1958 FIFA World Cup

Association football tournament in Sweden

1958 FIFA World CupVärldsmästerskapet i Fotboll
Sverige 1958 (Swedish)

Tournament details
Host country| Sweden
Dates| 8–29 June
Teams| 16 (from 3 confederations)
Venue(s)| 12 (in 12 host cities)
Final positions
Champions|  Brazil (1st title)
Runners-up|  Sweden
Third place|  France
Fourth place|  West Germany
Tournament statistics
Matches played| 35
Goals scored| 126 (3.6 per match)
Attendance| 819,810 (23,423 per match)
Top scorer(s)|  Just Fontaine (13 goals)

<- 1954

1962 ->

International football competition

The 1958 FIFA World Cup was the sixth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in Sweden from 8 to 29 June 1958. It was the first FIFA World Cup to be played in a Nordic country.

Brazil beat Sweden 5–2 in the final in Solna, Stockholm, to claim their first title, having beaten France in the semi-final and Wales in the quarter-final. The tournament also marked the arrival of a then 17-year-old Pelé on the world stage, who scored in all three of Brazil's knockout games.

This was the first appearance of Wales at the FIFA World Cup. They would not qualify for another until 64 years later. This tournament also marked the debuts of fellow British side Northern Ireland, as well as the Soviet Union. West Germany the defending champions were eliminated by World Cup runners up Sweden and would lose to France in a third place match.

## Host selection[edit]

Main article: FIFA World Cup hosts

Argentina, Chile, Mexico, and Sweden expressed interest in hosting the tournament.[1] Swedish delegates lobbied other countries at the FIFA Congress held in Rio de Janeiro around the opening of the 1950 World Cup finals.[1] Sweden was awarded the 1958 tournament unopposed on 23 June 1950.[2]

## Qualification[edit]

Main article: 1958 FIFA World Cup qualification

The hosts (Sweden) and the defending champions (West Germany) qualified automatically. Of the remaining 14 places, nine were allocated to Europe, three to South America, one to North/Central America, and one to Asia/Africa.

Aside from the main European zone matches, Wales, which finished second in its group behind Czechoslovakia, was drawn into a play-off with Israel after Israel won its group by default because its three opponents, Turkey, Indonesia and Sudan, refused to play. FIFA had imposed a rule that no team would qualify without playing at least one match, something that had happened in several previous World Cups. Wales won the play-off and qualified for the first time. With Northern Ireland making its debut, and England and Scotland also qualifying, this World Cup was the only one to date to feature all four of the United Kingdom's Home Nations.

This World Cup also saw the entry and qualification of the Soviet Union for the first time, while Argentina appeared for the first time since 1934. It was also the first one for which Italy failed to qualify (Italy did not take part in the 1930 tournament but there was no qualification for that competition). Other teams that failed to qualify included two-time champions and 1954 semifinalists Uruguay, as well as Spain and Belgium.

On 8 February 1958, in Solna, Lennart Hyland and Sven Jerring presented the results of the draw where the qualified teams were divided into four groups. Seeding was geographical rather than by team strength, with each group containing one western European team, one eastern European team, one of the four British teams that had qualified, and one from the Americas.[3]

### List of qualified teams[edit]

The following 16 teams qualified for the final tournament.

AFC (0)

* None qualified

CAF (0)

* None qualified

NAFC (1)

* Mexico

CCCF (0)

* None qualified

CONMEBOL (3)

* Argentina
* Brazil
* Paraguay

UEFA (12)

* Austria
* Czechoslovakia
* England
* France
* Hungary
* Northern Ireland (debut)
* Scotland
* Soviet Union (debut)
* Sweden (hosts)
* Wales (debut)
* West Germany (title holders)
* Yugoslavia

|  Qualifying countries and their results

|
|
|

## Format[edit]

USSR stamps marking the tournament; the Soviet Union qualified for the first time

The format of the competition changed from 1954: 16 teams still competed in four groups of four, but this time each team played each of the other teams in its group at least once, without extra time in the event of a draw. Two points were awarded for a win and one point for a draw. If the first two teams finished on equal points then goal average would decide who was placed first and second. As in 1954, if the second and third placed teams finished on the same points, then there would be a play-off with the winner going through. If a play-off resulted in a draw, goal average from the group games would be used to determine who went through to the next round. If the goal averages were equal then lots would have been drawn. These arrangements had not been finalised by the time the tournament started and were still being debated as it progressed. Some teams complained that a play-off match, meaning three games in five days, was too much, and before the second round of group matches FIFA informed the teams that goal average would be used before resorting to a play-off.[4] This was overturned when the Swedish Football Association complained, stating that it was wrong to change the rules mid-tournament, but also because it wanted the extra revenue from playoff matches.[4]

This was the first time that goal average was available to separate teams in a World Cup. It was used to separate the teams finishing first and second in one of the groups. However, all three playoffs finished with decisive results and so it was not needed to separate the teams involved in a tied playoff.

Almost all the matches kicked off simultaneously in each of the three rounds of the group phase, as did the quarter-finals and semi-finals. The exceptions were Sweden's three group matches, all of which were televised by Sveriges Radio; these started at other times so Swedes could attend other matches without missing their own team's. Apart from these, one match per round was televised, and relayed across Europe by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Many Swedes bought their first television for the World Cup.

