Editing Pelé (section)

=== 1966 World Cup ===

Pelé was the most famous footballer in the world during the [[1966 FIFA World Cup|1966 World Cup]] in England, and Brazil fielded some world champions like Garrincha, [[Gilmar]] and [[Djalma Santos]] with the addition of other stars like Jairzinho, Tostão and [[Gérson]], leading to high expectations for them.<ref name="fifa66">[https://web.archive.org/web/20150406162655/http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/england1966/groups/index.html#534 "1966 FIFA World Cup England: Group 3"]. FIFA. Retrieved 16 January 2015</ref> Brazil was eliminated in the first round, playing only three matches.<ref name="fifa66"/> The World Cup was marked, among other things, for brutal fouls on Pelé that left him injured by the Bulgarian and Portuguese defenders.<ref name="conspiracy">{{cite web|last1=Burnton|first1=Simon|title=Why not everyone remembers the 1966 World Cup as fondly as England.|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2016/jul/24/1966-world-cup-final-conspiracy-refereeing-50-years|work=The Guardian|date=24 July 2016|access-date=17 July 2019|archive-date=8 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221108081642/https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2016/jul/24/1966-world-cup-final-conspiracy-refereeing-50-years|url-status=live}}</ref>

Pelé scored the first goal from a free kick against [[Bulgaria national football team|Bulgaria]], becoming the first player to score in three successive FIFA World Cups, but due to his injury, a result of persistent fouling by the Bulgarians, he missed the second game against [[Hungary national football team|Hungary]].<ref name="fifa66"/> His coach stated that after the first game he felt "every team will take care of him in the same manner".<ref name="conspiracy" /> Brazil lost that game and Pelé, although still recovering, was brought back for the last crucial match against [[Portugal national football team|Portugal]] at [[Goodison Park]] in Liverpool by the Brazilian coach [[Vicente Feola]]. Feola changed the entire defense, including the goalkeeper, while in midfield he returned to the formation of the first match. During the game, Portugal defender [[João Morais]] fouled Pelé, but was not sent off by referee [[George McCabe]]; a decision retrospectively viewed as being among the worst refereeing errors in World Cup history.<ref name="tgraph"/> Pelé had to stay on the field limping for the rest of the game since substitutes were not allowed in football at that time.<ref name="tgraph">{{cite news|last1=Collins|first1=Nick|title=World Cup final: 10 top World Cup refereeing errors|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup/7880551/World-Cup-final-10-top-World-Cup-refereeing-errors.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup/7880551/World-Cup-final-10-top-World-Cup-refereeing-errors.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|date=9 July 2010|access-date=8 May 2011|work=The Telegraph}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Brazil lost the match against the Portuguese led by Eusébio and were eliminated from the tournament as a result.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fifa.com/tournaments/mens/worldcup/1966england/match-center/1598|title=1966 FIFA World Cup Portugal v Brazil – Report|publisher=FIFA|access-date=15 December 2022|archive-date=15 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221215232242/https://www.fifa.com/tournaments/mens/worldcup/1966england/match-center/1598|url-status=live}}</ref> After this game he vowed he would never again play in the World Cup, a decision he would later change.<ref name="ifhof" />