World Cup 1958 Sweden - Review & History
The first World Cup to receive television coverage provided enthralling entertainment, as Edson Arantes do Nascimento - Pele - burst onto the scene. The 17-year-old lined up alongside Didi and Garrincha as the Samba stars played a bold 4-2-4 formation.
Just Fontaine was exciting in the France attack, netting a World Cup record of 13 goals in six matches. All four home nations qualified for the competition for the first and last time to date, with Northern Ireland eliminating Italy and Wales winning a play-off against Hungary to reach the quarter-finals. They then limited Brazil to just one goal in their defeat in the last eight.
The Munich air disaster earlier in the year had decimated the England side and they failed to get past the first round. Hosts Sweden were the surprise package of the tournament, beating West Germany 3-1 in the semi-final after Erich Juskowiak's 57th-minute dismissal. Pele scored a hat-trick in 23 minutes as Brazil destroyed France 5-2 in the other semi.
In the final, Pele scored the goal of the tournament. With his back to goal, he trapped the ball on the chest, lobbed it over his head, spun the defender and thundered a volley home to make the score 3-1. Two goals from Vava, a Mario Zagallo strike and another from Pele sealed a 5-2 win.
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World Cup 1958 results (Held in Sweden)
Semi-finals
Brazil 5-2 France
Sweden 3-1 West Germany
FINAL - Rasunda, Stockholm
Brazil 5-2 Sweden
TOP SCORER World Cup 1958
Just Fontaine (France) 13
Pele (Brazil) 6
Helmut Rahn (Germany) 6
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