The psychiatrist of the Brazilian national team told coach Vicente Viola that Pele, at the age of 17, is not mature enough to compete in the 1958 World Cup. Viola replied, relying on his physiognomy, "You may be right, but you don't know anything about football."

Share the Jewel and lead Seleção to its first ever title, on his way to becoming the "King" of the game.

"If Pele's knee is good, he will play," continued Viola, referring to the injury of the young player in a preparatory match.

The only player to win 3 World Cup titles was content to play the Soviet Union match in the first round, before scoring the only goal of the match in the quarter-final against Wales.

He played a major role in overcoming France in the semi-finals (5-2) with three goals, before shining in the final against Sweden (5-2), scoring two goals.

Youngest Champion

Pele, at the age of 17 years and 249 days, became the youngest player to win the World Cup, and Brazil succeeded in becoming the first country to win the title outside its continent, with a revolutionary 4-2-4 tactical organization instead of the traditional 5-3-2 or 3-4-3 At the time, the coach relied on dynamic play across the wings.

Pele immortalized the number 10, but by mistake.

Because Brazil forgot to send the numbers of its players to the International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA), they were chosen at random.

Goalkeeper Gilmar got the number 3, and the center of the defense Zosimo got the number 9, and by chance, Pele got the number 10, which stuck in the history of the game.

58 years ago today, A 17-year old @Pele scores his first World Cup goal against Wales in the 1958 WC quarter-finals.

pic.twitter.com/vWyBtNDUeA

— The Antique Football (@AntiqueFootball) June 19, 2016

"He shoots left and right," said fitness coach Paulo Amaral.

Edson Arantes do Nascimento (Pelé) spoke of his amazing goal against Wales, his first of 12 goals in a World Cup, saying, "I think it was the most memorable goal of my career."

Wales winger Cliff Jones said: "We didn't know anything about Pele. We focused on Garrincha and Didi. This 17-year-old boy. Who is he? We didn't know. But we found out."

Picasso football

The tournament was also associated with the name Garrincha.

He was a poor boy with a thin body, born with congenital deformities with skewed knees, spine and pelvis.

He called his family day and night so that their son could stand and walk, even in an improper way.

Garrincha challenged the handicap with clever dribbling that made him the most famous right-winger, and was said to be "for football as Picasso of art".

After the final, Sweden captain Nils Liedholm admitted: "We lost the (World Cup) final because of him (Garrincha). He created two incredible goals."

But the "angel with crooked legs" died in 1983 at the age of 49, after his addiction to alcohol and financial suffering.

Remembering Confederação Brasileira de Futebol legend Garrincha who died on this day (20/1) in 1983. The winger helped his country to its first two FIFA World Cup triumphs in 1958 and 1962, was joint top scorer and named player of the tournament at the second.


1/2 pic.twitter.com/cBjr8iveNu

— Fradi Frad Dreizehn 🇭🇺🇩🇪🇬🇷 (@frad_fradi) January 21, 2021

Didi the best

It is true that the 58th World Cup was associated with Pele, Garrincha and the Moroccan-born Frenchman Just Fontaine, the only one who scored 13 goals in one copy after an unexpected participation in place of his injured colleague Rene Bliard, but the best player in the tournament was Didi.

The player, who spent 6 months in a wheelchair at the age of 14 after a violent kick that developed into inflammation that nearly led to the amputation of his leg, successfully reinforced the attacks of strikers Vava, Pele, Garrincha and Zagallo, and then led Brazil 4 years later to their second title.

Se existe um "Dia da Independência" do futebol brasileiro, podemos considerar esse momento aqui.

Brasil x URSS pela Copa de 1958 eo mundo inteiro de queixo caído com um ponta de pernas tortas.

Mané Garrincha em estado puro, junto a Didi, Pelé, Vavá e cia.

Historico!

🖤⚽🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/CRQ2Ejcpo8

— Museu do Fogão 🔥 (@MuseuBFR) September 7, 2022

Become the 'Dry Leaf' expert in falling kicks, Fulia Seca (The Dry Leaf) who inspired the modern shootings of Juninho, Andrea Pirlo and Cristiano Ronaldo.

On the eve of the decisive match with the Soviet Union in the first round, Didi, 30, knocked with veteran Nilton Santos and captain Bellini on coach Viola's door, asking to pay midfielder Zito, to give Didi additional freedom along with the attackers.

The coach agreed, and had it not been for the giant Soviet goalkeeper Lev Yashin, the result would have been much deeper than Vava's two goals.

After receiving an early goal against Sweden in the final, his team-mates were terrified and Mario Zagallo, who took the place of another player afraid of flying, rushed to him, shouting "Faster, we're losing".

"Relax, Zagallo," replied Didi calmly. "We're better than them. We're going to score a lot."

The match ended 5-2 for Brazil in front of about 50 thousand spectators at Rasunda Stadium in Stockholm.

Arabs refuse to confront Israel

There was a great movement in football during the period leading up to the World Cup, as a new club competition appeared in the old continent called the European Cup, and later called the European Champions League, as well as preparations for the European Nations Cup and its counterparts in Asia and Africa.

The 1958 World Cup witnessed a television broadcast for the first time, which evolved in the new version and became a global broadcast.

But Eastern European countries did not receive the signal because they were not ready.

The World Cup was held in Sweden, which was not affected by the Second World War, with the participation of 16 teams, including 12 from Europe, and the Olympic champion the Soviet Union appeared for the first time.

The Arab countries, such as Egypt and Sudan, refused to face Israel in the qualifiers in which 55 countries participated (a record at the time), and other prestigious ones failed to qualify, most notably Italy and Uruguay, which were crowned twice.

The four British teams, namely England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, were registered for the only time.

England was affected by the Munich airport disaster, where a Manchester United club plane collided with a building, killing 8 players 4 months before the World Cup, including 3 key players in the Three Lions team, most notably the rookie player Duncan Edwards, who died of his injuries.

Brazil and France grabbed the spotlight in the first championship without its French founder Jules Rimet, who died two years ago, by winning the first title, and the second for its third, knowing that the nominations were in the interest of the Soviet Union, Sweden, West Germany and Yugoslavia.

On This Day in World Cup History:

Solna, 1958

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Wales 2 (Allchurch 55'; Medwin 76)


🇭🇺 Hungary 1 (Tichy 33')

A John Charles inspired Wales knock out Hungary in a rare group stage playoff.

#Wales #Hungary #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/hVGLX4yuGX

— ThatsLiquidFootball (@ThatsLiquid) June 17, 2018

Hungary collapse

The Hungary team came in completely collapsed due to the flight of most of the players outside the country due to the Soviet invasion. Only a goalkeeper and a defender attended the strong team that swept its opponents in the previous tournament and finished runners-up, in the absence of the likes of Puskas, Kocic and Zibor, who fled to Spain.

Hungary was defeated by Wales in the play-off match in the first round, in light of the execution by the Soviet Union of Hungarian leader Emre Nag days before the match.

The players and fans who raised black flags to mourn his soul were touched.