one or more occasions employed foreign managers for the World Cup, the three teams with the most appearances, Germany, Japan, and Sweden have always been led by natives. On the other side of the spectrum, New Zealand is the team with the most participations always coached by foreigners – five, always with managers coming from United Kingdom.[5]
Key: T – tournaments appeared in; N – different nations managed; M – matches; W – wins; D – draws; L – losses.
As per statistical convention in football, matches decided in extra time are counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by penalty shoot-outs are counted as draws.
Norway
Scotland
Sweden
Mexico
England
Germany
Argentina
Denmark
Japan
United States
Russia
North Korea
Thailand
Brazil
South Korea
Australia
Costa Rica
Italy
South Africa
Spain
Netherlands