The official ball was the "Top-Star VMbollen 1958" model made by Sydsvenska Läder & Remfabriks AB (aka "Remmen" or "Sydläder") in Ängelholm. It was chosen from 102 candidates in a blind test by four FIFA officials.[5][6]

## Summary[edit]

Official 1958 FIFA World Cup poster.

In Group 4, Pelé and Garrincha did not play until the last of Brazil's group games, against the Soviet Union.[7] Pelé failed to score, but provided the assist to Vavá's second goal.[8][9] Brazil won the game 2–0 (also thanks to an impressive exhibition of dribbling prowess by Garrincha) and the group by two points. Previously, they had drawn 0–0 with England in what was the first ever goalless game in World Cup history. Eventually, the Soviet Union and England went to a playoff game, in which Anatoli Ilyin scored in the 67th minute to knock England out, while Austria had already been eliminated. The English side had been weakened by the Munich air disaster earlier in the year, which killed three internationals on the books of Manchester United, including England's young star Duncan Edwards.

Playoffs were also needed in Group 1 (Northern Ireland beat Czechoslovakia to join the defending champions West Germany in the quarter-finals) and Group 3 (Wales topped Hungary to advance with hosts Sweden). Hungary had become a spent force after their appearance in the final of the previous tournament. They had lost their best players two years before, when they fled in the wake of the failed uprising against the communist regime. In a rather restrictive sense, from the 1954 team, only goalkeeper Gyula Grosics, defender Jozsef Bozsik and forward Nándor Hidegkuti remained.

In Group 2, Scotland faced Yugoslavia, Paraguay, and France. France topped the group, with Just Fontaine netting six goals. Yugoslavia finished second, while Scotland came in last.

The quarter-finals saw France's Just Fontaine continue in similar form as in the group stage, managing another two goals as France triumphed over Northern Ireland. West Germany's Helmut Rahn put them into the semi-finals with a single goal against Yugoslavia, while Sweden went through at the expense of USSR. The other game in the quarter-finals saw Pelé score the only goal for Brazil against Wales.

In the semi-finals, Sweden continued their strong run as they defeated West Germany 3–1 in a vicious game that saw the German player Erich Juskowiak sent off (the first ever German player to be sent off in an international game) and German veteran forward Fritz Walter injured, which further weakened the German team (substitutes were first allowed in the 1970 FIFA World Cup).

In the other semi-final, Brazil and France were tied 1–1 for much of the first half. However, 36 minutes into the game French captain and most experienced defender Robert Jonquet suffered broken leg in a clash with Vavá, and France was down to ten men for the rest of the game (substitutions were not allowed back then). Brazil dominated the rest of the match, as a Pelé hat-trick gave them a 5–2 victory. Fontaine of France added one goal to his impressive tally.

The third place match saw Fontaine score four more goals as France defeated West Germany 6–3. This brought his total to 13 goals in one competition, a record that still stands.

### Final[edit]

The final was played in Solna, in the Råsunda Stadium; 50,000 people watched as the Brazilians went a goal down after four minutes. However Vavá equalised shortly afterwards and then put them a goal ahead before half time. In the second half, Pelé outshone everyone, notching two goals, including the first one where he lobbed the ball over Bengt Gustavsson then followed it with a precise volley shot. Zagallo added a goal in between, and Sweden managed a consolation goal.

The Final saw many records made in World Cup history that still stand as of 2018[update]. At age 17, Pelé simultaneously became the youngest player to participate in, score, and win a World Cup final. Conversely, Nils Liedholm became the oldest player to score in a World Cup Final at 35 years 263 days. This final had the highest number of goals scored by a winning team (5), the highest number of total goals scored (7), and together with the 1970 and 1998 finals shares the highest goal margin of difference (3); Brazil played in all those three finals.

The game is also notable for many firsts in FIFA World Cup. With the exception of the 1950 FIFA World Cup final group stage, this marked the first time that a World Cup host reached the final without winning it. Additionally, the match marked the first time two nations from different continents (Europe and South America) met in a World Cup final. It also marks the first and only World Cup hosted in Europe not won by a European team; a feat mirrored in 2014 where a World Cup hosted in the Americas was not won by a team from the Americas for the first time, with Germany beating Argentina 1–0 at the final.

## Venues[edit]

A total of twelve cities throughout the central and southern parts of Sweden hosted the tournament. FIFA regulations required at least six stadiums to have a capacity of at least 20,000.[10] If Denmark had qualified, the organisers had planned to use the Idrætsparken in Copenhagen for Denmark's group matches.[10] The Idrætsparken was renovated in 1956 with this in mind, but Denmark lost out to England in qualification.[10] When doubts arose about whether funding would be forthcoming for rebuilding the Ullevi and Malmö Stadion, the organisers considered stadiums in Copenhagen and Oslo as contingency measures.[11]

The Råsunda Stadium was expanded from 38,000 for the World Cup by building end stands.[12] Organising committee chairman Holger Bergérus mortgaged his house to pay for this.[12] The new Malmö Stadion was built for the World Cup, replacing the 1896 Malmö Stadion at a new site.[13] The Idrottsparken had 4,709 seats added for the World Cup. The Social Democratic municipal government refused to pay for this until the organisers threatened to select Folkungavallen in Linköping instead.[14] At the Rimnersvallen, a stand from the smaller Oddevallen stadium was moved to Rimnersvallen for the World Cup. The crowd at Brazil v. Austria was estimated at 21,000, with more looking in from the adjoining hillside.[12] The most used stadium was the Råsunda Stadium in Stockholm, which hosted 8 matches including the final, followed by the Ullevi Stadium in Gothenburg (the biggest stadium used during the tournament), which hosted 7 matches. The Malmö Stadium hosted 4 matches, Norrköping hosted 3 matches; Borås, Halmstad, Helsingborg, Västerås and Sandviken hosted 2 matches each and Örebro, Eskilstuna and Uddevalla each hosted 1 match.

