Editing Pelé (section)

=== 1958 World Cup ===

[[File:Pelé vs swedish defenders 1958.jpg|thumb|left|Pelé (number 10) dribbles past three Swedish players at the [[1958 FIFA World Cup|1958 World Cup]].]]

Pelé arrived in Sweden sidelined by a knee injury but on his return from the treatment room, his colleagues stood together and insisted upon his selection.<ref>{{cite news|title=Simply the best ever|url=http://www.abc.net.au/worldcup2002/history/legends/pele.htm|work=[[ABC News (Australia)|ABC News]]|date=25 April 2002|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030102003500/http://www.abc.net.au/worldcup2002/history/legends/pele.htm|archive-date=2 January 2003}}</ref> His first match was against the [[USSR national football team|USSR]] in the third match of the first round of the 1958 FIFA World Cup, where he gave the assist to Vavá's second goal.<ref>{{cite news|title=Copa 1958|url=http://esportes.terra.com.br/futebol/copa2006/interna/0,,OI683679-EI5499,00.html|work=[[Terra Networks]]|year=2006|language=pt|access-date=24 October 2010|archive-date=8 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221108082158/https://www.terra.com.br/busca/?q=futebol/copa2006/interna/0,,OI683679-EI5499,00.html&curl=http://esportes.terra.com.br/futebol/copa2006/interna/0,,OI683679-EI5499,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref> He was at the time the youngest player ever to participate in the World Cup.{{refn|group=note|The mark was surpassed by [[Northern Ireland national football team|Northern Ireland]]'s [[Norman Whiteside]] in the [[1982 FIFA World Cup]].}}<ref name="young"/> He scored his first World Cup goal against [[Wales national football team|Wales]] in the quarter-finals, the only goal of the match, to help Brazil advance to the semi-finals while becoming the youngest ever World Cup goalscorer at 17 years and 239 days.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://thesefootballtimes.co/2015/07/09/norman-whiteside-world-beater-at-17-retired-by-26/|title=Norman Whiteside: world beater at 17, retired by 26|last=Gault|first=Matt|date=9 July 2015|work=These Football Times|access-date=24 July 2017|archive-date=8 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221108082518/https://thesefootballtimes.co/2015/07/09/norman-whiteside-world-beater-at-17-retired-by-26/|url-status=live}}</ref> Against [[France national football team|France]] in the semi-final, Brazil was leading 2–1 at halftime, and then Pelé scored a hat-trick, becoming the youngest player in World Cup history to do so.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Hawkes|first1=Will |title=Flashback No 6. Sweden 1958: Pele's genius propels Brazil to first title |work=[[The Independent]]|date=26 May 2010 |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/international/flashback-no-6-sweden-1958-peles-genius-propels-brazil-to-first-title-1983746.html |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220525/https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/international/flashback-no-6-sweden-1958-peles-genius-propels-brazil-to-first-title-1983746.html |archive-date=25 May 2022}}</ref>

[[File:1958 VM-final Sverige-Brasilien.jpg|thumb|17-year-old Pelé cries on the shoulder of goalkeeper [[Gylmar dos Santos Neves|Gilmar]] after Brazil won the [[1958 FIFA World Cup final|1958 World Cup final]].]]

On 29 June 1958, Pelé became the [[FIFA World Cup records|youngest player to play in a World Cup final match]] at 17 years and 249 days. He scored two goals in [[1958 FIFA World Cup Final|that final]] as Brazil beat [[Sweden men's national football team|Sweden]] 5–2 in Stockholm, the capital. Pelé hit the post and then [[Vavá]] scored two goals to give Brazil the lead. Pelé's first goal, where he flicked the ball over a defender before [[Volley (football)|volleying]] into the corner of the net, was selected as one of the best goals in the history of the World Cup.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080930212802/http://www.fifa.com/newscentre/news/newsid=82406.html FIFA World Cup Goal of the Century] FIFA. 30 May 2002. Retrieved 5 May 2011</ref> Following Pelé's second goal, Swedish player [[Sigvard Parling]] would later comment, "When Pelé scored the fifth goal in that Final, I have to be honest and say I felt like applauding".<ref name="Quotes"/> When the match ended, Pelé passed out on the field, and was revived by Garrincha.<ref>{{cite news|author1=Pelé|title=How a teenager took the world by wizardry|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2006/may/13/sport.bookextracts|date=13 May 2006|access-date=16 July 2017|work=The Guardian|archive-date=22 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140922080813/http://www.theguardian.com/football/2006/may/13/sport.bookextracts|url-status=live}}</ref> He then recovered, and was compelled by the victory to weep as he was being congratulated by his teammates. He finished the tournament with six goals in four matches played, tied for second place, behind record-breaker [[Just Fontaine]], and was named best young player of the tournament.<ref name="fifa.com">[https://web.archive.org/web/20150407144418/http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/sweden1958/awards/index.html 1958 FIFA World Cup Sweden – Awards] FIFA. Retrieved 6 May 2011</ref> His impact was arguably greater off the field, with Barney Ronay writing, "With nothing but talent to guide him, the boy from Minas Gerais became the first black global sporting superstar, and a source of genuine uplift and inspiration."<ref name="Ronay"/>

It was in the 1958 World Cup that Pelé began wearing a jersey with the number 10, which was the result of disorganization: the leaders of the Brazilian Federation did not allocate the shirt numbers of players and it was up to [[FIFA]] to choose the number 10 shirt for Pelé, who was a substitute on the occasion.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Spencer|first1=Jamie|title=The Fascinating Stories Behind 13 Famous Shirt Numbers|url=http://www.90min.com/posts/2491270-the-fascinating-stories-behind-13-famous-shirt-numbers|publisher=90 Min|date=7 September 2015|access-date=9 July 2017|archive-date=11 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221111015033/https://www.90min.com/posts/2491270-the-fascinating-stories-behind-13-famous-shirt-numbers|url-status=live}}</ref> The press proclaimed Pelé the greatest revelation of the 1958 World Cup, and he was also retroactively given the Silver Ball as the second best player of the tournament, behind [[Valdir Pereira|Didi]].<ref name="Quotes"/>