4. Brazil 5-2 Sweden (1958)
Pele who? At just 17, he was already a household name in Brazil, dazzling fans with his prolific goal-scoring and earning the title of the nation’s youngest-ever scorer. However, it wasn’t until the quarter-finals of the 1958 World Cup in Sweden—after nursing a knee injury—that the world would truly witness his brilliance.
His journey began with a goal against Wales, but it was the semi-finals against France where he made history, delivering a stunning second-half hat-trick that solidified his emerging legend.
Then came the final, where the teen with the number 10 on his makeshift blue shirt would shine brightest. Pele scored twice in Brazil’s 5-2 victory, marking the match as the highest-scoring World Cup final to date.
One of his goals remains etched in the annals of football history: expertly controlling the ball with his chest, he deftly lofted it over a defender before volleying it into the bottom corner.
This triumph heralded Brazil’s first World Cup victory and fulfilled a promise Pele had made to his father, who had wept beside the radio after Brazil’s heart-wrenching defeat to Uruguay in 1950, an event now famously referred to as the ‘Maracanazo.’
Reflecting on that painful moment, Pele recalled, “I remember seeing him sitting next to the radio, sobbing. He said to me, ‘Brazil have lost the World Cup.’ I jokingly replied, ‘Don’t cry, Dad—I’ll win the World Cup for you.'”
