World Cup Qatar 2022: Ranking ALL 15 of the previous mascots

It wouldn't be a World Cup without a mascot on hand to help make the tournament a bit more colourful and fun outside the blood and thunder of the competition.

They haven't always been successful over the years though, and that includes the latest announced for Qatar, with La'eeb the ghutra dividing supporters.

But where does La'eeb feature on a list that includes a set of Italian blocks, a Mexican pepper with a sombrero and of course the English star who started it all? Sportsmail ranks every single World Cup mascot from down the years.

15. Ato, Kaz, and Nik (Korea/Japan, 2002)

There was lots of great things about the 2002 World Cup - these three certainly were not among them. Having three mascots in general seemed excessive and the fact they needed a backstory about a being involved in a team names 'The Spheriks' to make them vaguely interesting was just eye rolling stuff.

To many they were just three aliens looking out of place. A good sign of a successful World Cup mascot is if many still remember their name years later. Sadly for these three barely anyone knew (or cared about) their names even during the tournament.

14. Juanito (Mexico, 1970)

It's a classic World Cup, with one of the most famous finals of the lot as Pele's last dance saw his all-star Brazil side defeat Italy 4-1 in the final.

But who remembers the mascot from the tournament? No surprises if you don't - it wasn't exactly inspiring stuff.

A kid called Juanito with a sombrero wearing a Mexican kit and a football on hand helped fill the task.

It really wouldn't have been a surprise if they had only thought of the idea on the eve of the tournament.

13. Gauchito (Argentina, 1978)

There's very little in it choosing who should rank higher out of Gauchito and Juanito, because in terms of concepts they are totally identical mascots.

Gauchito gets the very slight nod though, Juanito should have been a little bit more famous given the popularity of the World Cup competition he came from, Gauchito didn't have the same opportunity eight years later in one of the very few 20th century tournaments not to feature either Germany or Brazil in the final.

12. Tip and Tap (West Germany, 1974)

Seeing a 1970s pattern here? A truly bad era for mascots. West Germany though at least tried something different with their human based versions by having a double act with a football related nickname. It's at least a good start for a pitch.

But  it still just doesn't quite grab the imagination - not helped by the duo just looking like a couple of gormless buffoons. The tournament itself though did provide a better unique concept as being the first to feature the current World Cup trophy after Brazil were given the original Jules Rimet prize to keep after winning it three times.

11. La'eeb (Qatar, 2022)

At least some imagination was used by it not being a human, and there is noticeable cultural significance in that La'eeb takes the form of the popular headdress of the region, the ghutra.

Sadly though, La'eeb still looks quite bland and in some aspects looks just like a ghost the way it hovers and flies everywhere. Swing and a miss I'm afraid.

10. Naranjito (Spain, 1982)

Spain at least got the imagination ball rolling once again after a series of human mascots, with Naranjito. Granted, it was still based on a character wearing a football kit holding a football, but at least they had the idea to turn it into an orange first.

It was a more cartoon based mascot, but it does lose marks for how ridiculous it looked when it was brought to life during the tournament, with the human limbs sticking out of a big orange suit. It looked like it had dropped out from the sky on to some poor unfortunate soul.

9. Striker (USA, 1994)

We are starting to get into the realms of the serious mascots now - unless that is an oxymoron for this subject.

Striker was a good concept for a 'World Cup goes to America' episode. As a happy looking dog its design had a clear appeal to a younger audience and it perhaps doesn't get as much as love as it should do.

USA '94 not being a classic perhaps hindered Striker, especially with the tournament having the first goalless final and being bookended by missed penalties from Diana Ross and Roberto Baggio. We are still debating now which was worse.

8. Goleo VI and Pille (Germany, 2006)

Whether by design or chance, there is a deserved nod to Germany for embracing the double act partnership they had attempted with Tip and Tip 32 years prior - although they perhaps tried too hard with the name this time.

Marks are handed out for its execution with the giant lion Goleo (combining goal and the latin word for lion, leo). What's the six? It could be taken for being the 2006 World Cup, but we think Germany may have based him on the shirt number Franz Beckenbauer, who was the World Cup winning captain in 1974, wore and who helped bring the finals back to the country.

