1958 WORLD CUP

SWEDEN 1958

The World Cup in Sweden was momentous for one reason and almost one reason only - a legend was born, both the Brazilian national football team and a certain Edison Arantes do Nascimento (known as Pele to most). He was just 17 when the Brazilians travelled to Sweden, hoping to become the first country to win the World Cup away from their own continent. Pele wasn't even in the team at the outset, only being called in for the last group match against the Soviet Union. And the rest, as they say, is history! The Swedish edition of the World Cup was notable for a variety of reasons. First of all, and most importantly, the tournament settled on a format it would stick with until 1974. Four groups of four teams, with each playing each other once. For the first, and only time, all the home nations qualified - England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland - courtesy of a win against Italy, who failed to qualify for the only time in their history. The Soviet Union also entered for the first time, following the death of Stalin and more acceptable Communist regime. There was also a greater focus on defence than in previus tournaments - no 7-5, 6-1 scorelines here! This was partly due to Brazil's innovative 4-2-4 formation they brought from South America. The tournament also witnessed the first 0-0 draw in World Cup history, between Brazil and England. England, however, would crash out in a play-off with the Soviet Union, badly depleted by the Munich Air Crash a few months earlier. Northern Ireland and Wales kept the home nation flags flying, the Irish qualifying at the expense of Czechoslovakia and the Welsh knocking out Hungary. Although due to mass desertion of their players, this was not the same Hungary who should have won the World Cup in 1954. As I said, the scorelines were much more respectable - except for France 7-3 Paraguay! Although that didn't prevent Just Fontaine being the surprise of the tournament, bagging 13 goals for the French, who ended up finishing third. The knock out stages were hard fought to say the least. Pele scored his first World Cup goal in a narrow 1-0 victory against the Welsh. In their only World Cup appearance to date, Wales certainly didn't disgrace themselves. A solitary Helmut Rahn goal took the champions Germany past Yugoslavia, Fracne thrashed Northern Ireland 4-0, and the hosts continued their impressive run with a 2-0 victory over the Soviet Union. In the semi-finals, there was a veritable glut of goals compared to what had come before! Sweden used home advantage to their advantage, coming from behind to defeat world champions Germany 3-1, and Brazil thrashed France 5-2 thanks to a hat-trick from Pele. Sweden had reached the final through a combination of home advantage, teamwork, and a few great players - Gunnar Gren, Kurt Hamrin and Nils Liedholm all made big names for themselves in Italy. They started the final in whirlwind style, taking the lead through Liedholm after four minutes. But that was as good as it got - the next four goals went to Brazil, two from Vava, one each from Pele and Mario Zagello, who would experience World Cup success from the other side of the touchline in 1970. There was no way back for the hosts, and the eventual 5-2 scoreline reflected Brazil's huge dominance, both in the final and the tournament in general. There would never be a World Cup since where the Brazilians were one of the favourites, and a nation got that winning feeling. And they never let it go.

CONTROVERSY

Despite a better format in this tournament than in previous tournaments, there was still some controversy when it came to deciding who qualified for the quarter-finals. Goal average was introduced by FIFA - but if two teams finished level on points in the final qualifying position, this didn't come into play, and a play-off would ensue. This came into effect in three of the groups. In two of the groups, the team with the better goal average (Hungary and Czechoslovakia) lost out to the team with the worse goal average (Wales and Northern Ireland). It seems a curious rule when it doesn't seem to be used efficiently!

PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT - PELE

No other option really. The player who every potential great is measured against, he is the best the game has ever seen. Despite Lionel Messi's emergence, this fact is likely to remain the case for some time to come. Simply sensational, there was nothing in the game of football that he could not accomplish. He could play as an inside-forward, striker, or as a playmaker. And he was so great, despite never playing in European club football. He played for Santos for the majority of his career. This shows the magnitude of the World Cup. He announced himself on the world stage with the winner against Wales, followed it up with a hat-trick against France in the semis and a double against the hosts in the final. A star was born and his light never went out. Some of his qualities included: his excellent dribbling ability, passing, pace and powerful shot. He was also dressed with exceptional vision. Not half bad then, and he would go on to stamp his mark on another World Cup in 1970!

GOAL OF THE TOURNAMENT - PELE VS SWEDEN

His goal against Wales may have announced his arrival on the world stage, but it was his first goal in the final, which put Brazil 3-1 up and practically clinched the victory, that showed the world how special he was. Ten minutes into the second-half, the ball arrived at Pele's feet in the inside-left position, he chipped the ball over a defender's head before smashing a stunning shot past a bemused Swedish goalkeeper. Absolutely sensational, over in a flash, and the Swedes didn't know what had hit them!

SURPRISE OF THE TOURNAMENT - JUST FONTAINE

It was a huge shock when Fontaine finished top scorer with 13 goals, a total which has not been beaten in a single tournament, and probably never will be. He found the target in all six matches, including a hat-trick against Paraguay and the four in the third/fourth place play-off against deposed champions Germany. Born in Morocco, he only moved to France age 20 to sign for top division club Nice, when he promptly started his international career. Never really a regular, his 13 goals in Sweden constituted almost half of his career international goals tally of 30, in only 21 appearances. He had formed a terrific partnership with Raymond Kopa, who was actually the more highly rated player, and he had signed for giants Real Madrid in 1956, becoming part of their extraordinary success story. But, in the end, it was Fontaine, with his predatory instincts and lethal finishing, who wrote his name into footballing folklore.

HOME NATION PERFORMANCE

I thought it best to finish this section with a brief look at the home nation performance - especially as it was the first (and so far only time) when all four qualified for the same tournament. The two smaller footballing nations qualified for the quarter-finals while the two bigger nations faild to qualify. Wales impressed most, defeating 1954 finalists Hungary in a play-off before narrowly succumbing to a Pele-inspired Brazil. Northern Ireland also qualified, beating Czechoslovakia in their play-off, but they were soundly beaten in their quarter-final with France. England were disappointing in losing their play-off against the Soviet Union. There was no doubting the ability of their opponents, but who knows how far England could have gone if the Munich Air Disaster hadn't happened? It claimed the life of first-teamers Duncan Edwards, Roger Byrne and Tommy Taylor, while survivor Bobby Charlton was deemed not to be fit enough to particpate despite travelling to Sweden. But, to be fair, Northern Ireland were also affected, as the influential Jackie Blanchflower was on board. Although he survived, his young career was cut short at the age of just 24, and he never played football again. Scotland disappointed most - their only point coming in a 1-1 draw with Yugoslavia, which preceded narrow defeats to Paraguay and France. So, no difference there then!