Today in History: Seventeen-year-old Pelé helped Brazil to first World Cup triumph
Pelé was only 17 years of age when he scored two goals in the 1958 FIFA World Cup™ final.
Brazil came into the 1958 tournament as strong favourites and did not disappoint, thrilling the world with their spectacular play, which was often referred to as the ‘beautiful game’.
The star of the tournament was an undersized Brazilian midfielder named Edson Arondes do Nascimento, known the world over as Pelé. Pelé, the son of a professional footballer known as Dodhino, was named after the American inventor, Thomas Edison.
His mother, having watched her husband struggle to earn money in the game, discouraged Pelé from playing football. Pelé’s will won out however, and at 14 he was discovered by de Brito, a former Brazilian team member, who took the young scorer under his wing. Pelé earned his first cap with the national team at 16, and made his debut on the international stage at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden at the age of 17.
In that year’s FIFA World Cup™, Pelé did not make an appearance until Brazil’s third group match against the Soviet Union, in which he set up a goal for Vava. His first goal came only in the quarterfinal against Wales; it was the only goal Brazil scored in a 1–0 win.
It was in the semifinal against France, though, that Pelé truly came into his own. As the crowd at Rasunda Stadium listened to the Sweden vs West Germany game on their radios, Pelé put on a show of offensive brilliance against the second best team in the tournament. He scored three goals from his left side, and left the French team dumbfounded at their inability to contain a 17 year old.
Pelé and Vava would score two goals each in the final on their way to a 5–2 victory over host nation Sweden. Upon receiving the Jules Rimet Cup for the first time, the entire team wept.
You can catch the highlights of all of the goals here:
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