Gothenburg

Ullevi Stadium
Capacity: 53,500
Eskilstuna
Tunavallen
Capacity: 22,000
Sandviken
Jernvallen
Capacity: 20,000
Borås
Ryavallen
Capacity: 15,000
Helsingborg

Olympia
Capacity: 27,000
Norrköping
Idrottsparken
Capacity: 20,000
Uddevalla
Rimnersvallen
Capacity: 17,778
Västerås
Arosvallen
Capacity: 10,000
Solna
(Stockholm area) | Malmö

|

Råsunda Stadium | Malmö Stadion
Capacity: 52,400 | Capacity: 30,000

Borås

Eskilstuna

Gothenburg

Halmstad

Helsingborg

Malmö

Norrköping

Örebro

Sandviken

Solna

Uddevalla

Västerås

Halmstad | Örebro
Örjans Vall | Eyravallen
Capacity: 15,000 | Capacity: 13,000

## Match officials[edit]

22 match officials were assigned to the tournament to serve as referees and assistant referees.

Europe

* Fritz Seipelt
* Lucien van Nuffel
* Martin Macko
* Carl Jørgensen
* Arthur Ellis
* Reginald Leafe
* Arne Eriksson
* Maurice Guigue
* István Zsolt
* Vincenzo Orlandini
* Jan Bronkhorst
* Joaquim Campos
* Jack Mowat
* Juan Gardeazábal Garay
* Sten Ahlner
* Raymond Wyssling
* Nikolai Latyshev
* Mervyn Griffiths
* Albert Dusch
* Leo Lemešić

South America

* Juan Brozzi
* José María Codesal

## Seeding[edit]

There was no seeding for this World Cup; the teams were instead allocated geographically into four pots chosen by the FIFA Organising Committee.[15] Teams were drawn from each pot into Groups 1–4 in numerical order.

Preventing the defending champions from meeting the hosts in the group stage, either by seeding or predetermined group positions, was a practiced tradition throughout the history of the FIFA World Cup, with 1934 and 1954 being the only two exceptions.[15] This tradition continued in 1958, with West Germany as defending champion and host nation Sweden both being allocated into the same Western European Pot, which kept them from meeting in the group stage.

Western European Pot  | Eastern European Pot  | British Pot  | Americas Pot

|
|
|

* Sweden (hosts)
* West Germany (holders)
* Austria
* France

* Czechoslovakia
* Hungary
* Soviet Union
* Yugoslavia

* England
* Northern Ireland
* Scotland
* Wales

* Argentina
* Brazil
* Mexico
* Paraguay

The geographical basis of the seeding attracted criticism, especially from Austria, who were drawn against the teams considered strongest in each of the other three pots.[16]

## Squads[edit]

For a list of all squads that appeared in the final tournament, see 1958 FIFA World Cup squads.

## Group stage[edit]

### Group 1[edit]

Main article: 1958 FIFA World Cup Group 1

The West Germans, surprise world champions four years before, were still very strong, and fielded an exciting young forward in Uwe Seeler. The Germans had to contend with a real powerhouse in Argentina's team, competing for the first time since 1934. In fact, some experts[who?] thought Argentina had a very realistic chance of reaching the semi-finals or even winning the World Cup this time. Czechoslovakia was a fairly strong team with a rich football tradition, and was considered to be no walkover for the West Germans or the Argentinians.

Nobody expected much from tiny newcomers Northern Ireland. But the Northern Irish had already shown that they could be a danger by knocking out double world champions Italy in World Cup qualifying. In the end, the Northern Irish pulled off one of the biggest upsets in World Cup Finals history by qualifying for the quarter-finals, beating Czechoslovakia in a play-off.

Argentina experienced a horrible blow finishing last in the group with a −5 goal differential. Arriving home, the Argentinian team met the wrath of several thousand angry football fans at Ezeiza Airport in Buenos Aires.[17]

Pos | Team

* v
* t
* e

| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Qualification

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1  |  West Germany | 3  | 1  | 2  | 0  | 7  | 5  | 1.400  | 4  | Advance to knockout stage
2  |  Northern Ireland | 3  | 1  | 1  | 1  | 4  | 5  | 0.800  | 3
3  |  Czechoslovakia | 3  | 1  | 1  | 1  | 8  | 4  | 2.000  | 3  |
4  |  Argentina | 3  | 1  | 0  | 2  | 5  | 10  | 0.500  | 2

Source: FIFA

* Northern Ireland finished ahead of Czechoslovakia by winning a play-off

8 June 1958

19:00 (CET)

