In 1958, Brazil became the first team to win a World Cup outside their home continent. The tournament was held in Sweden where the Soviet Union made a comeback into the tournament — thanks mainly due to their success in Melbourne Games in 1956.
Four British teams qualified for the final round with Wales taking advantage of the Africa and Asian zone withdrawals. Israel also qualified without playing a single match. Fifa immediately stepped in and ordered Israel to play against one of the teams finishing second in the other groups. Israel played Wales twice and lost 2-0 and that was the only time that a country played a World Cup final round after having been eliminated in the regular qualifiers.
Pele has gained worldwide recognition by then and he scored two goals in the final. French striker Just Fontaine was the topscorer of the tournament with a record of 13 goals — which is still unbroken.
The event also saw gloves make an appearance as part of the goalkeeper’s kit. The first player to use them was the Russian Lev Yashin.
— N.D.Prashant/Staff Reporter
