Players Journal - Pele's national team career

Page- Four

Team profession

First international match, Pele was defeated 2-1 in opposition to Argentina on July 7, 1957 and in that match, at the age of 16 he scored his first goal for Brazil. In International football, he had become the youngest player to score in 9 months.

World Cup - 1958

In the World Cup, his first match was in opposition to USSR of the FIFA World Cup 1958 in the first round. At the time he was the youngest player of that tournament and ever to play in the World Cup. He scored then his first World Cup goal in opposition to Wales in quarterfinals. It was the only goal of the match that one to implement Brazil advance to semifinals, although becoming the youngest ever World Cup goalscorer at 17 years. In opposition to France, Brazil was leading 2-1 at halftime in the semifinal. Then Pele scored a nice hat-trick as the youngest in World Cup history to do so.

At 17 years, Pele became the youngest player to play in a World Cup final match on 19^th June and he scored two goals in the final beating Sweden 5-2. His first goal was a lob over a defender followed by a specific stream shot who was selected as one of the best goals in the history of the World Cup. At what time the match ended, he exhausted on the field and had to be attended by the medical staff. After that he recovered, and was noticeably obliged by the conquest. He finished the tournament in four matches by six goals to play and tied for second place but at the back record-breaker Just Fontaine.

World Cup 1962

The first match of the 1962 World Cup, in opposition to Mexico, Pele assisted on the first goal and then within a few second he scored the second one. He went up 2-0 after a run past four defenders. During playing in opposition to Czechoslovakia, he wounded himself even as attempting a long-range shot and this would keep him out of the rest of the tournament but beside forced coach Aymore Moreira to make his only lineup change of the tournament. After that the substitute was Amarildo, who performed well for the rest of the tournament. So far it was Garrincha who would take the leading role and carry Brazil to their second World Cup title.

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