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World Cup 1958




Qualifying rounds

GROUP A
Northern Ireland
Czechoslovakia
West Germany
Argentina

GROUP B
Yugoslavia
Scotland
France
Paraguay

GROUP C
Sweden
Mexico
Hungary
Wales

GROUP D
Brazil
Austria
England
Soviet Union


 


QUARTERFINALS
1
0
West Germany
Yugoslavia
2
0
Sweden
Soviet Union
4
0
France
Northern Ireland
1
0
Brazil
Wales
SEMIFINALS
3
1
Sweden
West Germany
5
2
Brazil
France

BRONZEMATCH
6
3
France
West Germany
FINAL
5
2
Brazil
Sweden

 
PELÉ MAKES HIS ENTRANCE





     The World Cup stayed in Europe. Sweden hosted it and for the first time, the tournament received international television coverage. None was to be disappointed as the tournament turned out to be the best so far. The format of the competition changed yet again. The 16 teams were split into four groups as in 1954, but now all the teams in the group played eachother. If teams tied for second and third place, the outcome was decided by a play-off. Thankfully, extra-time was not played in pool matches this time. The top two of each group progressed to the quarterfinals, and from then on it was knock-out competition. The teams were not seeded as in 1954, but each of the four groups contained one team from Western Europe, one from Eastern Europe, one from the United Kingdom and one from Latin America. England found themselves in a nightmare group with Brazil, Russia and 1954 bronze medalists, Austria. Hungary were no longer the force they were four years earlier. Leading players like Puskas, Kocsis and Czibor all left the country in 1956 when the Soviet Union invaded their country. The Soviets, on the other hand, entered the World Cup for their first time and were installed as one of the favourites. 

     This World Cup saw the emergence of the great Pelé. Brazil started the tournament without him though, but he was brought into the side after Brazil's match against England which ended 0-0. That was by the way the first ever goalless draw in a World Cup match! Brazil were the clear favourites to win the World Cup. they brought with them the innovative 4-2-4 system. It didn't take long until the rest of the soccer world employed the same formation. 

     Remarkable was the way Frenchman Juste Fontaine banged in goals.  France scored 11 goals in the groupstage and qualified easily for the quarterfinals. Host nation Sweden qualified as did Wales from their group. Four British teams participated in this cup, and few would have expected that the two qualifying for the quarterfinals were Northern Ireland and Wales. England disappointingly and Scotland had to book the earliest possible flight home.

     The quarterfinals saw no surprises, the Germans predictably knocked out Yugoslavia, the hosts eliminated the Soviets, France with a sparkling Fontaine trashed a brave Irish team, while Pelé scored his first ever World Cup goal when Brazil beat Wales by a single goal.

     It was goals galore in the latest stage of the cup. The last four games in the cup saw 27 goals! Sweden beat West Germany in a tight semifinal, when the Germans were one man short the last 30 mins. Brazil finally stopped Fontaine & Co when Pelé scored a superb hat-trick in the 5-2 win. Fontaine added 4 more goals in the Bronzematch to take his tally to 13, the highest ever in World Cup history. Pelé and Brazil went on to beat the hosts in the final by 5-2. Read more about that match under the "Final" link in the left column.
 
 

TOPSCORERS Just Fontaine (FRA) 13 goals Pelé (BRA) 6 goals Helmut Rahn (GER) 6 goals Peter McParland (NIR) 5 goals Vava (BRA) 5 goals OTHER STATISTICS Number of games 35 Total Goals scored 126 Average per game 3,60 Expulsions 3 Own goals 1 Total attendance 868,000 Average attendance 24,800 WORLD CUP 1958 STANDINGS P W D L Goals Pts 1.Brazil C 6 5 1 0 16- 4 11 2.Sweden F 6 4 1 1 12- 7 9 3.France SF 6 4 0 2 23-15 8 4.West Germany SF 6 2 2 2 12-14 6 5.Yugoslavia QF 4 1 2 1 7- 7 4 6.Wales QF 5* 1 3 1 4- 4 5 7.Soviet Union QF 5* 2 1 2 5- 6 5 8.North. Ireland QF 5* 2 1 2 6-10 5 9.Czechoslovakia 1R 4* 1 1 2 9- 6 3 10.Hungary 1R 4* 1 1 2 7- 5 3 11.England 1R 4* 0 3 1 4- 5 3 12.Paraguay 1R 3 1 1 1 9-12 3 13.Argentina 1R 3 1 0 2 5-10 2 14.Scotland 1R 3 0 1 2 4- 6 1 15.Austria 1R 3 0 1 2 2- 7 1 16.Mexico 1R 3 0 1 2 1- 8 1 * These teams needed play-offs to get out of the group stage. They all had 3 pts in their respective groups. Yugoslavia had 4 and is therefore above them in the standings. The points obtained in the play-off matches do not count on the table. *The pointsystem used from 1930 to 1990 was 2 pts for a win and 1 pt for a draw.

Qualifying Competition 1958

Everything about the route to this World Cup

 

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Pelé - took the world by surprise as a virtually unknown 17 year old. He played in Brazil's last four matches and scored 6 goals, two of them in the final.



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