Argentina | 1–3|  West Germany

|
|

Corbatta 3' | Report | Rahn 32', 79'
Seeler 42'

Malmö Stadion, Malmö

Attendance: 31,156

Referee: Reginald Leafe (England)

8 June 1958

19:00 (CET)

Northern Ireland | 1–0|  Czechoslovakia

|
|

Cush 21' | Report |

Örjans Vall, Halmstad

Attendance: 10,647

Referee: Fritz Seipelt (Austria)

* * *

11 June 1958

19:00 (CET)

West Germany | 2–2|  Czechoslovakia

|
|

Schäfer 60'
Rahn 71' | Report | Dvořák 24' (pen.)
Zikán 42'

Olympiastadion, Helsingborg

Attendance: 25,000

Referee: Arthur Edward Ellis (England)

11 June 1958

19:00 (CET)

Argentina | 3–1|  Northern Ireland

|
|

Corbatta 37' (pen.)
Menéndez 56'
Avio 60' | Report | McParland 4'

Örjans Vall, Halmstad

Attendance: 14,174

Referee: Sten Ahlner (Sweden)

* * *

15 June 1958

19:00 (CET)

West Germany | 2–2|  Northern Ireland

|
|

Rahn 20'
Seeler 78' | Report | McParland 18', 60'

Malmö Stadion, Malmö

Attendance: 21,990

Referee: Joaquim Campos (Portugal)

15 June 1958

19:00 (CET)

Czechoslovakia | 6–1|  Argentina

|
|

Dvořák 8'
Zikán 17', 40'
Feureisl 69'
Hovorka 82', 89' | Report | Corbatta 65' (pen.)

Olympiastadion, Helsingborg

Attendance: 16,418

Referee: Arthur Edward Ellis (England)

#### Play-off[edit]

17 June 1958

19:00 (CET)

Northern Ireland | 2–1 (a.e.t.)|  Czechoslovakia

|
|

McParland 44', 97' | Report | Zikán 18'

Malmö Stadion, Malmö

Attendance: 6,196

Referee: Maurice Guigue (France)

### Group 2[edit]

Main article: 1958 FIFA World Cup Group 2

The second group saw the largest number of goals scored in a single group in the 1958 World Cup with 31 goals in total (~5.16 goals per game). Just Fontaine of France scored 6 of his 13 goals in the tournament, making him the tournament's top scorer going into the quarter-finals.

None of the teams in this group had been particularly successful at previous World Cups. France, despite having hosted the 1938 event, had not achieved any real World Cup success, Yugoslavia had not been able to replicate their semi-final success of 1930 and Paraguay and Scotland were considered underdogs during the tournament.

France won the group ahead of Yugoslavia and would go on to finish third.

Pos | Team

* v
* t
* e

| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Qualification

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1  |  France | 3  | 2  | 0  | 1  | 11  | 7  | 1.571  | 4  | Advance to knockout stage
2  |  Yugoslavia | 3  | 1  | 2  | 0  | 7  | 6  | 1.167  | 4
3  |  Paraguay | 3  | 1  | 1  | 1  | 9  | 12  | 0.750  | 3  |
4  |  Scotland | 3  | 0  | 1  | 2  | 4  | 6  | 0.667  | 1

Source: FIFA

* France finished ahead of Yugoslavia on goal average

8 June 1958

19:00 (CET)

France | 7–3|  Paraguay

|
|

Fontaine 24', 30', 67'
Piantoni 52'
Wisnieski 61'
Kopa 70'
Vincent 83' | Report | Amarilla 20', 44' (pen.)
Romero 50'

Idrottsparken, Norrköping

Attendance: 16,518

Referee: Juan Gardeazábal Garay (Spain)

8 June 1958

19:00 (CET)

Yugoslavia | 1–1|  Scotland

|
|

Petaković 6' | Report | Murray 49'

Arosvallen, Västerås

Attendance: 9,591

Referee: Raymond Wyssling (Switzerland)

* * *

11 June 1958

19:00 (CET)

Yugoslavia | 3–2|  France

|
|

Petaković 16'
Veselinović 63', 88' | Report | Fontaine 4', 85'

Arosvallen, Västerås

Attendance: 12,217

Referee: Benjamin Griffiths (Wales)

11 June 1958

19:00 (CET)

Paraguay | 3–2|  Scotland

|
|

Agüero 4'
Ré 45'
Parodi 73' | Report | Mudie 24'
Collins 74'

Idrottsparken, Norrköping

Attendance: 11,665

Referee: Vincenzo Orlandini (Italy)

* * *

15 June 1958

19:00 (CET)

France | 2–1|  Scotland

|
|

Kopa 22'
Fontaine 44' | Report | Baird 58'

Eyravallen, Örebro

Attendance: 13,554

Referee: Juan Regis Brozzi (Argentina)

15 June 1958

19:00 (CET)

Paraguay | 3–3|  Yugoslavia

|
|

Parodi 20'
Agüero 52'
Romero 80' | Report | Ognjanović 18'
Veselinović 21'
Rajkov 73'

Tunavallen, Eskilstuna

Attendance: 13,103

Referee: Martin Macko (Czechoslovakia)

### Group 3[edit]

Main article: 1958 FIFA World Cup Group 3

The Swedish hosts could count themselves lucky in ending up in a rather weak group which they proceeded to win fairly easily with their powerful workmanlike football. The group included Hungary which had been considered by far the best team in the world some years ago – although the Hungarians could not beat West Germany in the final of the World Cup in 1954. But the Hungarian team had been dealt a blow by the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 after which star players like Sándor Kocsis and Ferenc Puskás left their homeland. Striker Nándor Hidegkuti was still playing, but he was by now 36 years old and nowhere near his previous form.

