Podcast Episode 6: Sweden 1958 England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland make it to the world cup for the only time
in
history.
A 17 year-old Brazilian changes football forever. And one country’s heartbreak begins to fade into memory.
This is the birth of a legend. And it all happened in Sweden… in 1958.
Welcome to The World Cup Files! Are you ready to travel back in time and relive the greatest moments in football history? From dramatic finals to unbelievable goals, each episode tells the story of one World Cup — the
heroes,
the
villains,
and
the
moments
no
one
saw
coming.
So grab your boots… it’s time to kick off our journey through the World Cup! I’m Aileen, and this is The World Cup Files. Remember Brazil in 1950? The greatest stadium on earth. A trophy almost engraved before the final’s opening whistle
was
blown.
And the silence and pain of the disappointment that followed. Brazil hadn't forgotten. Brazil never would. Four years on, they'd gone to Switzerland to prove the Maracanazo was a fluke. They'd shown
brilliance
and
flair.
But they'd left without the trophy, knocked out in a quarter-final remembered more for its incredible
violence
than
the
quality
of
its
football.
Now it was 1958. The World Cup had moved to Sweden. Calm, organised, precise Sweden.
And Brazil came carrying something heavy. Not just the luggage they’d need to see them
through
the
tournament.
They came carrying a chip on their shoulder - one as big as the Maracanã itself. They had something to prove. And they might just have found the perfect stage to do it. Welcome to File Six. Sweden, 1958. Where the greatest footballer who ever lived introduced
himself
to
the
world.
LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT THE KEY FACTS [Slightly clipped voice, like reading a dossier] 16 teams. 35 matches. 126 goals. Top scorer: Just Fontaine of France with 13 goals. A record that still stands. And the winner? Brazil. Beating Sweden 5 goals to 2 in the final. THE CONTENDERS Some familiar faces were missing following shockers in the qualifying rounds. Uruguay and Italy – the only teams to have won the championship twice — had failed to qualify.
They’d failed to win a place! That kind of thing sends a message that we’ve heard in previous World Cups: nobody is untouchable.
For the first time ever, all four British nations had qualified. England, Scotland, Wales and
Northern
Ireland
would
be
competing
for
the
first
time.
And
–
spoiler
alert
–
this
wouldn’t
happen
again
for
a
very
long
time.
We’re actually still waiting for a repeat. Gone were the days of their insistence that the British Home Championship was the only
international
football
tournament
that
really
mattered.
They’d watched on as the World Cup had grown with an increasing hunger to take a bite.
Now,
finally,
they
had
a
seat
at
the
table. The Soviet Union made their World Cup debut. Argentina were back for the first time since 1934 having thrown their dummy from their pram
for
three
consecutive
tournaments.
And France — quiet and underestimated — arrived with a surprisingly strong front line. Sixteen teams. Twelve venues spread across Sweden. And, mercifully, a more logical format. Four groups with four teams in each. Every team playing every other in their group to decide
who
would
progress
to
the
next
stage.
Simple! Are you breathing a sigh of relief with me? For the first time, the World Cup would be broadcast live on television internationally — not
just
across
Europe,
but
around
the
world.
Millions of people would be crowding around black-and-white screens to watch flickering images
of
matches
as
they
unfolded
in
real
time.
Many people bought their first TVs just so that they could watch the World Cup! Football wasn’t just a sport anymore. It was a global show. The stage was bigger than it had ever been.
Edson was nicknamed Pelé. Nobody could ever explain quite why. Not even Pelé himself.
And someone was about to walk onto it and change everything. His name was Edson Arantes do Nascimento. But
you
might
know
him
by
a
different
name.
He was born in a tiny town in Brazil on October 23rd, 1940. His father, Dondinho , was a footballer. But he wasn’t famous and he wasn’t rich. He played for love, not money. And as Edson’s mother watched her husband struggle, she made it clear that her son was
not
going
to
spend
his
life
doing
the
same.
Edson was nicknamed Pelé, but nobody could ever explain why. Not even Pelé himself. He played barefoot in the alleyways around his home, using a stuffed sock for a ball because
that
was
all
he
had.
At 14, he was discovered by a former Brazil international named Waldemar de Brito. De Brito
saw
something
extraordinary
in
Pelé.
So,
he
took
him
to
Santos
Football
Club.
Santos
was
one
of
the
biggest
clubs
in
Brazil — then
and
now.
“This boy,” de Brito reportedly told the club directors, “Will be the greatest footballer in the
world.”
