Brazilian Pele died Thursday at the age of 82, after a career during which he became one of the greatest players in football history, if not the greatest of all.
The Brazilian legend is still the only player to lift the World Cup 3 times (1958, 1962, and 1970), and write his name in the finals with 12 goals.
The following are the most important 5 stations, including:
1958 quarter-finals
In the 1958 edition hosted by Sweden, Brazil met in the quarter-finals of the then-strong Wales team, led by John Charles, in a match that took place on June 19 in Gothenburg.
At the age of 17, Pele then became the youngest player ever to participate in the World Cup, in the last match in the first round against the former Soviet Union.
Run it back to the 1958 World Cup.
When Pelé confirmed his status as the best player in the world.
He scored the winner against Wales in the quarter-final, a hat-trick against France in the semi-final, and two against Sweden, the hosts, in the final.
He was just 17 years old.
🐐🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/Y3KrW5qbkt
— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Football__Tweet) March 11, 2021
The dark-skinned teenager gave his country a 1-0 victory, after providing in the 66th minute one of the glimpses that will enrich the world football record for the coming years.
He tamed the ball inside the penalty area with his chest, before brilliantly dribbled a Welsh defender, and shot into the lower right corner of the goal.
The goal sparked the cheers of the fans in the stadium, and prompted photographers to enter the penalty area to capture the moments of emotional celebration of the Brazilian national team players inside the goal, by scoring their young colleague his first goal in the World Cup.
1958 semi-final
Pele was not late in establishing his emerging talent and showing glimpses again in the Swedish World Cup itself, this time against the French team in the semi-finals on June 24 in Stockholm.
Brazil finished the first half, leading 2-1 over the "Roosters", which included in its ranks one of the most prominent French football scorers, Just Fontaine.
Pele, the king of football 👑
His first couple of years at Santos earned him a call-up to Brazil's World Cup squad in 1958. He scored the crucial winner against Wales in the quarter-final, 3 against France in the semi, and 2 in the final against Sweden. .com/ZLcE0S7DX5
— The Brazilian Report (@BrazilianReport) December 29, 2022
Pele printed the second half with his skill, and scored 3 "hat-trick" goals that gave Brazil a victory (5-2) and passage to the final match.
His first goal came in the 52nd minute, after a mistake by French goalkeeper Claude Abes in clearing the ball, to follow it easily into the empty goal.
The second goal (64) came with a powerful shot from inside the area after a defensive error.
And Pele completed in the 75th minute his only "hat-trick" in the World Cup finals, when he brilliantly tamed his right foot at the edge of the penalty area, a cross pass from his colleague Garrincha, and hit it powerfully in the lower right corner of the French goal.
1958 final
On June 29 in the Swedish capital, Pele wrote his name in the historical records of the World Cup, as he became the first teenager to score a goal in the final match, in a unique achievement for 60 years, before young French striker Kylian Mbappe matched him in the 2018 World Cup final in Russia, by scoring A goal in his country's 4-2 victory over Croatia.
17-year-old Pelé scored this wonder goal in the 1958 World Cup Final!
💔👑🕊️pic.twitter.com/20x1OYopJD
— Football Report 🕊☮️🌍🌎🌏 #BerhalterOut (@FootballReprt) December 29, 2022
In the 1958 final, Pele secured his country the result of the match and the first World Cup title in its history, by scoring the fourth and fifth goals (55 and 90) in a broad victory, 5-2.
The first came with a wonderful individual skill from the Brazilian jewel, as he uncensored two defenders inside the penalty area, by taming he got rid of the first, and dribbling and raising the ball high allowed him to escape from the second, before he hit an air ball to the right of goalkeeper Calais Svensson.
After this goal, which remains one of the most beautiful in the history of the final matches, Pele added the second with a header in the same corner in the fatal seconds of the match, before he shed tears profusely after his country won the title and lifted the Gold Cup.
Group stage 1970
Pele returned to the 1970 Mexico World Cup, wanting to prove a lot, after his injury in the second match of the 1962 World Cup in Chile, his absence from the rest of the title-winning path, and his country's exit from the group stage in the England 1966 World Cup.
At the age of 29, Pele had become the undisputed star of his era, and he participated alongside a squad considered one of the best in the history of the Seleçao.
His first goal in the Mexican World Cup opened the scoring for his country in the third and final match in the first round against Romania (3-2), on the tenth of June in Guadalajara, with a direct free kick that hit the Romanian net strongly.
1970 final
As he did against Romania, Pele opened the scoring against Italy in the final on 21 June at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.
Rivelino lifted the ball high from the left side of the penalty area after a free throw in favor of the Brazilian national team. Pele rose to it from above an Italian defender, and turned it powerfully with his head to the left of Italian goalkeeper Enrico Albertosi (18).
45 years ago today: The 1970 World Cup final
Brazil 4-1 Italy
And iconic images of @Pele were captured for all time pic.twitter.com/fKAD0supa9
— B/R Football (@brfootball) June 21, 2015
Although Italy equalized in the 37th minute through Roberto Bonincinha, the Brazilian national team added 3 goals in the second half of the match through Gerson, Jairzinho and Carlos Alberto (the latter with an assist from Pele), to win his third world title at the time, and wait until 1994 to decorate the national team’s shirt. The national team won the fourth golden star, by defeating Italy in a penalty shootout in the World Cup final in the United States, led by a new generation in which Romario, Bebeto, Dunga and goalkeeper Claudio Taffarel emerged.