In spite of Hungary's recent travails, they were still considered a strong side and were expected to advance from their group. The success of Wales was a surprise but they drew all their group games and beat the Hungarians in a play-off match to follow Sweden into the knock-out stage. Wales played Brazil in the quarterfinals and became the recipient of young Pelé's first World Cup goal.[18]

The 1–1 draw between Wales and Mexico was the first point scored by Mexico in a World Cup, having lost all eight matches in their previous three appearances in the World Cup, as well as their first match in this group against Sweden. To date, no other team has ever lost nine consecutive games in the World Cup.

The match between Hungary and Wales in Sandviken became the northernmost World Cup match in history.

Pos | Team

* v
* t
* e

| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Qualification

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1  |  Sweden | 3  | 2  | 1  | 0  | 5  | 1  | 5.000  | 5  | Advance to knockout stage
2  |  Wales | 3  | 0  | 3  | 0  | 2  | 2  | 1.000  | 3
3  |  Hungary | 3  | 1  | 1  | 1  | 6  | 3  | 2.000  | 3  |
4  |  Mexico | 3  | 0  | 1  | 2  | 1  | 8  | 0.125  | 1

Source: FIFA

* Wales finished ahead of Hungary by winning a play-off

8 June 1958

14:00 (CET)

Sweden | 3–0|  Mexico

|
|

Simonsson 17', 64'
Liedholm 57' (pen.) | Report |

Råsunda Stadium, Solna

Attendance: 34,107

Referee: Nikolay Latyshev (Soviet Union)

8 June 1958

19:00 (CET)

Hungary | 1–1|  Wales

|
|

Bozsik 5' | Report | J. Charles 27'

Jernvallen, Sandviken

Attendance: 15,343

Referee: José María Codesal (Uruguay)

* * *

11 June 1958

19:00 (CET)

Mexico | 1–1|  Wales

|
|

Belmonte 89' | Report | I. Allchurch 32'

Råsunda Stadium, Solna

Attendance: 15,150

Referee: Leo Lemesic (Yugoslavia)

12 June 1958

19:00 (CET)

Sweden | 2–1|  Hungary

|
|

Hamrin 34', 55' | Report | Tichy 77'

Råsunda Stadium, Solna

Attendance: 38,850

Referee: Jack Mowat (Scotland)

* * *

15 June 1958

14:00 (CET)

Sweden | 0–0|  Wales

|
|

| Report |

Råsunda Stadium, Solna

Attendance: 30,287

Referee: Lucien van Nuffel (Belgium)

15 June 1958

19:00 (CET)

Hungary | 4–0|  Mexico

|
|

Tichy 19', 46'
Sándor 54'
Bencsics 69' | Report |

Jernvallen, Sandviken

Attendance: 13,300

Referee: Arne Eriksson (Finland)

#### Play-off[edit]

17 June 1958

19:00 (CET)

Wales | 2–1|  Hungary

|
|

I. Allchurch 55'
Medwin 76' | Report | Tichy 33'

Råsunda Stadium, Solna

Attendance: 2,823

Referee: Nikolay Latyshev (Soviet Union)

### Group 4[edit]

Main article: 1958 FIFA World Cup Group 4

Despite the disappointments of the previous tournaments, Brazil were considered extremely powerful, as would prove to be the case. The Soviet Union were the reigning Olympic champion and Austria had won the bronze medal in the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland, four years earlier. And although England, weakened by the loss of several players at the Munich air disaster, were not considered at their very best, they were still always a formidable team.

In the end, this group had the highest average attendance (31,320 per game), even higher than Group 3 with the host nation, Sweden.

The quality of the football in this group did not quite live up to expectations, however. Only 15 goals were scored in the whole group, only one more than Group 3. And when England and Brazil drew 0–0, it was the first time in World Cup history that a game ended goalless. It was also the first time Brazil had failed to score in a World Cup finals match.

Brazil won the group without conceding a single goal. The teenage Pelé played Brazil's last game against the Soviet Union. He did not score but drew wild reviews for his play. The Soviet Union, in their first World Cup, took second place.

Pos | Team

* v
* t
* e

| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Qualification

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1  |  Brazil | 3  | 2  | 1  | 0  | 5  | 0  | -- | 5  | Advance to knockout stage
2  |  Soviet Union | 3  | 1  | 1  | 1  | 4  | 4  | 1.000  | 3
3  |  England | 3  | 0  | 3  | 0  | 4  | 4  | 1.000  | 3  |
4  |  Austria | 3  | 0  | 1  | 2  | 2  | 7  | 0.286  | 1

Source: FIFA

* The Soviet Union finished ahead of England by winning a play-off

8 June 1958

19:00 (CET)

Brazil | 3–0|  Austria

|
|

Altafini 37', 85'
Nílton Santos 50' | Report |

Rimnersvallen, Uddevalla

Attendance: 17,778

Referee: Maurice Guigue (France)

8 June 1958

19:00 (CET)

Soviet Union | 2–2|  England

|
|

Simonyan 13'
A. Ivanov 56' | Report | Kevan 66'
Finney 85' (pen.)