Pelé had been fifteen when he made his debut for Santos. He scored during that match. And he kept scoring. He led the league in goals in his first full season. Ten months after signing professionally,
he
was
called
up
to
the
Brazil
national
team.
Each of these facts just makes sense to anyone who has heard of Pelé. But each of these
facts
represents
a
pretty
incredible
achievement!
By the time the 1958 World Cup came around, Pelé was seventeen years old and nursing
a
knee
injury
that
kept
him
out
of
Brazil's
first
two
matches.
Brazil had a team psychologist, a professor called João Carvalhaes. And Carvalhaes wasn’t
just
there
to
provide
emotional
support
to
the
players,
to
prepare
them
mentally
and
help
them
deal
with
the
ups
and
downs
of
the
pressure
of
the
World
Cup.
Carvalhaes
had
a
say
in
Brazil’s
starting
line
up.
And,
he
didn’t
think
that
Pelé
was
up
to
the
job.
He
said
that
he
was
immature
and
lacking
“the
necessary
fighting
spirit”.
Little did he know. Coach Vicente Feola thanked Carvalhaes for his opinion, and quickly disregarded it. “You may be right, he reportedly said. "The thing is, you don't know anything about football."
Love that. Pelé was picked for the third group game against the Soviet Union. And what followed was three weeks that the world would never forget. Brazil had come to Sweden with a plan. And it was new and bold. Most teams at that time had taken on a formation devised by the groundbreaking Hungarians.
Known
as
the
W-M,
it
took
the
form
of
3-2-2-3.
It
was
rigid
and
defensive.
Well, Vicente Feola tore that up and jumped on the pieces until they were ground completely
into
the
dirt.
Feola played a 4-2-4, with stronger defence and attack, and two in midfield to link the lines.
It
was
aggressive,
fluid
and
unpredictable.
Football experts weren't sure it could work at this level. But they would soon find out.
Out on the right wing was a player called Manuel Francisco de Santos. They called him Garrincha
-
Little
Bird.
And
his
nickname
that
did
absolutely
nothing
to
prepare
opponents
for
what
he
could
do.
Born with a left leg significantly longer than his right, Garrincha ran in strange, looping directions
that
made
absolutely
no
sense.
Opponents
just
couldn’t
predict
him
or
work
out
what
to
do
with
him!
In midfield was Didi – the orchestra’s calm, composed, brilliant conductor. And up front? Up front was Pelé.
HOW IT PLAYED OUT The group stage told one story very clearly: Brazil were something special. They beat Austria 3-0, then drew 0-0 with England. This was, incidentally, the first scoreless
match
in
World
Cup
history.
Can
you
believe
that
they
didn’t
have
a
scoreless
draw
until
the
sixth
tournament?
Pelé made his tournament debut in their third match against the Soviet Union. And although
both
goals
in
that
2-0
victory
were
gifted
by
Vava,
Pelé
and
Garrincha
played
major
roles
in
the
victory.
It was the first time the two had ever played together, and it marked the beginning of a historic
partnership.
The opening three minutes were spectacular. Garrincha hit the crossbar. Pelé hit the post.
Before
a
goal
had
even
been
scored,
the
crowd
was
completely
captivated.
Between the pressure applied up front by Pelé and the complete confusion caused by Garrincha,
Brazil
would
NEVER
lose
a
match
featuring
the
dazzling
double-act.
40 matches, 36 wins and 4 draws.
That’s some set of stats. Brazil topped their group without conceding a single goal. But it still wasn’t a given that this would be their golden comeback. Across the table, eyes were on France. Led by Just Fontaine, they dazzled in their matches against Yugoslavia, Paraguay and Scotland.
Fontaine
was
the
star
striker
who
seemed
to
score
every
time
he
touched
the
ball.
Goals flew in. One. Two. Three. Again and again. Defenders couldn’t stop him. Goalkeepers couldn’t read him. It was like trying to catch smoke.
THE KNOCKOUTS In the quarter-final, Brazil faced Wales. Wales shouldn’t technically have been there. But FIFA had struggled to find a team willing
to
play
Israel
in
the
quallies
for
political
reasons,
so
they’d
run
a
little
raffle.
And
out
of
a
hat
filled
with
the
names
of
second-placed
European
qualifiers,
Wales’s
ticket
had
been
pulled.
They beat Israel in a play-off and won their first ever World Cup entry. Talk about a sweet combination of luck and skill! Luck and skill maybe... but how far do you think that would that get them against Pelé, Garrincha
and
the
rest
of
the
Brazillian
squad?
