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World Cup : 1958
posted Jun-02 | 502 hits
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Background
The World Cup was a fully fledged global sporting event by 1958 and that was when theworld caught their first glimpse of the brilliance that is Pele, and the record number of goals scored by a single player in one tournament.
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The Tournament
Group Stage
Sweden '58 saw titleholders West Germany progress with relative ease at the top of Group One, but the race for second place was a tight one. Northern Ireland and Czechoslovakia had both drawn with the reigning champions, but they had also both won and lost their additional games.
Despite scoring the first goal of the playoff, Czechoslovakia were eventually ousted by a double from NI's Peter McParland, meaning the eastern Europeans joined Argentina on the plane home.
Group Two sported the tournament's highest scorer in Just Fontaine, who eased France to the top of the table just ahead of Yugoslavia. Yugoslavia actually overcame the French in their head-to-head match, winning 3-2, but les Bleus 7-3 demolition of Paraguay on the opening day made sure they pipped it on goal difference. Scotland came last with one point.
Hosts Sweden progressed after their fine form saw them win two and draw one, only conceding a single goal in the group stages. Wales, who had somehow managed to land themselves in second place despite not winning a single match, went to a play-off with Hungary due to being equal on points. The Welsh picked their time to shine as they finally recorded a win, waving goodbye to Hungary and an underwhelming Mexico.
A group scarily similar to the one previous, Brazil samba'd their way to the top of their table. However, unlike Sweden, the Selecao didn't concede a single goal.
England shared almost the same fate as their UK counterparts Wales, failing to record a win and eventually ending up in a play-off with first-time participants USSR. Anatoli Ilyin scored the only goal of the match as England held hands with Austria for the long walk home.
Quarter-Finals
June 19 saw the eight remaining finalists battle it out for a place in the semi's. Each game kicked off at the same time, 19:00 CET, but all four had very different stories to tell.
France did their thing, not straying from their path of glorious, golden goal-scoring form. RC Lens striker Maryan Wisnieski put his side a goal to the good before the break, giving the Northern Irish something to think about. After the restart it was all France, as Just Fontaine netted a double not far into the second period, and Roger Piantoni tying things up in a neat little bow with his strike on 68 minutes. Northern Ireland failed to retort and lost the game 4-0.
As the host nation, Sweden's considerable crowds had been injecting their national side with vigour throughout the competition. The story remained the same in the last eight, as Kurt Hamrin's goal on 49 minutes gave his side the advantage, allowing fellow striker Agne Simonsson to wrap things up with his late strike.
The Soviet Union's luck had finally ran out as the Swedes went through with two goals to nil.
The world had scarcely seen the 17-year-old they called Pele in the group stages, but from here on in they would not forget the name. The young Brazilian scored the only goal of the game against a hard-battling Wales side to send the Selecao into the semi-finals.
Helmut Rahn's early goal for West Germany was the difference between his side and Yugoslavia. Netting after only 12 minutes, the reigning champions held on for a further 78 , until the final whistle blew and the West Germans felt the sweet embrace of their next semi-final.
Semi-Finals
Perhaps thinking that they could pulled of the same feat twice, a single goal in the first-half was all the West Germans could muster against host side Sweden. However, it was only eight minutes after Hans Schafer's 24 minute strike that Lennart Skoglund equalised, while Gunnar Gren and Kurt Hamrin left it late to send the Swedish national side into a home-soil final with a goal each.
The match-up between Brazil and France had all the makings of a classic before it had even started, due to France's goals and Brazil's well disciplined defenders.
Having scored in every game so far, Just Fontaine didn't disappoint as his goal on nine minutes cancelled out Vava's early strike. Just before the break, Didi gave the French some food for thought as he put his Brazil side 2-1 up.
After the break, a little piece of history took place, as a young Pele potentially outshone all of Fontaine's good work so far, rattling home three goals in just over 20 minutes. Needless to say, this left France with almost little hope of survival. Roger Piantoni netted his side a consolation goal in the dying minutes of the game, but it would be Pele and Brazil who would have the last laugh as they progressed to the final with a 5-2 victory.
Final
It was a dream start to a dream fixture for the Swedes as Nils Liedholm stunned the Brazilians after only four minutes had passed. However, a first-half double from Vava made sure that the hosts were not able to bask in the glory for long. At half-time, the hosts had some thinking to do.
However, whatever game plan the Swedish side had failed. The young magician they called Pele proved a thorn in yet another team's side, striking home on 55 minutes to stamp authority on the game, and dampen the Swedish spirits that little bit more.
Mario Zagallo and Agne Simonsson then exchanged goals midway through the second-half, but any hopes of a comeback were dispelled as Pele's 90 minute strike ensured a 5-2 victory for Brazil.
Heroes and Villains
Garrincha - “They put the first man in space, but they couldn't mark Garrincha,” commentator Luis Mendes said of the pint-sized winger after his introduction to the 58 world cup. Garrincha's influence played a massive part in Brazil's progression past the quarter-finals. Causing defenses no end of problems, his creative play was the catalyst for Brazil's comeback in the final as they went a goal down to Sweden, setting up Vava twice in the first half.
Just Fontaine – To date, still holds the record for scoring the most goals in a single world cup with 13 impressive strikes. Although France failed in their quest to leave Sweden with the World Cup, the Marrakesh-born Frenchman scored at least one goal in every single game.
Pele – At the time, was the youngest ever player to feature in a World Cup at the age of 17. Despite his tender age, he sent Brazil to the semi-finals after scoring the only goal in a game against Wales. To date, is the youngest player to ever score a hat-trick in the world cup, against what was an incredibly strong French side at the time. Although behind Fontaine in the goal-scoring charts, his first goal against Sweden in the final is still regarded as one of the best goals in the history of the world cup.
There was too much good football going on to focus on the villains...
Things To Remember
France's opening day stormer against Paraguay which seen Just Fontaine net three out of a total of 10 goals scored overall.
Wales' first victory of the tournament. The Welsh side finally won a game as they faced Hungary in a play-off. Wales won 2-1 despite Hungary coming off the back of a 4-0 thumping of Mexico.
The introduction of Garrincha, Zico and Pele in Brazil's last group game against the Soviet Union.
Pele's hattrick against France in the semi's, Pele's single goal against Wales and, of course, Pele's performance in the final.
Just Fontaine's four-goal rampage in the battle for third place against West Germany in which France emerged 6-3 victors.
Top Scorers
Just Fontaine - 13 goals
Pelé - 6 goals
Helmut Rahn - 6 goals
Peter McParland - 5 goals
Vava - 5 goals
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