Ullevi, Gothenburg

Attendance: 49,348

Referee: István Zsolt (Hungary)

* * *

11 June 1958

19:00 (CET)

Brazil | 0–0|  England

|
|

| Report |

Ullevi, Gothenburg

Attendance: 40,895

Referee: Albert Dusch (West Germany)

11 June 1958

19:00 (CET)

Soviet Union | 2–0|  Austria

|
|

Ilyin 15'
V. Ivanov 62' | Report |

Ryavallen, Borås

Attendance: 21,239

Referee: Carl Jørgensen (Denmark)

* * *

15 June 1958

19:00 (CET)

England | 2–2|  Austria

|
|

Haynes 56'
Kevan 74' | Report | Koller 15'
Körner 71'

Ryavallen, Borås

Attendance: 15,872

Referee: Jan Bronkhorst (Netherlands)

15 June 1958

19:00 (CET)

Brazil | 2–0|  Soviet Union

|
|

Vavá 3', 77' | Report |

Ullevi, Gothenburg

Attendance: 50,928

Referee: Maurice Guigue (France)

#### Play-off[edit]

17 June 1958

19:00 (CET)

Soviet Union | 1–0|  England

|
|

Ilyin 69' | Report |

Ullevi, Gothenburg

Attendance: 23,182

Referee: Albert Dusch (West Germany)

## Knockout stage[edit]

Main article: 1958 FIFA World Cup knockout stage

### Bracket[edit]

| Quarter-finals| | Semi-finals| | Final

|
|
|
|
|

|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |

|  19 June – Gothenburg| | | | |

|  Brazil| 1

|  24 June – Solna

|  Wales| 0 |

|  Brazil| 5

|  19 June – Norrköping

| |  France| 2 |

|  France| 4

| |  29 June – Solna

|  Northern Ireland| 0 |

|  Brazil| 5

|  19 June – Solna

| |  Sweden| 2

|  Sweden| 2

|  24 June – Gothenburg|

|  Soviet Union| 0 |

|  Sweden| 3

|  19 June – Malmö

| |  West Germany| 1 | | Third place play-off

|  West Germany| 1

| |  28 June – Gothenburg

|  Yugoslavia| 0 |

|  France| 6

|  West Germany| 3

### Quarter-finals[edit]

19 June 1958

19:00 (CET)

Brazil | 1–0|  Wales

|
|

Pelé 66' | Report |

Ullevi, Gothenburg

Attendance: 25,923

Referee: Fritz Seipelt (Austria)

* * *

19 June 1958

19:00 (CET)

France | 4–0|  Northern Ireland

|
|

Wisnieski 44'
Fontaine 55', 63'
Piantoni 68' | Report |

Idrottsparken, Norrköping

Attendance: 11,800

Referee: Juan Gardeazábal Garay (Spain)

* * *

19 June 1958

19:00 (CET)

Sweden | 2–0|  Soviet Union

|
|

Hamrin 49'
Simonsson 88' | Report |

Råsunda Stadium, Solna

Attendance: 31,900

Referee: Reginald Leafe (England)

* * *

19 June 1958

19:00 (CET)

West Germany | 1–0|  Yugoslavia

|
|

Rahn 12' | Report |

Malmö Stadion, Malmö

Attendance: 20,055

Referee: Raymond Wyssling (Switzerland)

### Semi-finals[edit]

24 June 1958

19:00 (CET)

Brazil | 5–2|  France

|
|

Vavá 2'
Didi 39'
Pelé 52', 64', 75' | Report | Fontaine 9'
Piantoni 83'

Råsunda Stadium, Solna

Attendance: 27,100

Referee: Benjamin Griffiths (Wales)

* * *

24 June 1958

19:00 (CET)

Sweden | 3–1|  West Germany

|
|

Skoglund 32'
Gren 81'
Hamrin 88' | Report | Schäfer 24'

Ullevi, Gothenburg

Attendance: 49,471

Referee: István Zsolt (Hungary)

### Third place play-off[edit]

28 June 1958

17:00 (CET)

France | 6–3|  West Germany

|
|

Fontaine 16', 36', 78', 89'
Kopa 27' (pen.)
Douis 50' | Report | Cieslarczyk 18'
Rahn 52'
Schäfer 84'

Ullevi, Gothenburg

Attendance: 32,483

Referee: Juan Regis Brozzi (Argentina)

### Final[edit]

Main article: 1958 FIFA World Cup final

29 June 1958

15:00 (CET)

Brazil | 5–2|  Sweden

|
|

Vavá 9', 32'
Pelé 55', 90'
Zagallo 68' | Report | Liedholm 4'
Simonsson 80'

Råsunda Stadium, Solna

Attendance: 49,737

Referee: Maurice Guigue (France)

## Goalscorers[edit]

With 13 goals, Just Fontaine was the top scorer in the tournament. As of 2022[update], no player has ever scored more goals in a single FIFA World Cup Final stage. In total, 126 goals were scored by 60 players, with none of them credited as an own goal.[19]

