O Rei was the only player to become world champion three times, in 1958, 1962 and 1970; he only missed his date with the trophy in 1966
A look back at Pelé’s career in the World Cups is a walk through the history of football’s most important tournament. O Rei is the all-time best in the top leagues. This is what the data dictates, as the Brazilian legend was the only player able to win the title three times -1958, 1962 and 1970-. He just failed his specific nomination with the trophy in England 66.
The story of Pelé and the World Cups begins in 1958, with a 17-year-old teenager rising to fame and leading Brazil to its first title, eight years after the tragic Maracanazo in 1950, and ends in Mexico 1970, on the brink of its thirties and for the third time in style, at the height of its legend.
A beardless Pelé arrived in the Scandinavian country, still a minor, but already beginning to grow into the player he would soon be. In his first two games against Austria and England, the Brazilian star did not play for a minute. He first took part in a World Cup against the former USSR in the third group match. From that moment on, Pelé came out of the quarter-finals undisputed. He scored a goal against Wales, signed a hat-trick against France in the semi-final and ended the tournament with a double in the final against the hosts. First World Cup for an almost adolescent Pelé, who finished the championship with six goals.
The tournament began as the previous one ended, starting and scoring on his team’s debut. However, in the second match of the ‘Canarinha’ against Czechoslovakia, Pelé suffered a muscle injury that prevented him from playing for the rest of the World Cup. Brazil eventually won the tournament again despite losing its star.
The third World Cup date for Pelé, who came to the tournament in full swing and with the thorn in the side of the injury in Chile. Nothing could be further from the truth for a Brazil that was a complete disappointment, falling in the group stage, after losing to Hungary and Eusebio’s Portugal in the final, and only able to beat a tiny Bulgaria. It would be the first World Cup of the ‘Pelé era’ that Brazil failed to lift.
Pele’s ultimate tournament. At the age of 30, he arrived at the twilight of his career and was part of one of the best teams remembered in the history of football. In the group stage, the Rio legend came away with three goals, against tough sides like England and Czechoslovakia, and with numerous victories. He failed to score in the quarter-finals or semi-finals, but was decisive in the grand final against Italy by scoring and providing two assists.
O Rei is the sixth top scorer in World Cups today. At the time, only the thirteen goals in five games by Frenchman Just Fontaine in 1958 kept Pelé away from such an honour. The Brazilian scored 12 goals in 14 games. Then they would be surpassed by Argentina’s Leo Messi, with 13 goals in 26 games between 2006 and 2022; German Gerd ‘Torpedo’ Müller, with 14 goals in 13 matches between 1970 and 1974; his compatriot Ronaldo Nazário, with 15 goals in 19 matches between France 98 and Germany 06; and Germany’s Miroslav Klose, who claims to be the top scorer with 16 goals in 24 matches between Korea and Japan 02 and Brazil 14.
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
