World Championship 1958 in Sweden: controversy, Czechoslovakia without success, Pelé and Fontaine historical record holders

Sweden hosted the 1958 World Championships and it can be said that this tournament offered a lot in terms of sport. Many records were broken – Pelé became the youngest player to play in a World Cup final at the age of 17, Just Fontaine scored the most goals ever in one tournament (13), and there were 12 host cities – the most in World Cup history. Brazil went for gold, Czechoslovakia finished in the group again.

The 1958 World Championship in Sweden was the sixth World Championship in history, with 16 teams taking part in the tournament and 45 qualifying teams in total. As far as the participants themselves were concerned, they were mainly from the European continent.

Specifically, it was Czechoslovakia, Austria, England, France, Germany, Hungary, Northern Ireland, Scotland, USSR, Sweden, Wales, Yugoslavia. Only four overseas countries – Mexico, Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay – played in the 1958 World Cup in Sweden.

The tournament was played in 12 cities or 12 stadiums, and thanks to this, the 1958 World Cup in Sweden made World Cup history, as Sweden set a record for the number of host cities. Never in the history of the World Cup had so many stadiums been involved in hosting a tournament.

The classic tournament format

FIFA then introduced the classic tournament format for the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, which lasted for quite a long time across other championships. Four groups of four teams and matches “one on one”. The knockout phase was followed by the quarter-finals, semi-finals, finals and the third-place match.

However, there was still a rule of repechage or additional matches. In short, if the fate of the match was not decided in regulation time or in the subsequent extra time, it was a replay.

End of Czechoslovakia in the regular group

The Czechoslovakian national team faced Germany, Northern Ireland and Argentina in Group A and only took 3 points from the group, thanks to a 2-2 draw with Germany and a 6-1 win over Argentina.

This was not enough to qualify, although Czechoslovakia and Northern Ireland had the same number of points. Thanks to a better match (1:0), it was the Czechoslovak opponent who earned promotion from second place. Argentina finished last in the group with 2 points, the winner was Germany with 4 points.

The Swedish fairy tale, the biggest success in history

The host country certainly did not disappoint its fans. Sweden dominated their Group C quite clearly, advancing from first place with five points, leaving Wales, Hungary and Mexico behind.

In the quarter-finals, the Swedes knocked out the Soviet Union 2:0, and they also made it through the semi-final duel with Germany (3:1). The Swedes were only stopped by Brazil in the final, who beat their opponents 5:2.

Although Sweden did not make it through the last decisive match after an amazing championship, the country’s fans can be proud of their national team. The 1958 World Cup was the biggest success in their history, when they won silver medals.

Gold for Brazil

As we have already written above, the gold was won by the Brazilian national team, which also sailed through this championship almost without a problem. It advanced from Group D from first place (5 points, score 5::0), leaving behind the Soviet Union, England and Austria.

In the quarter-finals, the Brazilians faced Wales, which the favourite eventually managed, albeit narrowly 1: 0. The only goal of the match was scored by the then 17-year-old Pelé, who went on to become a key part of the line-up in the knockout stages.

Pelé scored a hat-trick in the semi-final against France, while Vava and Didi also scored one goal each. Brazil defeated the French national team 5-2 and won the final with the same result. Vavá and Pelé scored two more goals in the final.

It should be noted that with this triumph, Brazil won the first gold in its history at the World Cup. An interesting entry in the history of the World Cup was made by Pelé. He played the final match at the age of 17, becoming the youngest player to do so.

Controversy and great records

The 1958 World Cup in Sweden also brought many interesting facts and records. In addition to Pelé, one of them was the French striker Just Fontaine, who scored 13 goals in the tournament and became the record holder for the most goals scored in a single championship.

For more on not only the records, but also the 1958 World Championship in Sweden in general, see our World Championship special attached above.

In addition, however, the championship in Sweden offered quite a few controversies. Turkey, for example, had already withdrawn from qualifying for the World Championship after refusing to be included in the Asian group. The group match between Hungary and Wales was watched by only 2 823 spectators. The reason?

People boycotted the match to express their sympathy for Imre Nagy, the Hungarian prime minister during the Russian invasion in 1956, who had been made redundant the previous day. Again, more on this in our podcast.

But sportingly, the 1958 World Championships in Sweden were once again a success, with many indelible facts and records that have not yet been broken.

1. episode: 1930 World Championship in Uruguay

2. episode: 1934 World Cup in Italy

3. episode:: WSC 1938 in France

4. episode:: World Cup 1950 in Brazil

5. episode:: 1954 World Cup in Switzerland

7. episode:: 1962 World Cup in Chile

8. episode:: World Cup 1966 in England

9. episode:: 1970 World Cup in Mexico

10. episode:: MS 1974 in Germany

Sources: FIFA, ESPN