13 goals

* Just Fontaine

6 goals

* Pelé
* Helmut Rahn

5 goals

* Vavá
* Peter McParland

4 goals

* Zdeněk Zikán
* Lajos Tichy
* Kurt Hamrin
* Agne Simonsson

3 goals

* Omar Oreste Corbatta
* Raymond Kopa
* Roger Piantoni
* Hans Schäfer
* Todor Veselinović

2 goals

* José Altafini
* Milan Dvořák
* Václav Hovorka
* Derek Kevan
* Maryan Wisnieski
* Juan Bautista Agüero
* Florencio Amarilla
* José Parodi
* Jorge Lino Romero
* Anatoli Ilyin
* Nils Liedholm
* Ivor Allchurch
* Uwe Seeler
* Aleksandar Petaković

1 goal

* Ludovico Avio
* Norberto Menéndez
* Karl Koller
* Alfred Körner
* Didi
* Nílton Santos
* Mário Zagallo
* Jiří Feureisl
* Tom Finney
* Johnny Haynes
* Yvon Douis
* Jean Vincent
* József Bencsics
* József Bozsik
* Károly Sándor
* Jaime Belmonte
* Wilbur Cush
* Cayetano Ré
* Sammy Baird
* Bobby Collins
* Jackie Mudie
* Jimmy Murray
* Aleksandr Ivanov
* Valentin Ivanov
* Nikita Simonyan
* Gunnar Gren
* Lennart Skoglund
* John Charles
* Terry Medwin
* Hans Cieslarczyk
* Radivoje Ognjanović
* Zdravko Rajkov

## All-Star Team[edit]

The team of the tournament voted by journalists was as follows:[20][21][22]

* Goalkeeper: Harry Gregg
* Defenders: Orvar Bergmark, Hilderaldo Bellini, Nílton Santos
* Midfielders: Yuriy Voynov, Horst Szymaniak
* Forwards: Garrincha, Didi, Raymond Kopa, Pelé, Lennart Skoglund

Although Just Fontaine got more votes than any other forward, they were split between the left and right inside forward positions.[20] The All-Star Team scored 12 goals in total. Fontaine scored 13.

## FIFA retrospective ranking[edit]

In 1986, FIFA published a report that ranked all teams in each World Cup up to and including 1986, based on progress in the competition, overall results and quality of the opposition.[23][24] The rankings for the 1958 tournament were as follows:

R | Team  | G | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts.

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1 |  Brazil | 4 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 4 | +12 | 11
2 |  Sweden | 3 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 7 | +5 | 9
3 |  France | 2 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 23 | 15 | +8 | 8
4 |  West Germany | 1 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 14 | −2 | 6
Eliminated in the quarter-finals
5 |  Wales | 3 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 5
6 |  Soviet Union | 4 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 5
7 |  Northern Ireland | 1 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 10 | −4 | 5
8 |  Yugoslavia | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 4
Eliminated in the group stage
9 |  Czechoslovakia | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 6 | +3 | 3
10 |  Hungary | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 5 | +2 | 3
11 |  England | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 3
12 |  Paraguay | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 12 | −3 | 3
13 |  Argentina | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 10 | −5 | 2
14 |  Scotland | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 1
15 |  Austria | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 | −5 | 1
16 |  Mexico | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 8 | −7 | 1

## In popular culture[edit]

The 1958 FIFA World Cup is depicted in the 2016 American film Pelé: Birth of a Legend which is centered around Pelé and the Brazilian team's journey to winning the tournament.[25]

## See also[edit]

* Conspiracy 58, a mockumentary conspiracy theory film claiming the 1958 World Cup never happened.

## References[edit]

* Norlin, Arne (2008). 1958: När Folkhemmet Fick Fotbolls-VM (in Swedish). Malmö: Ross & Tegner. ISBN 978-91-976144-8-1.

### Citations[edit]

1. ^ a b Norlin, pp. 24–25
2. ^ "FIFA World Cup: host announcement decision" (PDF). FIFA. 12 March 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 January 2012. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
3. ^ "History of the World Cup Final Draw" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 February 2008. Retrieved 2 March 2012.
4. ^ a b Norlin, p. 117
5. ^ Norlin, pp. 130–6
6. ^ "Top Star 1958". balones-oficiales.com. Archived from the original on 2 April 2012. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
7. ^ "How 17-year-old Pele conquered the world with dazzling goals as Brazil won its first World Cup in 1958". The Economic Times. 30 December 2022. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
8. ^ "Pelé: Most Wins of the FIFA World Cup by a player". Guinness World Records. 2022. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
9. ^ "Pelé leads Brazil to first World Cup title". HISTORY. 2022. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
10. ^ a b c Norlin, p. 23
11. ^ Norlin, p. 32
12. ^ a b c Norlin, p. 27
13. ^ Norlin, p. 30
14. ^ Norlin, p. 28
15. ^ a b "FIFA World Cup: Seeded teams 1930–2010" (PDF). FIFA. November 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 July 2012.
16. ^ Norlin, p. 8
17. ^ Mundo Deportivo, 23 June 1958; El Grafico, 27 June 1958.
18. ^ "BBC Sport archive: 1958 - Wales 0-1 Brazil". 1 September 2010 - via news.bbc.co.uk.
19. ^ "Players - Top goals". FIFA. Archived from the original on 18 July 2017.
20. ^ a b Norlin, p. 273
21. ^ "KOPA considerado el delantero centro del major equipo del mundo (1)" (in Spanish). Mundo Deportivo. 22 January 1959. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
22. ^ "KOPA considerado el delantero centro del major equipo del mundo (2)" (in Spanish). Mundo Deportivo. 22 January 1959. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
23. ^ "page 45" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 June 2010. Retrieved 2 March 2012.
24. ^ "FIFA World Cup: Milestones, facts & figures. Statistical Kit 7" (PDF). FIFA. 26 March 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 May 2013.
25. ^ "Pelé: Birth of a Legend (2016)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 17 November 2022.