Well, Wales were brave. They were organised. They defended magnificently. And for 72 minutes, it stayed goalless. Pelé barely had a chance. Then, in the 73rd minute, a ball fell to him in the penalty area. He controlled it on his chest. Flicked it over a defender with one touch. Then volleyed it into
the
net
before
it
hit
the
ground.
It was the kind of goal that makes people stop and look at each other, just to check that they've
seen
what
they
think
they've
seen.
Pelé was 17 years and 239 days old - the youngest player ever to score in a World Cup. It
was
a
record
that
stood
for
64
years.
Brazil were in the semi-finals. And there, waiting for them, was France. France, with its dazzling style and star striker. Just Fontaine had been a last-minute inclusion in the French lineup. Did I mention that? And Just Fontaine played the entire tournament in borrowed boots. Did I mention that? He’d damaged his own pair in training. Back in 1958, that’s how it worked. No sponsors lining up a fresh pair in the dressing room
at
the
start
of
each
match.
If
you
wore
through
your
boots
you
were
either
playing
in
what
you
had
or
looking
to
borrow
from
a
friend.
And
as
luck
had
it,
Fontaine’s
teammate
Stéphane
Bruey,
was
generous,
kind...
and
the
same
shoe
size
as
the
striker.
Fontaine used those borrowed boots to score every one of his 13 goals in the 1958 World
Cup:
● 3 against Paraguay ● 2 against Yugoslavia
● 1 against Scotland ● 2 against Northern Ireland ● 1 against Brazil. France lost that semi-final 5-2. But let’s not bypass the match without hearing how it happened. Because the score doesn’t
do
the
drama
justice.
France had given Brazil the first goal they had conceded in the entire tournament. Fontaine
scored
in
the
9th
minute.
France were ahead! France were beating Brazil! Then two things happened. First, France's defender Robert Jonquet broke his leg. These were the dark days before the
invention
of
subs,
so
Jonquet
hobbled
around
the
pitch
trying
to
defend
against
the
greatest
front
line
football
had
ever
seen.
Can you imagine the pain and the pressure? I don’t know which would have been worse. But probably the pain. Second, Pelé woke up. Brazil equalised, then went ahead. Then — as France hung on desperately — Pelé scored
again.
And again. A hat-trick. For a seventeen-year-old. In a World Cup semi-final. The youngest hat-trick scorer in World Cup history. Another record that would stand for decades.
The world didn't quite know what it was looking at. But it couldn't look away. Brazil 5 - France 2.
At the final whistle, Fontaine had 9 goals. But he was far from done. In the third-place play-off against West Germany, he scored four more. 4! In case you’ve lost track, that’s 13 goals in 6 matches. In someone else's boots! There was no “Golden Boot” at the time. That honour wouldn’t be introduced until 1982. But
a
Swedish
newspaper
did
award
him
a
rifle
–
an
actual
gun
–
for
being
the
tournament’s
top
target
shooter.
Classic.
Fontaine’s record — 13 goals in a single World Cup — has never been beaten. Not by Ronaldo,
not
by
Mbappe,
not
by
Messi.
When he was asked about it years later, Fontaine said, “Beating my record? I don't think it
can
ever
be
done.
The
person
who
wants
to
beat
me
has
a
massive
task,
doesn't
he?
He
has
to
score
two
goals
per
game
over
7
games."
What do you think? Nothing’s unbeatable. Brazil taught us that, right?
THE FINAL June 29th, 1958. Råsunda Stadium, Solna, just outside Stockholm. Before the match, there was a crisis of a very specific kind: both teams had shown up wearing
the
same
colour.
Can you believe it? Brazil and Sweden. Both in yellow! What colours does each country bring to mind? Because yellow features, but it isn’t the colour
I’d
be
choosing
as
the
manager
of
either.
What about you? One team would have to change. After some deliberation, it was decided: Brazil would wear
blue.
I’m sorry, what? And I fully appreciate that Sweden had a hosting advantage. But if any team was to be forced
into
blue,
wouldn’t
you
assume
it
would
fit
the
Swedes?
I
mean,
it’s
literally
the
colour
of
their
flag!
The Brazilian players were, understandably, unhappy. They didn't want to wear blue. Brazil had worn white until the 1950 World Cup, and that had not gone well. They were still
carrying
its
wound.
In
fact,
that
had
been
their
impetus
to
change
strip
colour
to
yellow.
But there was nothing to be done. Starting time was approaching. The decision had been made. Blue it was. Sweden had defied expectations to reach the final on home soil. It was a genuine shock.
