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1958 World Cup

1958 FIFA World Cup
Världsmästerskapet i Fotboll
Sverige 1958
WorldCup1958logo.jpg
1958 FIFA World Cup official logo
Tournament details
Host country Sweden
Dates 8–29 June (22 days)
Teams 16 (from 3 confederations)
Venue(s) 12 (in 12 host cities)
Final positions
Champions  Brazil (1st title)
Runners-up  Sweden
Third place  France
Fourth place  West Germany
Tournament statistics
Matches played 35
Goals scored 126 (3.6 per match)
Attendance 819,810 (23,423 per match)
Top scorer(s) France Just Fontaine (13 goals)
Best young player Brazil Pelé
1954
1962

The 1958 FIFA World Cup, the sixth staging of the World Cup, was hosted by Sweden from 8 to 29 June. The tournament was won by Brazil, who beat Sweden 5–2 in the final for their first title. The tournament is also notable for marking the debut on the world stage of a then largely unknown 17-year-old Pelé.

Argentina, Chile, Mexico, and Sweden expressed interest in hosting the tournament. Swedish delegates lobbied other countries at the FIFA Congress held in Rio de Janeiro around the opening of the 1950 World Cup finals. Sweden was awarded the 1958 tournament unopposed on 23 June 1950.

The hosts (Sweden) and the defending champions (West Germany) qualified automatically. Of the remaining 14 places, nine were allocated to Europe, three to South America, one to North/Central America, and one to Asia/Africa.

This World Cup saw the entry and qualification of the Soviet Union for the first time, and the only qualification of all the United Kingdom's Home Nations: England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

Aside from the main European zone matches, Wales, which finished second in its group behind Czechoslovakia, was drawn into a play-off with Israel after Israel won its group by default because its three opponents, Turkey, Indonesia and Sudan, refused to play. FIFA had imposed a rule that no team would qualify without playing at least one match, something that had happened in several previous World Cups. Wales won the play-off and qualified.


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