## External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1958 FIFA World Cup.

Wikiquote has quotations related to 1958 FIFA World Cup.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for 1958 FIFA World Cup.

* 1958 FIFA World Cup Sweden , FIFA.com
* Details at RSSSF

Portals:

* 1950s
* Association football
* Sweden

* v
* t
* e

1958 FIFA World Cup

Stages|

* Group stage
* Group 1
* Group 2
* Group 3
* Group 4
* Knockout stage
* Final

General information|

* Qualification
* Squads

* v
* t
* e

1958 FIFA World Cup finalists

Champions|

* Brazil

Runners-up|

* Sweden

Third place|

* France

Fourth place|

* West Germany

Quarter-finals|

* Northern Ireland
* Soviet Union
* Wales
* Yugoslavia

Group stage|

* Argentina
* Austria
* Czechoslovakia
* England
* Hungary
* Mexico
* Paraguay
* Scotland

* v
* t
* e

1958 FIFA World Cup stadiums

* Arosvallen (Västerås)
* Eyravallen (Örebro)
* Idrottsparken (Norrköping)
* Jernvallen (Sandviken)
* Malmö Stadion (Malmö)
* Olympia (Helsingborg)
* Rimnersvallen (Uddevalla)
* Ryavallen (Borås)
* Råsunda (Solna)
* Tunavallen (Eskilstuna)
* Ullevi (Gothenburg)
* Örjans Vall (Halmstad)

* v
* t
* e

FIFA World Cup

Fédération internationale de football association (FIFA)

Tournaments|

* Uruguay 1930
* Italy 1934
* France 1938
* Brazil 1950
* Switzerland 1954
* Sweden 1958
* Chile 1962
* England 1966
* Mexico 1970
* West Germany 1974
* Argentina 1978
* Spain 1982
* Mexico 1986
* Italy 1990
* United States 1994
* France 1998
* South Korea / Japan 2002
* Germany 2006
* South Africa 2010
* Brazil 2014
* Russia 2018
* Qatar 2022
* Canada / Mexico / United States 2026
* Morocco / Portugal / Spain 20301
* Saudi Arabia 2034

Qualification|

* 19302
* 1934
* 1938
* 1950
* 1954
* 1958
* 1962
* 1966
* 1970
* 1974
* 1978
* 1982
* 1986
* 1990
* 1994
* 1998
* 2002
* 2006
* 2010
* 2014
* 2018
* 2022
* 2026

Finals|

* 1930
* 1934
* 1938
* 19503
* 1954
* 1958
* 1962
* 1966
* 1970
* 1974
* 1978
* 1982
* 1986
* 1990
* 1994
* 1998
* 2002
* 2006
* 2010
* 2014
* 2018
* 2022

Squads|

* 1930
* 1934
* 1938
* 1950
* 1954
* 1958
* 1962
* 1966
* 1970
* 1974
* 1978
* 1982
* 1986
* 1990
* 1994
* 1998
* 2002
* 2006
* 2010
* 2014
* 2018
* 2022

Final draw|

* 1998
* 2002
* 2006
* 2010
* 2014
* 2018
* 2022

Broadcasters|

* 1998
* 2002
* 2006
* 2010
* 2014
* 2018
* 2022

Bids|

* 2014
* 2018
* 2022
* 2026
* 2030
* 2034

Officials|

* 2010
* 2014
* 2018
* 2022

Team appearances|

* AFC
* CAF
* CONCACAF
* CONMEBOL
* OFC
* UEFA

Overall records|

* Player records
* winners
* top appearances
* red cards
* Goalscorer records
* top
* finals
* hat-tricks
* own goals
* Manager records
* winners
* all appearances
* Match records
* opening
* penalty shoot-outs

Miscellaneous|

* Awards
* Balls
* Controversies
* Economics
* Fan Festival
* Films
* History
* Mascots
* Music
* Notable matches
* qualifying
* Referees
* Stadiums
* finals
* Trophy
* Video games
* World Champions Cup

* 1 Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay will host the inaugural games
* 2 There was no qualification for the 1930 World Cup as places were given by invitation only.
* 3 No final held; the article is about the decisive match of the final group stage.

* * *

* Category
* Commons

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* Germany

*[Pos]: Position
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[Pld]: Played
*[W]: Win
*[D]: Draw
*[L]: Lose
*[GF]: Goals for
*[GA]: Goals against
*[GR]: Goal ratio
*[Pts]: Points
*[R]: Final Ranking
*[G]: Group
*[P]: Played
*[GD]: Goal difference
*[Pts.]: Points