Tournament · 1958 · champions
FIFA World Cup 1958
Brazil's first World Cup title, won in Sweden, where a 17-year-old Pelé scored six goals in four matches.
The sixth World Cup was played in Sweden from 8 to 29 June 1958. Brazil, coached by Vicente Feola, had never won the tournament.
Pelé arrived with a knee injury and missed the first two matches, a 3–0 win over Austria and a 0–0 draw with England. He came into the side for the last group game, against the Soviet Union, alongside Garrincha. Brazil won 2–0.
In the quarter-final against Wales he scored the only goal, at 17 years and 239 days, then the youngest scorer in World Cup history. In the semi-final he scored three second-half goals as Brazil beat France 5–2. In the final he scored twice more in a 5–2 win over the hosts.
He finished with six goals in four matches and was named the tournament's best young player. Brazil became the first team to win a World Cup outside its own continent. After Sweden, the Brazilian press began calling him O Rei, the King.
The tournament also made Garrincha and Didi famous, and Didi was named its best player. Just Fontaine of France scored 13 goals, still a record for one World Cup. The 1958 final remains the highest-scoring World Cup final, and Sweden the only host nation to lose one.
His matches in it
The country it was held in
The team he played for in it
The chapters it appears in
The honours it brought
Questions this answers
How many World Cups did Pelé win?
Pelé won three World Cups, in 1958, 1962 and 1970, and is the only player to have done so. He played in four, also appearing in 1966, and scored 12 goals in 14 World Cup matches.