1958 FIFA World Cup – Sweden

1958 FIFA World Cup – Sweden

For the 1958 FIFA World Cup, Argentina, Chile, Mexico and Sweden placed bids for hosting the cup. Sweden won the bid unopposed.

For the qualification round, FIFA introduced confederations, dividing the teams according to their continental zone. The first confederations created were: UEFA (Europe), CONMEBOL (South America), NAFC (North America), CCCF (Central America and Caribbean), CAF (Africa) and AFC (Asia).

With the automatically qualification of Sweden and West Germany, fourteen places remained. 9 were allocated to UEFA, 3 to CONMEBOL, 1 to NAFC and CCCF and 1 to CAF and AFC. This was the first and only time that all four of the United Kingdom nations qualified: England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.

The Soviet Union entered the qualification for the first time, guaranteeing a place in the tournament. Italy and Uruguay, both two-time champions, failed to qualify.

The 1958 World Cup also saw the birth of a legend. Edson Arantes do Nascimento, Pelé, debuted in the World Cup playing for Brazil at the age of 17 and was brilliant. He even scored a hat trick in the semi final and 2 goals in the final.

The final was played by the host, Sweden, against Brazil. After start loosing 1-0, the Brazilians quickly recovered and Vavá opened the score for Brazil. At the end of the first half the Brazilian team was already ahead of the score, 2-1. In the second half the Brazilians scored three more goals, two scored by Pelé, and won the match 5-2. It was the first Brazilian title, and the first and only time a non-European country won in Europe.

List of qualified teams: Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Czechoslovakia, England, France, Hungary, Mexico, Northern Ireland, Paraguay, Scotland, Soviet Union, Sweden, Wales, West Germany, Yugoslavia.

Champions: Brazil
2nd place: Sweden
3rd place: France

Top scorer player: Just Fontaine, France – 13 goals
Top scorer team: France – 23 goals

List of all the tournaments