Their captain, Nils Liedholm, was 35 years old – jurassic by the standards of the day. I shouldn’t
mention
that
Messi
is
currently
38,
or
that
Christiano
Ronaldo
is
41.
How standards have changed. But 4 minutes in, Liedholm proved his age hadn't slowed him down one bit. He trapped the ball against his chest just outside the box, drove forward past two Brazilian
defenders,
and
smashed
it
past
the
Brazilian
goalkeeper
into
the
bottom
left
corner.
The home crowd erupted. Sweden 1, Brazil 0. Sweden were ahead. In a World Cup final. Against Brazil!
The excitement and the belief and the hope lived on for approximately five exquisite minutes.
Then Vavá equalised. At minute 32, he scored again. And so, at half-time, the score read Brazil 2, Sweden 1. We can never know what was said in the dressing rooms. But we can guess. Ten minutes into the second half, Pelé found the ball inside the Swedish box. His back was
to
the
goal
and
a
Swedish
defender
was
on
him
instantly.
But he used his thigh to flick the ball over the defender's head. He spun around. And before the ball had time to drop, he volleyed it into the net. The stadium fell quiet for a moment – the kind of quiet that tells of people needing a second
to
process
what
they’ve
just
seen.
And then it roared. Even the Swedish fans were applauding! What else can you do when you've just witnessed
something
like
that?
Brazil 3, Sweden 1. At minute 68, Zagallo made it 4. (Remember that name. You’re going to hear it again, but
not
for
a
little
while.)
With 10 minute left, Simonsson pulled one back for Sweden. It was 4-2. They weren't going
down
without
a
fight.
But in the 90th minute, Pelé met a cross at the far post and headed home a fifth.
Brazil 5, Sweden 2. The highest-scoring World Cup final ever played. A record that still stands. When the final whistle blew, Pelé collapsed. His teammates rushed to him. He had blacked out from pure emotion. Overwhelmed, with
nothing
left
to
give.
They had to revive him, right there on the pitch. When he came round, he wept. He had scored six goals in three knockout games. He was the youngest player ever to appear
in
a
World
Cup
final
and
the
youngest
player
ever
to
score
in
a
World
Cup
final.
He was a record-breaker, a champion, a legend — all before his 18th birthday. Seven years earlier, he and his friends had stolen peanuts from a warehouse and sold them
outside
a
cinema
to
make
money
to
buy
football
boots.
Now Brazil, draped in the Swedish flags their opponents had pressed into their hands as
a
gesture
of
respect,
lifted
the
Jules
Rimet
Trophy
for
the
very
first
time.
A king had been crowned. THE AFTERMATH In Brazil, the celebrations were unlike anything the country had seen. This was more than football. This was redemption. This was the erasing of the Maracanazo. It was proof — after eight painful years — that 1950
had
been
a
mistake,
not
a
verdict.
The players were received as national heroes.
European clubs clambered over one another with enormous offers to sign Pelé. But Santos
declined
every
one
of
them. And later, the Brazilian government passed a law making Pelé an "official national treasure".
He
could
not
legally
be
exported.
How cool is that? Now, how about some mindblowing facts that you won’t find in the main story? Fact 1: Brazil’s groundbreaking 4–2–4 formation became the blueprint for modern attacking
football,
used
by
teams
all
over
the
world
for
years
afterwards. Fact 2: Brazil didn’t have a second kit. Before the final, they had to rush out and buy 22 strips
from
a
local
shop. Fact 3: Brazil’s coach, Vicente Feola, came under criticism for picking young, inexperienced
players
like
Pelé
and
Garrincha
for
his
squad.
By
the
end
of
the
tournament,
his
choices
made
him
a
national
hero. Fact 4: Pelé was named after Thomas Edison, one of the pioneers of the lightbulb. His parents
named
him
Edson
in
tribute
to
the
inventor,
as
he
was
born
just
after
electricity
was
introduced
to
his
hometown. Fact 5: The Swedish team were hailed as heroes for their incredible home performance. It
remains
their
best-ever
World
Cup
result. If you enjoyed this episode, make sure you’re following The World Cup Files — it’s the best
way
to
make
sure
you
don’t
miss
the
next
story.
And
if
you’ve
got
thirty
seconds,
a
five
star
review
on
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Podcasts
helps
more
people
find
us!
Next time: Chile, 1962. Brazil are back to defend their crown. But this World Cup will be harder,
rougher,
and
more
dangerous
than
ever. I’ll see you there. File closed.
File closed.