So who is the double act? Pille, the football Goleo carries of course. Pele appeared to love him and that's good enough for us.

7. Fuleco (Brazil, 2014)

Fuleco ticks many of the boxes for a World Cup mascot. Colourful, appealing and as a three banded armadillo carried significant cultural importance.

The species had suffered a sharp decrease in population in Brazil and its usage to highlight awareness of its plight as well as Brazil's wildlife diversity was excellently played, unlike the host nation in that infamous Germany semi-final.

The reason he is so low on the list is because at least among the British audience, the adopted mascot was probably ITV's theme song for the tournament that constantly repeated 'Brazil'. Still catchy now. Go on, dig it out and have a listen. You'll be singing it all day.

6. Zakumi (South Africa, 2010)

Africa's first World Cup is not fondly remembered for a variety of reasons. Not least because of a curious case of many of the games being forgettable dross and also featuring one of the worst footballs of all time with that damn swerving Jabulani.

They did get one thing right though - the mascot. Zakumi was a colourful happy looking leopard that carried wide appeal and was just about one of the only positive things we can remember about the tournament.

5. Zabivaka (Russia, 2018)

The last World Cup was one of the best in the modern era thanks to some excellent matches and shocks throughout the tournament. It's also helped perhaps because of the low expectations of how Russia could successfully stage the tournament heading into it.

The unveiling of Zabivaka was a good omen for the competition though. The name combined the Russian words of 'wolf' and 'to strike' and he featured in a kit made of the national colours and cool looking glasses. Zabi was a favourite throughout the World Cup and seemed to find a camera if one couldn't find him. Only past favourites and their long lasting legacy keeps him from being higher in this list.

4. Pique (Mexico, 1986)

Lessons were learned in Mexico across 16 years. Out with Juanito and in with Pique as one of the most popular mascots of all time.

Granted it's still a slight template of Juanito, but it's also a jalapeno pepper with a moustache and a sombrero. Ridiculous concept and yet it was also flawless.

Sometimes you just have to let the imagination run wild and he has lasted as a fitting symbol to one of the most crazy, wildly entertaining and best ever World Cups.

3. World Cup Willie (England, 1966)

World Cup mascots all started here and England nailed the template of a successful one right off the bat with what could be argued as their 'fourth' lion in World Cup Willie - so ahead of his time that he wore gold boots decades before anyone else did.

You may have questions. Namely the use of a Union Flag for the kit in a tournament held exclusively in England where they were the only Home Nation that qualified. Different times back then, it was in fact rare to see a flag of St George in 1966 in a formal setting. Watch any England game from the tournament and they all feature just Union Flags in the crowd.

But World Cup Willie helped spread the fever of the tournament and given every finals since has had a mascot - it's proof he was an instant hit.

2. Ciao (Italy, 1990)

You won't see Italia '90 top many lists of World Cup greats. It wasn't a brilliant tournament and was so defensive it was seen as a catalyst for abolishing the backpass rule.

But Ciao somehow turned into a cultural icon for football fans and was everywhere from car stickers to small-sized footballs. And yet all he was was a load of blocks in Italian colours with a football as a head - unique at the very least... yet it just worked.

Maybe the craziness of it all was part of the fun. If anything Ciao is more popular now than he was then, but that perhaps helps his high ranking in the list.

1. Footix (France, 1998)

That we still haven't stopped talking about Footix in the world of mascots (if that is a thing) is testament to his success in promoting football and the World Cup in general.

Honestly, his initial appeal is the same as any others high up on the list. The cockerel is a national symbol of France and was an easy choice to pick.

But his simple and cheery design was perfect and his visual appeal came during an era when mascots started to gain more exposure. You can't avoid him in the World Cup '98 video game for instance. He is flying around everywhere in menu and loading screens.

Footix has crucially also stood the test of time and he remains so popular, the mascot for the women's World Cup in 2019 held in France was marketed as his daughter!